I had a dream last night about a triceratops and an ankylosaur which is a good enough reason to talk about the Sirenia Digest, a monthly publication of vignettes by my palaeontologist friend Caitlin R. Kiernan, though the new story in the Digest, "Far From Any Shore", is about archaeologists. It's a nice Lovecraftian tale, not just because it contains Lovecraft's soapstone artefacts which Caitlin has written about in other work--it effectively captures the Lovecraftian impression of minds damaged through contact with the strange, the jumbling of perceptions of past and present, real and unreal. Also included are references to The King In Yellow and anyone who liked True Detective might find reading Caitlin's work a rewarding experience.
There's also a reference in the new story to a Castle Rock which I thought for a moment might be a Stephen King reference despite knowing Caitlin isn't especially fond of King. But it may also be a reference to Lord of the Flies, as it was for King originally, and of course there are plenty of real life Castle Rocks, including right in my home town--this being a Castle Rock that's a Castlerock, apparently the name being so familiar now they've decided it's one word. It looks awkward. I want to read it as "Castler Ock", as though Doctor Octopus has a reputation in chess circles for castling. But it's pretty rare for anyone not to castle in chess. No, no, it won't do.
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