Oceanus by Hanna Delaney

LEND ME THINE EAR ALL YE FIENDS AND FOES, AND SEE IF I SHANT STEAL THY HEART AS WELL

Another unprompted and unofficial, possibly even unhelpful, Loser’s Thoughts on Substack Literaturrrrrrrr.

I just finished Hanna Delaney’s dreamy scifi reimagining of The Tempest by Shakespeare. Oceanus is Delaney’s incredibly well done homage to the classic play. While reading it, I felt in a haze of strangeness, in the best way. The feeling is evoked occasionally for me by a sort of uncanny valley in the world: a place much like earth but not quite right (Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer, or parts of Peter Jackson’s King Kong movie believe it or not.) It’s a great vibe for this novel and it works for the characters and plot. You open with someone who doesn’t know what’s going on; you follow a group that mysteriously ends up in a pit without knowing how they got there — it’s all very… dreamy. The characters are excellent, and I found myself sympathizing with and understanding all of them. When I finished Oceanus, I was immensely intrigued how Hanna had adapted or took inspiration from The Tempest, so I borrowed an audiobook and listened through it. I HIGHLY recommend reading Oceanus, and then the Tempest, because I found that Hanna’s book allowed me to better understand the play, and man, I am impressed with the creative way in which pieces are adapted. The daughter in Oceanus and the spirit in the Tempest were two specific things I found superb in their adaptation (can’t say more without spoiiiiiiling it, sorry). The only feedback I have for this one is that I personally would’ve found it more dreamy and alien if the flora and fauna on Oceanus were more strange and weird, and briefly described somewhere. I’m also just a sucker for cool fictional creatures and plants. Anywhooo, go read it for yourself, ya square.

Read original Note here.