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A review by jfictitional
Our Bloody Pearl by D.N. Bryn
5.0
A fast-paced, imaginative and compelling steampunk swashbuckler. There's enough worldbuilding and story arcs for a series to develop, and the blending of genres is deft and unique. Even better, it's a character-driven story, with a cast we immediately like and enjoy seeing grow. All these ingredients combine to make a wonderful debut novel.
The heart of "Our Bloody Pearl" is the relationship between the protagonist, a captive siren crippled by the machinations of the villain Kian, and their rescuer, the compassionate and somewhat bumbling Dejean. In fact, one of the most interesting subversions of genre tropes is that, except for the initial rescue, Dejean tends to occupy what would traditionally be the damsel-in-distress role of the story. Although Pearle comes to be dependent on this human and his friends for their livelihood, it is they who tend to be the hero. The slow buildup of their relationship with Dejean, from using sign language to communicate to grudging trust to something more, is compelling and intelligent, and much of the novel rightly focuses on this. Perle themselves is a fascinating character, with enough insight into siren culture to make sense and a delicate balance between wanting to trust humans and falling back on their brutal, survivalist nature, as well as an exploration of a disabled character.
The supporting cast, including Dejean's eccentric sister Murielle and pragmatic first mate Simone, are a diverse and entertaining bunch, with naturalistic POC and LGBT representation, and even if the story being told entirely from Perle's POV means we don't actually see as much of them, it's something that can be addressed in future books. Where it falters somewhat is with the villains: Kian, who doesn't actually appear until over three-quarters of the way into the book (and at just under 230 pages that's a brief appearance), is underwhelming, considering how much the rest of the story spends mythologizing her, and some last-minute twists fail to give her dimension beyond being the catalyst for the story. Likewise her second-in-command, Theirn, is hastily sketched, though to be fair he has a moral complexity that the others lack - the only character who isn't outright "good" or "bad."
In exploring Perle and Dejean's life together, the novel touches upon themes such as bridging the gap between opposing cultures/species, the uneasy relationship between nature and machines, and the perpetual cycle of violence and its consequences. All of these it explores thoughtfully and with nuance, particularly in the way Perle comes to rely upon Murielle's inventions to swim in the sea again. It helps that the actual plot is straightforward and almost episodic in nature, driven by the characters and their actions rather than the other way around. When it shifts to battling Kian, it becomes more of a conventional action-adventure story, but continues to explore these themes, which makes the climactic battle a bit more meaningful - even if, again, the villain herself isn't as compelling.
Ultimately, that's what elevates this novel: it's emphasis on character and how it uses that to subvert expectations of the genre to deliver something fresh. There were a few places where it could have developed more, but it has sequels to do that. A worthy investment of time and emotion, as I'm sure the follow-ups will be.
The heart of "Our Bloody Pearl" is the relationship between the protagonist, a captive siren crippled by the machinations of the villain Kian, and their rescuer, the compassionate and somewhat bumbling Dejean. In fact, one of the most interesting subversions of genre tropes is that, except for the initial rescue, Dejean tends to occupy what would traditionally be the damsel-in-distress role of the story. Although Pearle comes to be dependent on this human and his friends for their livelihood, it is they who tend to be the hero. The slow buildup of their relationship with Dejean, from using sign language to communicate to grudging trust to something more, is compelling and intelligent, and much of the novel rightly focuses on this. Perle themselves is a fascinating character, with enough insight into siren culture to make sense and a delicate balance between wanting to trust humans and falling back on their brutal, survivalist nature, as well as an exploration of a disabled character.
The supporting cast, including Dejean's eccentric sister Murielle and pragmatic first mate Simone, are a diverse and entertaining bunch, with naturalistic POC and LGBT representation, and even if the story being told entirely from Perle's POV means we don't actually see as much of them, it's something that can be addressed in future books. Where it falters somewhat is with the villains: Kian, who doesn't actually appear until over three-quarters of the way into the book (and at just under 230 pages that's a brief appearance), is underwhelming, considering how much the rest of the story spends mythologizing her, and some last-minute twists fail to give her dimension beyond being the catalyst for the story. Likewise her second-in-command, Theirn, is hastily sketched, though to be fair he has a moral complexity that the others lack - the only character who isn't outright "good" or "bad."
In exploring Perle and Dejean's life together, the novel touches upon themes such as bridging the gap between opposing cultures/species, the uneasy relationship between nature and machines, and the perpetual cycle of violence and its consequences. All of these it explores thoughtfully and with nuance, particularly in the way Perle comes to rely upon Murielle's inventions to swim in the sea again. It helps that the actual plot is straightforward and almost episodic in nature, driven by the characters and their actions rather than the other way around. When it shifts to battling Kian, it becomes more of a conventional action-adventure story, but continues to explore these themes, which makes the climactic battle a bit more meaningful - even if, again, the villain herself isn't as compelling.
Ultimately, that's what elevates this novel: it's emphasis on character and how it uses that to subvert expectations of the genre to deliver something fresh. There were a few places where it could have developed more, but it has sequels to do that. A worthy investment of time and emotion, as I'm sure the follow-ups will be.