Elizabeth's Reviews > Sea Tales

As of this moment, this book has one review and only three ratings (not including mine). That's a pity, because Steve Vernon's Sea Tales deserves to be read by a much wider audience. Unfortunately, that audience is not I. I DNF'd after only 4 of the 7 stories.

The writing is great. Moody, atmospheric, gripping. Characters are more nuanced and developed in their few pages here than some other characters are in novels. This author really knows his craft.

That said, I don't care for his style. I stopped reading Stephen King because I decided that gruesome horror tales are not for me, and it turns out, that a large part of what this collection is. I don't know if I'd call this horror, per se—maybe disturbing magical realism—but the subject matter is a little too disturbing for me. If you like authors with excellent skill, are okay with supernatural elements in tales, and can stomach a few morbid and unsettling plot twists, you may love this book.