The ocean is one of the most terrifying real life things out there. Whether it's the unnerving creatures that have evolved to live at incredible depths, or just the miniature chill you get when a piece of seaweed grazes your leg, the sea has infinite potential for horror. I love the sea - I'll take swimming the sea over a pool any day but swimming over long seaweed or out to the point where the the water suddenly goes dark makes me very nervous. There have been some excellent sea based horror films, but I haven't really read any books of the genre so I was excited to see what was in store for me. Plus, with profits going to save the sharks, I'm all in. I recently watched a shark documentary featuring Chris Hemsworth called Shark Beach, which despite very obviously using Chris Hemsworth's chiselled abs as a draw, was actually very informative and interesting (come for the abs, stay for the shark swabbing) and helped cement this purchase. Save the sharks!
Terrror in the Trench is the first of several anthologies - the Dead Sea series - curated by Jay Alexander, and released in order to raise money for ocean conservation charity The Shark Trust. Fifteen terrifying tales set in and around the sea by a wide variety of horror authors. From monsters arising from the deep to humans exploring where they shouldn't, a whole host of aquatic scares are contained within.
What an absolute delight. Terror in the Trench is nothing if not fun. You might think that's it's a bit counterintuitive to inspire people to save the oceans by making them absolutely terrified of them, but I feel like it works? It certainly inspires respect! Of the 15 tales, there are quite a few that have similar themes, as mentioned above - things - coming up to the surface, or humans going down further than they should, with disastrous consequences, of course. However, this never feels samey, each tale has its own voice and manages to feel unique. There are a few that totally come out of left field - like "Escargot, Except it's You", about giant sea snails, or the phenomenally titled "Werewolves and Tentacles" which manages to combine deep sea horrors with telepathy, a black hole and - you guess it - a werewolf on the loose. Absolutely incredible.
As with any anthology there is of course going to be a mix of quality, and while there are certainly better ones and not so good ones, I don't think that any here are total flops. Some are certainly scarier than others, and a couple are downright terrifying. These tend to be the ones rooted in reality painting the picture of the real disasters awaiting our oceans - Light the Way by Megan Kiekal Anderson and The End of the Line by Jack Harding, a fitting ending the anthology. Because of the level of enjoyment I got from the whole book, I'm not sure I can pick a favourite - not even the rampant werewolf can steal the crown for me, but if you read it, please do let me know what your favourite is! Maybe, maybe, if you twisted my arm I'd go with Distress Call by Laurel Hightower because I cannot resist a ghost ship trope, and this also bodes well for the Laurel Hightower books currently sitting on my wishlist.
One of the extra cool parts of this book is the collection of author biographies at the back - it shows what a great mix of authors have been included in the anthology, which results in a great mix of characters too, including quite a few that you wouldn't usually see in the main character position of a horror - queer, disabled and POC characters are all featured and it really helps the individual stories to stand out. Hey, who knew that giving a diverse range of people an opportunity results in an overall better product [/s}. There are quite a few authors here that I'll be following up and investigating more of their work, while some, like Laurel Hightower, were already on my radar. Editor Jay Alexander has done a great job of selecting the stories here, and with Terror in the Trench being only the first in a series of Dead Sea Press horror anthologies, I'm excited to see what the others bring. There's also a list of content warnings, which is not something I ever really see in horror, but really thoughtful, and useful for those who want to dive into horror but are a little nervous about what they might find.
If you want fun, creepy deep sea chills, then this is for you. Plus, with every penny of profit going to help save the sharks and other marine life, you can totally justify this as a charity donation and buy yet another book totally guilt free!
Comments