Books in the Till Human Voices Wake Us series

Do mermaids believe in humans?While working on a deep-sea diving assignment at the University of California, oceanography student Jay Bishop is dragged into a volcanic tube towards the earth's core and certain death. But much to his surprise, Jay not only survives the fall, he finds himself taken prisoner by a community of mermaids and kept alive as a science experiment. Confused and disoriented, Jay's only hope to escape back to the surface is found in Paga, an elder of the community who believes Jay's unexpected arrival marks the fulfillment of a terrifying prophecy.With the community rising against them, Jay and Paga face dangerous choices -- and their consequences -- if Jay is ever to see home again. Will Jay make it back to the world on the surface? And even if he does, how can his life ever be the same ever again?Enjoy this short story adventure tale set before Till Human Voices Wake Us, a science fantasy novel from C. S. Johnson.

Sometimes the difference between reality and insanity is only a matter of absurdity. There is nothing Milo Bishop fears more than the thought that he is going insane. Having grown up hearing his Uncle Jay's stories about the strange mermaids Milo never had a reason to believe they were actually true. But when a near-death experience gives Milo a vision of a mermaid calling to him for help, Milo is forced to test his uncle's claims. And when he winds up in Rasulka, the mermaid community tucked away, deep under the southern California seas, the question of his uncle's sanity is the least of his concerns. For in the heart of Rasulka, a growing whirlpool in the ocean-sky and the terrarium's changing climate -- along with a discarded prophecy that says their end will come when humans appear -- all suggest that the end is near. Along with his uncle and best friend, Moss, and Eluia, a young mermaid who grew up hearing myths about humans, Milo has only hours to sort through his doubts and insecurities and face down unimaginable terrors if he is going to find his way home -- before Rasulka, and everyone in it, is lost forever. FROM THE BOOK: "Lani would've liked them, you know," Uncle Jay said, as he slouched back into his chair. "She could appreciate their dedication to their cause.""Liked who?" I rubbed my eyes, and then immediately regretted the question."The mermaids, of course."I shook my head, panic suddenly suffocating me. "Oh, God, not this. Please stop with this.""They are calling for us, Milo." His voice was steady with conviction of the worst sort. Uncle Jay always seemed quite lucid to me, even after I'd grown up enough to know his stories about the mermaid community that lived under the sea bordered on alien abduction levels of insanity.I covered my face with my hands and shook my head.Not this. Not again. Not now. FROM THE AUTHOR: Fans of Dune, Empire of Lies, Fahrenheit 451, and Till We Have Faces will enjoy this science fantasy thriller with a dark psychological twist.WHAT REVIEWERS ARE SAYING: "This was a fantastic read and really allowed me to see from the other side of the looking glass ... Excellent work C.S. Johnson!" ~ Nathan K. Battles, author of The Transcedent