Fun in the Dark #2: Open Water

by Alex J Gardner, Isabelle Nygren, Felix Lilly

131 pages, Paperback

Published July 1, 2026

Reviews

[Steven]

A killer collection of some amazing stories. Really neat seeing how each story approaches the theme of the anthology in its own unique way. There’s more range in here than I was expecting, and that’s always a lovely surprise. Worth checking out if you want some fun, dark detours through open water and all that lurks there.

[Hokunani Sorci]

**I am the guest reader/a contributor for this book and am biased**

The ocean was my first playground. I learned to swim before I could walk. I dove to the edge of an underwater drop off and stared into the deep sea abyss. Ive snorkeled with fish and turtles and sharks and rays. In 40 years, I’ve nearly drowned half a dozen times, yet the waves still call to me.

So, when Alex asked me to help pick the finalists for this collection I was beyond thrilled. To me, open water represents beauty and terror, fun AND dark, and that’s what I was looking for with these stories.

There were several submissions in the short list that were brilliantly written but didn’t quite hit the ‘open water’ mark. And when two or more stories had similar themes, only one could stand above the rest.

Some lean more toward fun and others are more dark, but every tale included in this anthology was a favorite for different reasons (which I won’t go into because spoilers!). I hope you enjoy the eclectic variety of water horrors. I think there’s something for everyone here.

4.75 stars (rounded to 5)

[Andy Rota]

Not nearly as good as volume 1 .

[Eric]

What lies beneath

Full review at MonsterBookClub