Name: Heavy Oceans
ISBN: 9781998851263

Tyler Jones

Darklit Press

From Tyler Jones, author of MIDAS and BURN THE PLANS, one of Esquire's Best Horror Books of 2022, comes a story of deep sea terror and cosmic horror. Struggling with the pressures of being a new father and the weight of regrets, Jamie Fletcher travels to Hawaii in hopes of connecting with his estranged brother, Eric. After a shocking act of violence, the brothers end up on a fishing boat--along with the captain and his son--in the middle of the ocean, where they encounter an uncanny and terrifying phenomenon that will signal a shift in the evolution of the world.

Heavy Oceans

This starts out as an almost familial drama. Jamie travels to Hawaii to reconnect with his brother Eric. He’s also running from his mistakes and the pressure of fatherhood. But after hardly any relaxation time, the story turns the violence up to a whole new level. The author takes no time at all to crack on into this one.

A drug deal gone wrong, a fist fight gone too far. Now Jamie, Eric, and Eric’s boss and his son, are out on the open ocean, hoping to dispose of a problem before it starts. What follows this time—and I did go into this entirely blind—is another tonal shift as the author brings on almost-Lovecraftian cosmic horrors. There were twists I did not expect, and the under-ocean world shift made me think of Pirates of the Caribbean when they flipped the boat in Davy Jones’ Locker. Although this shift felt much more like a science fiction twist.

I’ll be honest, I haven’t quite gotten along with cosmic horror. And while I did enjoy this, I was much more a fan of the parts that were about the brothers. And I believe a little length might have helped me to connect with them and their struggles. I honestly thought at first it would be a crime/murder novella. That, and I expected more of the ocean to come into play, although the creepy ‘being’ taking over deep sea creatures was definitely a highlight. The infected water, as well as the ‘being’ itself, felt like a mix of The Sundowner’s Dance by Todd Keisling with the more scientific infection from Symbiote by Michael Nayak. Both those if they were meshed with the scifi ending of The Sound of Suffering by Mark Towse. All of which definitely published after this one, so if you’ve liked anything I’ve said, or if you are a fan of cosmic horror—this is definitely unique!—this could be a hit for you!

C. J. Daley 

This starts out as an almost familial drama. Jamie travels to Hawaii to reconnect with his brother Eric. He’s also running from his mistakes and the pressure of fatherhood. But after hardly any relaxation time, the story turns the violence up to a whole new level. The author takes no time at all to crack on into this one.

A drug deal gone wrong, a fist fight gone too far. Now Jamie, Eric, and Eric’s boss and his son, are out on the open ocean, hoping to dispose of a problem before it starts. What follows this time—and I did go into this entirely blind—is another tonal shift as the author brings on almost-Lovecraftian cosmic horrors. There were twists I did not expect, and the under-ocean world shift made me think of Pirates of the Caribbean when they flipped the boat in Davy Jones’ Locker. Although this shift felt much more like a science fiction twist.

I’ll be honest, I haven’t quite gotten along with cosmic horror. And while I did enjoy this, I was much more a fan of the parts that were about the brothers. And I believe a little length might have helped me to connect with them and their struggles. I honestly thought at first it would be a crime/murder novella. That, and I expected more of the ocean to come into play, although the creepy ‘being’ taking over deep sea creatures was definitely a highlight. The infected water, as well as the ‘being’ itself, felt like a mix of The Sundowner’s Dance by Todd Keisling with the more scientific infection from Symbiote by Michael Nayak. Both those if they were meshed with the scifi ending of The Sound of Suffering by Mark Towse. All of which definitely published after this one, so if you’ve liked anything I’ve said, or if you are a fan of cosmic horror—this is definitely unique!—this could be a hit for you!