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OCEANS: The Anthology (Frontiers of Speculative Fiction Book 2) Kindle Edition

by Ken Liu (Author), Rysa Walker (Author), Daniel Arthur Smith (Author), Format: Kindle Edition

4.0 196 ratings

Book 2 of 2: Frontiers of Speculative Fiction

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“It is an interesting biological fact that all of us have in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears.
We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea--whether it is to sail or to watch it--we are going back from whence we came.”
- John F. Kennedy

Underwater cities, lost civilizations, crops, climate change, and dead zones.
In this collection of ocean-themed stories, twelve of today’s top speculative fiction writers explore our morality, our built-in societal restraints, and reflect upon our state of grace.
The waves roll in, the waves roll out.

“OCEANS: The Anthology” features stories from bestselling authors such as winner of the Nebula, Hugo, and World Fantasy awards Ken Liu, Rysa Walker (the Chronos series), Daniel Arthur Smith (Tales from the Canyons of the Damned), R.D. Brady (the Belial series), Alex Shvartsman (the Unidentified Funny Objects series), P.K. Tyler (the UnCommon series), plus six more of today’s top authors in speculative and science fiction.

Daniel Arthur Smith presents OCEANS: THE ANTHOLOGY, book 2 of the 2 book Frontiers of Speculative Fiction series that began with the top-ranking CLONES: The Anthology!

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0756NZNPP
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Holt Smith ltd (September 26, 2017)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 26, 2017
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1742 KB
Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 296 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #860,585 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #916 in Metaphysical Science Fiction eBooks
- #1,510 in Science Fiction Anthologies (Kindle Store)
- #2,776 in Science Fiction Anthologies (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.0 196 ratings

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Daniel Arthur Smith
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Daniel Arthur Smith is a USA Today bestselling author. His titles include Spectral Shift, Agroland, The Cathari Treasure, and a few other novels and short stories. He also curates the phenomenal short fiction series Tales from the Canyons of the Damned and Frontiers of Speculative Fiction.
He was raised in Michigan and graduated from Western Michigan University where he studied philosophy, with focus on cognitive science, meta-physics, and comparative religion. As a young man Daniel was a bartender, barista, poetry house proprietor, teacher, then became a technologist and futurist for the Fortune 100 across the Americas and Europe.
Daniel has traveled to over 300 cities in 22 countries, residing in Los Angeles, Kalamazoo, Prague, Crete, and now writes between Manhattan and Connecticut where he lives with his wife and sons.
For more information, visit danielarthursmith.com
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Rysa Walker
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RYSA WALKER is the award-winning author of many books, including the bestselling CHRONOS Files. Timebound, the first book in that series, was a Grand Prize winner in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards. The Delphi Effect was an Amazon Editors' Pick and a finalist in the 2018 ITW Thriller Awards. Rysa's books have sold nearly a million copies worldwide and have been translated into fourteen languages.
In addition to speculative fiction, Rysa writes mysteries as C. Rysa Walker. She currently resides in North Carolina.
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Alex Shvartsman
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Alex Shvartsman is a writer, editor, and translator from Brooklyn, NY. He's the author of The Middling Affliction (Caezik, 2022) and Eridani's Crown (UFO Publishing, 2019) fantasy novels.
Over 120 of his short stories appeared in various magazines and anthologies since 2010, including Analog, Nature, Strange Horizons, etc. He's the winner of the 2014 WSFA Small Press Award for Short Fiction.
He edits the Unidentified Funny Objects series of anthologies and Future Science Fiction Digest. His other projects as editor include The Cackle of Cthulhu (Baen Books), Humanity 2.0 (Arc Manor/Phoenix Pick), Coffee: 14 Caffeinated Tales of the Fantastic (UFO Publishing) and Dark Expanse: Surviving the Collapse (Deorc Enterprises).
You can visit his official home page and blog at alexshvartsman.com
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Nathan M. Beauchamp
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Nathan M. Beauchamp started writing stories at nine-years-old and never stopped. From his first grisly tales about carnivorous catfish, mole detectives, and cyborg housecats, his interests have always delved into strange waters. Nathan is an academic mercenary (Adjunct Professor of English), and earns paltry sums in exchange for warping young minds. His hobbies include photography, reading, arguing for sport, pondering the eventual heat death of the universe, and sarcasm. He has published many short stories in magazines and anthologies and holds an MFA in creative writing from Western State Colorado University. Nathan co-created the award winning YA science fiction series Universe Eventual where he writes under the pseudonym N.J. Tanger (www.njtanger.com).
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Will Swardstrom
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Will Swardstrom is a speculative fiction author. He has two full length novels, Dead Sleep and Dead Sight, and is at work on the finale in the trilogy.
He also has three stories in The Future Chronicles anthology series (Uncle Allen in The Alien Chronicles, Z Ball in The Z Chronicles, and The Control in The Immortality Chronicles). Each of those anthologies has charted in the Top 5 on the SF Anthology list and The Alien Chronicles reached as high as #6 on the Overall Top 100 List. The Control from The Immortality Chronicles has been nominated for Best American Science Fiction.
He also has a few stories set in Hugh Howey's WOOL Universe among his various other short stories and novellas. He lives in Southern Illinois with his wife and two kids.
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Hank Garner
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Hank Garner is the author of Bloom, Mulligan, The Witching Hour, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, Writer's Block, and has contributed to several anthologies. He also hosts a weekly podcast called Author Stories where he interviews successful authors each week about writing and the creative process. Find the podcast at http://hankgarner.com/category/podcast/
Hank's days are filled with interviewing the bestselling authors of today for The Author Stories Podcast and writing stories about life. Hank lives in Mississippi with his wife of over twenty years and five children.
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S. Elliot Brandis
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S. Elliot Brandis is an engineer and author from Brisbane, Australia. He writes post-apocalyptic, horror, and dystopian fiction, often blurring genre lines. He is a lover of bourbon, baseball, and horror movies.
His novels are about outlaws, outcasts, and outsiders.
Join the mailing list at http://eepurl.com/PsmMv for news about giveaways and upcoming releases.
email: s.elliot.brandis@gmail.com
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Joshua Ingle
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I’m a pathologically curious sci-fi and fantasy geek. Most of my writing portrays ethical crises packaged in nail-biting thriller and mystery story lines, taking place in super-detailed story worlds. I love this stuff.
Connect with me at joshuaingle.com!
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P.K. Tyler
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P.K. Tyler is the author of Speculative Fiction and other Genre Bending novels. She's also published works as Pavarti K. Tyler and had projects appear on the USA TODAY Bestseller's List.
"Tyler is essentially the indie scene's Margaret Atwood; she incorporates sci-fi elements into her novels, which deal with topics such as spirituality, gender, sexuality and power dynamics." - IndieReader
Pav attended Smith College and graduated with a degree in Theatre. She lived in New York, where she worked as a Dramaturge, Assistant Director and Production Manager on productions both on and off-Broadway. Later, Pavarti went to work in the finance industry for several international law firms.
Now located in Baltimore Maryland, she lives with her husband, two daughters and two terrible dogs. When not penning science fiction books and other speculative fiction novels, she twists her mind by writing horror and erotica.
Like Genre-Bending Literary Fiction? Click here for free stories: http://www.pktyler.com/subscribers/
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Caroline M. Yoachim
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Hugo and three-time Nebula Award finalist Caroline M. Yoachim is the author of over a hundred published short stories, appearing in Asimov’s, Fantasy & Science Fiction, Clarkesworld, and Lightspeed, among other places. Her work has been reprinted in multiple year’s best anthologies and translated into Chinese, Spanish, and Czech. Yoachim’s debut short story collection, Seven Wonders of a Once and Future World & Other Stories, came out in 2016. For more, check out her website at http://carolineyoachim.com
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JPhillips

Collection of Ocean Themed Novellas. Good.

Reviewed in the United States on September 24, 2017

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A good collection of ocean themed novellas with messages to be learned from each one. The plots are diverse and very creative. As in any anthology , some are better than others. I enjoyed this sci-fi collection and would recommend them to family and friends.

5 people found this helpful

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Basking in the Ridge

A fun, thought-provoking set of stories

Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2017

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This book caught my attention because one of the authors I follow, Rysa Walker, has a story in it from the Chronos series. I went to that first and was not disappointed, although I have to confess that the ocean theme in that story was a tad irrelevant (the story would have been much the same without the water angle). Some of the other stories were extremely focused on oceans, and especially ecology, and were very thought-provoking. For instance, the final story about the "Sea of Massachusetts" refers to a future in which climate change has basically flooded cities like Boston, and most remaining on Earth are refugees. "Dancing in the Midnight Ocean" spoke of a whole new evolutionary path. "Aquagenic" was a lot of fun to read but I don't think I can describe it without spoilers. As a techie, I very much enjoyed "The Hunt for the Vigilent" and immediately went out to find the earlier short story "The Coffee Corps" set in the same world.

When I was a teenager, I subscribed to several SF magazines (Analog, Asimov, Omni) but eventually lost the taste for short stories. As I've followed the Chronos stories from one anthology to another, I've regained my taste for this style of collection. Thanks to all the authors!

17 people found this helpful

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S. R. Southard

A Few Nice Sectors in this Ocean

Reviewed in the United States on April 2, 2023

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Primarily an outer space genre, science fiction rarely dips its toe into water. I love oceanic scifi, and looked forward to enjoying this anthology.

As with all anthologies, story quality varied across this book. In the worst tales, the authors lectured the reader, most often about climate change. Readers read fiction to be entertained. If they want an essay, they’ll turn to nonfiction. If fiction writers feel a compulsion toward activism, toward making a difference, they should do so with a light touch, not a hammer blow to the cranium.

The editor missed a few things. Ungrammatical sentences, odd phrasing, plot inconsistencies, ambiguous sentences, missing words and commas, and name misspellings. These minor and infrequent deficiencies won’t stop readers from enjoying the stories, however.

A few stories stood out for me in a positive way. “The Titan’s Daughter” by Daniel Arthur Smith provided a fascinating retelling of the Calypso scenes in Homer’s Odyssey. “Dancing in the Moonlight” by Carline M. Yoachin told of gilled humans, love, and beauty. “Siren Song of the Mississippi Queen” by Hank Garner presented a lost civilization communicating with a troubled person, and a brother’s devotion to his sister. “The Hunt for the Vigilant” by Alex Svartsman delighted me with secret magic, a submarine, aliens, and an underwater battle. “Aquagenic” by Will Swardstrom confronted the problem of a woman suffering from both amnesia and a severe allergy to water. “Full Circle: A CHRONOS Story” by Rysa Walker took me on an interesting time travel romp. “Dispatches from the Cradle: The Hermit—Forty-Eight Hours in the Sea of Massachusetts” by Ken Liu may have lacked action, but was beautifully written.

Though this collection could have been better, it will satisfy those readers—like me—who feel the call of the sea, but don’t hear many answers from the scifi shelves. I recommend it.

Reviewed in the United States on December 29, 2018

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I liked this book. Some interesting takes on dystopian/end of the world themed with some twists. Also a few environmental issues thrown in. Have you considered what the world will be like if all the ice DOES melt? I hadn't. Now I'm thinking about it. Will wats cease, will poverty be gone, or will we still run on a war economy and the rich only be ticher?

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Ty Nan Og

Excellent anthology with doses of realism and optimism about our oceans

Reviewed in the United States on December 25, 2018

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Really liked several of the stories particularly the Mage meets Cthulu story by Alex Shvartsman and the story about the elderly oceanographer who hits her head. My one major dislike was to see a fake Aristotle quote commonly used by racists and the alt right "Tolerance and apathy are the last virtues of a dying society" -Aristotle. This is not a quote by Aristotle. This is an easy check and obvious to anyone with a grounding in greek thought. I don't even think that if the quote was true it really applied to the story. An earlier quote to another story would've fit better or something about distributed responsibility. Anyway, excellent anthology and I'm a bit persnickety about quotes, fact checking, and research so most people will not care about that.

3 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

An enjoyable and though-provoking read and good introduction to the various authors featured in the book

Reviewed in the United States on July 10, 2018

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An interesting mix of explorations of the possible futures with specific attention to influences on the ocean and its roll in future (and present) lives of people. An enjoyable and though-provoking read and good introduction to the various authors featured in the book.

One person found this helpful

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Haunted Reader

Stretch Your Mind; Expand Your Imagination

Reviewed in the United States on September 26, 2017

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Review: OCEANS: THE ANTHOLOGY (Various Authors; edited Daniel Arthur Smith)

What a wonderfully imaginative, creatively speculative, multi-author collection! I loved it! I was intrigued by the title, as I have been an aficionado of the Apocalyptic and Post-Apocalyptic sub-genres for nearly six decades, and because over the last couple of years that interest has focused on rising sea levels, climate change, and Lovecraftian apocalypses. I found plenty to gratify my intrigue here, and OCEANS: THE ANTHOLOGY has found a place on my special rereader shelf. You can't go wrong here, as there is much from which to choose, all of it guaranteed to stretch the imagination.

6 people found this helpful

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Ken From KC

A Mixed Bag

Reviewed in the United States on October 24, 2019

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This is not a collection of great sci-fi stories about the ocean as one might expect from the title. Instead it seems like an editor/publisher called up the group and said, "Hey, I need a book to sell. Write me something about the ocean." The quality of the resulting hodgepodge of stories is very uneven.

The best is "The Titan's Daughter" with its strong echoes of The Odyssey. The worst co-opts the plot of a C&W song -- "Ruby, don't take your love to the surface!" -- and simply plops it in the ocean. The collection is not horrible, but you have to work too hard to find the interesting nuggets.

2 people found this helpful

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Pace carreau

No wet blankets here

Reviewed in Canada on February 13, 2018

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Diverse entertaining thought provoking I am delighted to have found new authors to read. Smart writing should be read in classes and discussed

Seamus

Fantastischen Geschichten!

Reviewed in Germany on October 8, 2017

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OCEANS is another excellent anthology of science fiction/ speculative tales curated and published by Daniel Arthur Smith.

This collection of 12 short stories are all ocean themed, continuing on from the amazing book 1 CLONES and deal with very varied challenges, mysterious events and dystopian futures.

All of these stories are great page turners, but the most thought provoking in my opinion was Siren Song of the Mississippi Queen by Hank Garner, which was sourced by the air, landscape and old traditions of his home. A close second best for me was Girt by Sea by S. Elliott Brandis, which once again was written about his home -> Australia. It’s a timeless tale and needs a follow up!

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Kay Smillie

Beautifully Written Stories

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 27, 2017

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This is an excellent collection of speculative stories based on the theme of oceans. Some of these will open your eyes, particularly the issue of ocean conservation. Also a reminder of how the oceans are a huge part of Mother Earth, and are vital to an amazing amount of living beings' welfare and lives.

I need to say at this point that I am terrified of water, and have been from a very early age. I can't swim and am unable to go anywhere near open stretches of water. The stories are very well written and so detailed, realistic and atmospheric, that I actually felt myself physically 'backing off' whenever character(s) were near the water. Having said that, I really enjoyed this anthology and I didn't think I would because of my phobia. I did have to keep reminding myself that 'it's only a book!'.

I loved all the stories, but these were my particular favourites:

'Tide Sweeping' by P K Tyler
I have yet to be disappointed by anything this author writes. Her works are so unusual and unique, and she pulls you into her worlds from the first paragraph. Vivid language, scarily beautiful, and unfortunately every bit believable for a potential timeline.

'Turtle: An A.L.I.V.E. Story' by R D Brady
I'm a huge softy when it comes to animals of any kind and I'm sure I'm not the only one...ah, lovely Iggy. It is also the total chaos and devastation that we, as (supposedly) the most intelligent beings, cause to other species that we are reminded of in this story.

There's a photo doing the rounds at the moment of a tiny, beautiful seahorse carrying a Q-Tip. That made me so angry. Parts of this story made me angry too, particularly the turtle that Iggy found. Dear god... We have made our presence known on this Earth, good and bad. There are times I think that we are not worthy of our amazing home. This story completely backed up my thoughts.

'Aquagenic' by Will Swardstrom
Amazingly well thought out story for a real and debilitating condition. Dana gives Cora the time she needs next to the ocean to understand where she should be, and what she is. Wonderfully haunting.

A very easy five star award.

4 people found this helpful

HuikalaSam

Good with a couple of standouts

Reviewed in Australia on November 15, 2019

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This anthology focuses on the oceans of a future, warmer Earth. There are a variety of writing styles, with some authors standing out as more deft, creative and lyrical than others. A couple of stories felt like doom-laden lectures on the destruction of the oceans, and while inarguably accurate, were less enjoyable to read. I also wasn't a big fan of the collected story synopses right at the front of the book - kind of spoils the element of surprise (so I only read the first couple).
Ken Liu's story 'Dispatches from the Cradle', which rounds off the collection is outstanding - he's clearly in a class of his own and discovering his writing was worth the purchase price alone. I'm also keen to read more from Rysa Walker, whose skill and craftsmanship were evident in 'Full Circle'. Worth a read to discover these two!

yoda

I enjoyed the stories very much

Reviewed in Canada on April 18, 2019

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I found some stories disturbing, some were very nice all were very original. Some stories were very short - could have been longer. But overall i relly liked the collection and the introduction to authors i didn’t know.

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OCEANS: The Anthology (Frontiers of Speculative Fiction Book 2) Kindle Edition

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About the authors

Daniel Arthur Smith

Rysa Walker

Alex Shvartsman

Nathan M. Beauchamp

Will Swardstrom

Hank Garner

S. Elliot Brandis

Joshua Ingle

P.K. Tyler

Caroline M. Yoachim

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