Flowers for the Sea stayed with me for days after I was finished. Rocklyn has crafted a dark, haunting and mysterious tale and the language is gorgeous.. It is hard not to spoil a 100 page novella, but I will warn that you need courage to read this book. Tension and an unrelenting sense of foreboding do not disappoint, and despite being a dystopian fantasy, speaks to our own percarious relationship with the future of our planet.
(This is an unbiased review of an ARC received from Macmillan Tor-Forge.)

This short novella packed a big punch. The main character was well-written and relatable, and I found myself totally invested in her journey from the very beginning. I loved the slow build-up to a finale that went off the rails completely (in a good way!).

If you follow the bookish people on social media, I bet you’ve seen people praising this book here, there, and everywhere. There’s a reason for all of the praise. This book isn’t one you finish and forget. It’ll stick with ya whether you want it to or not and that is the mark of an excellent read if you ask me.

Flowers for the Sea is a gorgeously told tale of rage, isolation, and all the unearthly hells that the sea and sky have up for offer in this bleak universe created by author Zin E. Rockland. The sea is angry, the sky is angry but most of all the heroine of this tale is angry. And justifiably so.

She is stuck on a godforsaken sea vessel as the world dies. She is heavily pregnant with a child that she fears may not be 100% human. Who knows? This world has been turned upside down. At any rate, she doesn’t want it and she has no say in the matter. She is surrounded by people she despises, people who despise her, people who have made her an outcast time and time again. They may live what’s left of their miserable lives on this horrible ship. But her rage simmers and she keeps going out of pure spite. She is an incredibly written character.

There is a lot packed into this thin novella. The prose is filled with suffocating anger and descriptions of the dank, disgusting, rotting ship and the people who inhabit it. There’s a lot left to the imagination as the author never spells it all out for the reader and this made me eager to keep turning the pages, to attempt to soak it all in and figure it out.

I don’t want to say too much about this novella and honestly, I can’t spill out the words without spoiling the things that every reader should discover on their own. If you’re a fan of nightmarish worlds and powerfully strong women who persevere despite the odds, and a killer ending this is one you’ll want to add to your reading pile.

CW: <spoiler>mention of miscarriages</spoiler>

Read this in two short sittings. Like the sea itself, this novella is in a constant state of motion--sifting, swelling, swallowing. It is beautiful and unforgiving, but also quite dense.

The biggest horrors come in small packages, and this apocalyptic novella covers the most terrifying thing of all - childbirth. Dark and suffocating and just gross, Rocklyn is a myth-maker in the making.
This would be a perfect horror addition to round out anyone's reading list for the Fall!

Some books use a wide angle lens, giving you the big picture. They let you see a lot of moving parts and may have multiple point of view characters so you can see the pieces moving as the story comes together.

Other books use a zoom lens and have a narrow focus. Flowers for the Sea falls into this category, and phew, Zin. E. Rocklyn takes readers up close and personal for this tale. This isn’t a story where someone lays out the particulars of the world so you can orient yourself first. Instead, Rocklyn takes us right into Iraxi’s life and circumstances. She’s pregnant, and not exactly happy about it, despite the fact that we soon learn there are no successful pregnancies in her world now. She’ll be the first. Iraxi’s different because of her current circumstances, but she’s also different because of her heritage, and she’s an outsider on an ark, trying to survive in a hostile future world.

What really comes through is her sense of loss and how displaced Iraxi is. Rocklyn writes from the perspective of the minority, the outsider, the person rejected by the masses. There’s a deep sense of loneliness and isolation, but also pride. Iraxi doesn’t try to conform to earn acceptance. You’d think she’d be happier about having a child because she’d have someone, but she isn’t, and her sentiments are raw and honest. Would-be parents can relate to the dilemma of bringing children into a dying world.

Iraxi’s also been absorbed by her pregnancy, and she doesn’t view that favorably, either. She’s tolerated because she’s needed and as the story progresses, it’s hard not to feel her anger towards the other occupants of this ark because they’re cruel and petty. And Iraxi’s unapologetically angry, which was refreshing. This is a genuine character you can relate to, not someone portrayed as noble or saintly to make us like her more. Nope. She’s completely herself, and screw you if you don’t like that. I love her attitude and the strength of her character.

The world Rocklyn’s built is intriguing and you get the sense that Rocklyn could set a lot more stories in this world. Rocklyn walks a fine line between giving us just enough information about the threats plaguing the people of the ark and the creatures that attack them, ensuring we’re aware of the fears and realities, but leaving just enough to our imagination to heighten our fears. Good writers know that what’s left off the page is just as crucial as what’s on the page, and I think that’s part of the reason this story lingered in my brain so long after I read it.

Powerful and evocative, Rocklyn’s crafted a memorable story you won’t soon forget. I found Flowers for the Sea engrossing from the start, and it builds to a stellar finish. Rocklyn’s an author to watch, a must-read for fans of weird horror and dark fantasy.

My full review of this book will publish in Apex magazine this November. What follows are some brief thoughts from that review.

This book pushes the boundaries of identity, human relations, and storytelling; showcasing an author who has and will continue to challenge perceptions and ensnare readers. Rocklyn pushes us to witness Iraxi; to explore the Other and ruminate on life.

Readers will be pleased to find that they have the room to stretch their imagination, thus making them an intricate part of the story rather than an observer.

Rocklyn uses horror, science fiction, and fantasy to craft an award winning piece of speculative fiction. At times beautiful and others horrific, it is a compelling and thought-provoking experience.

Flowers for the Sea showcases the skillset and magic that Zin E. Rocklyn is capable of bringing to the written word. It is not just another book to read, but an experience that must not be missed.

I was thoroughly intrigued by the publisher’s blurb that this “reads like Rosemary's Baby by way of Octavia E. Butler” and I think the description is on point—though there is a feel to it that also reminded me of Okorafor’s Who Fears Death. This is the creepy and compact story of a struggling group of survivors and the angry outcast among—coincidentally, the only being who has been able to bring a child to term. But she doesn’t want a baby and sees their deaths in her child. I’ll be looking out for more from Rocklyn

As short as it is, Flowers for the Sea certainly packs a punch. The prose is gorgeous and incredibly detailed. The story itself is weird (in a good way) and satisfying. My main problems lie with my ability to follow what was happening and what had happened in the time before this story. I don’t think it was bad, just confusing to me hence the rating.

Flowers of the Sea is the debut novel by Zin E. Rocklyn. It tells the story of a pregnant girl called Iraxi who along with survivors on a flooded kingdom are travelling on an ark. Having not seen land for many years, resources on the ark are now dwindling and monsters surround the boat. Iraxi is an outcast having refused a prince and also being the only one to have been able to carry with child longer than anyone else.

This was a very dark, claustrophobic, and uneasy read. The way Iraxi describes the ship makes you feel as if you’re on it. Like I could feel the heat, sweat, and smell without even being there. I was honestly blown away by the atmosphere Rocklyn created in this novel. I honestly got the heebiejeebies.

As a character Iraxi was an incredibly complex character. She is has been through a lot, she’s angry, and being pregnant is not something she wanted.

“I did not ask for this!” I cry out, dropping the clothing and rushing towards her. “I want no parts of motherhood! I want no child to follow in my torched footsteps!

To make matters worse, the child inside of her is actually not even human which makes things even more complicated. Iraxi is a strong character who will definitely doesn’t take bullshit from anyone. When the child is born we find out that Iraxi is destined for great things. The ending of the novella is definitely one to remember for it’s gore and violence. It sets up the possibility for a sequel and I would love to see what happens next.

(Full disclosure: I received a free e-ARc for review through Netgalley.)

“‘Naiem,’ Iraxi,” he says, voice even smaller. “I meant no harm nor insult.”
“What does it mean?” My words collide into one another. I am drunk on affection and I feel foolish. Yet I cannot move. My desire to wanes as the bath continues to warm. My eyelids droop, but I find the strength to keep them mostly open.
“It means ‘mother to all,’ Iraxi.”
But it isn’t Borim who answers. It is the being he is holding.

***

Then why am I here? I think angrily. Why did you save me? Why are you keeping me alive?
At this, the being does something like a smirk, and I shudder.
“It is not you, naiem, but your anger that is destined for so much more.”

***

It's been four moons since Iraxi and her fellow villagers boarded an ark, their lands overtaken by the rising floodwaters - and the mysterious, tentacled creatures who dwell therein.

Among the refugees, Iraxi is an outcast; her father and grandmother "communed with the unpredictable tides," a talent that bred both fear and jealousy amongst her neighbors. When Iraxi refused to marry a spoiled prince, thus uniting two neighboring kingdoms, her parents and siblings paid the ultimate price. Now she is alone, shunned, destined for a burial at sea herself - if not for the life that grows inside her. In a world where children are few and far between, Iraxi may hold the key to saving (or perhaps destroying) humanity.

FLOWERS FOR THE SEA is a deliciously horrifying tale: one of climate change and evolution, pregnancy and childbirth (holy body horror, Batman!), and monsters that creep along the ocean floor and swoop, open-mouthed, from the clouds (with a generous sprinkle of the "Humans Are the Real Monsters" trope for good measure).

Rocklyn's unveiling happens at a leisurely pace - tantalizingly so - and I spent so much time trying to figure out what was going on that I think a second read-through might be in order, just to scavenge for any morsels that I might have missed. It's a weird tale, to be sure, but also disquieting given the way it's anchored in our current reality (i.e., the world is burning and instead of taxing the eff out of billionaires we're letting them go to "space").

I'm 100% on board with the comparisons to Octavia E. Butler, but the first comp that pops into my head is THE DEEP by Rivers Solomon. Come to think of it, I don't see any reason why the two stories can't exist in the same 'verse...

Flowers for the Sea was not at all what I expected, but really my only wish is that it had been longer! The world building that Rocklyn weaves into this short novella is nothing short of incredible, given the page count, but I feel like I've only seen a snap shot of a larger story and I was surprised to find myself suddenly at the end. And there's nothing wrong with that! Nothing wrong at all with an open ending that leaves readers imagining the worst in the absence of answers. I just wish I could know more!

Part fantasy, all horror, full of rich worldbuilding and writing so descriptive that readers can almost feel the hot, sticky, stifling interior of the survivor's ship, Flowers for the Sea is a horrifying novella about a world underwater, at the mercy of the monsters. But the survivors in their midst, adrift on the floating remains of their world, are far from innocent. Iraxi, isolated, despised, and heavily pregnant, knows all too well the crimes that they fear their souls will be measured against when they die. The story that she spins for readers, as her fated pregnancy nears its end, lays out a history of prejudice and cruelty, setting the stage for her own revenge.

Reading Flowers for the Sea feels like falling into a nightmare beyond my wildest imagination; a story that makes you feel alone, struggling with a trauma etched upon your bones and grappling with a horror growing inside you. When I finished reading this novella, I felt like I was coming out of a stupor – dazed, ill at ease, yet utterly captivated by the storytelling that feels, all at once, like poetry and a tale of visceral anger.

Flowers for the Sea follows Iraxi, a commoner who refused a prince aboard an ark at sea with unspeakable monsters circling, waiting. Iraxi is also pregnant and as the only one able to carry her pregnancy to full term, thus all hope rests on her and her child – who may or may not be human. Flowers for the Sea is best read without knowing what happens, so that’s all I’ll say on the synopsis, but what the book and I can promise is that what follows from this premise is an eerie and terrifying story that begins to unfurl at the edges, descending slowly to an end that is grotesque yet liberating.

Flowers for the Sea feels like a mix of dark fantasy with a post-apocalyptic setting with a dystopian imagery and atmosphere. The atmosphere in this story is immediately compelling and eerie; humanity drifts aimlessly at sea following an apocalyptic event, unable to escape because of the monsters that circle the ark. Inside is no better; readers will smell the desolation and hopelessness permeating through the page. For Iraxi though, her horrors are psychological – not only is she ostracised on the ship, she bears a child she never wanted, and she also grapples with a trauma where her family was murdered.

The story may mean different things to different people. For me, I found the meditation of pregnancy and motherhood to be the most engaging theme of the story. In particular, Iraxi feels a dissociation and dissonance with her own body, as she carries a child forced upon her within her. Her feelings of rage felt resonant and terrifying, as she feels a lack of control over her own body. The divorce she feels from her personhood and her body was both evocative and haunting. Furthermore, with the eldritch horrors, the imagery only deepens the horror that Iraxi experiences.

What also resonated with me was how this story is powerfully articulates rage and revenge. Iraxi’s rage is raw and unfettered; rage at the violence afflicted upon her body, her family, her loved ones, and her dehumanisation as a pregnant woman. Iraxi’s rage grows across the story, her rage and sorrow, her trauma, and the violence in history, culminates to its horrifying end. The horror of the real is subverted, wherein Iraxi becomes the object of rage and fear and horror in an enactment of revenge.

Atmospheric and undeniably captivating, Flowers for the Sea is unlike any dark fantasy I’ve read before that delves into forced motherhood, the power of maternal and female rage, and an intoxicating story about revenge.

I have read many books from the eldritch horror genre, and this one stands out from the rest. There's not much I can say about the plot of this novella without giving it away, since "Flowers for the Sea" is quite short. However, I can say that I highly recommend it. The story combines elements of gothic fiction, horror, and fantasy. Rocklyn's work of existential horror is surreal, sublime, and incredibly descriptive. The tension present in "Flowers for the Sea" was palpable and well-executed; I felt on edge from the very beginning. I appreciate how Rocklyn explores the tragedy of forced motherhood/birth in such an angry way. Their portrayal of Iraxi's rage is so honest and impactful.
I look forward to reading more of Rocklyn's works in the future, they are a master of fantasy.

Zin E. Rocklyn’s horror novella gives readers a striking debut. Flowers for the Sea is a marine biologist-wannabe’s nightmare and a climate change activist’s worst-case future. The book brims with gripping prose, telling a heart-wrenching and terrifying tale. Overall, Flowers for the Sea stumbles to the finish line, but it will likely captivate many readers, and for that, I praise it.

Iraxi is pregnant, and the baby might not be human. She’s also on a ship with a small community of people who survived an apocalyptic event that stranded small segments of the population on sea vessels. The waters churn with the movements of dangerous fanged creatures while wraith-like beings glide through the skies. Iraxi’s shipmates prove nefarious and dangerous as well. Meanwhile, she struggles to decide whether she even wants to be pregnant, a status her shipmates assert will help them survive.

Flowers for the Sea will undoubtedly titillate horror readers. The Lovecraftian tale borrows elements of Rosemary’s Baby and other horrific stories. Rocklyn crafts a unique world that could support multiple full-length novels. My problem with the book, though, is that it feels locked in place, unable to breach the surface of its own pool of ideas.

It’s hard to explain. Flowers for the Sea reads like a dream. A semi-vivid, nightmarish dream. The events occurring happen in a way that made me feel like I was watching through translucent glass. I could always glean the outlines of the characters, the setting, the creatures in the scene, but it lacked a level of clarity I so desperately desire from the narrative.

Part of the problem, as I hinted at above, is the story’s length. Rocklyn does an amazing job presenting their ideas with limited page space. In this case, however, I found myself hankering for a full novel. I often had problems deducing exactly what was happening. In a way, this could be a result of the prose’s dreamlike movement through the events of the story.

To say much else would bring me into spoilerland, and I can’t afford to stay there. So I’ll leave you with this: Flowers for the Sea might be just the horror/fantasy combo you’ve been searching for. It might be the novella that ushers you into more Lovecraftian tales. For me, it was an interesting read that I didn’t fully connect with. Rocklyn’s writing and clear vision, however, ensures that I’ll be on the hunt for their future work when it arrives.

Novellas typically aren't my thing, but the premise of this book had me picking it up and boy was I glad I did. It was strange and weird and I didn't know where the story was going which just made me keep turning the pages. I absolutely loved the writing, it was so beautiful and dark.

Wow, this was unlike anything I've ever read before. It's like a dream you want to go back to and try and understand better. The characters feel as though they are based on African lore from their names and their physical descriptions.
The book starts off with a woman who is pregnant on a boat surrounded by monsters in the sea. She is the only one who has been able to carry a child to term as the occupants of the boat wait anxiously on the birth of the child. Then things get really weird, from the way the story goes you get a feeling that this woman may not be completely human and by the end of the story you get some answers but definitely not all the answers. Not sure if this is a stand alone book or not, it could definitely continue but it's truly dazzling enough on its own to keep you engrossed. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

What a weird book that I absolutely loved. I don't usually love novellas, and honestly I don't want to say anything since it's so short. The thing I will say is that absolutely the worldbuilding Rocklyn manages to do in about 100 pages is stunning - complex, engrossing, well developed ... I can't say enough good things. Go check it out.

I don’t want to say much about the story since it is quite short, and I think doing so would veer dangerously toward spoiler territory, so we’ll just focus on the writing. In just over 100 pages, Rocklyn manages to create a surprisingly complex small-scale society, well-developed characters, and a rich, engrossing story. Iraxi is wonderful. She is a complicated woman who is by turns vulnerable, tough, and combative. Even before the story gets going it is abundantly clear that she is nobody to fuck with.

Flowers for the Sea was my first foray into Rocklyn’s work, but it most definitely won’t be the last. I have The Night Sun already queued up on my Kindle, so I’m going to be hitting that soon. They’ve got a real talent for evocative prose, tension building, and satisfying storytelling. This novella is absolutely gorgeous.

Flowers for the Sea is a beautifully written bit of fiction. It will stay with you long after you turn the final page. It is a beautiful, dark debut novella from an author whose work I have to imagine will be absolutely flying off the shelves.

I finished this book last night and still don’t quite know what I read. I liked aspects of this story definitely, I enjoyed the world, but felt there was way too few details, and the relationships between characters lacked the emotional depth it needed to make me care. Just. Missing pieces everywhere,