Beneath an Oil-Dark Sea

The Best of Caitlin R. Kiernan #2

by Caitlín R. Kiernan, S.T. Joshi (Introduction), Keith Szarabajka (Narrator)

In his 'Locus' Review of 'Two Worlds an in Between' - the first volume of 'The Best of Caitlín R. Kiernan' - Gary K. Wolfe wrote, ". . .it makes you wish the second volume were here now."

Well, the wait is over.

'BENEATH AN OIL-DARK SEA' - Volume #2 of 'The Best of Caitlín R. Kiernan' series - completes this ambitious undertaking, collecting the finest of Kiernan's stories from 2004-2012, selected by the author herself. The book includes 25 short stories and one poem, plus the short novel 'Black Helicopters' - more than 200,000 words of fiction, including the World Fantasy Award-winning "The Prayer of 90 Cats".




RUNNING TIME => 24hrs.

©2015 Caitlin R. Kiernan (P)2020 Blackstone Publishing

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Dark Fantasy

Audible Audio

First published November 30, 2015

About the author

Caitlín Rebekah Kiernan is an Irish-born American published paleontologist and author of science fiction and dark fantasy works, including ten novels, series of comic books, and more than two hundred and fifty published short stories, novellas, and vignettes.

Reviews

[Karl]

Table of Contents:

011 - Introduction by S. T. Joshi

PART ONE (Atlanta, 2004-2008)

019 - Bradbury Weather
055 - Pony
065 - Untitled 17
071 - A Child’s Guide to the Hollow Hills
079 - The Cryomancer's Daughter (Murder Ballad No. 5)
095 - The Ammonite Violin (Murder Ballad No. 4)
111 - A Season of Broken Dolls
127 - In View of Nothing
147 - The Ape’s Wife
169 - The Steam Dancer (1896)
181 - In the Dreamtime of Lady Resurrection
191 - Pickman’s Other Model (1929)

PART TWO (Providence, 2008-2012)

217 - Galapagos
241 - The Melusine (1898)
255 - As Red as Red
273 - Fish Bride (1970)
285 - The Mermaid of the Concrete Ocean
299 - The Sea Troll’s Daughter
323 - Hydraguros
345 - Houndwife
361 - The Maltese Unicorn
393 - Tidal Forces
409 - And the Cloud That Took the Form
417 - The Prayer of Ninety Cats
451 - Daughter Dear Desmodus
457 - Googles (c. 1910)
471 - One Tree Hill (The World as Cataclysm)
489 - Black Helicopters
575 - Epilogue: Atlantis

577 -Publication History
579 - Appendix: Bibliography (1985 - 2005)
601 - Acknowledgements
603 - About The Author
605 - About The Font
607 - Illustrations (Bonus Section in Limited Edition)

This is the Leather Bound Limited Edition number 373 of 600 signed and numbered copies. This book comes with a hardcover copy of False / Starts II.

[James Stone · Rating 5 out of 5]

I begin this review with a question: Who do I think I am daring to review this second volume of the collection of Caitlin R. Kiernan's "best" work? Her work speaks for itself. I suppose one can try to squeeze her into the "weird fiction" genre with Laird Barron, Kathe Koja, and, of course, the Grand Master, Howard Phillips Lovecraft.
For anyone wondering why it took me so long to read this book, I would say this: one does not swill down a rare wine; one savors it. This is a book to be savored, not read through like a quick summer read.
Personally, genre aside, I believe CRK is one of the best authors writing today. Let me indulge in just a taste of her writing. This is a passage from "The Cryomancer's Daughter (Murder Ballad #3)": "I cannot afford another spill today, for I am in no condition to dress myself and descend the stairs to the smoky lobby and the narrow street beyond and still have to walk the two blocks (uphill) from the boarding house on Gar Fish Street to the Gramercy Digs Saloon on the corner of Muskie and Walleye. And I have no guarantee that she will bring me another bottle, either, as her small mercies and smaller kindnesses are, at best, capricious and wholly unpredictable."
I know, it's out of context and all that, but no one else puts words together like this. Even the names of the streets, named after fish (by the way, if you have ever seen a Gar fish, you will know that monsters are real) is a sly tribute to Lovecraft's beloved town of Innsmouth.
I admit, I envy Kathryn Pollac, CRK's life partner, no end. To be in the presence of such genius must take a very special woman indeed.
As to content, who can say? There is the oft reprinted in anthologies, "The Steam Dancer," one of my favorites, "The Prayer of Ninety Cats", and, to close the collection, the entire novel, "Black Helicopters." To say that last is a masterpiece of fiction writing is to insult the English language because it is so good, it is beyond superlatives.
What is important here is to realize how prolific CRK is. She is an accomplished novelist, has scripted numerous graphic story arcs, and even participated in the scripting of the most recent incarnation of Beowolf, which, critics be damned, I loved.
From cover to Epilogue, this is a volume that belongs in any literature lover's collection. I do look forward to the day when the Library of America discovers her. After all, they have memorialized Poe and Lovecraft, and CRK excels beyond them, while giving them due credit along with her beloved Charles Fort.
Ten stars out of five. Read this if you dare.

[Jason · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm starting to wonder why I keep giving Caitlín R. Kiernan's work a chance. I think it's because I liked Threshold and Daughter of Hounds, about people being caught up in forces beyond their comprehension, and I keep looking for those. And she brings in biology/paleontology that I don't see many other writers use. However, what I keep seeing is the Red Tree, which I disliked, over and over and over again. I read the first 3 - 4 stories of this collection, and I just keep seeing the same story; angry malicious lesbian causing an abusive relationship who is such a lousy human being that eventually the supernatural force in the story rolls its eyes, or whatever it uses instead of eyes, and wipes the wretched main character out, and then there is much rejoicing (yay). That was definitely the first story in this collection, except that the alien infection was a complete amateur and failed to wipe out the wretched main character. Actually, the story Ponies is pretty similar to this too, except the supernatural force was completely oblivious to the wretch.

I will however give props to the "Sea Troll's Daughter"; that take on Beowulf did make me chuckle.

[Daniel Lawson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Do you like stories about women chasing their lovers who've left them to go on mystical quests (obsessions)? Then you'll like about half the stories in this book. What about plotless vignettes that are about mood and setting and nothing else? That'll get you another third (with some crossover). Retellings of the same stories from volume one? Yeah there's a couple in here. Then the usual spatter of strangeness and cosmic horror (some more pointed an obvious in these newer tales) fills in the rest.

While by no means a terrible collection, letting the author pick her own stories to include means you're getting a lot of repetition, similar themes, motifs, etc. If you like Catlin R. Kiernan (who doesn't? I mean Alabama Paleontologists . . rock! I'm sorry) then you should get this, but I'd split it up and read one or two then move on to another book otherwise you'll get burnt out.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Introduction by S. T. Joshi

PART ONE (Atlanta, 2004-2008)

• Bradbury Weather ⭐⭐⭐
• Pony ⭐⭐⭐
• Untitled 17 ⭐⭐⭐
• A Child’s Guide to the Hollow Hills ⭐⭐⭐
• The Ammonite Violin (Murder Ballad No. 4) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• A Season of Broken Dolls ⭐⭐⭐
• In View of Nothing ⭐⭐⭐
• The Ape’s Wife ⭐⭐⭐
• The Steam Dancer (1896) ⭐⭐⭐
• In the Dreamtime of Lady Resurrection ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Pickman’s Other Model (1929) ⭐⭐⭐

PART TWO (Providence, 2008-2012)

• Galapagos ⭐⭐⭐
• The Melusine (1898) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• As Red as Red ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Fish Bride (1970) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• The Mermaid of the Concrete Ocean ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• The Sea Troll’s Daughter ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Hydraguros ⭐⭐⭐
• Houndwife ⭐⭐⭐
• The Maltese Unicorn ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Tidal Forces ⭐⭐⭐
• And the Cloud That Took the Form ⭐⭐⭐
• The Prayer of Ninety Cats ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Daughter Dear Desmodus ⭐⭐⭐
• One Tree Hill (The World as Cataclysm) ⭐⭐⭐
• Black Helicopters

Epilogue: Atlantis

[Varsha Dinesh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love whatever Caitlin Kiernan writes. This is no exception.

[Barrita · Rating 4 out of 5]

¿Cómo lo haces, Caitlín?

[Tiffany Lynn Kramer · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a reader I have a rather tumultuous relationship with Kiernan. More often than not I have come to find her stories repetitive or unfulfilling but when she gets a story right for me she really gets it right. It is for those pieces that I will always give her work a change. In the case of this collection I only read 12 pieces in their entirety, having read several others as parts of different anthologies and the rest having not caught my interest.
Of those 12 The Ammonite Violin was easily the strongest and only one to get 5 stars . As for the rest The Ape' s Wife, Pickman's Other Model, Houndwife, and The Maltese Unicorn all received 4.
Over all I would recommend this collection to either diehard fans of Kiernan or those new to her work .

[Kevin L · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars.

Not a fan of S. T. Joshi, so I skipped his introduction.

Kiernan’s writing is so evocative, and I am not sure if there’s anyone better at non-linear short fiction writing today.

Favorites:

Bradbury Weather - perfectly captures the feel of Bradbury while being wholly Kiernan through and through.

Pony - loved seeing this outside of The Red Tree (and now I want to read that for the 4th or 5th time).

The Ammonite Violin (Murder Ballad No. 4) - what a story!

Pickman’s Other Model - Lost film, ghouls and more. 💯💀

The Maltese Unicorn - I want more horny noir from Kiernan.

Honestly there were only a few stories that didn’t hit for me, and I think I might have enjoyed those more if I had read them rather than listened to them.

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

The best stories were ones I already read in other anthologies. And I have no earthly idea what the novella Black Helicopters was about. 🙄

[Ben Rowe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kiernan is one of the most consistently captivating writers out there at shorter lengths. The only problem with "best ofs" is it can still leave you tracking down the stories that dont make the collection if you do not have them already.

She has managed to be fairly prolific given the high level of quality of her stories.

Her stories tend to focus more on atmosphere, mood and character than plot and that is something I generally appreciate although sometimes my own ability to be confused can add to any allowed or intended incoherence in the stories. At her best I really feel I am experiencing something unique and utterly captivating and her worst (or the closest to that we get here) she is consistently excellent and engaging.

It takes me a lot time to get through the stories in this and the preceding volume and I am probably only three quarters full in each but the collections (as well as other short work by the author) are highly recommended.

It is a shame at novel length her last amazing novel was The Drowning Girl and that was a few years ago. More recent nom de plum dalliances and individually released novellas do not match what is contained here although they are not without merit.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmmm. I am usually a big fan of Caitlin Kiernan. The first book (Volume 1)I gave 5 stars. I really liked a lot of her earlier books (Threshold, Daughter of Hounds, Murder of Angels and Blood Red Moon) and her early stories. They were more varied. This Volume did not do it for me. For one, the couple of best stories (I loved Bradbury Weather) I had already read. Indeed most of the middling stories I had already read so there was no welcome revelations. I always wanted to like Black Helicopters more but its frustrating obliqueness (a similar problem with many of her stories) gets a little tiresome. I, like a few others have noticed, thought the messed up, burned out and frequently unpleasant lesbian theme gets repetitive. With that being said, she is still a great writer and even her weaker stories are good. Just none of these stories knocked it out of the park for me. The last great short story I had read from her was John Four and this was not even included.
A good collection, just not great.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite stories in this one include "A Child's Guide to the Hollow Hills," "The Ammonite Violin," "A Season of Broken Dolls," "The Ape's Wife," "The Melusine," "Hydrarguros" (one of the rare Kiernan stories I can think of featuring a gay male as the main narrator), "The Prayer of Ninety Cats," and so on. Especially good is the short mosaical novel that ends the collection, "Black Helicopters," which works in references from a whole host of diverse sources, including Grant Morrison's "The Invisibles," Current 93, James Joyce, Robert Anton Wilson's "Illuminatus!," chaos mathematics, Mayan Mythology-Popol Vuh-Xibalba, H.P. Lovecraft, the biblical Book of Revelations, and, most amusingly, a snatch of lyrics from Javert's final soliloquy from the "Les Miserables" musical (never thought I'd see a "Les Mis" reference in a Kiernan story, but there you go). I feel I should add that the cover art of this book is really amazing.

[Andrew Brooks · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm unfortunately going to have to leave this one unrated...
No. After an attempt at rereading, I still can't say anything about this other than, VILE, VENOMOUS, & just plain VILE.
While technically well written, its also partly incomprehensible to me.
The first half was in fact completely against my tastes; I would subhead this section 'venomous vittuperative bitch', though I think there's perhaps something there culturally that I don't get as an Aspie.
The second section had a few stories I enjoyed, mainly the steam punk stories, but again, much was incomprehensible to me. YMMV.

[Michael Norwitz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anthology of short stories in the 'weird fiction' genre. Some are too 'modern literary' and meandering (or lacking) in plot to my taste, but many others are superb. With few exceptions the stories here are haunting, terrifying, evocative, sarcastic, funny, and completely fucking queer.

[Pedro Marroquín · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ha sido una delicia releer los relatos que ya había leído, y leer los que aún no. La verdad es que tiene un mundo muy inquietante y no son nada fáciles de leer sus relatos, pero tras meterte en ellos, descubres lo gran escritora que es. Ahora a esperar a que escriba más y la hagan el tercer tomo de esta serie de los mejores que ha escrito. A+

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this author, and seeing such a wide variety of subjects and styles included in this collection adds to its necessity to the weird fiction collector.