Review of "All the Things You Cannot See: An Oceanic Horror Anthology" Compiled by Desiree Horton
All the Things You Cannot See, compiled by Desiree Horton, is full of creative creatures and leans into a nightmare-esque way of storytelling
(like when you know you are being chased by something in your dreams but you have no idea what)—which I really loved.
Some of the stories were a bit difficult for me to get into, but even they had qualities that won me over.
There was an occasional focus on familiar sea animals that I didn't think to fear until I read the stories; maybe because I can't imagine a time I will ever be deep enough in the ocean (hopefully) to encounter any of them!
My thoughts on each story:
⇝ My top three are in green! ⇜
• Saltfather – Christy Aldridge
An oddly beautiful story, which read like an urban legend, but much less brutal than most.
• The Air Between Us – Rob Grimoire
I think this piece speaks on how consuming grief can really be.
• Saltwater Promises – Chanel Harry
An incredible twist on a folktale I hadn't known about until reading this piece!
• Ocean Front Property – D.L. Winchester
I didn't truly consider how scary any sort of sea creature must have been to people when they were still being discovered, until a specific passage in this story. Not to mention, I loved the old-timey, creepy feel of this piece.
• Recurring Dream – Chisto Healy
A heavy and wonderfully written story.
• Overboard – S.E. Howard
What a gut-punch of a story! And a section of it reminded me of a nightmare I had as a kid, which made it feel oddly familiar and all the more haunting.
• Operation SEA-cret – Laura Bilodeau
I LOVE me a good second-person story, and this is a great one! Very haunting and mesmerizing.
• Child of the Black Tide – Leonardo J. Lamanna
Very atmospheric and claustrophobic because of how trapped all the characters are. Loved the ending!
• The Deep Remembers – Eden Avery Blake
Another claustrophobic piece, which goes well with the events unfolding.
• Sea Dogs – Desiree Horton
I think of this as "gentle horror"; only scary until you know what's going on then it's almost like you're relieved with the main character? You'll have to read it to know what I mean 👀
• The Mourning Morning – Boe Healy
I loved the creativity behind the creatures in this story!
Quotes I thought were neat:
• "Lila didn’t say it to be brave. She said it because he came anyway, and naming a thing didn’t make it real so much as it made it honest."
— Saltfather, Christy Aldridge
• "The emotions didn’t have a taste, a smell, or a sound; it just felt like my heart crumbled into my chest. To top the ashes of my heart with a black cherry..."
— Saltwater Promises, Chanel Harry
Beyond the horror, recurring themes I noticed was loss and grief, death, and the "salt" of sadness.
Overall, this is a great anthology to read if you're a lover of the ocean or simply curious about what could be lurking in its depths!
