‘Fathoms’ sees Rich Hawkins continue his recent creative burst with another short story, chock full of his trademark bleakness, despair and smooth prose. ‘Fathoms’ is a slice of gloom filled horror that Hawkins is consistently producing. The story sees a body washed up on a beach shore that gets recovered and taken to a nearby police station. Soon enough, the body vanishes…has it been reclaimed by the sea?, or is there something much more sinister at work?
‘Fathoms’ would feel at home as a short story in an anthology, though it’s also a great way to fill in time between reading of longer works (which is how I read it). Whilst not nearly as long as recent release ‘Fallen Soldier’ (reviewed here), ‘Fathoms’ is the perfect way to pass a few minutes, engaging with the horrors that Hawkins creates. This short little number (around about ten pages in length) is a great introduction to his work, whilst also being another worthy addition to the Hawkins collection. Featuring some delicately handled sentences, Hawkins once again shows that he is capable of elevating a story as short as this into an emotional wave of sombre horror.
I am already a huge fan of this writer and see more great things coming from him in the future. Don’t let the stories short length put you off!, ‘Fathoms’ is more than capable of putting similarly short works at the bottom of the ocean, tied down with a heavy weight.
Pick up a copy of this short story from here.
Grim Reader Reviews 