Overview

Two boys, alike and undying, from borderless Illyrial, where we [de]lay our post- anthropocene: Julian and Vern are equally lost and differently, tenderly, iridescent pearls; one in the deep sea and the other by the sandy shores, encroaching. Julian, an unlikely passenger aboard an undersea ship with no destination and captained by a madman, seeks to unfold the past by throwing himself into new liaisons with beautiful men and creatures. Still learning how to swim, Vern kicks frantically against the undertow of his misfortunes as he alchemizes his desires. Despite taking separate voyages, their meeting soon becomes inevitable. Past The Shallows and into The Below, what begins as a tenuous meeting of opposites quickly becomes a lovers' pact.

Aboard the Clarel, all is not as it seems. Adrian captains the ship, oblivious to all except the needs of his crew, accompanied by an ache he has known for as long as he can remember. Dimitri, his steadfast navigator, draws detailed...