Stemming the Tide: A Short Horror Story

Simon Strantzas

Feb 2020 · Come Join Us By the Fire Book 10 · Nightfire · Narrated by Ramon de Ocampo

About this audiobook

"Stemming the Tide" is a short horror story by Simon Strantzas, one of 35 entries in the audio anthology Come Join Us by the Fire.

The tide at Hopewell Rocks comes in every six hours and thirteen minutes. Sometimes, it brings the dead with it.

Come Join Us by the Fire, edited by Theresa DeLucci, is an audio-only horror anthology of 35 short stories from Nightfire Books, a horror imprint of Tor Books. The collection showcases the breadth of talent writing in the horror genre today, with contributions from a wide range of bestselling genre luminaries including China Miéville, Chuck Wendig, Richard Kadrey, and Victor LaValle; Shirley Jackson Award winners Paul Tremblay, Priya Sharma, and Sam J. Miller; Nebula Award winners Brooke Bolander, Alyssa Wong, Kij Johnson; and many, many more.

Ratings and reviews

This appears in the beginning to be more of the protagonist nihilistic view on life then it was the horror story it is advertised to be, A couple watches as the tide comes in and recedes. The wife wishes to watch while the husband thoughts our are narration of his thoughts. As she enjoys, we assume, the change in nature of the shoreline while the protagonist dwells in his dark thoughts. But the end we wonder are we reading a horror story. The author is able to portray the six hours and fourteen minutes it took for the high tide to reach its crest. And the subject of the event we have waited to experience what the tide has brought in is well described, But we do not know if what he describes is only in his mind or is actually seen. But then his partner speaks and lets the reader know the horror being described is actually transpiring. Or is she caught in his delusion. We will never know!

Not my favorite.

Loved the weirdness.

About the author

Simon Strantzas is the author of several short story collections, including Burnt Black Suns. His fiction has appeared in The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror, Best Horror of the Year, and The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, and has been nominated for the British Fantasy and Shirley Jackson awards. He is also the editor of the Shirley Jackson Award-winning anthology Aickman's Heirs. He resides in Toronto, Canada.