"The War With The Deep Ones"

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So I took some time away from unbuilt aircraft and spacecraft projects and have written most of a novel. If you are a fan of HP Lovecraft, this should make sense to you: a bit over a century after the federal government raided Innsmouth, the Deep Ones finally rise up against the surface world. This comes as something of an unpleasant surprise to most people... but not quite to everyone. "War With The Deep Ones" is about... well, the title pretty much nails it, I think.

The first book is a collection of short stories set within the first few days of the invasion. The first story I released is "Honolulu:"
http://up-ship.com/blog/?p=36676


The second story is "Champion of the Seas:"
http://up-ship.com/blog/?p=36833

Enjoy.
 
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Just sayin.... :D
 
I've specifically attempted to avoid politics in these stories, but realistically, some countries would be better able to handle a Deep One invasion than others. And certain subsets would do better than others. Rednecks? Gangbangers? They've got a shot.
 
DAM why have i overlook that ?!

I try "Honolulu:" just some page, in end i read entire the story
well written, nasty plot and end,
then in hunger for more read the except from "Champion of the Seas"

i was Curious, now you got my Full Attention !

P.S.
if you need information about Belgium Netherlands and German Coast
PM Me !
 
Michel Van said:
if you need information about Belgium Netherlands and German Coast
PM Me ! [/i]

The great majority of the stories are set in the US. Not because the rest of the world wouldn't have good stories... it's because I suspect I'd screw them up. I'd get the culture wrong, the characters wrong, etc. I'd like to show the Japanese, Indians, Chinese, Brits and Russians in particular deal with this, but not being Russian, Chinese, Indian, Brit or Japanese, I'm pretty sure I'd get it wrong. I know what *happens* there (hint: interesting sunsets), but telling the stories right... not sure I'd do 'em justice.

That said, one of the tales I've written is "Falklands."
 
I enjoyed reading both stories. B)
I hope more will be released soon, I look forward reading some Clancy style SSN fights against the bigger beasts.

About not doing stories outside USA, consider a scenario where the Russians use Status-6 nuke torpedoes against the Deep One's HQ to cook fish soup.
 
gTg said:
I enjoyed reading both stories. B)

I hope more will be released soon,

We'll see. Got a lot more stories done, but so far only five downloads of "Champion." Not an encouraging start. Shrug.

About not doing stories outside USA, consider a scenario where the Russians use Status-6 nuke torpedoes against the Deep One's HQ to cook fish soup.

Actually, one of the finished stories deals *vaguely* with something like that. But rather than the Russians nuking a deeply submerged target, the story is the US Navy making sure the Russians (or anyone else) *don't* nuke a deeply submerged target. Some things down there you want to tiptoe around and leave alone, hoping they stay asleep.
 
Triton said:
I thought that the Deep Ones worshiped Dagon. :-\

Unsurprisingly, Lovecraft left Deep One theology a little vague. But at one level they worship/revere/follow Mother Hydra and Father Dagon, who are simply the oldest and largest of the Deep Ones (in the original short story "Dagon," ancient carvings show Deep One-like beings so big that they're snacking on whales). But they also worship Cthulhu, likely *through* Dagon and Hydra. And since Cthulhu is himself merely the priest for the Outer Gods, the Deep ones probably toss worship of Azathoth, Babstreisand and Yog Sothoth into the mix as well.

From my point of view as a wannabe author, their religion is a handy tool. As with alien invasion stories, trying to come up with a good explanation as to why an intelligent species would do something so costly for no readily apparent benefit is a puzzler. But once you throw religious motivation into it, especially if you can claim that the religion is written into their core DNA (their first-level "gods" are right there, and can communicate with you directly), then all kinds of irrational craziness can be accepted.
 
Gotta say, was a bit underwhelmed with this one. :-\
As always, the descriptions are beautifully realistic, I really could see them in my head, and the characterisations, terse as they are, are more than sufficient, I could see what the captain looked like. I also thought the anachronisms were used well, and I'm pretty sure that I now know what and where 'Brass Valley' is . . . ;)
The main thing I felt was lack of, for want of a better term, 'Lovecraft-ness'. Sure, we've got Deep Ones, and more, but the plot was quite predictable, especially once the dying started. Once the MacGuffin was used, it was pretty obvious how things were going to end . . . To bed honest, overall it felt more like a treatment for a 'Pacific Rim', or 'Godzilla' sequel, rather than a Lovecraftian horror story.
Now, I've been deliberately vague here, so as not to spoil things should there be anyone that reads this that hasn't read the story yet, but I'm more than happy to discuss things further via PM, if it's wanted . . .
I'll end with a question, and a direct suggestion . . .
When exactly are theses stories set? They do read as if it's now, but some of the technology is just a wee bit advanced. Also, there have been several references to the events at Innsmouth happening 'over a century ago' 'The Shadow over Innsmouth' was written in 1930, and set in the then-present, so I'm assuming that these stories are set around 20 years or so in the future. Would I be correct in this?
And lastly, change the name of the ship. Not that it's a bad name, but I would be almost certain that 'XXXXXX of the Seas' is copyrighted by which ever cruise line it is, and considering the events in the story, they would consider it good publicity.


cheers,
Robin.
 
robunos said:
Gotta say, was a bit underwhelmed with this one. :-\

:'(


The main thing I felt was lack of, for want of a better term, 'Lovecraft-ness'. Sure, we've got Deep Ones, and more, but the plot was quite predictable, especially once the dying started. Once the MacGuffin was used, it was pretty obvious how things were going to end . . . To bed honest, overall it felt more like a treatment for a 'Pacific Rim', or 'Godzilla' sequel, rather than a Lovecraftian horror story.

Well... I'm not trying to truly copy Lovecrafts style. And some of the stories have hopeful endings; some have completely depressing endings. Some of the stories are horror stories, some are sci-fi, some are war stories.

The Deep Ones are, from a certain point of view, just about the least Lovecraftian of the Lovecraftian spooky critters. They are, after all, straight-up biological animals. Apply a dose of .44 to them, they die. But you could nuke Cthulhu all day long and who knows what you'd get; and the likes of Yog Sothoth and Azathoth would likely be unmoved by the entire universe collapsing into a singularity. Some of the other stories have people laughing at the whole concept of being invaded by Creatures From The Black Lagoon.

As to whether it's obvious where the story is going... yeah, wouldn't surprise me. But then... Lovecraft tended to telegraph his endings as well.


When exactly are theses stories set? They do read as if it's now, but some of the technology is just a wee bit advanced. Also, there have been several references to the events at Innsmouth happening 'over a century ago' 'The Shadow over Innsmouth' was written in 1930,

Bingo.


I would be almost certain that 'XXXXXX of the Seas' is copyrighted by which ever cruise line it is,

Well, they haven't, so far as I know, snagged "Champion" as a name. I don't know that the cruise line could copyright "XXX Of The Seas."

I did for a time ponder using an *actual* ship here, but decided against it. Another story I've finished names *actual* ships, but they are military vessels (like the destroyer in "Champ").


Anyway, thanks for comments and critiques. Anything further that you think is spoilerific, feel free to PM me.
 
The main thing I felt was lack of, for want of a better term, 'Lovecraft-ness'. Sure, we've got Deep Ones, and more, but the plot was quite predictable, especially once the dying started. Once the MacGuffin was used, it was pretty obvious how things were going to end . . . To bed honest, overall it felt more like a treatment for a 'Pacific Rim', or 'Godzilla' sequel, rather than a Lovecraftian horror story.

Well... I'm not trying to truly copy Lovecrafts style. And some of the stories have hopeful endings; some have completely depressing endings. Some of the stories are horror stories, some are sci-fi, some are war stories.

The Deep Ones are, from a certain point of view, just about the least Lovecraftian of the Lovecraftian spooky critters. They are, after all, straight-up biological animals. Apply a dose of .44 to them, they die. But you could nuke Cthulhu all day long and who knows what you'd get; and the likes of Yog Sothoth and Azathoth would likely be unmoved by the entire universe collapsing into a singularity. Some of the other stories have people laughing at the whole concept of being invaded by Creatures From The Black Lagoon.

As to whether it's obvious where the story is going... yeah, wouldn't surprise me. But then... Lovecraft tended to telegraph his endings as well.

Understood . . .


I would be almost certain that 'XXXXXX of the Seas' is copyrighted by which ever cruise line it is,

Well, they haven't, so far as I know, snagged "Champion" as a name. I don't know that the cruise line could copyright "XXX Of The Seas."

By 'XXXXXXX' I meant "Any word or Name used in front of the words 'of the Seas'", a bit like when Apple tried to copyright 'i' used as a prefix in front of any word . . .

PM inbound in due course, should been sooner, but things are bit intense here at the moment . . .


cheers,
Robin.
 

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