Underjungle: An Underwater Fantasy

Underjungle is a newly published hard-cover science fiction novel set thousands of feet underwater by diver and top-notch journalist James Sturz (Wall Street Journal, New York Times, National Geographic). The mysterious, unnamed narrator of this exceptionally creative and unique fantasy is a sentient underwater being, but we only learn about him via a trickle of clues dropped throughout the story. Not only does he have gills and fins, but also a neck and face, which differentiate him from fish and lower life forms, like sea slugs. He's big enough to devour a bluefin tuna but is as much in awe of the sights and sounds of whales as humans are.

He can reason, joke, and imagine; he creates structures and art; he sings, he prays (to a giant octopus deity), and, yes, he fights. He begins by telling this story to his recently deceased mate, a shark attack victim. But soon, he's addressing a much wider audience with an omniscient point of view.

His species split into seven tribes long ago ("cousins who no longer acknowledge one another"), and eventually, they find themselves at odds. Their differences are briefly set aside with the discovery of the corpse of a land creature, never seen before by inhabitants of the deep ocean. They know less about his world than we know about theirs, and they're fascinated by his appendages - fingers, toes, and genitalia - unlike any they've ever seen before.

It's only a matter of time before old animosities creep in and the tribes begin attacking each other. In the time-honored tradition of sci-fi, the fighting is mano-a-mano (or, in this case, mouth-to-mouth). Soon, the whole ocean seems at war. It's never clear how it started or how it will end - it just seems inevitable.

I had to resist the urge to over-interpret this far-reaching fable. Is it an allegory? A parable? Finally, I decided just to fin back and take it at face value: a tale of love and loss, discovery and denial, peace and war - that we all can relate to.

Sturz clearly knows his marine biology. From time to time he drops pithy observations, such as: "Sea squirts attach themselves to the corals and then start eating their own brains" and "Zombie worms, females, excrete an acid that dissolves skeletons." I skeptically fact-checked both far-fetched claims and, by golly, he's right. For those curious about life below sport-diving limits, you'll find many more tidbits like these.

If you like your stories all tied up nice and neat, this may not be the book for you. But if you're up for a fabulous, poetic, mind-expanding adventure, dive right in to Underjungle.

If you want to support Undercurrent's favourite small independent bookstore, you can order Underjungle here for $28 plus $3.50 postage: https://tinyurl.com/3zw4nw38

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Reviewer Larry Clinton, who has made hundreds of dives worldwide, is the co-author of There's a Cockroach in my Regulator: the Best of Undercurrent, and is the past president of Sausalito Historical Society.