Aylett’s prose is startling, and his science fiction is worth reading for its dizzying mental pirouettes and its mastery of one-liners, rarely falling foul of glibness. This story is a series of ship’s log entries by one Samuel Light Sebastian in 1808 and an introduction penned by Mr. Aylett, who bought the logs off a man in Bristol – he observes that it is “the most undisciplined voyage in maritime history.” Shipmate Harker pees into the sea throughout the entire voyage. Other entries include:

“Albatross for dinner. Bad omen.”
“Hazlitt fired harpoon at surfacing anchovy.”
“John Conk passed by, kneeing himself in the groin.”

In Smithereens, Scar Garden, 2011