Dark bleatings, my unquiet tribe! I’m here to absolutely rave about Thana Niveau’s Unquiet Waters today, because it’s – hands down – one of the best collections I’ve ever read, and I’m obsessed with these stories.
To Drown the World
EXCELLENT!! Such a compelling story. A guy grows up loving his sister, though he finds her main interests odd. She loves the sea, the water, the seaside, and is particularly fascinated by things that come from the sea. Her brother makes a rare visit to her and when he gets there, worries that she’s a little unhinged. She’s enthusiastic and happy but her interest appears to have become a delusional obsession, and he’s really concerned about her mental health. So, of course, he tries to help.
This story was so odd, so beautifully told, and so appropriately flowing, considering the theme. It had a real feel of ‘something bigger than us’, and in a twisted way, it felt like a tale of karma. I loved it.
The Reflection
Sooooo creepy. Allan awakes from nightmares and then when he starts his day, he is constantly confused. The coffee shop girl tells him he was just there, and someone has already logged on with his credentials when he gets to work. The further into Allan’s day I went, the more unnerved I became. It felt like the world as I know it was tilting, just off-kilter, warped and wrong. Great atmosphere and a great horror story.
Rapture of the Deep
Holy carp (bahdadumtsch), this was great. It really reminds me of 47 Metres Down but without the silliness that films gets into. Two sisters go diving in hope of swimming freely with hammerhead sharks. This alone is nightmare fuel for me, but these women are made of sturdier stuff than I am, clearly. One of them is going through a recent painful breakup, the other is an adventurous outdoorsy type trying to show her a great time. They dive and find the sharks but something, besides what you might consider the obvious if you fear sharks like I do, is very VERY weird and wrong. There are things going on in the depths that we can’t even imagine. Only, this author has imagined it, and it’ll definitely keep me out of the water.
You know, cosmic horror aside, I don’t tend to come across supernatural horror like this in sea-set horror. Such a refreshing change in the hundreds of short stories I’ve already read this year.
Where the Water Comes In
A woman who feels a sort of symbiosis with the water, and the sea specifically, is going about her day, noticing the house getting damper, flooding, etc. She sees a male figure but can’t communicate with him like normal. Something paranormal or supernatural is afoot, clearly. I can’t tell you anything else about this besides that it’s an emotional, dark story that’s also very satisfying.
Overall, what we have here is a truly outstanding water-themed horror collection with a whole lot of flair, flavour, and fun. I don’t know what it says about me that I found the themes contained here fun, but I do know that I had an absolute blast reading it. One of my favourites in the Shadows collection for sure, and I think it’s my favourite collection of the year so far.
I’d recommend it to everyone. If you’d like to check out the book or the author, I’ve popped some links below for you:
Bleeeeat!
Happy Goat Horror 
Leave a comment