Customer Reviews

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

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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.