Aboard the ship Scylla, there is no future or past. Jaq, her fickle lover Lily, and their all-female crew exist in an endless present. It’s better this way. At least it keeps Lily by Jaq’s side, where she belongs. But the meddling gods care little for Jaq’s longing, and despite her protective rituals, their punishment arrives all the same: a man, adrift on the open ocean. Delivered to snatch Lily from Jaq’s arms forever.
Jaq knows what to do. She’s lost Lily before. Her lover will return—when this interloper, this distraction, is snuffed out. But Jaq’s murderous schemes may not be enough. The intruder’s presence infects her crew with a plague her spells cannot cure: memory. And as the women recall how they came to Scylla, their minds bend one by one towards revenge.
"We crave violence, so we swallow violent men". Rae Knowles' Merciless Waters is a sapphic novella with horror undertones that are inspired by the figure of the rusalka. The narrator lulls the reader with her story, and the slow return of her memories, while thoughts of vengeance tint the narration with blood and gore. The lyrical prose and the oneiric images make for a little gem of a story, where violence against women is punished with relish. The sea krait was a delightful addition.
✨ 4 stars
📚📚📚 IF YOU LOVE THIS, YOU MIGHT LIKE:
* Providence Girls, by Morgan Dante
for: sea horrors, existential dread
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