Title: The Old One and the Sea

Author: Lex H. Jones

Release date: November 1st, 2019

What a stunning, little piece of fiction ‘The Old One and the Sea’ is.

Released through Sinister Horror Company’s Kids imprint, Lex H. Jones expertly delivers a kids story that introduces young readers to Lovecraft’s The Old Ones, specifically Cthulu, affectionately known as Oolu here.

When this was released, I saw so many folks raving about it. I ordered it on Kindle as well as a physical copy, but for whatever reason I didn’t get to this sooner. Heck, between the time this was released and me reading it, I appeared in an anthology with Mr. Jones (humble brag!).

What I liked: The book follows a young Howard, living at the ocean’s edge. He’s struggling with the reality that his father isn’t returning from war and memories of his dad are everywhere. His mom is doing her best and an older male with a fascination with the stars treats Howard kindly. Then, one night, the town is rocked by an earthquake, which results in an odd, black reef jutting forth from the depths. From this point on, Jones introduces Oolu and we get to see the creature and the boy develop an unlikely friendship while the reader gets to experience some poignant philosophical passages.

Jones has really done a great job of introducing Lovecraft’s mythos to younger readers while also crafting a beautiful story of childhood sorrow and imagination. This book left me with tears a number of times, and now that I’ve read it, I’m excited for when I can read this with my own son.

What I didn’t like: Jones created a perfect set up for the ‘why’ of Lovecraft creating and writing the mythos he does as an adult, and the epilogue was great. One thing that I found interesting (and while I understand it, as it is a kids book) was that in the epilogue there was no mention of Lovecraft’s personal beliefs tainting how he is remembered. It is very minor and when you take this purely as a kids book, completely makes sense, but if you have a slightly older reader who would look into Lovecraft following reading this, a lot of questions may arise.

Why you should buy this: If you’re looking for a fantastic bridge story to introduce your little ones to Cthulu and the Old Ones mythos, this book is perfect. Jones writes with such delicacy in here, really making for a sweet and adorable read filled with so many emotions. I should’ve read this far earlier, but now that I’ve read it, I have to say – if you have this on your TBR, definitely get to it! It was awesome.

5/5