Review | Into The Drowning Deep by Mira Grant

When Tory’s sister joined a voyage to film a mockumentary on sea creatures, she never thought she would never see her sister again. Seven years later, Tory joins another crew in a voyage to the Mariana Trench, sponsored by the same company who sent the first ship. Many of them are research scientists, intent on furthering their own careers. But Tory wants to know the truth of the creatures and find out what happened to her sister. Do mermaids exist? And if they do, what happens when humans enter their territory?

Did you really think we were the apex predators of the world?

Into The Drowning Deep reaffirms my decision to never go on a cruise, ever! You think sharks are bad? Say hello to these mermaids! Books set on cruises or ships tend to bring out a feeling of isolation in me for these characters, and this book is no different. Despite the advance technology, expensive facilities and comfortable lodgings on the ship, ultimately it’s a piece of steel floating on water. Water that goes down for miles and miles. There’s a scene in the book of a submersible diving into the deep sea which highlights the claustrophobic and helpless feeling of being surrounded by water. It is by far my favourite scene in the book.

I love that this book has capable, strong female characters who are all about their work! To the extent that even the possibility of death doesn’t deter them from finding the next big discovery. There are queer characters and deaf characters which is great to see. They were treated equally as the rest and not just as tokens. The romance does move a little too fast but I bought it. I also liked the interactions between the scientists and how they work together to find a solution to the problem of the mermaids.

At times though, the book goes into the science behind the creatures a lot which felt repetitive and dull. I felt this especially during the climax, when I wanted more action but the characters are lecturing about the mermaids. There’s an academic feel to the writing, like a research report, that I didn’t vibe with. I also didn’t feel like the main characters were in any real danger. In fact, one of them survived an impossible situation. But when all hell breaks loose at the end it makes for a suspenseful read. This book is marked as the first in a series and I would definitely be reading the sequel should there be one.

About the author: Mira Grant

Photo by Vas Soshnikov