Rewind or Die, checklist - volume 9 edition: Creature features, check. Slashers, check. Shapeshifters, check. Food demons, unexpected, but check. Christian theology, check. Mermaids. Okay, we haven’t hit that yet. Let’s do it.

 Doctor Craig Bo is a successful dermatologist in a beachside town, a pillar of the community. Also a bit of a philanderer, but we’ll get there. Craig is named the town’s Sea King, an honor given every year to an outstanding citizen. After the event takes place, Craig develops a bit of an interesting skin condition that keeps getting worse and leads him on a journey of discovery.

Full disclosure, I didn’t like the main character. Now, I realize that I’m not meant to. He’s supposed to be something of a selfish asshole, but he’s the kind of irredeemable character who gets their comeuppance in a short story and everyone goes home happy. Stretching Dr. Bo over 115 pages and asking the reader to care where his journey ends up is a stretch.

The Kelping does have some redeeming qualities, however. As mentioned before, the inclusion of mermaids/sea people is a horror trope that could stand further exploration not pertaining to a Lovecraft mythos, as we get here. Stinchcomb also does a nice job of setting up a reveal that happens late in the story, which is very subtly broadcast early on, and I did not anticipate.

Fans of aquatic horror, body horror, and small towns with a secret just may find something to like in The Kelping.