My favorite genre is “weird realism.” Realistic stories with an odd twist. That’s not an actual genre, but it ought to be, if you ask me.

When I heard about James Sturz’s new novel, Underjungle, and the descriptor was “the first serious novel set entirely underwater,” I was captivated. As the author of Remarkably Bright Creatures—the first novel narrated by a cranky octopus to hit the New York Times best sellers list (I assume? Is anyone tracking this?)—I felt an instant affection for what Underjungle was going for. Delightfully offbeat.

Over the years, novelist and journalist James Sturz has taken Fathom readers on tiger safari in India, into the Canadian wilderness, biking in the Rockies, Airstreaming across America, and through the wilds of Paris Fashion Week. He is clearly a man adept at finding wonder in new environments. And he does so beautifully in his new novel, Underjungle, a tale of love, loss, family, and war set entirely underwater.

The yc, an intelligent life form and apex predator among fish, dwell blithely beneath the ocean until the discovery of a sunken corpse throws their fantastical maritime underworld topsy turvy. The arrival of the land-dwelling body calls the future of the species, split long ago into seven tribes, into question, unleashing an inter-generational epic 3,000 feet below sea level.

There are so many books and authors we’re stoked about for this year’s Authors Night from the East Hampton Library at Herrick Park this Saturday, August 12, from 5 to 7:30 p.m., it’s impossible to know where to begin, or which book to crack open first. But one novel that’s standing out for us — as much for how unusual its setting is, as how familiar it is to our water-rimmed surroundings — is the just-released Underjungle…

If this year has taught us anything, it’s that we know so very little about the depths of the ocean; and that if we want to know more, we should trust the people who have done the careful work to explore it. James Sturz applies his extensive experience as a oceanic journalist and deep-sea diver to this vividly strange story told from the perspective of one of seven tribes of sentient ocean-dwellers, collectively known as the yc….

I’m sinking. This is my favorite part of free diving, a sport I came to Hawaii’s Big Island a dozen years ago to learn, before I had any idea that I’d make the island my home. I’ve been a water person for as long as I can remember. I became a scuba diver in college in upstate New York (we saw trout), an ice diver in New Hampshire (oh, the freshwater icicles hanging just beneath the surface), and then a divemaster in Florida, when I first began to appreciate the ocean’s complexity—its life and its currents, its songs and its depths.

Most novels do not come complete with blurbs from Jean-Michel Cousteau; the underwater setting of James Sturz’s Underjungle, or Sturz’s many years spent reporting on oceanic issues, might help explain why Sturz’s novel does. Underjungle is peopled by…

Deep below the surface, our world is cold, dark, and content. Colors are fickle. Red disappears first as you descend, followed by the yellow of the sun. The hundred shades of blue last the longest, but eventually there is only black―and the candied ooze of the ocean floor…

The wave that used to be on my homepage was shot off the southwest coast of Australia. When big waves form off the coast by my house in Hawaii, people sometimes drive to the cliffs with folding chairs to sit and watch the sets—a theatrical performance in many acts, that comes with its own self-generated applause.

Consider the wave: a growing, surging, crashing and collapsing wall of roaming and marauding energy that it takes nerves, strength, flexibility, humility and technique—and the willingness to endure a little risk and pain—to harness, if only for a few exhilarating and mesmerizing seconds.

Some years ago, I studied English at Cornell and became a writer. I wasn’t alone…

Water covers some 71 percent of our planet’s surface, which means there are a lot of places where underwater photography can exist. But that doesn’t mean it has to be outside… Photo by Mikko Paasi

I don’t generally cover fashion—with the exception of runway shows in Paris and Honolulu, where the audiences were as much a part of the story. But recently I’ve become intrigued by underwater fashion photography… Photo by Rafal Makiela

There have been a number of really good books about octopuses in the last few years, and one great documentary… Photo by Sea Change Project

It’s been hard to maintain faith in government institutions over the past four years, as they’ve been systematically debased and politicized while their integrity has been chipped away…

I’m the contributing koan editor (whatever that means) for the travel site, Fathom, where I sometimes compose and shoot captioned photo essays…

This is Moai, a Chilean terrier my wife and I met in Coyhaique, Chile, in Patagonia…

Amos Nachoum’s specialty is photographing big animals, so it’s not surprising that his adventure site… Photo by Amos Nachoum

W.S. Merwin wrote about strawberries, apricots, valleys, tidal lagoons, the rain and the sea… Photo by Tom Sewell