Book Review: John Everson’s ‘SIREN’

There definitely hasn’t been a shortage of dark romance lately with endless variations on the vampire mythos, but here’s something you don’t find everyday; a novel starring an ancient seductress of the sea with a legend rooted in Greek myth. The Siren has taken on many forms in her literary history. In Greek mythology she is a bird-woman luring sailors with her deadly song, but Bram Stoker Award-winning author John Everson cast his lead as an ageless sea nymph in his latest novel Siren. You may remember a similar Siren who lured sailors to their death with her killer pipes in Homer’s Odyssey. Since, she has enjoyed bit parts in modern pop culture (notably O’ Brother Where Art Thou and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire), but hardly ever the lead role. Everson has the perfect combination of influences to resurrect her from the depths of her watery slumber with seemingly effortless grace. He proves that the Siren has a timeless quality that can seduce and frighten modern audiences.  Everson expands the Siren’s already varied mythos by exploring the psychology of fear and seduction in the old port town of Delilah, California. Acknowledging his many visits to the coast and “otherworldly, ethereal music” as influences for the book, the reader finds this inspiration infused throughout his prose. Everson resides in Naperville, Illinois some two thousand miles from Siren’s Delilah, California, but is adept at sparking the reader’s imagination with the sounds, smells, and tastes of the ocean like a native describing his boyhood home. In Delilah, salt hangs “in the air like a fog” and “the taste of the ocean is warm and alive in her throat.” His description of the Siren’s song creates an intoxicating melody only a music lover could convincingly express.  

This dark erotic thriller focuses on Evan, a music enthusiast working at the Delilah Harbor Authority office by day and wondering the beach at night. Evan is attempting to rebuild his broken relationship with his wife Sarah, each suffering separately from the loss of their son, Josh. Evan’s crippling aquaphobia kept him from saving his only child from drowning.  While Sarah finds comfort at the bottom of the bottle, Evan walks the beach nightly, reliving the nightmare of his son’s death again and again. It’s in this vulnerable state that Evan comes across Ligeia, our titular Siren. Evan unknowingly abandons his aquatic fear as he is hypnotized into the ocean and the arms of Ligeia whose beautiful song could only be ignored by the tone deaf. Unfortunately, “fear and lust are Ligiea’s favorite seasonings” and Evan is fully marinated.

Evan is sympathetic as a character in his struggle to resist temptation and maintain focus on saving his marriage while being frustratingly pitiful at the same time. It becomes increasingly difficult to forgive Evan’s infidelities as the story progresses since his wife Sarah’s sweet disposition and vulnerability are so endearing. At the same time, I had to remind myself that I had once betrayed my better judgment, not to mention the sound objections of family and friends, to pursue a relationship that was a detriment to my well-being. And my Siren had no song! So, it’s not hard to imagine being lured into a love trap by a beautiful sea nymph with the voice of an angel.

There is some unexpected reprieve from the overall serious tone of the novel. Evan’s coworker and close friend, Bill, offers comic relief while helping his confidant escape the power of the “sea witch.” When you want to slap Evan into reality, Bill is there to give him a dose of harsh truth and a helping hand along the way. One of my personal favorites from Bill’s arsenal of worldly quips, “bitches don’t like the word good-bye.” Bill is often crass, spilling unfiltered dialogue, but I appreciated his character’s incongruity to the sappy and smitten Evan in the small doses that were offered.    

Another clever device to break up the main storyline is Everson’s inclusion of a 100 year-old subplot told in pieces throughout the book. This thread follows the Lady Luck and her crew, a rumrunner in the 1880s, with an interesting side story that is best discovered by the reader. I found these brief trips in the past to add more historical weight to the town Delilah and preserve the Siren’s ancient and mysterious roots. This also creates a subtle juxtaposition of the past and present by linking Ligeia with her only constant: the ocean. The passage of time changes the face of the town generation after generation, but the sea and Ligeia – primordial, mysterious, and housing age-old secrets – are eternal.

The prose is often romantic and highly erotic. The story flows like a light and airy day dream just as I imagine the Siren’s song. Everson does not challenge the reader’s gag reflex, but focuses instead on the psychology of his audience by luring the reader deeper into Ligeia’s dark world with his own haunting lullaby. Fans of Everson already will find he has entered entirely new territory with this dark fable. Siren is a big departure from his previous satanic/occult thrillers with more romantic elements than some gore-hounds may like. But, I encourage you to go into Siren without any expectation based on his earlier entries. Everson has peeled back another layer to reveal genre talent that is varied and complex while paying homage to an undeniably neglected player in the realm of dark folklore. He weaves fear and seduction into a haunted tale of loss, redemption, and frightening fatal attraction. So, what are you waiting for?! Go get Siren! Prepare to fall in love, and then get your head bitten off! You’ve been warned. 

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