Huh. This did not hit for me. Quick, snarky tone, which I enjoyed at first, but began to grate as the story went on.

Did I enjoy this? It was touch and go but overall I think I enjoyed it.

What did I enjoy?

The book starts off strong with great writing, smart inner monologues, and natural dialogues. We're presented with an intriguing yet still familiar premise, two sisters clearly on opposite sides of the 'productive member of society' spectrum; one working multiple jobs while the other joins a cult-not-cult; one pragmatic and the other the epitome of a free spirit. When one sister gets notified that her sister is in the hospital with serious injuries due to an alleged accident the FMC takes it upon herself to get to the bottom of her suspicions, or maybe their prejudices.

Ending was unexpected because the strange fever dream style of parts of the narration persuade you to start questioning your own beliefs.

What did I NOT enjoy?

The body of the book gets a bit monotonous and bogged down by multiple suspenseful scenes that all sort of fizzle. I'll admit that I started skim reading during some of the mundane activities happening at the retreat, so if I missed something it's because I lost faith earlier. There are a few sub plots that don't seem to get any closure, and this is a huge pet peeve of mine but if it doesn't bother you it probably won't even be noticeable.

Finally, the ending is interesting, and a bit surprising BUT it really all came together feeling rushed and anticlimactic.

Overall this is a decent read and the writing is really strong. I may just not have been in the mood for a read like this but I can still appreciate the work.

3.75 stars

Publication day: 4/25/23!!!
**ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**
#NetGalley #TheMerryDredgers

Basics
genre: novella, weird fiction, LGBT+
setting: Goblintropolis,USA (abandoned amusement park) used as a "retreat"
themes: inner exploration, weird is welcome, accepting your true self

Characters
Seraphina/"Phina" (fMC): woman on a mission to find out what really happened to her sister, Eff, who joined a retreat/cult
Eff: Phina's sister who is now in a coma
Nichelle: Phina's entry to The Merry Dredgers

Pros
+ LGBT rep: f/f (Phina "has a weakness for femme fatales" same girl same)
+ cult vibes
+ the cult lives in a rusty, dilapidated amusement park with triple-eyed creatures & a tree made entirely of opening and closing eyes, mouths, and hands...YESSS
+ phantasmagorical as fuck
+ trippy ass nightmares
+ arcade games
+ Phina's mission in the amusement park/retreat/cult feels like a DnD campaign with so many unique, fantastical characters, settings, and happenings
+ Spoon & Sunglasses Cat forever

Cons
- the plot suffered for the sake of world-building
- open ending, which I usually don't mind, but this time I really wanted to know everything

Comp Recs
+ The Lamb Will Slaughter the Lion - Margaret Killjoy

TW: coma, hospital visits, animal deaths, abusive partner (past), attempted murder

A quick, entertaining read that is oozing in atmosphere. This was my first novel by Jeremy C. Shipp, but I would definitely read more of their work. I absolutely loved the setting, world-building, and the atmosphere was great. My only complaint was that I wished there was more!

The merry dredgers is a quick read at about 150 pages. I enjoyed the perspective of the narrator and her general attitude. However, I felt that the middle 100 pages dragged on a bit. This story could have been told in a much shorter format and been a bit better for it. By the end the creepy factor has faded and we’re left with a rushed ending.

Jeremy C. Shipp writes with world-crafting wisdom, and The Merry Dredgers was quite the vivid story. I enjoyed the way this author envelops this fable/fantasy world in dark shades.

This book was a short and fun read! I loved the opening line, right from the beginning the book drew my attention. Phina was quirky and feminist and real which I don't usually see when male authors write female main characters so that was very refreshing. For example, she fumbles words and describes feeling anxious, which just made her even more relatable. Everything with the main character felt well connected which led to great character building. Her job directly impacted her approach to dealings with the cult and overall resulted in a well formed character. The supporting characters were also well written. I enjoyed the stories of sisterhood as told by Phina and her conversations with her friend Nichelle.
Early in the book, the author introduces these postcards from Phina's sister, which were super fun to read as well. I love when authors include writings from their world/characters in their novel and this one was really well done!
Additionally, the setting was extremely vivid, creative, and well described. This included the physical world and the setting of the main characters dreams. There were a lot of dreams through out the book. Mixed with all the supernatural occurrence, sometimes I was unclear whether what I was reading was a dream or not.
There were a lot of unexpected twists right at the end. I mostly liked these twists but they also felt a bit convenient. They also happened and then the book just kinda ended, Although some things were solved, others remained unresolved, so the ending was a bit more open ended and up to the readers interpretation,
Overall, I found this book to be a great read and I would highly recommend to anyone who likes a good cult mystery!

Thank you NetGalley and Meerkat Press for allowing me to read an advanced copy of The Merry Dredgers.

The description sounded like a take on an Alice in Wonderland type of story, but it was nothing of the sort. There was no real substance to the plot. There were ideas being formed, but nothing really paid off in the end. The story just kind of ended with no real satisfaction. Would not read again.

WAITTT I CURIOUS ABOUT PANCAKE PRINCESS AND THE LITTLE GIRL!!!

Anyway.. the amusant park give creapy vibe, the author describe every attractiin and statue caracter give me goosebump, imagine walk in that place at night.. Seraphina really brave to stay in the compound to find what really happend to her sister. The endig tho.. oh my goddd you cruel make it like that! What happend next!

Thank you to NetGalley for provide this book, it is pleasure to review this book.

#TheMerryDredgers #JeremyCShipp #MeerkatPress #ScienceFictionandFantasy #WritersofAmerica #NetGalley #ARC

Ah, I’m never going to be able to resist a cult story, but a cult story set in an abandoned creepy amusement park…oh yes, please.
I’ve read Shipp before, but not a lot and a really long time ago, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. What it turned out to be is a fun, very well written, and trippy AF adventure with one woman, Phina, short for Seraphina, insinuating herself into a local cult i.e. community of like minds to find out what happened to her sister. The sister by all appearance and evidence has fallen and is now in a coma, so she can’t tell. And the cultish place where this occurred does seem initially suspicions.
But these suspicions prove difficult to maintain once Phina actually gets involved with the community. Because at worst they are kooky and at best they are rather lovely, and surely, not murderers, are they?
Then again, you never know with people. After all, if they were all as nice as they seemed, who’d be doing all the killing?
And so, this trippy character-driven dram is actually a suspense/murder mystery to boot, which is pretty awesome. Plus, it’s fun and reads very quickly. So come, see what searching for purpose may dredge up. Read, enjoy, and be merry. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.

this was a really well concept for a horror and fantasy novel, I was invested in what was going on and wanted to solve what was going on. Jeremy C. Shipp has a great writing style that I was invested in. The characters were what I was hoping for and enjoyed trying to figure out what was going on. It does everything that I wanted and am glad I got to read this.

"“I told you,” Cassian says. Evangeline tosses a piece of popcorn at him and manages to hit his shoulder. “You’re not psychic,” she says. “You’re the opposite of psychic. Stop trying to make psychic happen.” Cassian tosses a piece of popcorn at her and misses by a mile. “You think you have me all figured out.”

Surreal and atmospheric - to the point of mind-bending. Almost stream-of-consciousness as it progresses along. You know something is off, more than one thing is off, and the building feeling of doom becomes almost oppressive as the plot thickens. Definitely pulls you in.

*Book provided as an eARC by NetGalley* (Publish date April 25, 2023)

{2.5/5}

I feel like the sum totality of this book can be described as: What the hell? Originally I was going to give it a 2, but the last chapter or so really added some oomph, hence the final rating.

Seraphina’s sister has somehow managed to join a cult and end up in a coma. Seraphina is convinced that someone in the cult hurt her sister, despite the police’s assertion that it was an accident, so she decides to do some investigating of her own.

Have you ever seen those hyper realistic pieces of artwork that make the subject feel too zoomed in and really gross? And the whole thing is just really overblown and off-putting? That’s what this book felt like. It’s marketed as horror/sci-fi fantasy with the potential for some psychic powers, but I feel like it missed the horror mark and just relied on weirdly gory descriptions to try and cover it.

MC has a vivid imagination, which is great, but it feels like she makes a bunch of leaps based solely on that imagination. There’s little to no foundation for her to assume her sister’s accident was malicious, she has no investigative background, and the whole thing just felt weirdly trippy. It seems like MC has a hard time distinguishing between real life and dreams or imagination; the book really doesn’t clarify anything either. The ending is weird, abrupt, and left me with more questions than I had initially. I large portion of my notes for this book just say “girl, are you alright?” (MC is not, in fact, alright)

If you like books that feel like experimental films coupled with what I imagine a bad acid trip feels like, then you might enjoy this one. It’s a total miss for me, though.

This book doesn't really fit easily into any particular genre. There is a mystery, elements of horror and a touch of magical realism.

The main reason I kept reading was the main character's sense of absurd humor which seems to come into play after she infiltrates the cult her sister belonged to.

There wasn't much of a plot and the author left several important questions unanswered. The book didn't so much conclude as it just stopped.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publishers and the author for giving me a free ARC.. This is my honest opinions.

This book is hard to define by just genre alone but it's like an Alice in Wonderland version of a . mystery with some compelling horror elements rounding it all out.

Whatever you want to call it, I call it amazing. I was completely into this story from the beginning and as our main protagonist gets closer to the truth about what happened to her sister, the tension and list of possible suspects increases.

The main part of this story is centered on a cult like group of spiritual seekers who make their home in a once abandoned goblin themed amusement park.. So, yeah, you know it's gonna get weird. And it does, but in a very good way!

It's a lot of fun, easy to get into and filled with great characters. I absolutely recommend it.