Time for another swim deep into the world of Deadtime Stories. We've been doing quite a few of them lately. They're always a decent little outlet. And given we have some creatures of a lagoon that may or may not be black, this was a solid choice to pull from for this year's (Woo!) Party Summer selection. Will this be a fun swim, or are we gonna end up with cramps? Let's find out with It Came From the Deep.
I like this cover. The monster is has a freaky look to it with the giant razor fans and the eerily human eyes. It definitely goes for that Creature of the Black Lagoon design while feeling just fresh enough to not be a complete knockoff. I really like the ripples of the water and how the underwater city behind the creature. It's a shade too obscured by the water and the monster, but it's some really cool stuff regardless. Another great Broeck Steadman work. Also FREE STICKERS!
Randi Carson and her family won a contest thanks to a soda cap. Now they're on a Caribbean vacation to a resort simply known as Paradise. She starts the story in a tunnel under the shark lagoon, which is neat and all, were she not afraid of sharks. She runs into a boy named Garrett Brown who conveniently also won a trip to the same Carribean island via a bottle cap. Given the odds on those things I'm calling bullshit. As they talk about how cool it is in this tunnel where they can see all of the aquatic life, they spot a man in a fishing outfit above the water. Suddenly a group of sharks show up and eat him. The kids panic, only to find out the man is perfectly fine and the sharks were just eating some delicious chum. The shark feeder, with fang-like teeth and a scar on his face from a barracuda, says tells the kids to head off and prepare for the feast of the Nanuwee. Which, despite being vacationers, they have to be a part of, despite not really knowing what it's about. But, I mean, free vacation. Are you really going to complain that much? I mean you could, but still.
Instead of going to rehearse for the feast of Nanuwee, Garrett suggest the pair grab a pair of Sea-Doos and go riding instead. They see a pair by the Sea-Doo shack, including a man who mentions something about his 12 hours being up. The woman heads to the feast rehearsal while man disappears, which concerns Randi. She then sees his footprints on the beach head right into the water. Garrett doesn't notice, and is more focused on finding a Sea-Doo. They find one and he teaches Randi how to drive it. That goes well until they end up flipping it. They find themselves far out past the buoys, which is bad enough, but when they see a giant fin emerge from the water, that becomes more concerning. The kids try to swim but end up being grabbed by something. More specifically someone, as it's the man from the Sea-Doo shack, who scolds them for not going to the feast rehearsal. This is really going to piss off Carcharodon Carcharias, or the thankfully more easier to type Mr. C. Because Mr. Great White Shark would be too on the nose.
Mr. C. is the owner of the resort. He and his assistant, the less clever Barry Kuda, run the resort with Barry handling public relations. The kids head to the rehearsal where they're to do stick clapping for the Nanuwee. Randi notes one kid, Bobby Farkle, who wears a lot of sunblock, is roly-poly and wears a polka dot swimsuit. Maybe he's just a big fan of WWF Dusty Rhodes. And there's my one per blog! There's a few more of the Farkle kids there and a boy named Jimbo Traytor who wears a straw hat and long shorts. Mr. C and Mr. Kuda arrives to see how the rehearsal is going. Mr. C. is in a white suit with sunglasses covering his eyes, while Mr. Kuda is shorter and has a more angry looking face. Bobby and Jimbo begin to practice their stick clapping when they accidentally hit Mr. C, knocking his sunglasses off. Randi gets in a quick look to notice that Mr. C's eyes look like yellow cat eyes but blink like a fish. She tells Garrett, but he doesn't believe her because we're only like 30 pages deep, gonna be a bit until then.
But the performance angers Mr. C and Mr. Kuda to the point that they tell the kids that they'll be practicing far longer until they get it right. Randi and Garrett head to the dolphin encounter. Jimbo and the Farkles are there as well. Jimbo tries to feed one of the dolphins with a sardine, but ends up accidentally eating the fish and choking. Maybe Randi and Garrett are right to pick on these kids. Randi heads into the water and gets to pet Milo, one of the dolphins, who starts to speak normal English to her and only her. The dolphin trainer tells Randi that dolphins aren't friendly, but wild animals. Randi heads back to Milo who tells her to come back after dark and to be careful because there's danger all around her. Also don't tell the dolphin trainer about this for obvious reasons. And, smartly, Randi doesn't tell anyone else about the talking dolphin.
She returns to her family and they run into Mr. C, who is apologizing to Jimbo's parents for their son almost choking and Mr. Traytor's bowtie catching fire and threatening to sue. Somehow I don't think evil fish people are as much of a death omen to the Traytor and Farkle family to their own damn selves. Mr. Farkle then takes a picture of Mr. C, which he doesn't consent to, claiming it hurts his eyes. Mr. Kuda then slaps the camera to the ground and steps on it in a rage, which is a thing to do after one family is already considering a lawsuit. The two make their leave, as does Garrett and Randi. But not long after leaving, the kids find Mr. C's private dining room, where he's telling his subordinates to get rid of the Traytor family by any means necessary. He then has a toast to the Nanuwee where the kids notice that the glass Mr. C is holding contains a live goldfish. Oh, so he's doing that one Steve-O stunt. Also their food seems to consist of chum and eels.
Before Randi and Garrett can process what they just saw, it gets weirder as Mr. Kuda mentions he has to leave as his twelve hours are up. The kids then see him running off, his suit tearing apart and a giant fin growing out of his back. They follow him as he enters a room, slamming the door so hard that it opens, because I guess fish humans never heard of locks. Inside is a cavernous control room with monitors overseeing the entire resort and every room. But before she can question why the staff at this resort are watching them like a sea hawk, Randi remembers she has to go back to talk to Milo. As they leave, Randi spots one angry looking barracuda behind a glass barrier that looks very angry. Of course, too early for the kids to put two and two together, so they rush off to find Milo. But when they return to the dolphin exhibit, they get attacked by some barracuda and a giant shark. Milo shows up and fights them off, sending the fish in retreat. I don't know if the Cascones ever played Ecco the Dolphin, but that's my headcanon now. Randi talks with Milo who doesn't answer much of what's going on, only that the tooth of the Nanuwee can't be replaced and it has to be driven through his heart.
As Randi and Garrett try to escape, two men find them and give chase. They manage to evade the men and return to Randi's hotel room where they try to figure out what the hell Milo was on about with the whole "Nanuwee tooth through the heart" thing. However, they then remember that all too important detail of the entire resort being spied on via hidden cameras, including Randi's hotel room, so yeah. Keeping this mum is going to be tricky. But when they check outside, they see a woman grabbing fish and eating them, so they're screwed either way. And given their parents don't believe that there's trouble in Paradise (which would have also been a great book title), they're back at the rehearsal room the next day to practice for the Nanuwee feast. Mr. C and Mr. Kuda are there, angrily looking at Randi and Garrett, and another instructor is really banged up, which he says were caused by getting in a fight with a dolphin. Wow these guys have bad poker faces. Also no sign of the Traytor family, with Mr. Kuda saying that the family left early in the morning. I guess you can't call it sleeping with the fishes when the fishes just eat you. Bobby Farkle, angered his friend Jimbo is gone, quits the feast rehearsal, to which Mr. Kuda is pretty much ready to put a hit on him.
After the rehearsal, Randi and Garrett discover some luggage thrown in a dumpster next to the restaurant, belonging to Jimbo and his dad. I guess the Traytors just got REAL chummy with the staff of Paradise. Randi heads back to the dolphin encounter, only for it to be closed. But they still manage to sneak inside because these fish people are REALLY bad with sealing things off. But before they can make it to Milo, they see more vicious sharks and notice Mr. Kuda's nametag in the water. They still haven't put two and two together, even though they literally saw Mr. Kuda start to change in front of them, but whatever. They escape the encounter and run into Mr. C and Mr. Kuda before running off again. They soon encounter Mrs. Farkle who is in a panic as Bobby's gone missing. He was on one of those water trikes, but he's disappeared. Mr. C and Mr. Kuda show up and say that Bobby's totally fine at the nearby barbecue grill. Just go in that direction Mrs. Farkle and we can assure you that you are DEFINITELY not about to be killed by some fishmen.
Randi and Garrett head to the hotel to search the Farkle's room, but check the lobby computer instead. And it doesn't take long for them to find the listings for the Farkle and Traytor families, with the words EATEN right next to them. They head to the control room to try and find info on Mr. C, but get caught with a password screen asking for their fin number, which they don't have given they aren't fish. But they soon spot Mr. C and Mr. Kuda on one of the monitors talking with one of the instructors. They're angry at the instructor, one Mr. Hammerhead, that the Traytors were eaten and that despite orders not to, they ate the Farkles as well, meaning they're six people short for the feast. They then push the instructor into the shark lagoon as the man turns into a hammerhead shark. Mr. C and Mr. Kuda then transform into a barracuda and a great white shark and tear the hammerhead apart, eating him alive. Not gonna lie, this book started slow but it kind of getting pretty fuckin' hardcore.
Randi and Garrett are about to leave the control room where they again overhear Mr. C and Mr. Kuda pretty much confirming they ate the Farkles and Traytors. So now with nowhere to go, the kids feel their fates are sealed. Mr. C and Mr. Kuda mention a sacred pagoda where the Nanuwee tooth is being sterilized, so they make their leave, giving the kids enough time to escape the control room and head to Mr. C's office to get more answers. They find a self portrait of Mr. C on the wall with the name Carcharodon Carcharias underneath, which gives the book a chance to teach the kids that Carcharodon Carcharias is the scientific name for Great White Shark. They then find a model of an underwater city on Mr. C's table, labeled Zoomorphia, which I'm not gonna front, sounds like a fetish. Zoomorphia is where the fish people reside and only the great Nanuwee can rise the city from the depths. But only humans can awaken the Nanuwee by singing its praises, hence the feast and the rehearsals. If Zoomorphia rises, then it will scream the end of the world. Tidal waves, earthquakes, 40 years of darkness, human sacrifices, dogfish and catfish living together. MASS HYSTERIA! Also, there's a reason this is called the "Feast" of the Nanuwee because the fish people intend to eat the humans after Nanuwee's awakened. See, this shit right here's why there's no such thing as a free vacation.
Of course, they tell their parents, but they don't believe them. I mean, we kind of already did this bit earlier. Men arrive carrying a tooth the size of a sailboat, which means the Nanuwee is a BIG momma. The feast arrives and everybody but Randi and Garrett do the welcoming chant. And, for plot convenience I'm sure, everyone who does the chant is in a zombified state but Randi and Garrett. The others walk into the water as the sharks begin to make their way. But it's not the sharks, it's Milo and the dolphins. For some reason, the sharks can't go into the water until Nanuwee rishes. Milo tells Randi to climb atop the tooth and hold on. The Nanuwee rises from the water. It's a massive whale, which in my head I want to think it's like the wind fish from Link's Awakening. The dolphins send Randi and the tooth into the water and direct it into the open mouth of the Nanuwee. Reader Be-wore, we're in for some vore.
But nope, instead of being eaten by a giant whale, the dolphins pull the tooth down into the water and jam it into the heart of the Nanuwee. Mr. C is about to attack Randi, but she grabs on to Milo who brings her down into the bottom of the ocean. There's Zoomorphia, but also the lost city of Atlantis. Milo tells Randi that Atlantis was indeed real and was a thriving city before the Zoomorphians invaded and forced out the Atlanteans who became dolphins. They wished for the city to fall into the ocean, which it did, turning the Zoomorphians into sharks and barracudas. But Milo tells Randi that now that Nanuwee is dead, they don't have to worry about Zoomorphia ever rising to the surface again. They enter Atlantis, which causes Randi to transform into a dolphin-this was an awakening book wasn't it? Suddenly, Mr. C and Mr. Kuda show up, but both Dolphin Randi and Milo manage to defeat them, which in turn causes a volcano to erupt, completely destroying Zoomorphia.
Randi wakes up on the beach, confused. Wondering if this was all a dream at first. But it wasn't as Garrett tells her that the island went crazy after the Nanuwee was vanquished with the underwater volcano eruption causing earthquakes and disarray. Nobody remembers what happened of course, but helicopters are arriving to airlift everyone out. As Randi and Garrett get on the helicopter, they notice the dolphins waving and following the chopper. The pilot mentions that they'll just be passing the Bermuda Triangle, no big deal. Suddenly a giant triangle rises from the ocean. Randi realizes the dolphins were trying to warn them, but it's too late as the helicopter begins to plummet into the water, and the creatures below sure the hell ain't dolphins.
You get a lot of action, some decent horror and solid protagonists and villains. Randi works as the lead who isn't the most dynamic kid ever, but she serves as a good lead, as does Garrett in the friend role. Mr. C and Mr. Kuda work great as villains. They feel like threats, they act confident and arrogant as they're certain their plan will go off without a hitch. And the Nanuwee, even with long build to it, does feel like a monster that could bring about the end times. Granted, it has a very easy Achilles heel. But what little we get of it, still works. The Farkles and the Traytors mainly just exist to be killed off, and the book does so much to make them obnoxious and geeky that I guess you're not supposed to feel bad that two otherwise innocent families were murdered. I have to admit, when it comes to dark humor, this book is pretty good at it in ways that Stine never was.
This book just slightly predates The Creature from Club Lagoona from Ghosts of Fear Street. So given I've covered both, which book do I think does this plot better? Both feature kids who are at a resort where they have to deal with a giant sea creature. In the case of this book a giant whale and in Club Lagoona a kraken. But that book does cop out with most of the story being in a virtual reality game, so it does lose a lot of punch where this book has all of the action actually happen and leads to a much more action heavy finale. Also this book doesn't constantly say "Get Wet", so it pretty much wins for that reason.
But for the praise I give it, there's still problems. Like I said, it starts very slowly and takes a while to start to build up. It also suffers from some mid-book wheel spinning that mostly consists of Randi and Garrett constantly spying on Mr. C and Mr. Kuda. Which is mostly done with the plot convenience of these Zoomorphians not knowing how to keep a door locked. And, for all their security and surveillance, they should have been able to deal with Randi and Garrett much easier. Honestly the control room only seems there so they can have the kids see the Zoomorphians transform without them being immediately caught. Also, I kind of rolled my eyes at the other people being zombified at the end. But that's more my own wish that parents in these books actually mattered. so consider that last one my own pet peeve.
So in the end, this book is pretty good. It's flawed, and a bit dry to start, but builds into one of my favorite conclusions. Even if it does feel like the book has to rush an explanation for the dolphins being heavily involved in fighting off the Zoomorphians. But even so, it's an easy recommend. A book that's worth diving into. Just make sure you aren't diving into shark infested waters before you read it. It Came From the Deep gets a B+.
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