Sea Tales

Stories to SERIOUSLY Creep You Out

By: Steve Vernon

Narrated by: Stephen Richard Planalp

Length: 3 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

Let's face it. About 75 percent of the world is covered in water - and of that water nearly 97 percent of it can be found in the sea. Maritimers will tell you that there is a story for every wave that has ever washed upon the shoreline. Here are seven of them.

"In the Dark and the Deep" offers a very haunting yarn of World War 2 convoy duty and a sailor who made and kept a terrible bargain.

"Harry's Mermaid" introduces you to a group of homeless men who catch something that MIGHT be a mermaid. If that doesn't tell you enough about this story just try and imagine what Steinbeck's Cannery Row would read like if it had been written by HP Lovecraft.

"I Know Why the Waters of the Sea Taste of Salt" is a tale of an Okinawa-based Japanese Air Force suicide pilot and his encounter with a sea monster - of sorts.

"Finbar's Story" is a dark fantasy tale of the deeper currents that eddy and flow within the deep quiet currents of a man's cold heart.

"The Woman Who Lost Her Tooth From Laughing Too Loudly at the Sea" is a quiet little fable of salt water, tears, and regret.

"Between You-Know-Who and the Deep Dark Blue" is a story of the last bargain on earth.

This collection begins with a bargain and ends with a bargain. Sounds like a heck of a bargain to me.

What folks are saying about Steve Vernon's writing:

"If Harlan Ellison, Richard Matheson and Robert Bloch had a three-way sex romp in a hot tub, and then a team of scientists came in and filtered out the water and mixed the leftover DNA into a test tube, the resulting genetic experiment would most likely grow up into Steve Vernon." (Bookgasm) "Steve Vernon is something of an anomaly in the world of horror literature. He's one of the freshest new voices in the genre although his career has spanned twenty years. Writing with a rare swagger and confidence, Steve Vernon can lead his readers through an entire gamut of emotions from outright fear and repulsion to pity and laughter." (Cemetery Dance)

©2014 Steve Vernon (P)2017 2017

Fun & Spooky Tales

The narration wasn't great overall (echo-y, low quality recording with a few odd noises), a bit slow (although that's better than too fast, particularly when trying to dramatize a story). There was the nice (but brief) inclusion of some atmospheric music -- would've been nice to have had more and given it more of a radio-drama feel. The reading and acting was emotional and leant a lot to the story!

The stories captured the feel of old-timey horror fairly well and were overall well-written and performed. I enjoy the occasional old-fashioned supernatural tale, and so does my family, so I'll be keeping this to share with them. I can imagine playing it around the fire on Halloween.

I received a review copy of this audiobook.

My Favorite Steve Vernon Book (So Far)

I really enjoyed this set of sea related short stories. While the "Stories to SERIOUSLY Creep You Out" is a bit misleading, the stories were compelling and imaginative. While some are more horror oriented than others, all of the stories have an edge of darkness and tragedy to them. Compared to the other Steve Vernon works I've read, this one was very subdued and more thoughtful, which I found worked really well.

Stephen Richard Planalp does a fantastic job narrating and really helped bring the characters to life. The only issue I found was that the audio quality itself isn't very good, but aside from that the content and quality of narration are solid.

I received a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Short scary stories.

Over all the stories were great! Some of the first few stories had lots of background noise when it was recorded. Nothing to bad but was a bit annoying, most were fine though. If you want some fun strange and scary stories check it out.

Some are better than others but none are bad

So I actually didn’t initially realize this was a collection of short stories. I was waiting for a time when I would be able to listen to the entire book since I believed it was one short story. I finally listened to it today and I liked all the stories although some aren’t what I would consider horror and are more folklore. It was a nice mixup of stories but the audio wasn’t the best. There were times in between chapters with dead silence where I thought my phone was pausing bc I was receiving a call. The narrator isn’t bad but I think his talent would be better displayed if the recording was better. This is the second book I’ve listened to by this author and I think he will be the new Stephen King or Dean Koontz!

Fun, Imaginative stories.

I wouldn’t say that these stories are going to terrify you, but some will certainly send chills down your spine. They are very imaginative and the narrator is fantastic at pulling you along for the ride. Overall a very fun listen that I would gladly visit again!

Sing a shanty and settle in to the deep sea

Steve Vernon can really smack out some short stories. I was first introduced to his work via Kelpie Dreams, followed by Kelpie Snow, and Harry's Mermaid (which is in this book). I also read his novella, Rueful Regret, and I decided that he is, simply put, a great writer. He must have a deep and abiding love of the sea, because he writes about it alot. Which is good for us as readers, because he knows how to write.

Out of all the stories, I think my favorite was In the Dark and the Deep, but the others are all good, too. Like I said, I had read Harry's Mermaid, and I also enjoyed I Know Why the Waters of the Sea Taste of Salt and the Woman who lost her tooth! It really is hard to pick out any single best story. These aren't "scary" tales, but they are creepy, and you will think about them for some time afterwards, and you won't look at the ocean the same way again. Even though I did receive a promo code for this review it in no way influenced my considerations of the material, and in fact, inspired me to be more honest. In fact, getting a code generally makes me harsher as a reviewer as I am more often concerned what someone like Me will decide based on my review.

Stephen Richard Planalp does a great job narrating. He has tone that really sets a mood, and he plays the characters well, providing each a voice distinct and unique. He knows how to sell a story, and really makes you feel the events (like getting swallowed alive).

This is a fun collection of weird and creepy sea stories that will provide a perfect way to spend a few hours.