Well that’s a wrap for me for Halloween Bingo 2025. Last book. I can also say I am a little horror’ed out right now so am switching to some lighter stuff.
I thought Trouble the Waters was really good. Some stories hit home and others legit made my skin crawl (that crawdad story still is freaking me out).
Water Dreaming by Pan Morigan was a nice set up to this anthology.
We are Called to the Water by Troy L. Wiggins gives us a different perspective of how precious water is and how insane it is that some countries, cities, people have tried to declare it off limits or argue that it doesn’t need to be clean. Very pertinent today with the EPA guidelines being dropped.
Mami Wata, Goddess of Clear Blue by Linda D. Addison (3 stars)-A very solid poem. I really don’t care for poems though this one was solid.
After this the anthology starts and honestly I don’t have the energy right now to talk through all of the stories, but decided to give my thoughts on some of them with the understanding that I gave this collection 4 stars as a whole. I think there were about 30 stories all together plus the ones above, so this one took me a while, but it was a pleasure.
Seven Generations Algorithm by Andrea Hairston (5 stars)-A tale of a woman that is at her ancestor’s graves bringing them news of the world. One thing that hit me is that in this story, the CDC gets gutted in 2025 and polio came back to the south.
Water Beings by Pan Morigan (5 stars)-It does take a sec to get going, but the main protagonist is a French scientist who is being accused of somehow bringing the mysterious water beings to Earth. They are now spreading and seem to want something.
Love Hangover by Sheree Renee Thomas (3 stars)-I honestly got a bit confused about the mysterious Delilah. The ending got very confusing to me.
Seamonsters by Ama Patterson (3 stars)-Honestly thought this whole tale was haunting. A woman who is pregnant but seems to be dealing with the fact she’s not like everyone around her and has the sea calling to her. I won’t lie, parts of the story got a bit confusing to me since I didn’t know who the main character was talking to every time. I had to go back and re-read a few sentences multiple times.
Salt Baby by Nanna Arnadottir (5 stars)-A girl made of salt. It reads very much like a fairy tale I would have loved to read as a kid.
Juniper’s Song by Marie Vibbert (5 stars)-I loved the idea behind this story a lot. It follows a man named Jacques who is a herdsman trying to deal with whales. In space. I liked it. Very space operaish.
Portal by Mateo Hinojosa (4 stars)-I appreciated the foreword to this story that talks about the Andes and how they celebrate the dead on November 1 every year. He describes something called a puquio “step-well” and pachakuti, “when the world is inverted”. I thought this was a really strong story and I enjoyed it a lot, but thought it went on a bit too long.
Deep like the Rivers by Christopher Caldwell (5 stars)-Loved this story about a woman raising her son Isaiah who dreams of becoming a mermaid. I loved this story from beginning to end.
Ho’I Hou E Na Po by Gina McGuire (5 stars)-Takes place in Hawaii in the year 2100. And the world’s land is finally giving away to the ocean. The main character Uliana is about to travel to live under the sea with the rest of her people. This ending really took me by surprise. Definitely a gut punch. I also appreciated the glossary that came at the end of this story that tells you what certain words mean.
At the Opening of Bayou St. John by Shawn Scarber (5 stars)-A dark figure travels back and forth and takes dead children to someone that can love them. And every mother that brings forth their child is given a choice.
Mother of Crawdads by Betsy Phillips (5 stars)-This starts off with a banger (a woman “birthing” crawdads) and then works itself backwards. I don’t think I am touching seafood for a minute.
Dance of Myal by Maurice Broaddus (3 stars)-The story jumps around a bit, about a mysterious being that seems to be haunting the waters. I really liked the ending due to the imagery that was evoked.
Whimper by Nalo Hopkinson (4 stars)-I think this one hit me more because the beginning part is a song and it reminded me of The Drawing of the Three with those seamonsters and the noises they made. This one was very short, but really quick to the point with the ending.
I read this for Halloween Bingo 2025, “Fear the Drowning Deep.”