From the Belly

Nahil impresses in his debut, a taut work of horror set within the claustrophobic confines of an unusual whaling ship. Isaiah Chase, crew member of the ironically named Merciful, is present when his shipmates eviscerate a whale to harvest its parts and discover in the animal’s belly something wholly unexpected: the body of a man, who, amazingly, is still alive. To the dismay of Capt. Erasmus Coffin, the unconscious man is brought onboard, but Coffin orders that he be confined to the brig and that no entry about him be recorded in the official log. Unlike his fellow shipmates, Chase shows some sympathy for the rescued man—who, once he regains consciousness, reveals his name as Essex—and even goes into debt to procure some food for him. Before long, odd things happen onboard the Merciful, including a bounty of fish that appears on deck, an odd leak in the hold, and several tragic deaths. Nahil gradually ratchets up the creepiness until it becomes undeniable that something supernatural is afoot. Admirers of Dan Simmons’s The Terror will be especially riveted. (May)