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robin_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.5
Graphic: Confinement, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism and Drug use
Minor: Biphobia
theliteraryhooker's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
danaslitlist's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I really, really realized how much I appreciate deep sea horror as a subgenre and this just made me want to get my hands on more. Mira Grant does a fantastic job of making the necessary science easy to understand while maintaining an appropriate level of professionalism given who the characters are. I really appreciated the descriptions of all the creatures (mermaids or not) and the way that I could vividly imagine what was happening both on the ship and below. There were many moments that had me holding my breath in real time or shaking my head like OJ Haywood walking backyard in his stable saying "Nope, nope, nope". It wasn't surprisingly to me that Grant nails the tension and descriptions because I've read enough of her other works under different names to know she thrives in these areas.
I was surprised by how many of the characters I was interested in and found myself invested in. In a book that has a larger cast (upwards of 5-10 characters that we routinely jump around to) it would be easy to get bored or find myself not caring at all about at least a few. Instead I genuinely was keen on seeing what was going to happen to everyone even the characters that were morally flawed.
I absolutely adored the horror of the sirens and the way that Grant didn't chicken out of making them true horrors of the deep. It takes some time to actually get to them in the book, but I didn't really mind the wait as I felt it was a good payoff for what we get. I loved the unraveling and unveiling of their methods, their anatomy, their "culture". I can see this version of sirens being a great in a visual media (fingers crossed one day for a tv series or movie).
This could've been rated higher had it not been for the ending, which I feel is an area of books that I've been having more and more of a problem with. As I mentioned above it takes some time to get the sirens before we get questions answered such as "what they are", "how they do what they do", etc. But it isn't until the very end, around the last five pages or so, that we get the "why" answered. And that answer is cool as hell!!! I just wish that we had gotten more of that answer, more insight into that creature at the bottom of the Marianna's Trench. More insight into the siren captured by the crew and why it did what it did.
There could be an argument made that it was intentional to leave the reader with the "what lurks beneath" mystery that we set out with at the beginning of the story. It could also be argued that the captive siren is meant to be an allegory for species who do good things for humanity only to be betrayed. But that second part just feels incredibly misplaced given what we know of the siren history and legacy.
Overall, I highly recommend this science filled mystery novel bordering the line to horror 100%. It was creepy, intense, and captivating. And most of all; it was a good time.
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism
athenarose_97's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
frantic_vampire's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Ableism, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism and Biphobia
Minor: Confinement, Cannibalism, and Murder
ches2496's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Biphobia, Confinement, Sexual content, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Chronic illness, Drug use, and Suicidal thoughts
luciamarier's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Body horror and Blood
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Medical content, and Gaslighting
Minor: Sexism
ilaxaria's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.5
Graphic: Ableism, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Blood, and Medical content
Moderate: Sexual content, Lesbophobia, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Drug use
zachzakku's review against another edition
- 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? No
3.0
Another example, with light spoilers:
The other thing that bothered me was that I found the deaths predictable (
Otherwise, I enjoyed the mermaid history/science and found their languages fascinating--really enjoyed the ASL rep; it's too bad there isn't a second book, because what I'd really love to read next is more of the scientists and sirens learning each others' sign languages!
Graphic: Death and Blood
tersirat's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Grief
Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Biphobia and Sexual content