The Sea Gives Up the Dead by Molly Olguin is a collection of short stories with a fairytale feel and a dark, haunting vibe. Death is a big theme throughout, which adds a creepy, horror-like tone to the stories.

Each story is different, with unique plots and ideas, which I liked. Some stood out more than others, and a few really caught my attention. But for the most part, the stories felt like they were building up to something and then just stopped. There wasn’t much payoff or closure, which left me a bit unsatisfied.

I liked the atmosphere and the creativity, but many of the stories just didn’t click with me. Still, I can see other readers enjoying the dreamy, eerie style and open-ended storytelling.

Thanks to the and Red Hen Press for providing the arc via NetGalley.

This is one of the best story collections I have read in a while. Usually in a short story collection there are one or two stories I really like and will remember after a month, and the rest are more filler than anything else. This book, however, was almost entirely stories I will probably remember in a month, and that I enjoyed a lot while reading them. I think my favorite is the Little Mermaid retelling, but several other stories are tied for my second favorite. Definitely a book worth reading.

4.5 stars

Such a delightfully strange and morbid series of short stories.

These quirky stories all feature the spectre of death in some way; some feel more historical while others are refreshingly modern. There's also an undercurrent of sexual tension in a lot of these stories, mostly of the lesbian variety (I believe the author does identify as a queer author) but none of it feels gratuitous or shocking, just snippets of lives being lived and lives coming to an end. I really don't want to spoil the book by discussing too much of it here; suffice it to say each story had its own distinct flavour and comedic/macabre appeal.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading through this book; I'm quite partial to short stories these days because they feel more easily digestible than full novels. The stories here are plenty digestible but be warned, they may continue to sit with you long after you've finished reading.

Thanks to NetGalley, author Molly Olguin, and Red Hen Press for giving me access to a free digital ARC of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own and are provided here voluntarily.

This is a collection of 12 short stories, mostly in the realm of fantasy(/horror), though some stories also seem literary.
I picked this up solely based on the title, disregarding that I am not the biggest fan of fairytales. And most of these are definitely modern fairy tales, although often the endings were lacking. The writing style did not engage me. It felt very descriptive, but at the same time quite distanced.
My favorite story by far is the penultimate and titular „The Sea Gives Up the Dead“, probably because it felt less like classical folklore.

In a Nutshell: A short story collection interspersing fantasy and horror into a mesmerising combo. Precise writing, intriguing characters, compelling plots. Had all the endings worked for me, this would have ended up as one of my favourites of the year. Regardless, the imaginative and distinct storylines still make this book a good option for short fiction lovers.

This collection of twelve stories doesn’t have any author’s note to introduce the binding theme to us. However, the blurb has this interesting one-liner to offer: ‘a collection of stories sprinkled into the soil of fairy tale, left to take root and grow wild there.’ How poetic is that!
The dominant genre is fantasy-horror, but many stories also feel literary. Each of the tales has a fresh storyline, generating no feelings of déjà vu or familiarity. The narratives are distinct in plot, characters as well as emotions. The characters are especially memorable, as their flawed behaviour and their conundrums add much value to the basic plot.
As the title indicates, death has a strong role to play in this collection. Whether it is the literal death of the main character or the figurative death of a marriage, macabre thoughts about dying or plans of killing someone, death makes an appearance in every story, making this book morbidly fascinating. Do note that there are shades of horror to many stories, and the death include those of children and animals as well.
Though some of the stories have unreal elements such as magical occurrences or fantastical creatures like dragons or mermaids, the overall book still feels rooted in reality. And this is mainly because of the depiction of human emotions in every single tale. Spanning a wide array of feelings ranging from love to hatred, frustration to longing, bravery to cowardice, the collection offers an amazing insight into the human mind and its complicated working.
The writing is quite powerful. As the stories are character-oriented, there is a lot of introspection in the content. But this doesn’t come at the cost of the descriptive add-ons. It is very easy to visualise every scene, even when the visual is bizarre. Further, the pacing is also quite fast, a rarity for such a writing approach.
The main reason why my rating couldn’t touch greater heights was the endings. A few of the stories ended at an apt point, but many endings didn’t work for me. They weren’t abrupt as such, but they weren’t satisfying either, leaving me longing for more clarity or closure.
As always, I rated the stories individually. Of the twelve stories, two reached/crossed four stars. Most of the rest earned 3.5 stars, and at least half of these would have earned more stars had they offered me a satisfactory finale. The two best stories of the books for me were:
⚰️ Seven Deaths: A wildly crazy story that had me hooked from start to finish. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨
⚰️ Captain America's Missing Fingers: When a little girl realises that the world behaves differently with little boys. Sad, really sad. Would have earned a higher rating with a better ending. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Overall, though the endings somewhat sullied my experience, I still liked this collection for its innovative plotlines and diverse characters. I find it tough to accept that this is a debut work. The author’s pen holds much promise, and I’d love to read more of her works in future.
Recommended to short story fans who enjoy fantasy-horror, are comfortable with a literary writing style and don’t need solid endings.
3.2 stars, based on the average of my ratings for each story.
My thanks to Red Hen Press for providing the DRC of “The Sea Gives Up the Dead” via NetGalley & Edelweiss+. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

As with most short stories there were some I liked more than others, I enjoyed that the theme of death followed each story and how each disseminated it differently.

This book...I went in blind and it took the 2nd story to understand that this is a collection of short stories with death as the theme: how a death affected the main characters of the stories. It's a bit depressing really, with a small twist in each of the stories, as well as an odd one or two story thrown in. It's written well though I am thankful they are short as I don't think I'll be able to finish a full novel of each of the short stories.

I was originally drawn to this book due to it's beautiful cover, and realising it was a short story collection made me even more excited. I'm a massive fan of weird little short story collections and 'The Sea Gives Up The Dead' did not disappoint.

The collection focuses on grief and death, with each story focusing on a different kind of death, blending in fantasy and folktale elements to make each story truly unique. The stories were extremely well paced and well written, with the characters feeling really fleshed out- I particularly enjoyed 'Small Monuments' and 'Esther and The Voice' as these stories are crafted so wonderfully that you fully understand both the main characters and characters that you never actually meet.

I think there really is something for everyone in this collection- if you're looking for fantasy, sci-fi, magical realism, contemporary fiction or horror they'll be at least one story in the collection for you! A fantastic debut from Molly Olguín and I can't wait to see what comes next from them.

Thank you to Red Hen Press and NetGalley for the chance to read this DRC. This review can be viewed on my Goodreads page at the following link: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/177713825-megan-carr

I love short stories generally, but the collections that really grab my attention are those that blend the real with the fantastical, the painful with the hopeful, and the joy of living with the grief of it all. I didn't know what to expect going into The Sea Gives Up the Dead, but Molly Olguín had my full attention by the end of the first page. Thanks to Red Hen Press and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

One of the things Olguín achieves in this collection which astounded me was that, while each story was its own, coherent thing, all the stories together somehow created a cohesive whole. It's not as if characters from one story populate another, or that locations are revisited, or even that the same message is repeated over and over, rather there is something seamless to how Olguín moves from one story to the other. All together, they create a world that is technically human and yet holds marvels around every corner. This could be love, unexpectedly, but also a dragon. You could lose your loved ones because of a war or to a apocalyptic flood, have them returned to you as a corpse or still breathing. All throughout, Olguín infuses her world with elements from fairy tales and magical realism, but it also feels, to me at least, deeply grounded in the melting pot that America actually is. The stories in The Sea Gives Up the Dead all, in their own way, deal with the question of finding a sense of family and connection in a very hectic world and Olguín finds these moments by looking at everyone and giving them a place in her world.

Collections can be a mixed bag because there will almost always be at least one story that doesn't entirely hit. With The Sea Gives Up the Dead, however, every single story gave me something to connect to, something to think about, some imagery to dwell on for the next weeks. The collection contains twelve stories and although I can't discuss them all in detail here, they all are worth mentioning. The opener 'Seven Deaths' is a great attention-grabber, exploring death and family dynamics through an immigrant family. These themes echo throughout the entire collection. 'Devils Also Believe' is a heartbreaker of a story about, you guessed it, death and family dynamics, but also religion and friendship. 'The Princess Wants for Company' mixes fantasy with queer love, while commenting on class. 'The Undertaker's Dogs' is not for those who need to check Does the Dog Die before watching a film. 'Honey from the Rock' is very brief, two pages or so, but it has wormed its way into my head regardless. 'Clara Aguilera's Holy Lungs' is a stand-out for me, going from cataclysmic disaster to loss of a family member to discussions of sainthood, all with a lovely dose of body horror. 'My Husband and Me' is a "Dear Abby" kind of letter which honestly horrified me with its exploration of intimacy in a technological world. 'Small Monuments' is a story of queer love and revenge which had me both chortling and going "Oh no". 'Captain America's Missing Fingers' explores war, trauma, and family and is touching in its depiction of children's perspectives and experiences of these themes. 'Esther and The Voice' was one of my favourites, exploring what it means to be alive, memory, AI, and grief. 'The Sea Gives Up the Dead' sees a mother try to retrieve her son's body from France, only to be confronted with the reality of how she raised him. 'Foam on the Waves' is a beautiful retelling of 'The Little Mermaid' which nails the undersea aesthetic and the desire to be other than one is.

Molly Olguín won me over pretty much from page one. This was my first time reading anything by her but I am adding anything else she writes to my "read now please" list. All of the stories in this collection contain moments and lines that will make you do a double take and snort, but these are followed up by moments and lines that made me want to stare at the ceiling for a bit. The Sea Gives Up the Dead is a beautiful blend of a variety of genres. As mentioned above, the fantastical and the fairy tale get their turn, but so do elements of horror and suspense. Throughout it I felt that I did get a good sense of Olguín's voice, of the ideas she had in mind, the messages she wanted to convey. With the genre-switching as well as hopping between different moods, it consistently felt as if Olguín was in control of her craft and nothing felt out of place or unnecessary to me. I became so deeply attached to many of her characters, precisely because I also got the feeling that Olguín poured a lot of care and attention into crafting them into messy but real people. Some make horrible choices, others understandable ones, and behind it all is a true, genuine search for love and understanding. I can't wait to read more by Olguín!

I absolutely adored these stories by Olguín as they are the perfect blend between deeply insightful, fantastical, and utterly creepy! For those looking for a slightly different short story or a whole collection that is excellently crafted, The Sea Gives Up the Dead is it.

The Sea Gives Up The Dead is a compilation of short stories, and I was drawn to this book mainly because of the stunning cover and the promising title. It did not disappoint. 12 morbid stories that are tastefully dealing with family drama, love, grief, illness and death held me captive and I flew through the pages.
I don’t read a lot of short stories but thoroughly enjoyed this mix of historical fiction, fantasy, magical realism and horror. The writing is compelling and characters are thoughtfully developed. The thought provoking plots leave room for reflection and discussion.
My Favorite stories were; Foam on the Waves, Esther and the Voice, Small Monuments and My Husband and Me.
Least favorite The Undertaker’s Dogs simply because I do not usually handle - trigger warning - animal death well. Overall, I enjoyed reading this book and recommend this collection of short stories. I am looking forward to reading more from Molly Olguin.
Thank you Netgalley, Red Hen Press and Molly Olguin for gifting me a digital ARC. I truly appreciated the opportunity to read this book and the above is my honest review and own opinion. Publication date is 4/29/2025.

Recommend - For those like being haunted by the untold, the unwritten ends, the liminal experiences of being in between

Fiction story anthology, elements of supernatural and magical realism in some stories.

Like most short story collections, your mileage will vary for different stories. As a collection, however, Olguin’s stories are clearly for those who occupy the liminal spaces of their world, the ones who feel in between, with an especial focus on the Latinx American experience at various points in history. Sometimes they’re the ones who are haunted, sometimes they’re the ones doing the haunting.

From a family whose members have experienced multiple deaths multiple times, to the mother who finds the child she thought dead but not as she remembers him, to the brother who just wants his sister back no matter the cost to him and her.

I found these stories at times thoughtful, touching, and sometimes deeply unsettling. I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to be haunted, more. They will stay with you after you finish.

I received an ARC through NetGalley for an honest review.

This is a deliciously dark and heartbreakingly melancholy and morbid collection of stories that are in fascinating inspiration, inversion, and antagonism with classic fairytales and the nature of storytelling.

It's not dark and edgy retellings, but a more thoughtful engagement and deconstruction of the themes of the old stories and how they relate to the modern experience, especially the immigrant and minority experience with questions and fears around identity.

I have to admit it took me a minute to really dial in with the tone and the concept here, but once I was in I was absolutely hooked.

You'll have to forgive my autistic instinct to draw comparisons, but this collection brought to mind Carmen Maria Machado and Margaret Atwood, both of who's stories I cherish.

There's a bitter wonder and a uniquely interesting voice that makes me incredibly excited to read more of this wonderful author.

A series of short stories examining loss, grief, & queer existence.

This was such an interesting collection! It covered a variety of genres, and all ranging in a tone from a slight edge of unease to outright horror. Olguín has a remarkable ability to make me feel on edge throughout each story, I kept waiting for a twist. And I was rewarded nearly every time.

There were a couple stories that felt too unresolved for me. And a couple I didn’t like. But the last two stories were so remarkable, I’ll be thinking about them for weeks to come. I think I probably would have enjoyed this better as an audiobook.

Thanks to NetGalley and Red Hen Press for this arc.

The Sea Gives Up the Dead: Stories by Molly Olguín, a compilation of dark fairytales. Incorporation a grate blend of horror and magical realism leaves the reader on the edge of their seat in anticipation of what will happen next.

I had the good fortune of not only experiencing the audiobook and eBook simultaneously and found it easy to switch between the two. The narration by Heather Kay Ling brought the stories to life and keeps the listener engaged.

Thank you to High Bridge Audio and Red Hen Press Press for the opportunity to listen to this ALC and read the eARC. All opinions are my own.

Book Rating: 5 Stars
Audiobook Rating: 5 Stars
Pub Date: Apr 29 2025

Tags:
#HighBridgeAudio
#RedHenPress
#TheSeaGivesUptheDead
#MollyOlguin
#HeatherKayKing
#YarisBookNook
#Horror
#Fantasy
#Magical Realism
#ShortStories
#netgalley

I am not a huge fan of collections of short stories but I am a fan of this! Particularly for a debut author, I think this collection is beautifully curated, just the right level of connected, and overall really captivating.

The Sea Gives Up the Dead is a compilation of cautionary tales, some verging on fantastical and all are harrowing. Molly Olguin's writing is very unique and I love the way she delivers shock value where its needed the most. The first 4-5 stories especially left my jaw hanging open from the last lines. There is a clear pattern to the stories, which I think emulates fairytales as the inspiration, but there will always be a twist. As with any short story collection, my only issues with The Sea Gives Up the Dead is I was comparing each story to the ones before it, and because the first few were my favourites, I felt like the collection lost momentum towards the end (the final 2 were very good as well though). There were just a few installations in the middle that didn't invoke a reaction like the others did. I think this is a great read if you're new to literary horror, and i have really high hopes for this author in the future.

* Note this book does include the deaths of children and animals.

This debut collection of stories by Molly Olguín lithely crosses genres and conventions, dipping into horror, magical realism, historical fiction and fantasy to create a unique and evocative reading experience.

"The Sea Gives Up the Dead" is a masterful collection of dark, twisted, and wild stories that explore complex and uncomfortable emotions. The stories play with fantastical fairy-tale elements in a unique and, at times, surprising way. But the stories are grounded in relatable experiences, throughout history and culture. The writing is reminiscent of other talented short fiction writers who dabble in the strange- Carmen Maria Machado, Karen Russell, and Lauren Groff. I highly recommend this collection, as it was difficult to pinpoint a favourite story as they were all such strong competition, and I was left with many powerful images and feelings that will sit with me for some time.

I found this collection of wonder tales a bit hit and miss. While some stories--like the titular one--are excellent, short glimpses of wonder and unexpected turns, others were a chore to read. The collection doesn't really get off the ground until several stories in; once it does, there's lush and evocative writing to be savored, but the first third or so is dry and sometimes plain dull. I wonder if a different reading order might change the overall feel of the book, or if other stories might have replaced the ones that feel like warm-ups.

I did not complete the entire selection of short stories. I managed to read only three, but they left me uncomfortable, and quite honestly a tad nauseous. The blurb sounded so interesting, with the collection of stories that dealt with varying degrees of harsh reality, but the stories themselves fell a little flat at places, and at times focused solely on the subtle horrors of the human mind, with no scope for grey areas…

"she stayed on her knees, eyes tightly shut, and distantly it occurred to her that this was the only difference between ghosts and saints. we want the saints to return to us. we long to see them emerge from the dark, ache for their restless touch."

tw: gore, body horror, detailed descriptions of dead animals

in all fairness to my low rating, it was evident quite early on that this collection was not for me. i didn't expect it to be quite so gory from the blurb, and i don't really deal with gore very well.

so by the time i'd reached "the undertaker's dogs", i'd sealed the deal. dying dogs are a no-go for me, let alone when they're graphic descriptions of newborn puppies. it genuinely made me nauseous.

and then i just couldn't fall in love with the rest of the stories. from a technical standpoint, there isn't much to nitpick – olguin is a compelling writer who can craft very diverse voices and characters really well, from an angry, rebellious child to a grieving, aging mother. some of the more historical stories, like "the sea gives up the dead", had beautiful depictions of queer and trans identities. "clara aguilera's holy lungs" (quoted above) had perhaps the most intriguing setting of them all, and i enjoyed "esther and the voice" with its sci-fi take on the intersection of the human and the AI.

however, a lot of the time, i didn't like how the stories were paced. some ran by really quickly – "honey from the rock" is merely a couple pages. others, like "seven deaths", felt a little dragged out. not a single story was a five-start.

but really, it's not olguin, it's me. for the lovers of the gory and the macabre, "the sea gives up the dead" will make a nice addition to the horror shelf.