While I enjoyed this book, and it has some horror tinges to it, I'll admit it didn't strike me fully as a horror novel. It felt more horror-adjacent.

That being said, it was still a good read. I was curious to know where it was heading, and got invested in the friendships involved. I did find the ultimate villain to be pretty predictable, but a more surprising twist probably would have come across as forced.

"The Merry Dredgers" by Jeremy C. Shipp takes readers on a peculiar journey through the mysterious and unsettling world of an abandoned amusement park turned cultist community. Seraphina Ramon's determination to uncover the truth behind her sister Eff's suspicious coma drives the narrative through a landscape filled with bizarre and surreal elements.

The author, Jeremy C. Shipp, excels in creating an atmospheric setting within the amusement park, complete with a wolf-themed roller coaster, animatronic Humpty Dumpty, and cultists practicing meditation in a hall of mirrors. The vivid descriptions contribute to the overall eerie ambiance of the story, immersing readers in a world that is both intriguing and unsettling.

The plot follows Seraphina as she infiltrates the cult to investigate her sister's condition. The narrative unfolds through the mouth of the Goblin, introducing readers to a series of peculiar events and encounters. However, the storyline may feel disjointed at times, with the surreal elements overshadowing the clarity of the plot. The blend of mystery, cultism, and the supernatural creates an unusual and unpredictable narrative, but it may leave some readers wishing for a more cohesive and focused storytelling approach.

While the concept of the story is intriguing, the execution may not appeal to everyone. The balance between the bizarre and the coherent plot elements may be challenging for some readers to navigate. Additionally, the characters, including Seraphina, could benefit from more depth and development to enhance the emotional resonance of the narrative.

In conclusion, "The Merry Dredgers" offers a unique and imaginative exploration of mystery and cultism within the backdrop of an abandoned amusement park. The atmospheric descriptions and unconventional storyline contribute to the book's distinctiveness. However, the disjointed narrative and lack of character depth may hinder the overall impact for readers seeking a more traditional and cohesive storytelling experience. "The Merry Dredgers" earns three stars for its creativity and originality but falls short of a higher rating due to its narrative challenges.

I enjoyed this book. It’s funny how it was able to stick with me. I started reading this book Back in May, got away from reading for quite some time yet I still had this book with me when I picked it back up to finish it.

Seraphina is determined to find out the truth about why her sister Eff ended up in a coma. She sets out on a risky mission to enter an abandoned amusement park, now home to a group of cult followers, in order to find the truth. As the story unfolds, we are introduced to some really fascinating characters and well-done world building. The story itself drags a bit in the middle but otherwise the pacing is good, and the ending left a bit to be desired, but overall it was an enjoyable journey.

Jeremy Shipp writes quirky and often disturbing tales, and The Merry Dredgers is no different. Shipp flexes their writing muscles by creating two unsettling settings, an eerie amusement park and a cult while sliding a mystery inside. And while this is marketed under the banner of science fiction, fantasy, or even young adult, this is a very adult story brimming with suspense about pain and sisterhood and the lengths to which someone will go to find answers or at least an iota of peace. 

The blurb talks about Seraphina Ramon and how she will stop at nothing to find out the truth about why her sister Eff is in a coma after a very suspicious "accident." What happened to her sister, and why is she in a coma? Even if it means infiltrating the last place Seraphina knew Eff was alive: a once-abandoned amusement park now populated by a community of cultists. And again, in the Shipp style, characters are neither bad nor good but layered. The people and lifestyle the cultists lead are comforting, and Seraphina finds friendship and camaraderie among the members, which greatly complicates things for her from a moralistic viewpoint. 

There is also a profound story between the sisters; even with Eff being in a coma, it is still pronounced and nuanced. You can disagree with your sister and often hate her and her choices, but the bond of sisterhood can run deep. While reading this story, I understood and empathized with many of Seraphina's actions. 

One of the great strengths of the story, and one that almost becomes a character itself, is the setting. An abandoned amusement park full of rust and pealing paint where you might hear the echos of a child's laughter or a roller coaster flying by is the perfect setting for something disturbing. Something in this setting is slightly off, much like a cult. And Shipp expounds on that. It feels like Seraphina is walking into hell, but it is ok, no, really, because she is with new friends, and friends would not lead you astray.

If you are looking at reading some of Shipps's other works, I recommend Bedfellow, which is an absolute mind scramble of a book. Or, if you are looking for stories with a similar feel, hop over to Paul Tremblay's A Head Full of Ghosts, which also depicts a sisterly relationship but in a much different way. 

It is dark, whimsical, melancholic, and poignant - The Merry Dredgers is some of Jeremy Shipps's best and most complicated work and should not be missed.

Seraphina Ramon will stop at nothing to find out the truth about why her sister Eff is in a coma after a very suspicious "accident." Even if it means infiltrating the last place Seraphina knows Eff was alive: a once-abandoned amusement park now populated by a community of cultists.

The premise of this book was really appealing; a cult living in a creepy amusement park. However, what I loved most was the writing and the characters. As Seraphina infiltrates the Dredgers, we meet some very quirky individuals. Seraphina even has a chance to find romance while investigating what happened to her sister. It's just a really well written book and I highly recommend it.

Thank you @netgalley and @meerkatpress for letting me read this ARC.

As Seraphina doggedly tries to find out why her sister is in a coma, she finds herself involved in a cult occupying an abandoned amusement park. Creepy and suspenseful, I enjoyed this book and will be looking for more of this author's writing.

I never in my wildest dreams saw where this book was going. I knew that the protagonist was trying to find out how her sister got hurt . Corinna ends up joining what seems to be a cult. She goes on trippy adventures, meets a person she could have a relationship with and discovers a serial killer. This is a book Is worth reading.

I am a little obsessed with Jeremy C. Shipp. If anyone were to ask me the most underread author I know, their name would be the first on my list. I have enjoyed everything I have read by them, and I have been reading them since the short story collection, Sheep and Wolves from 2008. It is no surprise that I came into reading The Merry Dredgers with a slanted viewpoint, but I will still stand behind my opinions, even as a Jeremy Shipp stan.

The Merry Dredgers is narrated by Seraphina Ramon, a person who dresses like a princess for children’s parties, lives with her cat, Heracles, has a car that is falling apart, and has a sister Eff, who has joined what is obviously a cult. When Eff has an accident, Phina does what any sister would do: go investigate the cult because they are obviously at fault. The Merry Dredgers live in an old amusement park, Goblinopolis. This amusement park would be a frightening place on any day, but now that a group of people that Phina does not trust lives there, the entire experience feels like there is danger around every corner.

There are a few different layers to The Merry Dredgers. Besides having the mystery of whether or not the cult is at fault for Eff’s accident, we are also given Phina’s journey of self-discovery. The mission of the Merry Dredgers are to dig into themselves to find the core of their beings through meditation, vegetarianism, and a little hallucinogenic drug use. The whole idea is the explore your inner-self until you find the merriment at your core. But like any group of people that is too happy, can this happiness be trusted?

Shipp writes stories that feel like a fever dream narrated by a sleep paralysis demon. There is a large focus on the settings and the scenery of the goblin-themed amusement park, and for Seraphina to actually stay after going on some of the amusements makes her braver than I would have been. Shipp likes the creepiness of spiders and tentacles and goblin wars. Many of the scenes has to start with a reminder of how terribly weird the amusement park is. The creations are outlandish, but so are the stories that Phina tells. I love the stories that she makes up as she goes along, and the conversations between her and her love interest Nichelle are very funny.

This book feels like Shipp is writing the book that they want to write. This book is far weirder than their two novellas released by tor.com (Atrocities and Bedfellow). Many sections of this book remind me of Jeremy Shipp’s Twitter account. The tweets that they post are just as creepy and amusing as the construction of this story and this amusement park. I enjoy every aspect of this book, and I am excited to buy extra copies to share with my unsuspecting friends. Maybe one day Jeremy Shipp will get the readership that they deserve. The Merry Dredgers is another step on this path.

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you for an e-ARC of this book and really quite enjoy the ride of finding out the reason why Eff needs to be given justice within the story.

Insights with regards to this story was that from the beginning of the chapter it was interesting to see a modern cult circus story like this one and throwing up tropes that will totally engage readers to read recommended for seeking circus themed horror/fantasy book. Although my only problem here was that the middle part became sloggy and to the last part it gets good again.

You will never regret to read this book.

This book had such an interesting premise. Then the plot drew me in with the protagonist's sister joining a "cult" in the setting of an old amusement park. She supposedly falls off a cliff into a quarry and is in a coma. The protagonist then sets out to find out what really happened as she is convinced someone pushed her sister.

I love books set in creepy old amusement parks, the scarier the better. This one not so much. I kept noticing there was very little time left for a satisfying conclusion.. I thought maybe there was going to be some surprise nugget that led to catharsis. Instead the book ends abruptly and I found myself very annoyed with the lack of a conclusion.

I feel like I wasted my time reading this book and if it wasn't on my kindle, this would have been one thrown against the wall at the end.

I suppose I should thank Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC but I'm still fuming at this point and that is my honest review.

The best part of this book was the description and world-building of the theme park. The main intrigue was just not as intriguing as the inner workings of the cult and the setting, which was probably for the best since the resolution was both predictable and kind of nonsensical.

Be careful of your expectations with this one. Those labels may call it sci fi and fantasy, but there's nary a thread of the fantastical to be found here, out side of some pirate stories and some admittedly well-done dream sequences. It also doesn't provide many thrills for most of its read-time either, with most of the truly shocking moments living in the aforementioned dream sequences, or near the ending. The mystery at the heart of the novel never has a fulfilling conclusion, there are no real clues to the cult leader's true motives, and everything seems to end in exposition dump near the end of the novel.

And yet, there's still quite a bit to recommend this novel. For one, the character work is top notch. Even character with whom with spend very short times feel fleshed out, and I feel like we get a sense of the main character's inner world early and often, often in quite humorous ways. This is especially true in the book's early days, as we spend time with her on her princess jobs. Indeed, the fun of the early days grinds to halt as we enter the park itself, despite a quirky, lovely budding love story at the story's center.

When you get the log line "woman goes to investigate a theme-park based cult who may be involved with the attempted murder of her sister", you can be forgiven for expecting more than this. The book bursts with excellent character work, a unique and refreshing sense of humor, and some shocking dream sequences, but all the whole spends more time hanging out with its characters instead of building its stakes.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Meerkat Press for the chance to review an ARC of Jeremy Shipp’s ‘The Merry Dredgers’! There hasn’t been a single book by Jeremy Shipp I haven’t enjoyed reading, and this one is no exception: a gripping and sometimes unnerving horror tale, that brings readers along an onion-like nesting of stories, written in razor-sharp prose. Corrina (aka Seraphina) decides to take on a cult that has sent her sister to the hospital. The Dredgers are not your usual kind of cult; everything about them is trippy atmosphere, creepy routines, and merriness. The tension builds up a bit slowly, but the setting (an abandoned amusement park... seriously!), the dialogue, the quirky characters coming and going, the masterful handling of the LGBT+ issues, - they all make it worth it. The ending felt a bit like waking too fast from a nightmare. This time, though, no complaints if it’d lasted a bit longer!

Thank you to Jeremy C. Shipp, Meerkat Press, and NetGalley for an eARC of The Merry Dredgers in exchange for an honest review.

Seraphina's narration of this story was absolutely fantastic. I adored her inner commentary and found her to be an extremely relatable MC, especially with her conversations with Nichelle. The quick pace of the plot kept me engaged, and though I would have like a bit more explicit detail with certain portions, I was overall happy with the resolution given.

At most, I would call this horror-lite, but the whimsical fantasy of the Dredgers was still super fun and cozy, and I truly enjoyed the read!

Really enjoyed this book by Jeremy Shipp. Very well written, with great characters, great pacing, and a great story. Couldn't wait to find out where it was going, and read it in a day. Will need to read more from Jeremy C Shipp. #TheMerryDredgers #NetGalley

The quirky writing style and character dialogue was a treat to read. It was so much fun exploring the world of the Merry Dredgers. Things did get dark and despairing at times.

The ending was a let down however, the whole glowing figure, the weirdness in the park, and Eff’s fall are never fully explained. It felt like we didn’t even get a proper ending. So unfortunately I couldn’t rate this book higher based on these reasons.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and Meerkat Press for a copy.

I would like to start by thanking Netgalley, the editor and the author of The Merry Dredgers for the ARC.
Boy, okay.

I was fully invested in this book. There were storis within stories, which I was there for it!
The love Phina has for her sister is unconditional and only makes her brave in situations were she wasn't.
The story was unsettling, creepy and a child's nightmare, which I loved.

But the ending.....what a disappointment. So many questions left unanswered and so many cliffhangers. I can only hope that this book will have a sequel and that the plot of the story will finally be resolved.

The Goblin amusement park is so awesome that if it never existed it ought to be created. The cult members who live there eat magic mushrooms and the park gets even more awesome. (Not that I'm condoning drug use. I would never do that. Pardon me a moment while I bite into this fungus.)

If you've read my other critiques, you'll know how I feel about characters rolling their eyes as an answer to everything. Really, my eyeball-roll-o-meter is burned out. But in this novel, there are two, count them TWO, eyeball trees. And the eyeballs roll in random directions. If the characters in other books had eyes that roll in random directions when their mothers say something dorky, that would be A-OK in my book.

Corrina (aka Seraphina) suspects that a cult has critically injured her sister. She infiltrates the cult known as the Dredgers. Except for the "strange" leader, the cult members are kind of fun. In fact, they're merry. (Not that I'm condoning cults. Most of them don't come across as merry.) Corrina and Nichelle have some clever banter between each other and develop a trusting friendship. All this and mechanical goblins. And rabbits with wings. And spooky rides. And, and, and eyeball trees! Where is this place?! I'm packing my bags right now.

Thanks to Netgalley and Meerkat books for allowing me to read and review The Merry Dredgers. Reading it was a lot of fun.

A gothic-y mystery set at a once-abandoned, now being-renovated amusement park? Count me in! I loved the set-up of the cult and the way things played out, but some things felt incomplete to me. Not the ending--it's perfect--but why spend so much time on the princess job and the necessity of other gigs if there was the rich friend to catsit and help out? Was the acting of the princess job supposed to make Seraphina more convincing posing as a cultist? The cheating newlywed side plot didn't seem to do much but take up space, although the wedding did serve to introduce characters (some of whom are mostly abandoned afterwards) and the ethos of the place. I just wanted more connected lines, more material that wasn't just filler, and a little bit more pragmatism.