The Haunted Ocean
Reviewed by Mario Guslandi
There are some writers, ( MR James and HP Lovecraft, to mention a few) whose work has influenced generations or writers and continues to do so.
William Hope Hodgson is another standing example of a dark fantasy author who even today has a number of literary disciples. His ghost stories featuring Carnacki, the sleuth of the occult, have recently found a sequel in a bunch of new tales thanks to the joined efforts of AF (Chico) Kidd and Rick Kennett.
Another important portion of Hodgson’s fiction is represented by his sea terror tales (The Ghost pirates, The Boats of the Glen Carrig etc), a legacy which seems to have been taken up by the eclectic author/editor/publisher John B Ford.
He has already successfully tried his hand at Hodgosian pastiches with stories such as “The Sea of Strangeness” , “Within the Sea of Dead” and “The Things in the Weed”, which have gained critical appraisal, not to mention the excellent novelette “The derelict of death” written in collaboration with Simon Clark.
Here Ford comes back with a new Hodgsonian novelette by the promising title “The haunted ocean” ,where once again he manages to effectively recreate the atmosphere of Hodgson’s sea terror tales.
The plot starts with the finding of a battered lifeboat floating amidst a layer of weeds, hiding under its canvas cover the corpses of four men and, conveniently enough, a manuscript sealed in waterproof parchment which turns out to be a full account of the events occurred during the sailors’ last days of life.
So we learn that they were part of the crew on board of the “Sea Empress”, a ship suddenly seized by a terrible storm , pushed towards the treacherous waters of the Sargasso Sea and then stuck in an expanse of seaweeds inhabited by giant crabs, malicious devil-fish and alien murderous creatures. The encounter with a mysterious derelict, covered with a strange white dust and hosting the corpses of a man and a woman, heralds the discovery of a strange island full of deadly plants and frightful incarnations of Evil itself...
I don’t want to spoil the readers’ pleasure by giving away too much. Even though this is not my favourite genre of fiction, I must admit that Ford handles the story so masterly to create a fascinating narrative where a constant sense of dread follows the reader for page after page.
If you love sea horror stories “The haunted ocean” is a must, but even if you don’t , believe me, this novelette is worth reading. In addition, the volume is beautifully produced and includes a number of superb illustrations by the talented Steve Lines which make the book particularly attractive.
(From Supernatural Tales # 8, Fall 2004)
