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theliteraryhooker's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- 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
For some reason this took me aaaages to get through, despite it being a pretty engaging story. As always, I really enjoyed Grant's writing and her ability to give each character a unique voice. Some of the deaths in this book are wonderfully gory and awful which I loved, but at the same time, I never really believed the stakes were very high for our main cast of characters. The ending also felt a bit rushed and too neatly wrapped up. Still a creepy read though I want more about the toxins and the pseudocrabs now 👀
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Body horror, Gore, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Confinement
danaslitlist's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Overall I really enjoyed Into the Drowning Deep, we're giving an amazing premise of deep sea horror and mermaid mythology with a wide net of characters ranging from ones we are meant to love, to some who toe the line of villains, to ones who are absolutely not meant to be looked upon with an ounce of favor. Add in an element of isolation horror (the ship is a tin graveyard) and you're set up perfectly for a good time. And for the most part I did!
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Grief, Gore, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Body horror
Moderate: Ableism
athenarose_97's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gore, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
frantic_vampire's review against another edition
adventurous
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
Holy shit. HOLY SHIT! This was one of the most terrifying and also enjoyable reading experiences I’ve had in such a long time. I’m not usually a fan of the horror genre, but this? This was amazing and it was so cinematic that I got utterly lost in it. I loved every gory detail and I would happily dive back into this world for more.
I loved the way this story was told through alternating pov’s. We got everything from Tory (our semi main character), to the mermaids/sirens, to fish and dolphins, to literally everyone and everything in between. I also really liked that the more science-y side of this book was so accessible, it wasn’t hard to follow what was going on and things were explained in a way that makes sense. And I think that added so much to the overall experience!
I think this is honestly one of the best books that I’ve read all year, and that’s really saying something. I don’t think I can ever look at a cruise ship the same way again (not that I ever wanted to get on one of them anyway🤢). I already had a very healthy respect for the sea, but this book would put the fear of the gods in you if you didn’t. Into The Drowning Deep is getting a solid five stars. It’s one of those books that I think will stick with me for a very long time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Grief, Violence, Ableism, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Gaslighting, Gun violence, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Biphobia and Ableism
Minor: Cannibalism, Murder, and Confinement
ches2496's review
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- 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
A satisfying sy-fi thriller. I loved how the author did a deep-dive (pardon the pun) into mermaid biology. The author also did a good job of making even the unlikable characters sympathetic. Definitely going to look for more by this author.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Death, Animal cruelty, Blood, Gore, Medical content, and Violence
Moderate: Lesbophobia, Sexual content, Confinement, and Biphobia
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Chronic illness, and Drug use
luciamarier's review
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Body horror
Moderate: Gaslighting, Medical content, and Animal cruelty
Minor: Sexism
ilaxaria's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Gun violence, Ableism, Blood, Confinement, Death, and Gore
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Lesbophobia, and Sexual content
Minor: Drug use
zachzakku's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
slow-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? No
3.0
This book would've been four stars for me if it were 100 pages shorter. The sirens are terrifying, and I found the science in the book consistently intriguing, but there's a level of repetition in the book that made me start to skim sections of it. For example, two hunters are invited to join the expedition, and they're pretty universally feared/disliked by the scientists because they're basically just killers. In most of their scenes, we get a little bit of their backstory--how they met, fell for each other because they're both hunters, and how no one else understands them quite like they understand each other. The problem is, it felt like the same details over and over again, and I didn't understand why they needed to be in there more than once.
Another example, with light spoilers:Same deal with the doctors figuring out that "mermaid" may not be the best name for the sirens because they don't know anything about the sirens' sex or gender. Dr. Toth says this at some point early on, and then many chapters later, they're dissecting a siren, and Dr. Toth says again that they shouldn't call them mermaids. The main character can't figure out why, but then it dawns on her that, actually, the siren may not be a "maid." The moment was written in a way that I think was supposed to imply surprise, like this should be a revelation to the reader, but it... wasn't. Because Toth had already said the same thing in a previous chapter.
The other thing that bothered me was that I found the deaths predictable (before any given character dies, we'd get an absolute info-dump of background info on them, to make readers empathize with them before killing them ).
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!
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!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Death
abyissmal'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
3.0
WAAAY too many humans and not enough mermaids
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Violence, Blood, and Gore
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Medical content, and Ableism
Minor: Biphobia and Sexual content
judassilver's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
The end is wrapped up in an extremely unsatisfactory way, the writing became extremely repetitive with an overuse of rambling (parenthetical tangents that went no where), and I didn't feel that any of the characters actions had real impact. Suspension of disbelief only takes me so far when suddenly the mermaids that ate everyone else without discrimination spare you, multiple times, because you're the main character. Everything just wraps up a little too conviently for there to be real tension. How many times do you have to come to the revelation that the killer mermaids want to kill you?? I thought these people were adult scientists but they read incredibly juvenile. I also didn't need the point of view of every single character-- the dolphins? Are you serious? And the mermaid (sorry, Siren) POV completely took me out of it . Would recommend for those looking for a YA novel with horror elements and a diverse cast, otherwise, skip it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Ableism, Animal death, Body horror, Blood, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content
Moderate: Biphobia, Drug use, Chronic illness, Animal cruelty, and Violence