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badseedgirl's review against another edition
3.0
This was quite the hodgepodge of stories. A better "sea" related name for this book would have been Flotsam and Jetsam, which is defined by the National Ocean Service as
That is what this Collection feels like. There are some good, some, just ok, and many many weird stories in this little slice of oddness.
Here are my one sentence reviews of each story:
Good Times: Has anyone checked on Stephen Graham Jones' dog and made sure she is ok?
The Age of Hasty Retreats: Has anyone checked on Stephen Graham Jones' cat and made sure it is ok?
My Hero: Meh
How Billy Hanson Destroyed the Planet Earth, and Everyone On It: Sometimes it pays not to be nosy about the universe.
Little Monster: Could there be a better description of parenthood?
The Half Life of Parents: Should I be worried about Muppets now?
Old Meat: So good!
Nearer to Thee: Unfortunately I forgot this one and had to look it back up.
Jumpers: I would like the narrators job.
The Sea of Intranquility: Noir is great, giant space lobsters are great, but what did I just read?
This is Not What I Meant: This reminded me of Twilight Zone episode "The After Hours" but I don't know why!
The Case Against Humanity: Haircare in the apocalypse must be hell and Gretchen did what she had to.
Hell on the Homefront Too: That zombie bastard gets what he deserves!
I Was a Teenage Slasher Victim: Mr. Jones really has a thing for slasher tropes.
The Many Stages of Grief: This is Tad's revenge for the atrocities perpetuated in the first story Good Times.
Catch and Release: My favorite story in the collection.
Submitted for Your Approval: Remember what I said in my review of This is Not What I Meant?
Deathtrap Whirlpool: This story gave me the same feelings as when I read any Parallel Universe story.
Zombie Sharks with Metal Teeth: This could win a PETA award.
Rocket Man: Don't fuck with zombies, just don't.
Because My Therapist Asked Me to Tell a Story Using Hamsters: Has anyone checked on Stephen Graham Jones' hamsters and made sure they're ok?
The Calorie Doctor: Has anyone checked on Stephen Graham Jones' therapist and made sure they're ok?
"Flotsam and jetsam are terms that describe two types of marine debris associated with vessels. Flotsam is defined as debris in the water that was not deliberately thrown overboard, often as a result from a shipwreck or accident. Jetsam describes debris that was deliberately thrown overboard by a crew of a ship in distress, most often to lighten the ship's load.
That is what this Collection feels like. There are some good, some, just ok, and many many weird stories in this little slice of oddness.
Here are my one sentence reviews of each story:
Good Times: Has anyone checked on Stephen Graham Jones' dog and made sure she is ok?
The Age of Hasty Retreats: Has anyone checked on Stephen Graham Jones' cat and made sure it is ok?
My Hero: Meh
How Billy Hanson Destroyed the Planet Earth, and Everyone On It: Sometimes it pays not to be nosy about the universe.
Little Monster: Could there be a better description of parenthood?
The Half Life of Parents: Should I be worried about Muppets now?
Old Meat: So good!
Nearer to Thee: Unfortunately I forgot this one and had to look it back up.
Jumpers: I would like the narrators job.
The Sea of Intranquility: Noir is great, giant space lobsters are great, but what did I just read?
This is Not What I Meant: This reminded me of Twilight Zone episode "The After Hours" but I don't know why!
The Case Against Humanity: Haircare in the apocalypse must be hell and Gretchen did what she had to.
Hell on the Homefront Too: That zombie bastard gets what he deserves!
I Was a Teenage Slasher Victim: Mr. Jones really has a thing for slasher tropes.
The Many Stages of Grief: This is Tad's revenge for the atrocities perpetuated in the first story Good Times.
Catch and Release: My favorite story in the collection.
Submitted for Your Approval: Remember what I said in my review of This is Not What I Meant?
Deathtrap Whirlpool: This story gave me the same feelings as when I read any Parallel Universe story.
Zombie Sharks with Metal Teeth: This could win a PETA award.
Rocket Man: Don't fuck with zombies, just don't.
Because My Therapist Asked Me to Tell a Story Using Hamsters: Has anyone checked on Stephen Graham Jones' hamsters and made sure they're ok?
The Calorie Doctor: Has anyone checked on Stephen Graham Jones' therapist and made sure they're ok?
thesarah's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
porge_grewe's review against another edition
5.0
Absolutely brilliant! This short story collection is the fourth Stephen Graham Jones book I have read and it is easily the wildest.
The stories collected here touch on various facets of the bizarre, from cyber-lobster-noir (The Sea of Intranqulity), to dream-like slices of life (This is Not What I Meant), to one of the best takes on zombie fiction I have seen in any medium (The Age of Hasty Retreats). Through all these genres, subgenres, and oddities, Jones' creativity sets him apart and keeps this collection of very short fiction (stories range from 1-10 pages) moving along from idea to idea like it's swinging along on monkey bars.
Much more than his creativity, though, two other of Jones' skills elevate this collection: his honesty, and his ability to tell a story. On the former point, Jones brings to these stories the same depth of understanding and acceptance of humanity (brought home brutally in the aforementioned Age of Hasty Retreats and particularly in The Case Against Humanity) which serve him so well in his novels. Even the strangest concepts are peopled and told in a way which makes them intensely human, often painfully relatable. The notes by Jones on each of the stories at the back of the collection, entertaining in their own right, also provide that bit more insight into each story - Where they came from, what they mean to the writer.
The other point, Jones' skill as a storyteller, stops this collection having the incomplete feeling common to many similar collections, where the length of the stories work against them - Either feeling like they are trying to make too much of a concept which does not sustain a full story, or like we are reading an extract from a larger, more satisfying story, an issue I found most recently with a few of the stories in Helen Oyeyemi's What is Not Yours is Not Yours, and Marian Enriquez' The Dangers of Smoking in Bed. Each of Jones's stories, no matter their length, feel complete. They do what they came here to do, say their piece, and leave.
This is how short stories should be. This is how weird fiction should be. This book is excellent, and the rest of Jones' back catalogue cannot get published in the UK soon enough.
The stories collected here touch on various facets of the bizarre, from cyber-lobster-noir (The Sea of Intranqulity), to dream-like slices of life (This is Not What I Meant), to one of the best takes on zombie fiction I have seen in any medium (The Age of Hasty Retreats). Through all these genres, subgenres, and oddities, Jones' creativity sets him apart and keeps this collection of very short fiction (stories range from 1-10 pages) moving along from idea to idea like it's swinging along on monkey bars.
Much more than his creativity, though, two other of Jones' skills elevate this collection: his honesty, and his ability to tell a story. On the former point, Jones brings to these stories the same depth of understanding and acceptance of humanity (brought home brutally in the aforementioned Age of Hasty Retreats and particularly in The Case Against Humanity) which serve him so well in his novels. Even the strangest concepts are peopled and told in a way which makes them intensely human, often painfully relatable. The notes by Jones on each of the stories at the back of the collection, entertaining in their own right, also provide that bit more insight into each story - Where they came from, what they mean to the writer.
The other point, Jones' skill as a storyteller, stops this collection having the incomplete feeling common to many similar collections, where the length of the stories work against them - Either feeling like they are trying to make too much of a concept which does not sustain a full story, or like we are reading an extract from a larger, more satisfying story, an issue I found most recently with a few of the stories in Helen Oyeyemi's What is Not Yours is Not Yours, and Marian Enriquez' The Dangers of Smoking in Bed. Each of Jones's stories, no matter their length, feel complete. They do what they came here to do, say their piece, and leave.
This is how short stories should be. This is how weird fiction should be. This book is excellent, and the rest of Jones' back catalogue cannot get published in the UK soon enough.
kf21's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0