I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Flowers for the Sea by Zin E. Rocklyn Published by Tordotcom on October 19 2021
Genres: Adult, Fantasy
Pages: 112
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
The nitty-gritty: Unsettling and atmospheric, I loved some of the elements, but the author’s writing style kept me from completely enjoying this story.
“Hope has no place on this vessel of death and disease, aimless and everlasting in its path.”
This is an odd one, folks. Flowers for the Sea is an atmospheric, angry tale about an oppressed pregnant woman and the challenges she faces on board a ship. There are elements I really loved, like the ocean setting, the dangerous environment the main character finds herself in, and the underlying terror of something monstrous in the ocean that is preying on the people aboard the ship. But to be honest, it was the writing style that held me back from loving this more, and I found it very hard to connect emotionally with Iraxi, for some reason.
In a post apocalyptic future, the oceans have risen and covered the land, and the story revolves around a ship full of survivors that has been sailing non stop for nearly five years. On board is a woman named Iraxi who is about to give birth. Iraxi and her people are feared and ridiculed by others on the ship. Her dark skin and hair set her apart, as well as her strong, otherworldly smell and the fact that she has an affinity with the sea. Iraxi does not want her child and seems almost afraid of it, but she has no choice because the baby is about to be born whether she likes it or not.
That’s the story in a nutshell. Most of it is a build-up to the actual birth, which is pretty terrifying. Iraxi is assisted by a midwife named Ket. She’s having hallucinations about the baby bursting through her stomach à la Alien, and she’s seeing tentacled creatures in the ocean that no one else can see. She’s harassed by the baby’s (supposed) father Hirat, who won’t leave her alone. And at night, deadly monsters called razorfangs attack anyone on deck after dark. It’s quite a gloomy set up, and the entire story made me very uncomfortable—and that’s not a negative, by the way. Rocklyn definitely nails the atmosphere, and it was my favorite element.
We get glimpses into Iraxi’s past, and the tragedy that befell her family due to racial hatred and ignorance. But even knowing what a hard life she’s lived, I just couldn’t connect with her on an emotional level. And I believe Rocklyn’s writing style had a lot to do with that. I felt the writing was overly formal and awkward at times, which gave the story a disjointed feel.
This is a visceral, moody story that should have worked for me, given it’s filled with horror elements that I usually love. The sudden, shocking ending, which left me with that “What just happened?” feeling, was too abrupt, and I wanted to care more about Iraxi’s plight than I did.
With thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.
I didn’t know about the razorfangs. That’d be scary. The setting (claustrophobic, damp, dark) sounds awesome. It’s too bad the writing style fell short.
Priscilla Bettis recently posted…Short Story Accepted!
I actually wanted more razorfangs. The story just wasn’t long enough to develop all the cool ideas.
There’s the story, itself, and then how it’s told. And it’s amazing how the telling can play such a large part in our enjoyment.
Yes, I agree. And readers react differently to different writing styles, so you just never know.
Yeah definitely sounds like an odd one, I’m kind of worried about starting it now, if you gave it only a 3!
Who knows, it might work for you…
Not one for me being a novella but shame it didn’t work it’s magic on you.
Lynn 😀
It was a little on the short side for sure.
Interesting review. It’s a beautiful cover, but based on your thoughts (and that I don’t usually appreicate novellas), I think I’ll skip it.
The cover actually is perfect for the story, they really nailed it. But yeah, I wish I had enjoyed this more.
That sucks when the writing style gets in the way of fully enjoying a story. That happened to me too with a fairly recent read.
Yeah, it’s too bad. I loved the story idea.
A story can be gripping, and its characters fascinating, but when the writing style does not match with them both – or with the reader’s tastes – it’s possible to spoil a perfectly good tale…
Maddalena@spaceandsorcery recently posted…BECOMING SUPERMAN, by J. Michael Strackzynski
I am so glad that you felt pretty much the exact same way as I did! I felt like I was missing something, but maybe IT was missing something, too! I agree that the author nailed the atmosphere though! Great review!
Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight recently posted…November 2021 Of Books Giveaway Hop