Scan barcode
imzadirose's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars really. The best thing about this book was the setting. In a futuristic NY where there had been major flooding all over. NYers learned to live above the water, buildings with 24 floors and up are used, then they have a series of boardwalks on the water, water taxis and so on. It was a really neat world. The story itself was ok, a mystery of sorts with a lot of different things going on. The characters were ok, not completely likable, but pretty real. Definitely worth the read, though I wish I had read a physical book, instead of listening to the audiobook.
The narrator was HORRID. I looked her up on audible and I can't believe she's done 50 audiobooks. She gave some info at the end of the book in her normal voice, and was fine, if she had done that, without those horrible inflections, it might have been ok. Instead she raised and lowered her voice all the time, it was really realy really annoying. One of the worse narrators I've ever listened to. Luckily, she seems to mainly do girlie crap, so I'll keep clear of those audiobooks with her.
Shame that the book was tainted by the audio. Might have given it a 4 otherwise, but maybe not. Not sure.
The narrator was HORRID. I looked her up on audible and I can't believe she's done 50 audiobooks. She gave some info at the end of the book in her normal voice, and was fine, if she had done that, without those horrible inflections, it might have been ok. Instead she raised and lowered her voice all the time, it was really realy really annoying. One of the worse narrators I've ever listened to. Luckily, she seems to mainly do girlie crap, so I'll keep clear of those audiobooks with her.
Shame that the book was tainted by the audio. Might have given it a 4 otherwise, but maybe not. Not sure.
drasticjo's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
chigangrel's review against another edition
5.0
I received a copy of this book from netgalley and Regan arts forever ago, during a time when I over-requested and found myself swamped with too many books and not enough time! But better late than never, right? And I'm glad I finally got around to it because this was probably one of my better asks-- I loved this book.
I guess I'll start with why I wanted to read Depth in the first place. For whatever reason the idea of underwater drama, sunken cities, oceans taking over, etc has always appealed to me. There's something so inherently terrifying and nerve-wracking about a force as powerful as water. I've also got a big love for sci-fi, especially when it's "near future", not that Depth is really near-future. It's more that it's clearly set in the future but it's still familiar; it feels close, like something that's just around the corner. I think that helps it feel more realistic but still exciting and different.
In the world of Depth the ice caps melted decades ago flooding most of the world, leaving only the inner land of continents dry. This slowed some technology progress, sped up other fields, and caused some major upheavals in politics and culture. The future U.S. portrayed in Rosen's book would've seemed incredibly outlandish and impossible to me had I read this when I first got it back in 2015 but now... a super conservative, repressed nation rule by a strict Biblical moral code doesn't seem so impossible now. But the story takes place in future New York City, half-flooded and separated enough from the conservative mainland that the rules are more lax and the criminal underworld more bold. It's a fun setting for what's essentially a hardboiled detective novel featuring mysterious fog-cloaked dames, stolen art, underhanded threats, and a few murders. The half-sunken city is a character in itself, a constant threat to Simone and her PI business as well at the source of the case we follow her along on throughout the novel.
Rosen's world-building is probably my favorite part of the novel, but the characters are fascinating as well. The lead, Simone, is a detective straight out of an old black and white movie, trenchcoat, hat, cigarette and all. I thought the trope would be tiresome but it actually came off as charming and strangely fitting to the setting. Her friends and enemies are just as interesting and Rosen gives us just enough about them to make them memorable and grow our interest without losing the pace of the plot. Everyone serves a purpose in solving the case, which actually reminded me of the sort of characters you'd read in an Agatha Christie novel.
The writing was also great. Each character had their own voice, and Rosen gave us enough details without bogging us down. I didn't feel like the mystery's solve came out of nowhere, which is a problem too many mystery novels have in my opinion and is something I always want to acknowledge when done well! Overall Depth hit all the right notes for me. Fascinating world, likable characters, engaging story, good writing... loved it!
eta: So I went and checked out other reviews after posting my own and was surprised to see a lot of comment about info dumps... I honestly didn't even notice this happening at the time but looking back and I can see how that may be true. I'm not going to edit what I wrote above but I will add that the narration may drag for some folks but personally I devoured it quickly and happily. There bumps weren't big enough to slog me down but if you're not as into the story as I was then they may be enough to stop you from continuing. So I suppose that's something to take into consideration.
I guess I'll start with why I wanted to read Depth in the first place. For whatever reason the idea of underwater drama, sunken cities, oceans taking over, etc has always appealed to me. There's something so inherently terrifying and nerve-wracking about a force as powerful as water. I've also got a big love for sci-fi, especially when it's "near future", not that Depth is really near-future. It's more that it's clearly set in the future but it's still familiar; it feels close, like something that's just around the corner. I think that helps it feel more realistic but still exciting and different.
In the world of Depth the ice caps melted decades ago flooding most of the world, leaving only the inner land of continents dry. This slowed some technology progress, sped up other fields, and caused some major upheavals in politics and culture. The future U.S. portrayed in Rosen's book would've seemed incredibly outlandish and impossible to me had I read this when I first got it back in 2015 but now... a super conservative, repressed nation rule by a strict Biblical moral code doesn't seem so impossible now. But the story takes place in future New York City, half-flooded and separated enough from the conservative mainland that the rules are more lax and the criminal underworld more bold. It's a fun setting for what's essentially a hardboiled detective novel featuring mysterious fog-cloaked dames, stolen art, underhanded threats, and a few murders. The half-sunken city is a character in itself, a constant threat to Simone and her PI business as well at the source of the case we follow her along on throughout the novel.
Rosen's world-building is probably my favorite part of the novel, but the characters are fascinating as well. The lead, Simone, is a detective straight out of an old black and white movie, trenchcoat, hat, cigarette and all. I thought the trope would be tiresome but it actually came off as charming and strangely fitting to the setting. Her friends and enemies are just as interesting and Rosen gives us just enough about them to make them memorable and grow our interest without losing the pace of the plot. Everyone serves a purpose in solving the case, which actually reminded me of the sort of characters you'd read in an Agatha Christie novel.
The writing was also great. Each character had their own voice, and Rosen gave us enough details without bogging us down. I didn't feel like the mystery's solve came out of nowhere, which is a problem too many mystery novels have in my opinion and is something I always want to acknowledge when done well! Overall Depth hit all the right notes for me. Fascinating world, likable characters, engaging story, good writing... loved it!
eta: So I went and checked out other reviews after posting my own and was surprised to see a lot of comment about info dumps... I honestly didn't even notice this happening at the time but looking back and I can see how that may be true. I'm not going to edit what I wrote above but I will add that the narration may drag for some folks but personally I devoured it quickly and happily. There bumps weren't big enough to slog me down but if you're not as into the story as I was then they may be enough to stop you from continuing. So I suppose that's something to take into consideration.
skippen's review against another edition
2.0
A run-of-the-mill mystery with a unique setting. If the post ice-caps melted world (everyone live in-land) or up on the 21st floor or higher in New York, was not in this book, it would have been completely forgettable. The mystery, is forgettable and predictable with a resolution that you can see coming a mile away (maybe not whodunit, but the final resolution).
pussreboots's review against another edition
4.0
A flooded New York isn't a new idea, certainly. And anyone familiar with the city knows it will flood when the sea levels rise. Rosen's taken on a post flood New York is rather upbeat compared to the dystopian gang-run, illness rampant New York of The Ward by Jordana Frankel. That's not to say it's a utopia in the modern sense but New York has taken its isolation from the mainland in stride and rebranded itself as a safe-haven from the hyper conservative, xenophobic, homophobic, and misogynistic regime that is the remains of the mainland United States.
http://pussreboots.com/blog/2018/comments_09/depth.html
http://pussreboots.com/blog/2018/comments_09/depth.html
pritch_13's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
peterseanesq's review against another edition
5.0
My Amazon review -
http://www.amazon.com/review/R19WN3S4K8ZXYF/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm
http://www.amazon.com/review/R19WN3S4K8ZXYF/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm
carol26388's review against another edition
3.0
If you’ll forgive the pun, I’m a bit out of my depth here. How do I describe a book that only took me two sittings to finish but has a fair bit that needs shoring up?
Simone is a private detective tailing Henry St. Michel, a balding, dumpy, fifty-something importer/exporter whose rich wife Linnea suspects of having an affair. She might be right; Simone has tailed him to an expensive restaurant where he meets an attractive blonde. Heavy fog and a personal phone call prevent her from getting many details, but the phone call isn’t all bad–her best friend is calling to give her notice that she sent an attractive client her way, a researcher looking for a city guide. deCostas is looking to find the mythical ‘dry tunnels’ the city was building before funds and time ran out on re-connecting NYC to the mainland. Simone agrees to chaperone deCostas as she continues to work on the St. Michel’s case. Unfortunately, in short order both Henry and Linnea disappear and Simone is left floundering.
Character-building was interesting. Like many book detectives, Simone has a disabling inability to trust others. Her closest friends are Caroline Khan, the deputy mayor from a prominent Korean-American family; and Danny, human computer posing as a psychic; and occasional support from Peter, NYPD and ex-lover. Its the kind of mix that updates the noir tropes in an interesting way, except that Rosen plays their negative characteristics a bit too strongly without equal attention to developing care and concern. The details of their caring are all historical and their ‘friendliness’ are often displayed as taunts; I wish moments of kindness had shown through to help show why they care.
“Simone arched an eyebrow. ‘Don’t get enthusiastic about the idiot stuff, Danny.’
‘So I should be like you and save my enthusiasm for cigarettes and silly hats?’ he asked with a smirk.”
I largely enjoyed the writing. There’s a bit of soggy prose in the beginning, attempts to write in a noir fashion that don’t take: “She glanced at [the phone], and as she did the fog swirled open for less than a heartbeat, then closed like a lover’s kiss.” Honestly, I don’t even know what that means–Tongue? Softly? Passionately? Color me confused. Once the narrative dives into the plot, those instances are minimized and more appropriately focused. But dear heavens, why on earth did the editor allow 150 mentions of Simone’s smoking/cigarettes? (I’m guessing it was a little less once per page). Lev must have been jonsing, but it doesn’t explain the editorial pass. It takes more than a cigarette habit to build a character, and the reader (me) shouldn’t be so sick of her habit that they’re ready to drown themselves, noir or not. I will note that Simone often info-dumps background on a character as they meet up.
“The green light of algae generators pulse through the fog here and there, giving the view an eerie glow and, through it, the silhouette of the skyline bursting from the sea. It wasn’t the iconic skyline of the past–just the top, with wide plains of oceans between crumbling towers, and large boats floating low on the horizon, like a steel archipelago.”
One of the most intriguing aspects is the world-building. I admit, it’s the hook that caught me (besides Emily’s review). Honestly, I never thought about New York’s seawater risk until Hurricane Sandy, and stories of flooded subways and streets started making headlines. I know that’s probably a no-brainer, but NYC has always seemed to live in bubble of environmental isolation, and NY is about the human culture, not the beaches. At any rate, I enjoyed the vision of a NYC flooded below 21st floor (although that’s about 35 times more than current projections). Some ideas feel eminently realistic: oceanliners as buildings, rickety bridges, a cavalier attitude. Some parts less so. Explanations are quickly technoed (see, I can make up words as well) with FluoriSeal (for your hair, not your teeth), DrySkin (waterproof coating), MouthFoam (drug) and GlassSteel (building coating), so mileage may vary. It feels a little like those J.D. Robb books with the police detective zooming around in an aircar but really are just set in 1990. World-building also includes a super-conservative mainland, with NYC acting as an island of indecency. Do you think Rosen is implying something about current views?
Last, but never least in a mystery, is plotting. A couple reviewers complained about predictability; I don’t agree, but I only guess endings is when I’m re-reading Agatha Christie, so take that for what it is worth. I rather thought it was Byzantine, perhaps attempting to weave in a few too many red herrings (how’s that for an utter mess of a metaphor?). There’s a reveal at the end that made no sense to me, and another death that seems both pointless and unnecessarily risky.
Overall, I’m kind of drifting here. I think I’ve been as harsh as I have because there is clearly so much potential for something expansive and moving. I enjoyed it, but would like my ‘liking’ to take less conscious ignoring. Honestly, my advice would be to drop the editor. It looks like her contributions are mostly in the non-fiction and lifestyle fields, and a story like this needs someone with strong sci-fi or mystery asking the hard questions.
I’d read a sequel, but it’ll take a bit for it to drift to the top of the to-be-read pile.
Simone is a private detective tailing Henry St. Michel, a balding, dumpy, fifty-something importer/exporter whose rich wife Linnea suspects of having an affair. She might be right; Simone has tailed him to an expensive restaurant where he meets an attractive blonde. Heavy fog and a personal phone call prevent her from getting many details, but the phone call isn’t all bad–her best friend is calling to give her notice that she sent an attractive client her way, a researcher looking for a city guide. deCostas is looking to find the mythical ‘dry tunnels’ the city was building before funds and time ran out on re-connecting NYC to the mainland. Simone agrees to chaperone deCostas as she continues to work on the St. Michel’s case. Unfortunately, in short order both Henry and Linnea disappear and Simone is left floundering.
Character-building was interesting. Like many book detectives, Simone has a disabling inability to trust others. Her closest friends are Caroline Khan, the deputy mayor from a prominent Korean-American family; and Danny, human computer posing as a psychic; and occasional support from Peter, NYPD and ex-lover. Its the kind of mix that updates the noir tropes in an interesting way, except that Rosen plays their negative characteristics a bit too strongly without equal attention to developing care and concern. The details of their caring are all historical and their ‘friendliness’ are often displayed as taunts; I wish moments of kindness had shown through to help show why they care.
“Simone arched an eyebrow. ‘Don’t get enthusiastic about the idiot stuff, Danny.’
‘So I should be like you and save my enthusiasm for cigarettes and silly hats?’ he asked with a smirk.”
I largely enjoyed the writing. There’s a bit of soggy prose in the beginning, attempts to write in a noir fashion that don’t take: “She glanced at [the phone], and as she did the fog swirled open for less than a heartbeat, then closed like a lover’s kiss.” Honestly, I don’t even know what that means–Tongue? Softly? Passionately? Color me confused. Once the narrative dives into the plot, those instances are minimized and more appropriately focused. But dear heavens, why on earth did the editor allow 150 mentions of Simone’s smoking/cigarettes? (I’m guessing it was a little less once per page). Lev must have been jonsing, but it doesn’t explain the editorial pass. It takes more than a cigarette habit to build a character, and the reader (me) shouldn’t be so sick of her habit that they’re ready to drown themselves, noir or not. I will note that Simone often info-dumps background on a character as they meet up.
“The green light of algae generators pulse through the fog here and there, giving the view an eerie glow and, through it, the silhouette of the skyline bursting from the sea. It wasn’t the iconic skyline of the past–just the top, with wide plains of oceans between crumbling towers, and large boats floating low on the horizon, like a steel archipelago.”
One of the most intriguing aspects is the world-building. I admit, it’s the hook that caught me (besides Emily’s review). Honestly, I never thought about New York’s seawater risk until Hurricane Sandy, and stories of flooded subways and streets started making headlines. I know that’s probably a no-brainer, but NYC has always seemed to live in bubble of environmental isolation, and NY is about the human culture, not the beaches. At any rate, I enjoyed the vision of a NYC flooded below 21st floor (although that’s about 35 times more than current projections). Some ideas feel eminently realistic: oceanliners as buildings, rickety bridges, a cavalier attitude. Some parts less so. Explanations are quickly technoed (see, I can make up words as well) with FluoriSeal (for your hair, not your teeth), DrySkin (waterproof coating), MouthFoam (drug) and GlassSteel (building coating), so mileage may vary. It feels a little like those J.D. Robb books with the police detective zooming around in an aircar but really are just set in 1990. World-building also includes a super-conservative mainland, with NYC acting as an island of indecency. Do you think Rosen is implying something about current views?
Last, but never least in a mystery, is plotting. A couple reviewers complained about predictability; I don’t agree, but I only guess endings is when I’m re-reading Agatha Christie, so take that for what it is worth. I rather thought it was Byzantine, perhaps attempting to weave in a few too many red herrings (how’s that for an utter mess of a metaphor?). There’s a reveal at the end that made no sense to me, and another death that seems both pointless and unnecessarily risky.
Overall, I’m kind of drifting here. I think I’ve been as harsh as I have because there is clearly so much potential for something expansive and moving. I enjoyed it, but would like my ‘liking’ to take less conscious ignoring. Honestly, my advice would be to drop the editor. It looks like her contributions are mostly in the non-fiction and lifestyle fields, and a story like this needs someone with strong sci-fi or mystery asking the hard questions.
I’d read a sequel, but it’ll take a bit for it to drift to the top of the to-be-read pile.
bmartino's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars. Really liked this one. I have to admit I don't know that much about noir detective stories, but this felt pretty on the nose based on the tropes and send-ups I've seen in TV and movies. I would read more stories that took place in this world.