The Soul of an Octopus

The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery, 261 pages

In this fascinating non-fiction book, Montgomery details her experiences with several octopuses (not octopi!) while volunteering at the New England Aquarium in Boston. She originally started volunteering as a chance to observe octopuses and get to know more about the fascinating creatures, but over the course of a few years, Montgomery got to know them, as much as any human can get to know a water-dwelling invertebrate, and eventually began planning world travels based around diving to seek them out in the wild.

Half-memoir, half-nature book, this is a touching, intriguing look into the most adaptable and intelligent creatures on earth (and yes, I am including humans in this estimation — some of Montgomery's stories bear this out!). Well worth the read, or listen.

Flowers for the Sea

Flowers for the Sea by Zin E. Rocklyn, 107 pages

Iraxi is one of several refugees on a ship that left a flooded land in hopes of finding somewhere safer. Unfortunately, that hasn't happened and resources are dwindling. Already an outcast among her fellows, Iraxi's pregnancy is just one more thing that separates her — she gets special treatment and more food because of the baby, you see. However, Iraxi doesn't want the baby and fears that it may not be human.

This is a short book and a quick read, but it's also horrifying and visceral. I felt like there was a lot of potential here that didn't quite get fully fleshed out in the barely 100 pages — this would have benefitted from more pages and more details, regarding both the plot of the book and Iraxi's backstory.

The Wake

The Wake by Scott Snyder, art by Sean Murphy, colors by Matt Hollingsworth, 256 pages

Dr. Lee Archer, a cetologist, is recruited by the Department of Homeland Security to study a marine call that doesn't match any known animal. Taken to a secret deep-sea drill rig in the arctic circle, she meets the rest of the team, and, more importantly, the creature who made the call. Given that this is Scott Snyder and a horror story, things quickly go pear-shaped, as the creature escapes and all hell breaks loose. And then we fast-forward 200 years to a world running out of freshwater and constantly under siege by the creatures. Like all good Snyder stories, the world around the story is top-notch, and he quickly drops you into the conflict at hand, ramping up the tension as the DHS agent slowly explains why they're all there, and keeping it going as the crew try to escape. Sean Murphy's art is fantastic, especially his creature design, and Matt Hollingsworth's colors really add to the underwater feel of the story. Unfortunately, and maybe I was just not paying enough attention, Snyder makes a jump in explaining the end that I wasn't able to follow. Regardless, I still really enjoyed this story, and am eagerly looking forward to whatever Snyder dreams up next.