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mariahaskins's review
5.0
A compelling, beautifully written dark and wrenching novella. John Hornor Jacobs's prose pulls you in from the get-go, and as the stories progresses you can feel the darkness gather, tugging at the memories and dreams and even the reality of the characters. A haunting story of terrors that come from the real world and far beyond it. Highly recommended.
brandoshizzle's review
4.0
My first real foray into cosmic horror was but a teaser. I was invested in the story, it was very well written. However, it felt like it ended near or at the beginning of the climax. I wanted 20 more pages!
charshorrorcorner's review
5.0
4.5/5 stars!
"Misery is a condition that we are all promised."
THE SEA DREAMS IT IS THE SKY is a beautifully written novella with rich, layered characters and an unfamiliar landscape.
Two ex-pats develop a friendship between them. Isabel, an educator and Avendano, a poet, have both escaped a political coup in their home country of (the fictional) Magera. As their friendship deepens, Isabel learns more about Avendano's reputation and his past. When he asks her to watch his apartment so that he may return to Magera, she does so willingly. While so doing, she reads a few of the manuscripts he left behind. It's in these manuscripts that the true horror lies. Will Avendano ever return home? If he does will he find Isabel there waiting for him? You'll have to read this novella to find out!
I loved this book and that's mostly because the characters of Avendano and Isabel are so deep and well drawn. I did not expect to develop such complicated feelings for characters in "A Novella of Cosmic Horror." But develop them I did-especially for Avendano. I disliked him quite a bit when the story began, but I empathized with what he went through later, (or actually, before), and my feelings for him changed dramatically.
Whenever I see or hear the term "cosmic horror" lately, I find myself thinking of tentacles. But cosmic horror runs much deeper than that, and in this book it plays a small but certainly disturbing part of the narrative. When the miasma becomes so thick you can almost cut through it, watch out. There are things in that stinking fog, things existing just beyond the limits our visibility, but all too alive just the same.
The real horrors here are executed by humans and they make tentacles and Cthulhu look downright silly. It's easy to overlook coups in other countries, easy to overlook the human rights violations and the often abominable acts. We don't seem them on our daily news, so to us they seem foreign and distant. But for the people living under military rule or the rule of dictators or religious leaders? They see these horrors every day and sadly, they are now just part of life. When anyone dares to look more closely, like Avendano for instance, who knows what horrors will befall them as a result? They may take the form of torture, they may take the form of torturing those you love, they can even make you torture yourself, and that's the worst torture of all. " The pain becomes an offering and sacrifice becomes a beacon."
A beacon to what? That is the question.
I've tried hard to impart to you the gravity as well as the beauty hidden behind that oh so lovely cover. I've tried to do it without spoiling anything, but I'm not sure I've succeeded. The writing is sublime and I got lost a few times, just ruminating on the beauty of the language. That doesn't happen often these days, but it happened several times within the pages of this beautiful, scary, depressing, lovely novella and for that reason I highly recommend this book.
Get your copy here: https://amzn.to/2PsjNFX
*I received a Kindle copy of this book in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it.*
"Misery is a condition that we are all promised."
THE SEA DREAMS IT IS THE SKY is a beautifully written novella with rich, layered characters and an unfamiliar landscape.
Two ex-pats develop a friendship between them. Isabel, an educator and Avendano, a poet, have both escaped a political coup in their home country of (the fictional) Magera. As their friendship deepens, Isabel learns more about Avendano's reputation and his past. When he asks her to watch his apartment so that he may return to Magera, she does so willingly. While so doing, she reads a few of the manuscripts he left behind. It's in these manuscripts that the true horror lies. Will Avendano ever return home? If he does will he find Isabel there waiting for him? You'll have to read this novella to find out!
I loved this book and that's mostly because the characters of Avendano and Isabel are so deep and well drawn. I did not expect to develop such complicated feelings for characters in "A Novella of Cosmic Horror." But develop them I did-especially for Avendano. I disliked him quite a bit when the story began, but I empathized with what he went through later, (or actually, before), and my feelings for him changed dramatically.
Whenever I see or hear the term "cosmic horror" lately, I find myself thinking of tentacles. But cosmic horror runs much deeper than that, and in this book it plays a small but certainly disturbing part of the narrative. When the miasma becomes so thick you can almost cut through it, watch out. There are things in that stinking fog, things existing just beyond the limits our visibility, but all too alive just the same.
The real horrors here are executed by humans and they make tentacles and Cthulhu look downright silly. It's easy to overlook coups in other countries, easy to overlook the human rights violations and the often abominable acts. We don't seem them on our daily news, so to us they seem foreign and distant. But for the people living under military rule or the rule of dictators or religious leaders? They see these horrors every day and sadly, they are now just part of life. When anyone dares to look more closely, like Avendano for instance, who knows what horrors will befall them as a result? They may take the form of torture, they may take the form of torturing those you love, they can even make you torture yourself, and that's the worst torture of all. " The pain becomes an offering and sacrifice becomes a beacon."
A beacon to what? That is the question.
I've tried hard to impart to you the gravity as well as the beauty hidden behind that oh so lovely cover. I've tried to do it without spoiling anything, but I'm not sure I've succeeded. The writing is sublime and I got lost a few times, just ruminating on the beauty of the language. That doesn't happen often these days, but it happened several times within the pages of this beautiful, scary, depressing, lovely novella and for that reason I highly recommend this book.
Get your copy here: https://amzn.to/2PsjNFX
*I received a Kindle copy of this book in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it.*
exorcismofemilyreed's review
4.0
"Violence leaves its mark, and horror makes siblings of us all."
I wasn't entirely sure what to expect from The Sea Dreams It Is the Sky, and I'm so glad that I picked it up. This story immediately drew me in, and I was hooked the entire way through.
I'm impressed with the author's ability to do a great character study in such a short amount of time, along with having the horror of being exiled from a war-torn country surrounding it. I really enjoyed reading about the characters in this book, and I would continue reading about them if there ever happened to be more stories.
This book is heartbreaking, and it's very easy to get wrapped up in what the characters are feeling. The Sea Dreams It Is the Sky is a solid story across the board. I wish some more of my questions had been answered, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.
Thank you to Harper Voyager for sending me a copy in exchange for a review!
I wasn't entirely sure what to expect from The Sea Dreams It Is the Sky, and I'm so glad that I picked it up. This story immediately drew me in, and I was hooked the entire way through.
I'm impressed with the author's ability to do a great character study in such a short amount of time, along with having the horror of being exiled from a war-torn country surrounding it. I really enjoyed reading about the characters in this book, and I would continue reading about them if there ever happened to be more stories.
This book is heartbreaking, and it's very easy to get wrapped up in what the characters are feeling. The Sea Dreams It Is the Sky is a solid story across the board. I wish some more of my questions had been answered, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.
Thank you to Harper Voyager for sending me a copy in exchange for a review!
kmalexander's review
5.0
A masterpiece of modern cosmic horror that grounds itself in humanity. Jacobs does a lot with a little; his prose is lyrical and evocative. The setting and characters are captivating and unique to the genre. Moving cosmic horror away from the dreary hills of New England and to the streets of Málaga, Spain and the mountains of South America was a refreshing change. The result is a surprisingly deep novella that recasts cosmic horror’s themes with a raw originality. I was enthralled from start to finish.
biblioholicbeth's review
4.0
Such a dark and strange tale, where what you think you know has little to no bearing on reality. I'm not a big novella reader, as I tend to prefer more character development than what can often be found in them - simply due to space constraints. However, this one had no such difficulties - in part, I think, due to the fact that so much of the past of these two individuals is shrouded. Until it isn't, leaving the reader with more questions and a faint feeling of disquiet that lingered for a few days.
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