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A review by columnclub
The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea by Maggie Tokuda-Hall
Did not finish book. Stopped at 14%.
I really, really wanted to like this. In the prologue, I loved seeing Flora slip into the identity of Florian, but I just couldn't get over the fact that their ship is a slaver, which Flora is actively involved in. I wasn't endeared to Evelyn, either – the way she treats Keiko was absolutely baffling, and again left a bad taste in my mouth.
On top of that, the writing wasn't great in places. "Show not tell" can be an overused mantra, particularly in SFF, but Evelyn's parents' indifference over her felt incredibly flat. The way the Pirate Supreme was introduced was similarly uninteresting.
Overall, the sticking point for me was that this is a novel that attempts to talk about slavery and colonisation while... set on a slave ship... with (apparently) sympathetic characters who are slavers. Such a baffling decision, and one that made this probably one of my quickest DNFs since childhood.
On top of that, the writing wasn't great in places. "Show not tell" can be an overused mantra, particularly in SFF, but Evelyn's parents' indifference over her felt incredibly flat. The way the Pirate Supreme was introduced was similarly uninteresting.
Overall, the sticking point for me was that this is a novel that attempts to talk about slavery and colonisation while... set on a slave ship... with (apparently) sympathetic characters who are slavers. Such a baffling decision, and one that made this probably one of my quickest DNFs since childhood.