Author: Jeff Spock

Length: short story

First Publication: Interzone, 2008

What the Story is About: Searching for treasure on the ocean floor of an alien planet, a diver is seriously injured by an undersea beast. His business partner pays for the reconstruction of his bod, and as the Best SF put it:

There’s a nurse on hand to give a helping hand, as it were, to test the new equipment, which does not go as well as he would like. He then faces the challenge of getting back into the water to again seek out the subterranean haul. He suspects his partner and this time has a Plan B, which enables him to feed the partner to the fishes, get the girl, and the wreck.

Author: Peter Watts

Length: novel

First Publication: 2004, as Behemoth: ß-Max and Behemoth: Seppuku

What the Story is About: Third novel in the “Rifters” trilogy. While the deep sea microbe ßehemoth has spread across the Earth and the biosphere is dying a group of corporate executives and bioengineered “rifters” take refuge in Atlantis, a secret deep-sea habitat. As it turns out, they are less safe than they believed they were. In the second half several of the characters move back to dry land to try to find their enemy before they are destroyed.

Author: Peter Watts

Length: novel

First Publication: 2000

What the Story is About: First novel in the “Rifters” trilogy. Lennie Clark and her co-workers – all psychologically damaged in some way – run Beebe Station near a deep-sea thermal vent. Their near-future world is molded by bioengineering, genetic enhancements and advanced psychology. The deadly microbe they find in the ocean depths has the potential to destroy the human race.

Author: Peter Watts

Length: short story

First Publication: Tesseracts Anthology #3, 1991

Awards: Prix AURORA Award 1992

What the Story is About: The pressures on workers in a deep sea habitat come from both within and without. This story became the first chapter of Starfish.