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loxeletters's review against another edition
dark
tense
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
First read: 5⭐
Great representation of autistic and homosexual characters. Listened to the audiobook; enjoyed it a lot.
Second read: 3⭐
Still enjoy the representation aspects, though they were sometimes a bit preachy/too on-the-nose. While I found the plot engaging and compelling, overall the book sometimes felt a bit rambly, going on self-indulgent tangents. Some imagery was really overused. I understand that the characters thoughts may be racing, but that was not accurately portrayed by the sentence flow and the audio narrator. Instead, it just felt like there were many unnecessary tangents. Also, many of the deaths felt somewhat formulaic. Plus, I think more tension could've been achieved by not showing the deaths and sticking to one or two POVs instead of the omniscient narrator.
I still enjoyed some of the characters, the setting, and the mermaids.
Great representation of autistic and homosexual characters. Listened to the audiobook; enjoyed it a lot.
Second read: 3⭐
Still enjoy the representation aspects, though they were sometimes a bit preachy/too on-the-nose. While I found the plot engaging and compelling, overall the book sometimes felt a bit rambly, going on self-indulgent tangents. Some imagery was really overused. I understand that the characters thoughts may be racing, but that was not accurately portrayed by the sentence flow and the audio narrator. Instead, it just felt like there were many unnecessary tangents. Also, many of the deaths felt somewhat formulaic. Plus, I think more tension could've been achieved by not showing the deaths and sticking to one or two POVs instead of the omniscient narrator.
I still enjoyed some of the characters, the setting, and the mermaids.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Death, and Gore
Moderate: Biphobia, Chronic illness, Confinement, Gun violence, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
themorbidlycuriousbookclub's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Oof— conceptually, this book was made for me. I love claustrophobic creepy stories and the deep deep ocean scares me. Unfortunately this was insanely boring for me, and the characters drove me nuts. There was a lot of strange dialogue too, that didn’t seem like it fit with the story.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Death, Drug use, Gore, Medical content, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
words_and_dreams's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I absolutely loved this book and couldn't put it down. A sci-fi horror thriller about mermaids! Yes mermaids. Not the red headed singing and friends with seagulls kind, the creepy scary cannibalistic kind.
Official synopsis: 'Seven years ago, the Atargatis set off on a voyage to the Mariana Trench to film a “mockumentary” bringing to life ancient sea creatures of legend. It was lost at sea with all hands. Some have called it a hoax; others have called it a maritime tragedy.
Now, a new crew has been assembled. But this time they’re not out to entertain. Some seek to validate their life’s work. Some seek the greatest hunt of all. Some seek the truth. But for the ambitious young scientist Victoria Stewart this is a voyage to uncover the fate of the sister she lost.
Whatever the truth may be, it will only be found below the waves. But the secrets of the deep come with a price.'
The tension builds beautifully after a brutal opening chapter. There is a wide range of diverse characters and everyones got their own baggage and their own reason to be on the voyage. The story really does play on how scary the ocean is and how we don't have a full understanding of what is down there.
I loved the few brief moments that the POV switched to the creatures and we get to see their world view. I would have liked more of that. I also really enjoyed the scenes between Hallie and the captured individual and thought that might be explored further.
There was gore throughout but not overly so but enough to give you an idea of the horror. There is also a lot of science talk, this did not feel too much to me and swamp the story, instead it grounded the story in reality making it even scarier.
The only down side for me is that I felt that it finished too quickly especially after a significant event near the end of the book. I am really hoping we get a sequel! I neeeeed a sequel.
Great read
Official synopsis: 'Seven years ago, the Atargatis set off on a voyage to the Mariana Trench to film a “mockumentary” bringing to life ancient sea creatures of legend. It was lost at sea with all hands. Some have called it a hoax; others have called it a maritime tragedy.
Now, a new crew has been assembled. But this time they’re not out to entertain. Some seek to validate their life’s work. Some seek the greatest hunt of all. Some seek the truth. But for the ambitious young scientist Victoria Stewart this is a voyage to uncover the fate of the sister she lost.
Whatever the truth may be, it will only be found below the waves. But the secrets of the deep come with a price.'
The tension builds beautifully after a brutal opening chapter. There is a wide range of diverse characters and everyones got their own baggage and their own reason to be on the voyage. The story really does play on how scary the ocean is and how we don't have a full understanding of what is down there.
I loved the few brief moments that the POV switched to the creatures and we get to see their world view. I would have liked more of that. I also really enjoyed the scenes between Hallie and the captured individual and thought that might be explored further.
There was gore throughout but not overly so but enough to give you an idea of the horror. There is also a lot of science talk, this did not feel too much to me and swamp the story, instead it grounded the story in reality making it even scarier.
The only down side for me is that I felt that it finished too quickly especially after a significant event near the end of the book. I am really hoping we get a sequel! I neeeeed a sequel.
Great read
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Gore, Violence, Medical content, and Medical trauma
Minor: Biphobia and Sexual content
cryptidkay's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
This book came highly recommended on several best horror lists I looked at following my yearly kid-fic deep dive in 2021. The horror sections of this novel are gory and satisfying in the way all monster horror should be. Visceral descriptions make this a great choice for anyone who is a fan of modern slasher flicks but also needs to have a healthy fear of the ocean. I enjoyed reading it and getting to know the characters trapped on this Saw cruise. The scientists can be a bit info-dumpy but the science is almost believable enough that, since the book takes place in 2022, if I get news of something being pulled from the ocean, I'm moving farther inland.
It is a bit of a long haul though. There are a lot of characters to meet and figure out their motives, why they were on the ship, why you should care about them... There's also a lovely and modern queer romance. To me, it seemed a bit out of place in regards to the plot (especially since it comes in so late in the game after everyone knows that the sirens are killing people) but I understand that it is representative of the same thing going on elsewhere on the ship amongst the background characters.
It is a bit of a long haul though. There are a lot of characters to meet and figure out their motives, why they were on the ship, why you should care about them... There's also a lovely and modern queer romance. To me, it seemed a bit out of place in regards to the plot (especially since it comes in so late in the game after everyone knows that the sirens are killing people) but I understand that it is representative of the same thing going on elsewhere on the ship amongst the background characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Chronic illness, Drug use, Medical content, Grief, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
queergoth_reads's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I very much enjoyed this book. I absolutely loved the women in STEM representation and all the scientific descriptions within the story. It was very interesting.
I would say that the ending wasn't as strong as the rest of the book. The book really peaked for my in the middle. There is one specific scene that I loved and honestly I've never got that feeling of terror from a book before but sadly I didn't really get it again anywhere on in the book.
This book has a lot of representation with queer characters, disabled characters and people of colour. However, to me personally some it didn't sit quite right or felt a little forced. That is just my interpretation of it though. A majority of it was very good, it was just one or two incidences that I wasn't sure on.
Overall if you love science and horror I would definitely recommend.
I would say that the ending wasn't as strong as the rest of the book. The book really peaked for my in the middle. There is one specific scene that I loved and honestly I've never got that feeling of terror from a book before but sadly I didn't really get it again anywhere on in the book.
This book has a lot of representation with queer characters, disabled characters and people of colour. However, to me personally some it didn't sit quite right or felt a little forced. That is just my interpretation of it though. A majority of it was very good, it was just one or two incidences that I wasn't sure on.
Overall if you love science and horror I would definitely recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Biphobia
savagemoose's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore
Moderate: Gun violence, Violence, Blood, and Medical content
kadtide's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Medical content, and Grief
Moderate: Ableism
Minor: Biphobia
jourdanicus's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
This book has some of the best imagined and described monsters I've personally read. Especially as someone who watched a lot of Disney as a kid, I was so excited to read about mermaids as monsters, and this book absolutely came through in that regard. Unfortunately I didn't feel like I could connect much with the characters, and I'm a very character-driven reader, so I did struggle there. I did really appreciate the inclusivity of disabled, Deaf, gay/bi, autistic, and POC characters - that's often apparently too much to ask from some authors, and Grant wrote in characters of different backgrounds without a second thought. It also did feel difficult for me to get through the book at times as I felt some aspects of the plot were being over-explained or mentioned with unnecessary repetition. Ultimately I am glad I finished this book; I will definitely not be forgetting Grant's mermaids/sirens any time soon. I would recommend this to anyone who loves monster horror and who is maybe a faster reader than me and can put away an almost-500 page book with more ease than I can.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, and Blood
Minor: Sexual content and Medical content
shoshin's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I don't enjoy horror, but was encouraged to read this by my siblings. It was well written and executed, so it gets 4 stars, but it's not my cup of tea.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Medical content, and Medical trauma
flordemaga's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Blood
Moderate: Confinement and Medical content
Minor: Ableism