Mira Grant

'VISCERAL . . . IRRESISTIBLE . . . a claustrophobic, deep-sea terror tale that will leave readers glad to be safely on dry land' Kirkus NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR MIRA GRANT RETURNS WITH A RAZOR-SHARP TALE OF THE HORRORS THAT LIE BENEATH . . . 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 tragedy; others have called it a hoax. Now, a new crew has been assembled to investigate. And they'll discover that whatever is down there is definitely no joke . . . Praise for Mira Grant: 'ASTONISHING' New York Times 'GRIPPING, THRILLING AND BRUTAL . . . A MASTERPIECE OF SUSPENSE' Publishers Weekly 'INTELLIGENT AND EXCITING' Telegraph 'MYSTERY, DANGER AND EXCITEMENT ABOUND' RT Book Reviews

Into the Drowning Deep

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. More from Mira Grant NewsfleshFeedDeadlineBlackoutFeedbackRise: A Newsflesh Collection ParasitologyParasiteSymbiontChimera

Katheryn

Science is not a matter of belief. Science does not care whether you believe in it or not. Science will continue to do what science will do, free from morality, free from ethical concerns, and most of all, free from the petty worry that it will not be believed. Belief has shaped the history of human accomplishment—we believe we can, and so we do—but belief has never changed the natural world. The mountain does not vanish because we believe it should. The unicorn does not appear because we believe it will.

Kearney, eldest and most cautious of the three, brought up the rear. He had been born in captivity, just as they had; was brother to their mother, who remained safely in her tank, enjoying the lazy life to which she was accustomed. Humans broke the best of his generation, inuring them to captivity, replacing dreams of freedom and the sea with dreams of fat fish in pails and squeaky toys that made the children laugh. (Not all who were broken became clowns for the amusement of human young. Some had turned vicious, all teeth and sullen anger. Those had a tendency to disappear, fading into lie and rumor, forgotten by all but those who had known them. Kearney remembered. Oh yes, Kearney remembered.)

Well just describe my whole approach to learning social cues, why don't you?

Liberal mother; conservative father; autistic daughter learning about social interaction one book and course of practical study at a time.

It wasn’t Heather’s death that mattered; it was her life, the way she’d favored her left side when she signed, even though she was right handed, because she’d learned to talk with one hand and steer a submersible with the other. It wasn’t what Tory could write down that mattered; it was the curve of her neck and the slope of her shoulder, and her unending anger at a world that refused to be exactly, enduringly the way she wanted it to be. Every person on this vessel was a story in the process of telling itself, and all of them were fascinating, and all of them deserved to be heard.

There were those who considered scientists heartless, or cruel, or uncompassionate, because of moments like these: anyone who could turn their back on a tragedy to chase down something seemingly inconsequential like a sonar rig was clearly somehow less than human. What Tory would have explained, if she’d been in a position to do so, was that curiosity was part of what made them absolutely human. Curiosity was the reason humanity had come down from the trees and spread across the world. Sadness was tempting. Sorrow held more charms than most people liked to think, and it would swallow her whole if she let it.

She couldn’t bring Heather back. She couldn’t change the past. That didn’t mean she couldn’t avenge Heather, and her own sister, for the sake of the people who’d been left behind. Sometimes science was the closest thing to the sword of an avenging angel humanity was ever going to get.

You’re talking to camera-Olivia, who is essentially fake and exists only so for-real Olivia can buy nice things.”

This book is proof that "killer mermaid thriller" can mean so much more than it sounds.

When I picked up Into the Drowning Deep, I thought I knew what I was in for: some deep-sea horror, a bit of gore, maybe a jump scare or two. What I didn’t expect was how smart and layered it would be. Mira Grant doesn’t just give you monsters, she builds an entire ecosystem around them. This book is marine biology, grief, climate anxiety, media satire, and creature horror all tangled together in one dark, briny knot.

The setup is instantly intriguing: years after a “mockumentary” expedition vanished while searching for mermaids, a new crew is sent to investigate. Among them is Victoria Stewart, a scientist whose sister was lost on the first voyage. The rest of the cast is equally solid and refreshingly diverse. Everyone feels like they have a life outside the page, which makes the rising tension hit that much harder.

The sirens are everything you’d want from deep-sea horror: alien, lethal, beautiful in a way that feels wrong. Grant gives them biology, history, and motive. They don’t feel like monsters pasted into a plot; they feel like they’ve been here, waiting, and we’re just now paying attention. Which is terrifying in the best way.

That said, the book does have its dense stretches. There's a lot of science—ocean acoustics, genetics, ship schematics—which I generally found fascinating, but it might drag a little if you're here solely for blood and thrills. Personally, I appreciated the rigor. It made the horror feel earned, grounded in reality just enough to make the sirens believable.

What really stuck with me, though, was the atmosphere. Grant has a knack for evoking the uncanny: the quiet dread of open water, the claustrophobia of a ship far from help, the creeping realization that humanity is not at the top of the food chain out here. It’s immersive in a way that makes you look up from the page and feel a little cold.

So yes, it’s a mermaid book. But it’s also a meditation on the limits of human knowledge, the arrogance of exploitation, and the grief we carry into the unknown. It’s fun, it’s scary, it’s smart, and it’ll absolutely ruin the ocean for you, if it hasn’t already.

baku

This book is proof that "killer mermaid thriller" can mean so much more than it sounds.

When I picked up Into the Drowning Deep, I thought I knew what I was in for: some deep-sea horror, a bit of gore, maybe a jump scare or two. What I didn’t expect was how smart and layered it would be. Mira Grant doesn’t just give you monsters, she builds an entire ecosystem around them. This book is marine biology, grief, climate anxiety, media satire, and creature horror all tangled together in one dark, briny knot.

The setup is instantly intriguing: years after a “mockumentary” expedition vanished while searching for mermaids, a new crew is sent to investigate. Among them is Victoria Stewart, a scientist whose sister was lost on the first voyage. The rest of the cast is equally solid and refreshingly diverse. Everyone feels like they have a life outside the page, which makes the rising tension hit that much harder.

The sirens are everything you’d want from deep-sea horror: alien, lethal, beautiful in a way that feels wrong. Grant gives them biology, history, and motive. They don’t feel like monsters pasted into a plot; they feel like they’ve been here, waiting, and we’re just now paying attention. Which is terrifying in the best way.

That said, the book does have its dense stretches. There's a lot of science—ocean acoustics, genetics, ship schematics—which I generally found fascinating, but it might drag a little if you're here solely for blood and thrills. Personally, I appreciated the rigor. It made the horror feel earned, grounded in reality just enough to make the sirens believable.

What really stuck with me, though, was the atmosphere. Grant has a knack for evoking the uncanny: the quiet dread of open water, the claustrophobia of a ship far from help, the creeping realization that humanity is not at the top of the food chain out here. It’s immersive in a way that makes you look up from the page and feel a little cold.


So yes, it’s a mermaid book. But it’s also a meditation on the limits of human knowledge, the arrogance of exploitation, and the grief we carry into the unknown. It’s fun, it’s scary, it’s smart, and it’ll absolutely ruin the ocean for you, if it hasn’t already.

everyone here is an idiot and that ending was disappointing

Jasper

General Thoughts: A solid read! It feels kind of like the Aliens franchise but for the sea. Would recommend to horror lovers. This does have some science babble as I will affectionately refer to it as but it does not feel like its beating you over the head with how smart it is. 

What I Liked: I liked our main heroine in Tory. She was an interesting lead and her story is compelling. Also queer horror rep; love to see it. 

The gore and violence is visceral without being outright overused. Some authors spend pages describing it and meh. Too much. 

We've got a pretty good cast of characters. I feel like some people are definitely more fleshed out than others but there are at least eight characters who are POVs at one point or another.

What I Didn't Like: I am not a big fan of head hopping. I find its a bit jarring and feels sort of amateurish. The writing is great, don't get me wrong, but I haven't really seen head hopping anywhere else but fanfiction.

This goes back to the characters but the only ones who feel fleshed out are Tory and Dr. Toth. 

Ending feels a little rushed. This book was almost 700 pages for me on my kindle and it just sorts of feels lackluster.

General Thoughts: A solid read! It feels kind of like the Aliens franchise but for the sea. Would recommend to horror lovers. This does have some science babble as I will affectionately refer to it as but it does not feel like its beating you over the head with how smart it is. 

What I Liked: I liked our main heroine in Tory. She was an interesting lead and her story is compelling. Also queer horror rep; love to see it. 

The gore and violence is visceral without being outright overused. Some authors spend pages describing it and meh. Too much. 

We've got a pretty good cast of characters. I feel like some people are definitely more fleshed out than others but there are at least eight characters who are POVs at one point or another.

What I Didn't Like: I am not a big fan of head hopping. I find its a bit jarring and feels sort of amateurish. The writing is great, don't get me wrong, but I haven't really seen head hopping anywhere else but fanfiction.

This goes back to the characters but the only ones who feel fleshed out are Tory and Dr. Toth. 

Ending feels a little rushed. This book was almost 700 pages for me on my kindle and it just sorts of feels lackluster.

tori 👻

Jennifer Davenport

The start of the book was a touch slow, I found myself having a bit of a tough time getting into it at first. But once the ship set sail it was all hands on deck I was intrigued from every page on. Loved it, held my breathe multiple times.

grayson gruber

“Mankind has a responsibility to the sea. We owe it our lives.”

The last 30% was absolute chaos and I loved it

Denaiir

This was my first Mira Grant book and I enjoyed her writing quite a lot. The killer mermaids were amazing creatures and the amount of research the author did to create the scientific details of this well-crafted world were really impressive. It was realistic and I loved how the near-future setting asked many questions about our world and how we are affecting it, how it will be in a few years because of human greediness and lack of respect for all other "inferior" life forms. 

This was both science-fiction and horror, and even though it was not very scary I really enjoyed the action scenes. The pacing was just a tad too slow for me and I never felt really invested in the story. Maybe it was the big cast of characters, too many and none of them I really liked except Olivia and Hallie (There's one editing issue that I have to mention: what in the world could push you to name 2 of your characters, who are sisters, Holly and Hallie? Ok there's an extended cast of characters but didn't anyone at the publisher's notice it would get confusing? Especially on audio when you don't read the names but simply hear them, it was so annoying!). So yes unfortunately it was a miss for me even though it was objectively great quality. All the ingredients were there but the cake turned out bland.

Samantha Chavez 

jurassic park but mermaids, so perfection 

grants writing is so smart and i loved all the little writing choices made

Nessa Luna

Well fuck. Honestly, the whole killer mermaid thing didn't scare me. It was the fact that they were in the middle of the ocean, on a boat, with no way of escaping. I am terrified of open water and this just stressed me THE FUCK OUT. Also, I wasn't a huge fan of the way it ended? (view spoiler)[ Like the whole story kind of dragged out and then the ending happens SUPER FAST and I really wished it had been a bit more fleshed out I guess?). Still, I will probably have nightmares about being attacked by sirens for the rest of my life, thanks Mira Grant.  (hide spoiler)]

Colleen

4 Stars

ARC provided by Orbit Books via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.


  Deep in the crushing ocean
Beneath even Davey’s keep
There are some things still hidden.
Darkness her secrets keep

The ocean has her beauty,
But price she asks is steep.
And man has long been victim
As the siren song does reap.

Though he turns away from myth,
His heart will still strongly leap
When he gazes into the murky depths
And hears the sirens weep.

Believe or not, they’re waiting there
Beneath the drowning deep
To drag you down and hold you there
In eternal, breathless sleep.

So keep your feet on solid ground
Or feel blood curl and terror creep.
They’re waiting there to drag you down.
Down. Down into the drowning deep.

Into the Drowning Deep is a SciFi / Horror story about a scientific voyage to the Mariana Trench. Seven years prior to the story opening, an entertainment company sent a ship, the Atargatis, to film a mockumentary about creatures of the deep. The ship was later found adrift with all members of the crew missing. 

"The Atargatis sailed off the map, into a section of the sea that should have been labeled ‘Here be monsters.’”
There is a prequel about the events leading up to this book, but it does not seem necessary to read it. The events are sufficiently recapped in Into the Drowning Deep. You can dive right in (no pun intended) without missing anything. 

I love stories about the ocean. And I love things that tie into mythology. Into the Drowning Deep takes a scientific approach to the monsters of the abyss. I would have liked more mythology tie in actually, but I suppose that would not have fit with the realistic science theme. I have found that I prefer my Sci-Fi to be more Hard Science as opposed to Space Operas. If anyone does not like this book, I'd guess it will probably be because they get bogged down by the scientific details. Lots of talk about Geological off-gassing and Mertensian mimicry and such. But Grant balanced it well by having the scientists explain things in layman's terms to the non-scientist characters in bits and pieces, so you get easy to digest material without turning it into infodumps. And the parts built around known science seemed accurate. Ok, well, at least the parts I fact checked with my husband (who is a biologist). I'm definitely no expert on the Bathypelagic Zone (which it turns out I was pronouncing wrong), but the subject matter was interesting without being bombastic. 

“The seas of the world were a vast and interconnected graveyard, every inch riddled with bones and haunted by the ghosts of the lost. Every mile of every ocean could be marked as the site of some ‘surprising’ or ‘unexpected’ death; humanity sailed, and the sea punished it for its hubris.”
Besides the atmospheric and lush writing, there were messages woven into the story particularly about how mankind treats the earth. But there was a mix of viewpoints to keep it from getting preachy. Everything from the conservationists to big game hunters. It added more depth to the story. The cast of characters were diverse in more than just their viewpoints. A huge variety of nationalities, races, orientations, and abilities were represented. It was too strategically diverse at times, the kind where the writer ties a little too hard. But that's better than not trying, and the characters were interesting overall. I also liked that there were deaf characters and that ASL featured heavily in the story. So many people don't realize that sign language doesn't translate exactly to spoken language or that there are multiple types of sign language. It was good that Grant incorporated that into the story as well as in her author's note. 

The beginning of the story had more atmosphere and creepiness. It takes its time setting everything up, but I was never board. Once the action started, it was so non-stop. I actually could have used a breather from the action at some moments, because once the horror element kicks in and the bloodbath starts it didn't slow down. But I couldn't put it down. The only real thing that kept this from being 4.5-5 Stars was that the ending was abrupt and very Hollywood. It was probably building up for a sequel which does not seem necessary, but I do look forward to reading more by Grant in the future.


*Quotes are taken from the ARC and may not reflect the final published version.


RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 4 Stars
Writing Style: 4 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 4 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 3 Stars
Level of Captivation: 4 Stars
Originality: 4 Stars

Gia Palamos

wouldve given it 4 stars, but the ending felt rushed

Love me some killer mermaids and this was a very fun scientific deep dive (haha get it?) into the mermaid myth. Starts out pretty tame and a s.idge boring but then really ramps up once they reach the Mariana Trench. 

Cassidy Webb

Love me some killer mermaids and this was a very fun scientific deep dive (haha get it?) into the mermaid myth. Starts out pretty tame and a s.idge boring but then really ramps up once they reach the Mariana Trench. 



Jamieson

my friends were like, read this science mermaid book with a cute f/f romance its so good !!!

.. little did I know I'd be lying in my bed terrified out my mind about getting eaten and/or drowned by a fucking SIREN !! thanks pals !!



  “Do I think they found mermaids? Yes. Of course I do. And I think the mermaids ate them all.” 


So as I said, a lot of my friends really love this, hence why I knew I needed to read it. I mean .. killer mermaids, a government cover-up, an f/f relationship and horror elements set in the Marianna Trench?? Sign me up!

The other reason this was on my radar is because of the author. Mira Grant is the pseudonym used by Seanan McGuire for her adult books. Seanan McGuire is the same author who wrote Every Heart A Doorway AKA a book/series I ADORE. 

So all in all there were soo many reasons for me to read this, and as expected, I enjoyed it so much! 

Into the Drowning Deep is a paranormal horror with one of my favourite premises of all time. 
Seven years ago, Imagine, an entertainment company, sent the Atargatis to the Marianna Trench, tasking it's crew with filming a "mockumentary" about mermaids. It was lost at sea with all hands. Now, in the present day, Imagine is sending a new vessel to the Trench - equipped with the latest tech and filled with specialised scientists. Their job? To prove everyone on board the Atargatis really was killed by mermaids. 


  “It was beautiful, in its own terrible way.
So many monsters are.” 




Lets get the big thing out the way first like I said THIS BOOK WAS HECKIN SCARY. If you don't like the thought of creepy shit living in the deep ocean, and being isolated on a boat days away from land and rescue .... well. There is soo much in here that genuinely gave me the chills. I don't always find horror books scary or creepy but this one DEFINITELY got me a few times. Especially that scene when [redacted] goes into the challenger deep. (IF YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW)

One huge strength of Grant's that shone here is her ability to balance the outlandish with the realistic. Whilst we are dealing with mermaids here, I loved the heavy science focus and the look at mermaids not so much as mythological figures, but as highly intelligent animals who have evolved on a completely different trajectory to humans. This approach to mermaids was something I haven't seen before, and I definitely enjoyed this perspective. 

There was also some thematic stuff I wasn't expecting in here but I loved! There is a huge focus on conservation and the cost of environmental destruction. This was approached in a really great way, looking at the moral and ethical dilemmas surrounding this themes. I wasn't expecting this book to be so heavy on that, but it added a depth I really appreciated. 


  


lets talk characters!

we follow six main characters - 

🔬 Victoria Stewart Out for answers and possible revenge because her sister was part of the Atargatis crew. She is also bisexual! I loved Tory, she takes no shit and she was such a strong, well written character because her motivations were so believable and sympathetic. 

🔬 Olivia Sanderson Imagine's face of entertainment, tasked with filming every single thing that happens on the trip. She stole Victoria's sisters job so there is some immediate tension there. She is autistic and also super geeky and cute and I love her. 

🔬 Dr Jillian Toth Worlds leading expert in Sirens and Mermaids and not dealing well with the fact she thinks she sent an entire boat full of people to their death. SHE WAS MY FAVOURITE CHARACTER. Absolute science queen, who is more than happy to look a killer mermaid in the eyes if it means getting the scientific breakthrough she's been looking for. 

🔬 Hallie, Heather and Holly Wilson deaf twins Heather and Holly, who have very different hobbies. One who is into science (organic chemistry) and one who is into deep sea dives into the Mariana Trench to try and find the bottom. And their older sister Hallie, who acts as their sign language interpreter. I loved both these characters and Hallie's plot line was probably my favourite of all the subplots!


  “Humanity was cruel, and if you were prepared to try to find a bottom to that cruelty, you had best be prepared for a long, long fall.” 


This is such an epic, fun (but terrifying) book. Once the action gets going it never lets up, it feels like the horror and the gore and the action just keeps coming and coming and coming. One thing Grant does excellently here is build up the tension. The beginning of this book is ominous and spooky - a flash of mermaid tale, something not quire right in the water, the dark of the ocean becoming more and more pronounced. She sets up the atmosphere perfectly. You know that scene in the movie, where they're on the boat and the music cuts out, and all you can hear is the dark water lapping against the wood of the boat .. and you just Know something is coming?? Imagine all that build up, and picturing that exactly, the tension rising and rising until BAM. You are thrown into an all out bloody confrontation. It is horrifying and also excellent. 

But I did have some issues Mainly, the ending. For me, the action just seemed to cut out too quick and the book ended very abruptly. I felt many of the subplots were left unresolved and that really frustrated me. (view spoiler)[WHAT HAPPENED TO THE MERMAID HALLIE WAS STARTING TO COMMUNICATE WITH??! (hide spoiler)] I also hated the Wilson family because their names were SO SIMILAR. I kept getting them all mixed up which was frustrating. Finally, there were two characters I felt the narrative was trying to get me to sympathise with and I just .... did not. Which kinda impacted my investment in their plot lines. 

But despite those gripes this was a hugely enjoyable novel and I truly hope the sequel happens because I want those plot points wrapped up! I don't tend to read horror much so this felt so unique and fun to me. I adored the spin on mermaids, making them deadly deep sea creatures out for human blood, and the characters really completed this action packed, murder mermaid horror story. Highly recommend !

Jordan Peet

Midori Kobayashi

4/5stars


Humanity has feared the dark since time immemorial, and yet humanity has never experienced the dark, because it wasn't until recently - the age of cunning hands and clever machines - that the dark had been anything more than a whispering legend, a rumor of a nightmare.

This was the perfect spooky/halloween-y book i needed right now. Killer mermaids? SIGN ME TF UP. 
Somehow Mira Grant's writing works better for me than Seanan McGuire. The amount of research put into this almost had me looking over my shoulder for a creepy killer mermaid in my very-far-away-from-sea home :P

The only reason this isn't a perfect 5 stars is because the characters felt very shallow and the pacing kinda seemed off to me. Like there were chunks that could have been cut off without majorly impacting the overall story, so ya. 

But all in all a good start to my spooky tbr! 


  Book Trigger Warnings: Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Death (including sibling in the past), Dismemberment, Drowning, Gore, Poisoning, Suicide mention, Violence

Adrian Victor

Into the Drowning Deep is a book that feels incredibly ambitious. Not only did Mira Grant take on the unenviable task of making readers in a post-Disney society find mermaids scary, she did so with a massive cast. She succeeded beautifully. In spite of being a fairly lengthy read, I flew through this book—in fact, I could have used another fifty pages or so, because although the story starts out as a slow burn, the ending feels rushed (one of my only complaints). Grant writes her main cast with a sensitivity and complexity that makes them come to life, but tends to make her side characters feel caricature-esque in comparison. In spite of these minor quibbles, the book shines, and will likely go down as one of my favorite reads of the year. 

I highly recommend this one if you’re looking for a work that owes nearly as much to hard sci-fi as it does to horror. “Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could—“ Well. You know the rest.

Stephanie Shaw

I'm not usually a fan of Horror but I really enjoy the science that Mira Grant brings into her work. I also really enjoy the complexity of her characters. I read somewhere that this is supposed to be the first of 3 books and I really want to read the others!!

Carrington Kinslow

“Into the Drowning Deep” has got to be a new favorite of mine. Truly, one of the best science fiction books I’ve read. I’d say one of the best horror books too, but I haven’t ready too many. But this book has solidified me as a fan of the genre and I will be seeking more.

I think the idea of this book is so unique and genius and I was hooked from the very beginning. Killer mermaids? Never thought that could be so chillingly terrifying. Plus, the mermaids actually get some PoV time which was amazing. I loved those bits. This is sneaky and unsettling, it reels you in and keeps you on edge. And then, it’s gory and violent and in your face. This creeped me out, and I don’t get creeped out easily. I loved every second of it.

I think the best part of this book is the balance. There are lovable characters, and there are characters you’ll hate. There’s a lot of science that is well articulated and clearly deeply researched, and then there’s some moments where you really have to suspend some disbelief. The science isn’t too much by any means and it’s very accessible, including to someone like me who has always hated science. There’s some really lovely romantic moments and some humor, and there’s some gory and downright horrific scenes. Every aspect of this book has its opposite, and Grant balances it all very well.

I really enjoyed most of the characters, and I loved the sapphic romance. Olivia and Tory were the stand-out characters for me and their relationship blossomed beautifully. I was also incredibly thankful that there was no insta-love. So if you’re going into this hoping to see two characters profess their love to one another, you will be disappointed. It’s a slow-burn and it’s realistic. And here’s to me hoping and wishing and manifesting that we get the sequel so that I can see more of them together. Luis and Hallie were other stand out characters for me, whereas I couldn’t stand Jillian and Theo. I especially hated Jason, Michi, and Jacques. Though, I recognize that that was the point.

Continuing with the characters, I have to say I couldn’t give this a full 5 stars because some of the PoVs were very boring and really didn’t add much to the story. Jillian and Theo were only important when doing sciencey stuff, and their failing marriage was so unimportant and I didn’t care about it at all. 

Also, Grant kills off the characters you desperately want to die. Which, of course, is very satisfying. But that leaves the main cast being shielded by plot armor, which was annoying. All of the main cast said so often how they were all going to die, but none of them did. It just ruined the stakes, honestly. I was expecting for some main characters that I really enjoyed to die, but it didn’t happen. I don’t necessarily want my favorites to die, but it was too convenient for only the terrible people to get killed. I would’ve liked some higher stakes and more shock value.

Overall, I loved this book. I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys horror and/or sci-fi. This was a very unique story that was executed so well. Some of the characters were hard to suffer through at times and it was heavily padded by plot armor, but I think these things could easily be remedied in a sequel. Please, please, please, give us that sequel! 

“Into the Drowning Deep” - 4.5 stars

elle sommer

tempted to never own fish again after this… the sound of running water in my own home gave me the cold sweats.

Bambi Ard

** spoiler alert **
           This was a good book! It's even one I would recommend others read. I enjoyed it, and thought it was worth my time. So why am I giving it "only" three stars? Well, long story short, it simply had too many shortcomings, both minor and major, for me to fully immerse myself in a book I felt could have been much better than it was. 

The good things first:

I LOVED all the representation. It had well-written LGBT characters, well-written autistic characters, and well-written deaf characters who were all integral to the story and kept the plot moving forward. Their identities felt authentic and impacted them in realistic ways. 

The mermaids in this story were incredibly well thought out, incredibly detailed, and super fun to read about. Honestly, I found myself rooting for them the whole time. I loved the experience the author gave us of discovering things about the mythical species right alongside the scientists as they had their breakthroughs and "eureka!" moments. They were by far the best thing about the book.

The story itself was engaging. It definitely started off as a slow burn, but once the action picked up it never slowed down. Overall, I'd say there was never a dull moment. Another thing that counts in the book's favor, in my opinion, is that I could easily see it translating into a movie: it had that "cinematic" feel to it.

Now, for the shortcomings...

As much as I enjoyed the representation in this book, the cast was also white as HELL. I found myself wondering how many different shades of blonde white girl the author was going to try to get away with. The ending tally? Three: dirty blonde, platinum blonde, and dyed blonde. Sheesh. It didn't help that the only two explicitly non-white characters were 1) a sadistic cold-blooded poacher that everyone hated, and 2) a half-white woman with green eyes. Not that there's ANYTHING wrong with half-white people of color with green eyes: that happens all the time in real life, after all. But I do question a white author making that choice, knowing that such proximity to whiteness in characters of color is usually done to make them more appealing to white audiences.
 
I couldn’t quite vibe with the writing style. It felt, honestly, like fanfiction. And there’s nothing wrong with that fanfic-y style of writing in, you know, fanfiction, but in published novels I just expect something…different. I’m not sure what the words I’m looking for are. Maybe “more mature”? This complaint extends to the dialogue more than anything. None of the characters spoke like real people to me. EVERY single character was snarky, quippy, and full of delightful one-liners, which honestly just felt super weird. That’s fine if it’s limited to just one or two characters, because then that becomes a part of those specific character’s personalities, but when it’s EVERYBODY it just begins to feel like the author is a one-trick pony incapable of developing unique personalities.

The ending honestly fell really flat for me. After all that adventure, all that build-up, and the way the characters were fighting tooth-and-nail for their lives, the way things wrapped up were, in my opinion, rushed and anti-climatic.

Anyway. I have more complaints, and more praises, but that’s about all I’m capable of verbalizing right now. If you’re interested in this book and have read this review then I hope you won’t let my issues with the book put you off: overall I think this is worth giving a try, and something that could easily appeal to a lot of people.

nini!

sci-fi horror, mermaid edition: i needed a movie adaptation of this like yesterday

Elinor

i LOVED this book.
can this book become the new thing on booktok or booktwt because i loved it.
it had everything, a diverse set of characters, cool science stuff that i didnt understand but still thought was cool, sections that made me feel like i was drowning with the characters and just gah i loved this book. 
also ive never before found a more relatable character than olivia like..,. we are the same person.,,..,. except for the whole filming aspect of her career.

Maggie Gordon

Finally, a sequel to Rolling in the Deep, Grant's foray into science fiction, horror, and mermaids! Reactions to Into the Drowning Deep seem to be quite positive, which is good because I really want a sequel to this one given the plot strings that are left hanging. However, I didn't find myself as enamored with this piece as I do with some of Grant's other work. 

Into the Drowning Deep features the same attention to detail on science extrapolation (these are scarily realistic mermaids!) and deep characterisation that Grant's novels always have. The characters are diverse and their differences add interesting shifts to the plot. What I didn't find particularly brilliant was the suspense. Perhaps it was because what happened mirrored the prequel to this book too much, I just didn't find myself all that terrified. The book took too long to get going. While I do enjoy getting to know characters, I just didn't feel like the first 120 or so pages were really adding all that much that mattered that couldn't have been done in a different manner while the plot was moving. I find this happens a lot with recent Grant/McGuire works, and I do wish her editing team took a bit of a harder line with earlier drafts to make them a bit more streamlined. Meandering works in her urban fantasy work much of the time, but I like my sf/horror/thrillers to be a bit quicker to the punch. 

Also, what was probably the most frustrating example of a misapplied tension was the ship itself and its issues with the shutter system. It felt like an easy way to try and increase suspense despite the obvious lessons of the previous voyage. I think it would have been much more interesting to see how a fully outfitted ship could have been torn to pieces by the mermaids. It would have been different from Rolling in the Deep, and upped the horror quite substantially as people realised that the safety they were sure that they had was not actually going to save them!

I know Grant is hoping for a sequel to be ordered (and make no mistake, I want it!), but Into the Drowning Deep felt a bit too much like a retread of what came before with fewer important characters dying. Next time get to a bigger threat! Let's see our babies be a bit more terrified! 

In any case, this is certainly a fun book, though lacking in the scary for me. I LOVED the mermaids given the creepy deep sea fish design elements they have going on. Hopefully it sells well and I can read about an even more terrifying mermaid :)

Ella Patterson

I feel lukewarm. Objectively I feel like it was well written and an interesting take on the concept of mermaids but I never really got attached to the characters and I ended up looking forward to the reveal (which was a let down) rather than being captivated by the suspense.

Into the Drowning Deep

Reviews

Highlights