The Shallow End of the Pool

by Adam-Troy Castro

2008 Bram Stoker Award Nominee for Long Fiction

Includes an introduction by the author

Resolution. Reason. Respect.

Among U.S. couples marrying today, roughly 40% will divorce. About half of those will have children at the time of the split. Ensuing ugliness will engulf the lives of both divorcees and offspring. They can in most cases expect years of legal battles, deceit, rage, depression, baiting, vitriol, manipulation, and hurt. Perhaps there is another way, a better way. A way that allows for resolution, reason, and respect. An agreement, of sorts, but one that confronts rather than masks the myriad troubles at hand. Lays them all out on the table. Settles the issues once and for all in an honorable arena. Something direct. Fair. Final. Adam-Troy Castro, Hugo/Nebula/Stoker-nominated author of the SF novel Emissaries from the Dead, brings you a brutally horrific tale of the ultimate settlement in the battle of broken-hearted wills. Petty power plays have been cast aside. The facade of decency is shelved. For one blistering week in an abandoned desert motel, there will be no excuses, pleading, or games. Only resolution, reason, respect.

And blood.

Genres: Horror

56 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Adam-Troy Castro made his first professional sale to Spy magazine in 1987. Since then, he's published 12 books and almost 80 short stories. Among those stories are "Baby Girl Diamond" (nominated for the Bram Stoker Award) and "The Funeral March of the Marionettes" (nominated for the Hugo and Nebula Awards in 1998). "The Astronaut from Wyoming," a collaboration with Jerry Oltion, appeared in Analog and was nominated for the Hugo and Nebula Awards in 2000, before winning the Seiun (Japanese Hugo) for best translation in 2008.

His "Of A Sweet Slow Dance in the Wake of Temporary Dogs" was nominated for the 2003 Nebula. His original short story collections include Lost in Booth Nine (published by Silver Salamander Press in 1993), An Alien Darkness and A Desperate Decaying Darkness (published by Wildside Press in 2000), Vossoff and Nimmitz (2002), and Tangled Strings (2003). He is also the author of the Spider-Man novels—Time's Arrow: The Present (written in collaboration with Tom DeFalco), The Gathering of the Sinister Six, Revenge of the Sinister Six, and Secret of the Sinister Six—as well as the nonfiction My Ox Is Broken! The Andrea Cort novels include, Emissaries from the Dead, The Third Claw of God, and a third installment currently in progress, tentatively titled The Fall of the Marionettes.

Castro, who married the divine Judi on 25 December 2002, lives in Florida with his wife and four cats: Maggie, Uma Furman, Meow Farrow, and the latest acquisition, Ralphie, an orphan of 2005's hellacious hurricane season.

Reviews

[Karl · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Shallow End Of the Pool" is an interesting tale of how sibling rivalry can be taken to an extreme, especially when parents don't discourage their kids from fighting.

If you like Joe R. Lansdales story "The Pit", then you will dive right into "The Shallow End of the Pool", not that there is any similarity to the two stories, only that they have a similar vibe. Both can punch you where you hurt. Perhaps it's that both stories take place in a hole in the ground although quite different holes.

This is copy 348 of 350 signed numbered books signed by Adam Troy Castro.

[Oleksandr Zholud · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short horror/thriller (?) novella by Adam-Troy Castro, whose SF I’ve read and enjoyed earlier. In the preface, he notes that one of the reviewers described the setting as a ‘dystopian near future’, which he thinks is wrong, for it equally could have taken place in 2008 when it was published. The book was nominated for Bram Stoker Award for Best Long Fiction (2008).

The story is narrated by a girl almost eighteen and in the first scene she fights with her brother. As we soon find out her parents divorced years ago, Daddy taking her and 'the Bitch' taking her twin brother. And both parents trained kids to solve the disagreement (why is a better parent?) with a fight to the death when they turn eighteen. To make it even more challenging, the battle takes place in an empty pool in the desert and both participants have gags in their mouths (not to bite) and arms cuffed behind their backs…

A solid story in a genre I rarely read.

[Lithika Shranuu · Rating 3 out of 5]

The plot started off very good. It had great potential. But I felt that the plot could've explored the settings a little more than it had. It's a really short story and very well written too!

So basically, when a couple gets into a huge fight, they don't go through the usual procedure. They take a very sinister path of resolving the issue. I don't wanna reveal any more of the details.

The audiobook narration is very good. The way the author described the various emotions of the protagonist, is also something to be appreciated.

[VeroniCanReadIt · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is… a lot. A strange book that I don’t think was worth the read. There wasn’t a big human plot behind it to find out, just two siblings, separated at birth, killing each other in a pool while their divorced parents occasionally watch.

And when it’s all over?
For what? Now what?

Felt less Shirley Jackson (commentary on humanity) and more Kafka (crazy situation with no background or reason)

[melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting novella that I wouldn't have minded if it were expanded upon into a full length novel. This was such a brutal concept that twists a bit from where you expect it to go. It would have been interesting to see some world building to know a bit more about this society where this behavior is the norm. This story takes all the bitterness and hatred that can be involved in divorce and gives it flesh & blood.

[Sheri White · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brutal, but an amazing story. Review to come soon.

[Joseph Patchen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read my gripping review on lurid-lit.com.

[Robin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cool concept, but I wish there was a little bit more depth to this one. Would have helped with character attachments

[Jesse Armstrong · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is without question one of the most disturbing novellas I have ever read. I didn't expect it going in but I am impressed by it. I knew it was going to be a messed up story from reviews that I read before starting and I wasn't disappointed. Know that going in. This story is all kinds of screwed up, but if you can handle a story like that, it is a pretty enjoyable read.