Publisher's Weekly Review
Rocklyn's lyrical gothic fantasy debut considers how life can persist in a world of rot, death, and destruction. Iraxi and her community have survived at sea for 1,743 days, refugees of a flooded, highly stratified kingdom. Now Iraxi, who had been a commoner on land, is in the final days of a pregnancy, and many on the ark view her unborn child as a sign of hope. But Iraxi questions the morality and purpose of bringing life into such a disastrous environment: razorfangs circle in the water, the refugees scrape by on a dwindling supply of rosehip water and beans, and interpersonal conflict abounds. As Iraxi's due date comes ever closer, a darker fear takes root: that her baby may be something other than human. Rocklyn conjures Iraxi's precarious position in fluid, lovely prose, though the tight focus on her pregnancy causes the narrative to feel stagnant at times, as the ark lacks direction both literally and metaphorically, and the world that came before is only hinted at. Still, the constant threats of life on the water present just enough tension to keep this novella afloat. Agent: Roseanne Wells, the Jennifer De Chiara Agency. (Oct.)
Booklist Review
Flowers for the Sea is about a desperate attempt to keep a people alive. The land is dying, and the inhabitants of the world are barely surviving on a boat with dwindling rations. Iraxi, an outcast, is pregnant with a child who might not live past infancy. Does she even want her baby, or is it yet another burden she will be saddled with? What will happen when she finally gives birth? Will Iraxi save the world--or destroy it? This debut novella combines the physical anxiety of pregnancy with dystopian desperation and urgency. It feels like a taste of a much larger world that has a long and awful history. Iraxi is an irascible yet sympathetic narrator, caught up in a struggle much bigger than herself and moving with forces that she may not understand. Her rage and search for vengeance propel the plot. This novella will whet the appetite of fans of classics like Ira Levin's Rosemary's Baby, P. D. James' The Children of Men, and Octavia Butler's "Bloodchild."
Library Journal Review
DEBUT Dark fantasy and horror work in tandem, gently overlapping at first, before violently colliding in this captivating and disquieting novella. Iraxi lives with the remnants of humanity on a ship, helplessly floating on the sea surrounded by the dual threat of tentacled monsters from below and "razorfangs" from above. It has been 1,743 days since the land flooded and became uninhabitable. Iraxi is the last of the "nims," who have a magical connection to the sea, but their power is no longer revered. The story is framed around Iraxi's final days of pregnancy up to just after she gives birth, a pivotal moment for these survivors as no one has been able to birth a live baby on board, and most have died trying; it also features flashbacks to Iraxi in the before-times. Told in language that is both lyrical and spare, employing immersive but efficient worldbuilding, this story engages all five of the senses, allowing readers to physically experience the dread, claustrophobia, and fear but also the wonder, awe, and hope. VERDICT Rocklyn has written an astounding story that will leave readers begging for more, recalling other critically acclaimed novellas like Priya Sharma's Ormeshadow and P. Djèlí Clark's Black God's Drum.
