Not truly an avid fan of the genre, but I am a fan of good writing. And this story delivers.

I was captured right from the first paragraph, immediately and sympathetically drawn to the old seafarer and the main character, Merevec. And then launched across the deck by a remorseless nightmare of a story that doesn’t let up — not even by the last sentence.

The descriptive phrases of sea and battle are precise, tactile, and picturesque. You really feel that you are lurching on that storm-tossed ship. Clint’s knowledge of the era and seafaring really shines through with a brutal realism. You are never left wondering what is going on — you feel the unforgiving environment viscerally so strong is his command of the terminology and his flare for storytelling.

Do you want a rousing adventure with a sinister undertow of sorcery and eldritch horror? Then read this story.

Just read this piece of short fantasy/horror fiction. A nicely crafted tale and just long enough. The author's obvious familiarity with the historical period and nautical terminology comes through strongly. It lends a sense of historical authenticity that pervades the story. This helps give an overall sense of verisimilitude to the setting.

Having done a limited amount of sailing in my youth, I could clearly visualize the action and events. The story achieves what any author hopes for, it gives the reader all five of the senses and therefore places them at the heart of the events.

It also blends two genres very well with some unexpected results; historical fantasy and eldritch horror. For fans of the pulps, all of the essentials are here; a stalwart hero facing seafaring danger and desperate, bloody hand to hand combat in an unforgiving environment as likely to kill as the enemy. Here too you get a mythos style melding of Greek lore and Lovecraft.

This is a great piece of debut short fiction from Clint Staples. Let's hope we see more in future.

Buy and enjoy!

Their Blood Is The Sea is a historical/fantasy by Clint Staples. It is a well written story that exhibits his love not only for fantasy literature but also the deep knowledge he has of history.

It is a short story but one full of depth. His descriptive text is spot on and he does an excellent job of creating relatable characters.

I thouroughly enjoyed the read and am looking forward to more fiction from Clint in the future.