A review by mikekaz
Salt Water Tears by Brian a. Hopkins

emotional reflective

4.0

Hopkins is one of those authors that I really enjoy but that I don't read often enough. Obviously the fault is all mine since he has books and collections out there. It's just that my reading doesn't always move in the same circles as his writing. But when they overlap? Enjoyment! I don't know about others but some authors that I love get ignored for years until I rediscover them and wonder why I haven't read more by them. Hopkins is in this category. Anyway, as is more common than I would like to admit for myself, I didn't connect the title of the book with the theme of the stories until three or four stories in. "Ahhh, stirring tales involving the ocean. Got it." While the theme might have been common for them, the mood and tone varied significantly. There was a haunting ghost tale, fight for your life action, do what you can to protect others and lots in between. For me, the emotion and feelings invoked in each were captivating. My favorites from the collection are below. Hopefully I will find myself moving in the "books written by Hopkins" circles again soon.
 

• "North" - A blind boy lost in the woods get unexpected help. 
• "The Promised Hour" - A hunt for a rogue narwhal turns into a fairy tale. 
• "Crocodile Gods" - An intense tale that starts fast and scary, then stays there. Very much in the same line of the Blake Lively movie "The Shallows" but scarier to me because of the set up. 
• "Flotsam" - A tale of death from the sea creatures point of view. 
• "The Baited Night" - A dying nerd discovers a way to do good before his death. Someone should definitely adapt this because it played in my head as something between a Twilight Zone episode and a 1950s alien comes to Earth movie. Not quite either one but it left me feeling that way. 
• "Wrinkles at Twilight" - A not quite marine biologist tries to save a dolphin.