Cetus Insolitus: Sea Serpents, Giant Cephalopods, and Other Marine Monsters in Classic Science Fiction and Fantasy [Paperback]

Chad Arment (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 10, 2008

Cetus Insolitus is an anthology of twenty-six classic sea monster stories, from giant squid and invisible octopuses to sea serpents and strange deadly fish. The stories range from the humorous to the darkly apocalyptic. Well-known stories by authors like H. G. Wells and William Hope Hodgson are compiled with pieces that have rarely been seen since their first publication in the 1800s or early 1900s. The stories include The Tail of the Big Sea-Serpent, Jim Newman's Yarn: Or, A Sight of the Sea Serpent, A Real Sea-Serpent, A Matter of Fact, The Rival Beauties, The Sea Raiders, In the Abyss, The Last Stand of the Decapods, The Voyage of the "Mary Simpson", Out of the Deep, The Sea Serpent Syndicate, A Tropical Horror, From the Tideless Sea, The Terror of the Sea Caves, The Mystery of the Derelict, Winkler Ashore: The Sea-Serpent, Crew Saved by Sea Serpent, The Thing in the Weeds, The Finding of the Graiken, From the Darkness and the Depths, The Stone Ship, De Profundis, Demons of the Sea, The Habitants of Middle Islet, The Finless Death, and The Octopus Cycle.

Product Details

• Paperback: 396 pages
• Publisher: Coachwhip Publications (December 10, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1930585667
• ISBN-13: 978-1930585669
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #490,516 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sea Serpents, Fearsome Fish and Octopi, Oh My!, February 8, 2010

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Dino Dan (Minnesota) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Cetus Insolitus: Sea Serpents, Giant Cephalopods, and Other Marine Monsters in Classic Science Fiction and Fantasy (Paperback)

Here be sea monsters! 26 stories written between 1848 and 1928, with most from the decade before and after 1900. The majority feature one of two scenarios, almost to cliche: An undersea volcano brings a monster to the surface, or a ship enters the Sargasso Sea and must deal with the denizens.

However, there are also tales of derelict ships, deep sea civillizations, and almost anthropomorphic squid. Some of the tales (especially earlier ones involving sea serpents), utilize an overly humorous approach, obviously not to be taken seriously. Others are rather bizarre, such as the War of the Worlds-like 'Out of the Deep' by Owen Oliver, with the land invaded by giant fish in flying machines who subsequently 'fish' for humans. Like any anthology, some tales seem better than others, but it's always subjective.

'The Sea Raiders', about lethal purring octopi, and 'In The Abyss', the discovery of a deep sea civillization, both written by H.G. Wells, were my favorite stories. Also good were the tragic (for the monster) tales of 'A Matter of Fact' by Rudyard Kipling and 'De Profundis' by H. de Vere Stacpoole. Additional noteworthy stories are 'From the Tideless Sea' by William Hope Hodgson, featuring an almost Edgar Allen Poe-like dread, the invisible monster in 'From the Darkness and the Depths' by Morgan Robertson, and the somewhat Lovecraftian 'The Finless Death' by Robert Ernest Vernede.

I recommend this book if you enjoy classic literature, especially of the mysterious creature/adventurer style. However, it's also fascinating to see how the sea and it's inhabitants were viewed by writers a century ago.