A review by sjgomzi
The Old One and The Sea by Lex H. Jones

5.0

The Old One And The Sea is a beautifully written Lovecraftian fairytale. I don’t want to spoil anything, so as simply as I can put it, the story opens with a fictional version of young HP Lovecraft remembering times past, and mourning the recent loss of his father. Soon after, many familiar names from the Lovecraft Mythos appear throughout, including one particularly important member from the Lovecraft pantheon. This may be marketed as a children’s book, but it’s many themes of loss and loneliness will resonate deeply with older readers, and I never once felt like this story was watered down in any way for a younger audience. This book brought out my inner child-the adventurous, curious, and sometimes rebellious child from the eighties, who sometimes gets lost now, at age 49, in the everyday grind of daily life. I was hooked from the first page. At times, this perfectly captured the feel of old school, black and white monster movies, or early Bradbury. A perfect bridge to horror for the young one’s. I can’t wait to share this with my kids, and this is the kind of story that begs to be reread at various times throughout life, and deserves to be hailed as one of those classic multigenerational books that survive the test of time. Books like The Halloween Tree, Charlotte’s Web, or The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. As you can probably tell, I loved it!