I Read Books: The Flesh Of The Sea
The Flesh Of The Sea
His work on snails not considered original enough Wilford Bowen leaves England on a naval ship, signing on as doctor. He is swiftly captured by pirates on the ship Sea Goddess, who need him to deal with parasitic wasps that are infesting them. This begins a series of adventures detailed in his letters to his friend Jean Baptiste De Beaupré. These are interspersed with Jean’s notes in his journal about his reactions to Wilford’s escapades which slowly move into action.
These are adventures that mostly revolve around strange monsters. There include glowing whales, flying jellyfish, lobsters that are colonised by slime molds, sirens and the Flock a gestalt being made up of birds. Other mysteries emerge, including the Sea Goddess herself, a creature that sexually controls the pirate ship’s crew. Not Wilford though, who is gay and in love with Jean, though was unable to realise this back in England. Only by escaping to the sea can he understand.
Jean, receiving these letters, attempts to have Wilford rescued, but is turned down by both the Navy and the Royal Society, who think Wilford’s descriptions of these creatures are ridiculous. He comes to the conclusion that so great is his love, he will have to find him himself. As such he joins the ship Watchman’s Favour, which has it’s own strange controlling creature in the crows nest.
If I note that the story does not rigorously reflect the actual dealings of the Royal Society, pirates, the law on piracy, or travel in the 18th century, it seems superfluous when there are carnivorous plants that lay out lures of treasure to trap sailors. Nevertheless I have to say I had to get up and walk around for a few minutes when an entry dated August 23rd 1760 has a reference to traveling by train from London to Bristol, a line that was not opened until 1841.
It treats injury, death, possession and sex with monsters lightly, moving swiftly from one weird event to the next. Slightly less lightly the slow burn realisation of the two protagonists that they should be together. Fun, breezy, gleefully ahistorical, occasionally gruesome.
Read This: Weird monster adventures while an epistolary romance
goes on
Don’t Read This: People get horribly killed and mutilated,
also taken over by strange gods
I Received A Review Copy: From Hedone Books
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