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lyndajdickson's review
4.0
OCEANS: The Anthology is a collection of 12 short stories by 12 different authors, each with an ocean-based theme. This review is for the story "Tide Sweeping" by P. K. Tyler.
"Tide Sweeping": Dust and sand have devoured the Earth, leaving behind only pockets of salt water protected by Sweepers, loyal to the Tide.
Jasja has an unusual job. Known as the Sweeper, she keeps watch over the last Ocean on earth, located inside a Temple in the Arctic Desert. She is destined to live her life here, with no love, no children, and no distractions from her duty. But Frosten is proving to be a bit of a distraction as he performs his daily maintenance on the Temple. Today is the day of the Offering, which occurs once every twenty years. What is the secret of the Offering?
Jasja lives in a different time, as evidenced by the existence of the Arctic Desert. The author creates a vivid image of this future through her skillful use of language. Not wishing to give away too much, the world has come full circle, with this future world sharing some very disturbing similarities with ancient civilizations.
This is a compelling tale of responsibility, destiny, and duty. I would love this story to have been a bit longer, further exploring Jasja's past and especially her relationship with Frosten.
I received this book in return for an honest review.
Full blog post (26 September): https://booksdirectonline.blogspot.com/2017/09/oceans-by-p-k-tyler.html
"Tide Sweeping": Dust and sand have devoured the Earth, leaving behind only pockets of salt water protected by Sweepers, loyal to the Tide.
Jasja has an unusual job. Known as the Sweeper, she keeps watch over the last Ocean on earth, located inside a Temple in the Arctic Desert. She is destined to live her life here, with no love, no children, and no distractions from her duty. But Frosten is proving to be a bit of a distraction as he performs his daily maintenance on the Temple. Today is the day of the Offering, which occurs once every twenty years. What is the secret of the Offering?
Jasja lives in a different time, as evidenced by the existence of the Arctic Desert. The author creates a vivid image of this future through her skillful use of language. Not wishing to give away too much, the world has come full circle, with this future world sharing some very disturbing similarities with ancient civilizations.
This is a compelling tale of responsibility, destiny, and duty. I would love this story to have been a bit longer, further exploring Jasja's past and especially her relationship with Frosten.
I received this book in return for an honest review.
Full blog post (26 September): https://booksdirectonline.blogspot.com/2017/09/oceans-by-p-k-tyler.html
estromdotcom's review
1.0
(more towards 1.25 because there were one or two decent stories in this)
Good idea, mediocre execution. There were a couple decent stories, but overall the writing was not that great, and often things got heavy-handed and melodramatic when discussing the oceans' future. An okay, like, beach read, I guess?
Good idea, mediocre execution. There were a couple decent stories, but overall the writing was not that great, and often things got heavy-handed and melodramatic when discussing the oceans' future. An okay, like, beach read, I guess?
lamusadelils's review
5.0
Aunque fui atraída básicamente por el título y por Ken Liu, debo decir que fue una grata sorpresa encontrar tal variedad de excelentes historias y conocer tantos nombres nuevos.
Creo que había leído una o dos de la historias en otro punto, pero todas juntas en contexto me parecieron fabulosas. El mar es de las cosas que más me fascinan y me gustó poder leer sobre el desde varios ángulos y en diferentes estilos.
No estoy segura de si el resto de las antologías de Frontiers of Speculative Fiction son exactamente de mi interés, pero si tienen está calidad me apunto.
Creo que había leído una o dos de la historias en otro punto, pero todas juntas en contexto me parecieron fabulosas. El mar es de las cosas que más me fascinan y me gustó poder leer sobre el desde varios ángulos y en diferentes estilos.
No estoy segura de si el resto de las antologías de Frontiers of Speculative Fiction son exactamente de mi interés, pero si tienen está calidad me apunto.
redrocketpanda's review
4.0
I have been so excited to read this anthology ever since I stumbled across it on Amazon a few months ago and it did not disappoint! Read for Ocean Day (8th June).
Featuring 12 fantastic stories of varying lengths, OCEANS is an enjoyable read from start to finish. All stories are obviously ocean themed but I loved how each author approached the theme in such unique ways from a Sweeper who is charged with protecting the last pocket of ocean from being devoured by sands, a community of genetically altered humans who dwell in the seas and build pipelines to power the cities for land humans, and a sister who can't stop hearing the siren call of the sea, to stories which tackle environmental issues head on in true speculative fiction fashion!
My favourites of the anthology included:
- Tide Sweeping by P.K Tyler
- Dancing in the Midnight Ocean by Caroline M. Yoachim
- New Years Eve by Joshua Ingle
- Girt by Sea by S. Elliot Brandis
Another thing I really appreciated was that at the end of each story there is a neat little authors note about their contribution as well as more info about them and their work. I'll definitely be adding some of their books to my TBR!
OCEANS is the second anthology in the Fronteirs of Speculative Fiction series which you can get on Amazon for only £3.50 on Amazon, and the first collection CLONES (which also looks amazing) is only £4. Well worth the money!
Check out my full review of the Oceans anthology on my blog!
Featuring 12 fantastic stories of varying lengths, OCEANS is an enjoyable read from start to finish. All stories are obviously ocean themed but I loved how each author approached the theme in such unique ways from a Sweeper who is charged with protecting the last pocket of ocean from being devoured by sands, a community of genetically altered humans who dwell in the seas and build pipelines to power the cities for land humans, and a sister who can't stop hearing the siren call of the sea, to stories which tackle environmental issues head on in true speculative fiction fashion!
My favourites of the anthology included:
- Tide Sweeping by P.K Tyler
- Dancing in the Midnight Ocean by Caroline M. Yoachim
- New Years Eve by Joshua Ingle
- Girt by Sea by S. Elliot Brandis
Another thing I really appreciated was that at the end of each story there is a neat little authors note about their contribution as well as more info about them and their work. I'll definitely be adding some of their books to my TBR!
OCEANS is the second anthology in the Fronteirs of Speculative Fiction series which you can get on Amazon for only £3.50 on Amazon, and the first collection CLONES (which also looks amazing) is only £4. Well worth the money!
Check out my full review of the Oceans anthology on my blog!
laffingkat's review
5.0
If you enjoy speculative fiction short stories, I highly recommend this ocean-themed anthology. The stories are well-written, original, and often surprising. While there are many dark or violent moments in these stories, they are tempered with beauty, hope, and humor. Unlike many other speculative fiction collections I've read, this doesn't feel overly grim to me.
It would be hard for me to choose a favorite from this collection. The opening story, “Bug Eater” by [a:Nathan M. Beauchamp|8405810|Nathan M. Beauchamp|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1463516484p2/8405810.jpg], was a creepy dystopian with an unsettling twist at the end. I'm generally not fond of dystopian stories, but I liked this one.
I found the next story, another dystopian called "Tide Sweeping" by [a:P.K. Tyler|14678447|P.K. Tyler|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1448410086p2/14678447.jpg], to be sad but alluring. This story featured beautiful imagery and appealing characters who I longed to learn more about.
If you enjoy mythology and reimaginings of classic stories as much as I do, you'll likely appreciate [a:Daniel Arthur Smith|6893816|Daniel Arthur Smith|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1410184442p2/6893816.jpg]'s lyrical "The Titan's Daughter."
“Dancing in the Midnight Ocean” by [a:Caroline M. Yoachim|4412920|Caroline M. Yoachim|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1454339768p2/4412920.jpg] uses an inventive take on mermaids to explore issues of love and beauty. I initially didn't like these characters much, but I warmed up to them, and I found the ending very satisfying.
"The Hunt for the Vigilant" by [a:Alex Shvartsman|4063834|Alex Shvartsman|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1461291789p2/4063834.jpg] is a humorous take on capitalism, magic, and eldritch horrors. I'm not sure how well this one will age, but it's fun to see a story that incorporates current events and pop culture icons in a collection like this.
I loved how [a:Will Swardstrom|7123793|Will Swardstrom|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] used a real medical condition in such a creative way in "Aquagenic," a story that explores friendship and identity and purpose.
I received a free ARC of this book from one of the authors and volunteered to review it. The version I reviewed was generally well written, well edited, and cleanly formatted. I noticed only a few typos. This should be appropriate for a wide audience.
It would be hard for me to choose a favorite from this collection. The opening story, “Bug Eater” by [a:Nathan M. Beauchamp|8405810|Nathan M. Beauchamp|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1463516484p2/8405810.jpg], was a creepy dystopian with an unsettling twist at the end. I'm generally not fond of dystopian stories, but I liked this one.
I found the next story, another dystopian called "Tide Sweeping" by [a:P.K. Tyler|14678447|P.K. Tyler|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1448410086p2/14678447.jpg], to be sad but alluring. This story featured beautiful imagery and appealing characters who I longed to learn more about.
If you enjoy mythology and reimaginings of classic stories as much as I do, you'll likely appreciate [a:Daniel Arthur Smith|6893816|Daniel Arthur Smith|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1410184442p2/6893816.jpg]'s lyrical "The Titan's Daughter."
“Dancing in the Midnight Ocean” by [a:Caroline M. Yoachim|4412920|Caroline M. Yoachim|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1454339768p2/4412920.jpg] uses an inventive take on mermaids to explore issues of love and beauty. I initially didn't like these characters much, but I warmed up to them, and I found the ending very satisfying.
"The Hunt for the Vigilant" by [a:Alex Shvartsman|4063834|Alex Shvartsman|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1461291789p2/4063834.jpg] is a humorous take on capitalism, magic, and eldritch horrors. I'm not sure how well this one will age, but it's fun to see a story that incorporates current events and pop culture icons in a collection like this.
I loved how [a:Will Swardstrom|7123793|Will Swardstrom|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] used a real medical condition in such a creative way in "Aquagenic," a story that explores friendship and identity and purpose.
I received a free ARC of this book from one of the authors and volunteered to review it. The version I reviewed was generally well written, well edited, and cleanly formatted. I noticed only a few typos. This should be appropriate for a wide audience.
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