Cover Art by Justin O’Neal
Waves of Sound and Water
Summary
Waves of Sound and Water is a dark fable that blends the whimsy of Edward Gorey with the spiraling insanity of Junji Ito.
“If something can be coiled—it can be unwound.”
Marko Markov mans a crooked lighthouse.
He maintains the wicks. He cranks the weights. Every day is exactly the same.
This routine continues until he discovers the Clanging Bell in the lighthouse’s storage room. They say all who hear its chimes are doomed to madness. But that’s just a story meant to scare naughty children —no different than tall tales of mermaids and ghost ships…
At least that’s what he believes until he hears its sound, and soon, its echo isn’t the only thing ringing in his ears.
The tide rolls in…
The moon rises…
And every breath he takes becomes a war for his own mind.
Praise
"Like an ancient sea shanty hauled up from the deep, Stephen Williams' Waves of Sound and Water is a wondrously hypnotic maelstrom of maritime malevolence, evoking the rhythmic mastery of Edward Gorey and the visual panache of Robert Eggers. Like the bell at the heart of the story, it continues to resonate long after you've put it away."
- Kealan Patrick Burke, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Kin and Sour Candy.
"A haunting tale of one man desperately clinging to sanity, told with poetic paranoia reminiscent of Poe."
- Chad Lutzke, author of Of Foster Homes and Flies.
“Terse and cinematic, Waves of Sound and Water by Stephen Williams recalls the grim nostalgia of old school noir, while spinning a neo-gothic yarn in a curious and yearning seascape.”
-Monique Quintana, author of Cenote City