It was Billy McTavish's first sea voyage.
He had signed on to the serve as convoy escort on the THISTLE a Royal Canadian Navy corvette.
Through U-Boat attack and Luftwaffe bombing runs, Billy had thought he had seen all of the horror that the Atlantic could offer a young Canadian sailor.
But Big Jimmy Noonan had other ideas...
WHAT FOLKS ARE SAYING ABOUT STEVE VERNON'S WRITING!
"If Harlan Ellison, Richard Matheson and Robert Bloch had a three-way sex romp in a hot tub, and then a team of scientists came in and filtered out the water and mixed the leftover DNA into a test tube, the resulting genetic experiment would most likely grow up into Steve Vernon." – Bookgasm
"Steve Vernon is something of an anomaly in the world of horror literature. He's one of the freshest new voices in the genre although his career has spanned twenty years. Writing with a rare swagger and confidence, Steve Vernon can lead his readers through an entire gamut of emotions from outright fear and repulsion to pity and laughter." - Cemetery Dance
"Armed with a bizarre sense of humor, a huge amount of originality, a flair for taking risks and a strong grasp of characterization - Steve's got the chops for sure." - Dark Discoveries
“Steve Vernon is a hard writer to pin down. And that’s a good thing.” – Dark Scribe Magazine
"This genre needs new blood and Steve Vernon is quite a transfusion." –Edward Lee, author of FLESH GOTHIC and CITY INFERNAL
“Steve Vernon is one of the finest new talents of horror and dark fiction" - Owl Goingback, author of CROTA
"Steve Vernon was born to write. He's the real deal and we're lucky to have him." - Richard Chizmar
This book sells well - and more importantly it serves as a kind of a gateway to my larger collection SEA TALES.
Best way to think of this story is as a sort of a fishing lure. Once a reader gets a taste of this story they want to read MORE of my SEA TALES - including the full collection.
In The Dark and the Deep
It happened that fast.
A torpedo track, furrowing the water, passed straight abaft of our corvette, the Thistle. There was a muffled crump of impact. A mere seventy-five yards away from us, the tanker Cassandra settled and tilted, taking on water fast.
“Man the depth charges,” our captain sang out.
The order was instinctive and unnecessary. Men already stood by, ready to roll the fat deadly barrels from the stern rail. The crews of the port and starboard throwers launched another pair of depth charges into their high carved arcs. We spread the charges out as widely as possible, knowing that the U-boat would already be on the move, trying to evade our certain retaliation.
The depth charges were a blind luck measure. They sank slowly, giving the U-boat a lot of time to escape. It was almost impossible to aim them, and the hulls of the U-boats were so solid that only a near-direct hit would have any effect, but they panicked the U-boat crew, and more importantly, they gave our crew the much-needed feeling of accomplishment.
The asdic crew hunkered beneath their headsets, knowing full well that the rough water and the impact from the depth charges’ undersea explosions rendered their listening gear nearly useless.
We were aiming blind, as usual.
Fumes of petrol coiled up from the tanker like slow blue snakes curling hypnotically through the air. I saw the captain frozen at the helm for less than half of a second, his mind warring between trying to save the crew of the Cassandra or else hunting the U-boat.
A fragment of a second.
That’s how long a war can last, sometimes.
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Dutch
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Already translated.
Translated by Didier Declercq
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French
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Already translated.
Translated by Noro Mahefa Rakotofiringa
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German
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Already translated.
Translated by Pedro Pablo Perez Aguero
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Greek
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Already translated.
Translated by Olga Tsamoutali
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Italian
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Already translated.
Translated by Carmelo Massimo Tidona
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Author review: Carmelo Massimo Tidona, dug deep into the darkness of his imagination and created an amazing translation of my story. I love working this translator. Always catches my goof-ups and helps me to improve my work. An absolute professional! |
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Portuguese
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Already translated.
Translated by João Paulo Rocha and Makoto Yamamoto
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Spanish
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Already translated.
Translated by Gabriela Miranda
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Author review: What can I tell you? This is my third translation with Gabriela, and we've got more lined up. She works hard, is open to new ideas and she never leaves me dangling. If I send her a message, her response is prompt and she takes action. She is a professional and a real pleasure to work with. Steve Vernon (windbag at large) |
