It should come as no surprise that I really loved this book. I’ve pretty much raved about the books by Mira Grant/Seanan McGuire in the past and she’s definitely still at the top of her game.
As Mira Grant, the author is best known for her Newsflesh Trilogy books – a series set in a world where zombies are a terrifying reality. In her Parasitology series, Grant introduces the reader to the beginning of a zombie-like take-over. Now, in this Rolling in the Deep series, Grant takes the reader away from zombie and on to a journey to discover a new horror … mermaids.
A few years back a ship was at the Mariana Trench to do some filming of a phony story about mermaids. But there was a disaster of some sort and all hands were lost. Now another ship is setting off for their last location, this one staffed with scientists and guards and the ship has been specially rigged to protect the crew. On board is Dr. Jillian Toth, a noted scientist who has written and lectured about the reality of mermaids. She is certain that this ship will produce evidence of the often-considered-mythical creatures.
And it does.
And we wish it hadn’t.
Grant’s mermaids are nothing like the Disney singing princess. These creatures are malevolent feeders with a taste for human flesh. They are fast and they are strong and they are on the offensive and from the moment of their first appearance in the book, Grant keeps the reader on edge all the way through the rest of the book. It is a true page-turner as we can’t wait to get into the next chapter to see who has survived or if another wave of killers has attacked.
Grant is a tremendous writer and it’s hard to even begin to say what she does so well.
First, there’s her world-creation. Although set in the near future, this world is very recognizable. This is our world and we’d better be careful because there’s something here we’re about to discover. And when she gives us the monsters, just as she did with the zombies in her other series’, she has clearly thought it through and created rules by which these creatures have existed and flourish. She even gives us plausible science to explain how these sea monsters can move between the heavy pressure of the ocean depths and the world above the water.
Next, Grant shows her skill by recognizing that this isn’t just a scifi/fantasy/horror novel about a sea monster – this is a book about people, humans like us, discovering the new horrors, and then about how we react and survive (or not) this new beast. Essentially, Grant knows that a good book is about people, even if what we remember most vividly are the scenes of chaos and death.
And because of these things – a familiar world and a story about people we can recognize – we are fully drawn into the story. The action is immediate and terrifying and I’m not sure I want to take a cruise ever again because Grant makes me believe in these creatures.
This is highly recommended and if you’ve never read Mira Grant and like a little horror in your sci-fi, then this is a must read.
Looking for a good book? Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant is a wild ride on an ocean vessel, making contact with what was once believed to be only a myth, and it will have you believing in mermaids and fearful of ever encountering one.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.
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Into the Drowning Deep
author: Mira Grant
series: Rolling in the Deep #1
publisher: Orbit
ISBN: 0316379409
hardcover, 439 pages
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