Reviews with content warning for Violence - Fathomfolk

In recent years I have read other books with the theme of surpression of a species or other kinds of people and I have to say that I found that those books worked better at making me feel it. Partially this had to do with the characters but also partially with the writing. M.L. Wangs Blood Over Bright Haven sprung to mind often as I read this book wherein I didn't care for most characters, but her writing and set-up delivered exactly what she set out to do. Fathomfolk does not.

Returning back to the characters, they are slightly on the flat side. I liked Mila but she doesn't really move forward. She is very passive in her situation and it didn't make for a very compelling read. Nami on the other hand was immature. It was so very obvious that she was being used. There was absolutely no sublety about it and it was frustrating to see that she didn't want to see it.

The world in itself is interesting. Water species that can have a human body when on the land and that makes the human and the other species clash. But there is very little description of the various water species. I have an idea of what most of them are, but the whole point of books is that you show and describe them to me. I also wondered a lot about the relationships between the various species. There are some hints here and there but mostly it was the humans versus the fathomfolk. I think that was a missed opportunity. The brief glimpses of the under water life that we got, most of them seemed to be in their human bodies or living life like how they would on land. It felt a little weird and like this aspect wasn't giving a whole lot of thought.

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maregred's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

This book is a little difficult to review. I thought I would like it more l, but it’s pretty firmly middle of the road fantasy for me. While it’s advertised as an adult fantasy, it reads more YA.

I found the world building to be confusing and lacking. While I generally dislike infodumps, I feel like some explanatory dumping would have helped. There were also points in the book where it felt like a plot point came out of left field without any foreshadowing as well. The beginning of the book is very slow, but it does pick up. I find the writing gets stronger the further into the book as well.

There are three POVs: Mira, Nami, and Cordelia. Cordelia was my favorite POV. She has heavy Ursula vibes and schemes like Cersei Lannister. Unfortunately, her motivations became very muddled as the book went on. I rooted for Mira the whole time. Nami was almost too naive and trusting (to the point of annoyance), and her romance with Firth is just gross.

I received this copy through NetGalley and Orbit Books for an honest review.

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yourbookishbff's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This is a promising debut - deeply character-driven, with multiple rotating POVs and an intricately-built pan-Asian/post-apocalyptic/semi-drowned world. I loved how many sea creatures exist among the Fathomfolk - kelpies, sea dragons, sirens, mermaids, and more - and how Chan is blending mythological inspiration and fairy tales (East Asian dragon lore meets The Little Mermaid makes for a great premise).
I'm still grappling with a few of our characters, though, and their roles as the series progresses. Mira, in particular, half-folk and a border agent for the city, attempting to affect change from within, has me unsure of Chan's intention for the story and thoughts on resistance to violent systems. I'm interested to see where the series goes from here, as I really enjoyed the expansion of the world at the end, the potential directions the sequel can take, and the many possibilities that lie ahead for all of our characters. I am grateful to have multiple POVs, and probably enjoyed our sea witch's story the most. These are all flawed characters, grappling with their own insecurities and ambition as they question their loyalties to each other, and fantasy readers who particularly enjoy character work will appreciate this series start.
Thank you to Netgalley and Orbit for an advanced reader's copy!

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errie's review against another edition

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3.0

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devynreadsnovels's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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nickel_books's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

East Asian mythology + racism + classism + climate crisis + political intrigue all in one marvelous debut. A cast of characters caught between status quo and revolution, Chan creates an exciting world centered in Tiankawi - a semi-flooded city. Fathomfolk forces us to grapple with our role in many social issues most prominent being xenophobia and refugee resettlement.

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aliteraryescape's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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mjscooke's review against another edition

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adventurous tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

At times this feels just like being jostled about in the sea this book is boom is built upon, for better or worse. It’s definitely not boring and i particularly enjoyed the world building ! With a vast cast of interlocking characters there is a perspective for everyone but at times it gets confusing as to which perspective is prominent at the time. Despite my empathy being a bit stifled by the whiplash of many povs, I highly recommend checking trigger warnings if that is something you are concerned about as underneath the fantastical elements are some hard hitting themes such as

Racism, Toxic Relationships, Gaslighting, Borderline Cult Indoctrination etc

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