The Sea Was a Fair Master by Calvin Demmer

Well, holy shit! It’s not every day that I laugh my ass off while reading about people getting slaughtered in various ways, but damn, this book was so bizarre, that every story made me break out in that nervous sort of chuckle I usually reserve for situations like the one in which my neighbour who is old enough to be my dad announces that he will take me out for dinner one day, and I’m just like “yeah, okay, bye, please kill me now”…

The Sea Was a Fair Master by Calvin Demmer

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Flash Fiction, Dark Fantasy
Published: 5th June, 2018
Goodreads | Amazon UK
Series: N/A
Rating: 5

The world’s fate lies with a comatose young girl; an android wants to remember a human she once knew under Martian skies; men at sea learn that the ocean is a realm far different from land, where an unforgiving god rules; a school security guard discovers extreme English class; and a man understands what the behemoth beneath the sea commands of him.
The Sea Was a Fair Master is a collection of 23 stories, riding the currents of fantasy, science fiction, crime, and horror. There are tales of murder, death, loss, revenge, greed, and hate. There are also tales of hope, survival, and love.
For the sea was a fair master.

Writing short stories is hard, because you need to get your point across pretty quickly, but at the same time provide enough details that the readers won’t get bored out of their brains because of your dry ass wall of text. Writing flash fiction is even harder, but not for Calvin Demmer. He pulled this one off like a boss. Each and every story punches you in the face with such precision that you have no idea just what hit you. Since the stories are barely three pages long, this collection of stories is the perfect sneak read for a smoke break, or when you have five minutes for a coffee while your clients are hitting redial with your number like there’s no tomorrow and you just want to get away for a breather.

An eclectic selection of delicious and dark tales, The Sea Was a Fair Master will have something for everyone: ghosts, creepy little girls, mythical creatures, blood and guts, you name it. My favourite ones were the one about the android who tries to be people, and a ghost story that had some serious H.P. Lovecraft vibes.

Who is Calvin Demmer?

Calvin Demmer is a dark fiction author. His debut collection, The Sea Was a Fair Master, was released in June 2018. When not writing, he is intrigued by that which goes bump in the night and the sciences of our universe.

Where can you find him?
Twitter @CalvinDemmer
www.calvindemmer.com

 

I received a copy of this book from the author, but it did not influence my opinion.