'Into the Drowning Deep' by Mira Grant follows a crew on the ship Melusine as they venture to the Mariana Trench to investigate the disappearance of a previous crew who encountered killer mermaids. The story is described as a mix of horror, science fiction, and adventure, with a focus on the tension between humans and the predatory mermaids. The narrative is filled with gore, tension, and twists, keeping readers on the edge of their seats as the crew faces the terrifying creatures of the deep.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
Contains graphic violence, animal death, potential trauma related to loss and grief, as well as ecological and environmental distress.
Has Romance?
There is an LGBTQ+ representation, with a central romance subplot, although it is not the main focus of the narrative.
From The Publisher:
New York Times bestselling author Mira Grant, author of the renowned Newsflesh series, returns with a novel that takes us to a new world of ancient mysteries and mythological dangers come to life.
The ocean is home to many myths,
But some are deadly. . .
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 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.
Ratings (37)
Incredible (6) | |
Loved It (14) | |
Liked It (8) | |
It Was OK (7) | |
Did Not Like (2) |
Reader Stats (189):
Read It (38) | |
Currently Reading (4) | |
Want To Read (124) | |
Did Not Finish (3) | |
Not Interested (20) |
1 comment(s)
Solid three stars: this book tried my patience. (Was initially going to go with four stars, then I realized that no, I did not "really like" this.)
Ultimately, an interesting concept and beautiful writing couldn't
quite make up for the fact that the characters were generally unbearable idiots and the pacing was much too slow and stuffed with naval gazing to ever be truly gripping or horrifying.
Since I got grumpier as I read this, I'll start by airing my grievances:
•
The characters are idiots. Basically all of the point-of-view characters are presented as geniuses in their fields (be that biology or law) yet seem to collectively lack basic common sense. Almost all of them believe wholeheartedly that mermaids not only exist, but that mermaids attacked and destroyed a prior ship, killing the entire crew (a massacre which, by the way, is verified by video footage)… yet they behave as though they're searching for and studying creatures as harmless as dolphins. It is hard to overstate this disconnect and how successfully it eliminates any tension. The husband-wife big game hunters (who are written to be as unlikeable as possible) turn out to be some of the only interesting characters since they're really the only semi-competent ones.
•
The characters are varying shades of insufferable. (Oh, and I literally couldn't have cared less about the shoehorned romance.) The Wilson sisters are some of the only actually likeable people in the book: everyone else either has the personality of cardboard or is self-righteous to a truly nauseating extent. Speaking of...
•
Could the author more preachy? I think not. I get it: climate change bad, big game hunting bad, corporations bad, whales and dolphins good. I got it after the first lecture; by page 400 I was completely over it.
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This was shockingly slow, with very little tension and a complete lack of urgency until about 80% of the way through. There's a
lot of talking in this book, usually about things that just don't matter to the plot. And since, as mentioned above, the characters seem completely unconcerned about any threat the mermaids might pose, these extensive conversations have no sense of urgency or any real stakes. People start literally dying and the survivors are like,
eh, my closest and dearest friend was horrifically murdered in front of me, but hey, find anything interesting about the mermaids yet? We're not going to leave or anything, just stay here because.... well, we already have everything we need, so I guess just because.
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This book turns out to mostly be about mermaid biology. If you've ever wondered about whether mermaids would be mammals,
you will love this. I'm sorry, but I just don't really care about the made-up anatomy of made-up creatures, especially when said anatomy has zero relevance to anything that's happening. The amount of time dedicated to exploring mermaid biology was truly astounding.
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The ending was a letdown. Really, that's the big twist? Really, that's the big solution?
Really?
Okay then, things I liked:
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Grant does a great job juggling multiple different point-of-view characters. Usually I hate books that jump around excessively, but it actually really worked here. (I probably would have quit reading if I'd had to spend all 400+ pages in the head of any one of the characters presented.) I also enjoyed the non-human characters: the section with the parrotfish is one of the best passages in the book.
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The concept is unique and lived up to the promise. I wanted killer mermaids, I got killer mermaids (even if it was more "biology class" than "horror story"). And while I do think that this book explored mermaid biology more than was necessary, I did appreciate that the creatures were well-thought-out and weren't overly stereotypical.
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The prose was really beautiful. A little self-indulgent (this book could
and absolutely should have been 100 pages shorter), but it was generally enjoyable to read. This made up for the slow pace enough for me to keep going.
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I really enjoyed the Wilson sisters. It was so interesting to have their perspective, especially considering that it actually contributed to the plot (instead of feeling ham-fisted like....some of the other examples of diversity that were forced in).
In summary, I can appreciate this was a well-written book and it definitely had its moments, but I'm mostly just glad I finished it. I don't plan to read any sequels or anything else by Grant.
What can you read after
Into the Drowning Deep?
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