I finally got the time to read this and regret not making time earlier. Drawn Up From Deep Places is a brilliant, diverse read. I read Gemma File’s Experimental Film a couple years back and loved it. Drawn Up From Deep Places didn’t remind me of anything I read in Experimental Film, which I think is a testimony to her diversity of voice.
Drawn Up From Deep Places is a collection of ten stories that includes tales of Roman monstrosities, the Weird West, one of the more creative Jack the Ripper tales I’ve read, and Chinese Ghosts. All of these stand alone on their own as great stories. The real gems (or gem) of the collection are the four on-going stories of occult piracy on the high seas involving Jerusalem Parry and Captain Rusk, two men who redefine the love/hate relationship. The stories are not consecutive in the book, but the strength of each one links the on-going arc together perfectly. These stories could’ve been a whole novella on it’s own, but I enjoyed the way the were staggered out within the book. Together they create an amazing, dark, utterly treacherous tale in a world that I would not mind seeing more done in. I highly recommend it.
Drawn Up From Deep Places can be bought at Journalstone and Amazon.