Reviews with content warning for Medical trauma - Into the Drowning Deep

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

Content Warnings

a_novel_craving's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad 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

thegr8estangell's review against another edition

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dark mysterious 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

4.25

Welp... I ain't going in the ocean for a while. The story is pretty scary at some points. My blood pressure was higher, that deep pit of dread that forms in the center of your chest formed when the sirens appeared and it never went away. It was good book. She explains why the mermaids are where they are, why they can do the thing that they can do, and she does not skimp on the gore. The story itself was slow at the beginning. There was a lot of exposition to get the scene set. But, once they got on the boat and things started moving, it didn't stop. The deaths were gruesome as expected when dealing with face eating mermaids, but some of the deaths were honestly pretty unexpected. I loved how she heavily shoved climate change science into the narrative. That was awesome. The lesbian love was a minor plot in the story. It was nice to see it treated as such in a horror story. The fact that Olivia is an autistic lesbian with a job of being a TV personality was really cool. That kind of representation is rare and is a gem when you find it done well. This is a gem. I really liked the ending, but it did feel rushed. I wanted more out of the epilogue. I needed more out of the epilogue. The pacing was all over the place sometimes. Sometimes the story was really fast paced and racing while other times the story was slow and science-y. Overall, I really enjoyed the book and I hope to see more out of Mira Grant.

Content Warnings

michaelamiller's review against another edition

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mysterious tense slow-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

4.5

It's a little slow, at first, but there's a moment ("HEATHER. HEATHER PLEASE.") where it takes off and doesn't look back. The plot is the focus, but the characters were diverse and interesting in their own right. Not a ton of re-readability, but it is absolutely worth the one read you'll get.

Content Warnings

ohhthehorrors's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious 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

5.0

Content Warnings

shoshin's review against another edition

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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

ehawk's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

Content Warnings

zogg's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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? Yes

4.0

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