Into the Drowning Deep

Into the Drowning Deep falls into an interesting genre: Horror and Fantasy. Or at least that is what it is considered on Goodreads. I can’t say that I have ever read a book that could be fully considered both genres before, so reading this is going to be a fun ride! From what I gathered from the synopsis, this follows a young marine biologist Tory whose sister Anne went on a voyage to capture the existence of mermaids. That ship was lost, and there were never any survivors found. Now Tory wants to go back to learn about what really happened to her sister.Some of you may (or may not) know this, but I have a degree in Conservation Biology. My undergraduate thesis was actually centered around ocean acidification and how it affects marine organisms. In layman’s terms, that means I studied climate change. Being apart of that marine lab makes reading this book that much more enjoyable and interesting to me. At the start of this book, Tory is working on a whale watching ship as their marine biologist giving tourists information about the sea life around them, and I am so happy to say that for the most part it is pretty accurate! I love the amount of science that is weaved through this book, and the research that had to have been done to make it accurate and still enjoyable to people who have no background in the sciences.I’m not sure if sending out a new boat after the disappearance of the original voyage is such a good idea and from what I know about horror novels, this is not going to end well. Are the mermaids real? If they are, chances are they are NOT friendly. I’m still really loving how detailed everything is with all of the different fields of science on this boat! Plus, the diversity is incredible! I can’t say that I’ve read a book that contained this much diversity, not only ethnic diversity, but diverse disabilities as well.At this point I feel like the genres that Goodreads puts this book into isn’t quite correct. The horror genre definitely fits, but the only thing that really fits with Fantasy is the mermaid aspect of this, and the way that it is done makes it feel more like it could actually be true than a fantasy. That aside, I love the characters and the complex relationships they have with each other.Man, that last 40 pages kept me on the edge of my seat! This may have become one of my favorite books of the year! As far as the plot goes, I absolutely loved it! The science aspects were woven in so seamlessly that even if you are someone who doesn’t understand a lot of science-y things, you’ll get what they are saying. Or maybe that’s just the science nerd in me talking. The characters were great as well! I love how Tory wants to figure out what really happened to her sister and then it becomes so much more than that. Every single one of the characters we are introduced to are each so unique and have their own personalities, and for the most part almost every single character has something that makes them different from everyone else. When I say that, I mean that not everyone is straight and white. There is an incredible amount of diversity in this book, so much so that I noticed it right away. I have a tendency to read books that don’t have a ton of diversity- not because I don’t want to, but fantasy in general is lacking in that category. If you were unaware, Mira Grant is actually a pen name for Seanan Mcguire. I’ve heard fantastic things about the diversity in her more popular Wayward Children series, and that diversity seems to carry over into all her work which is fantastic!I don’t want to give away too much of what happens, as with horror the less you know the better the book becomes. But just trust me when I say that you will love every single character and you will really feel for them and the situations they are put in. The plot keeps you on the tip of your toes and keeps you wanting more! I HIGHLY recommend this book to, well, pretty much everyone. YOU NEED TO READ THIS BOOK.

Mira Grant is, as we all know, one of Seanan McGuire's pen names. McGuire is an author I like a great deal, and when I like an author a lot, I often react by trying to read everything they have published (viz: Jane Austen, Patricia Briggs). So I have undertaken the project of reading everything McGuire has published. This is a big job, because she's prolific. Also, she publishes under at least three different names that I know of (Seanan McGuire, Mira Grant, A. Deborah Baker).I'm currently working my way through the Mira Grant oeuvre. I started with her Parasitology series, which was dreadful: one to two stars. I then moved on to the Newsflesh series, which was ever-so-slightly better: two to three stars. At this point I was beginning to suspect that Mira Grant was somehow McGuire's toxic waste dump. I wondered if I should abandon the project. However, by now I have already read most of the Mira Grant oeuvre. Moreover, my associates on Goodreads have intimated that the mermaid books are better.I am happy to report that, indeed, they are. Or at least Into the Drowning Deep is. Into the Drowning Deep is a Good Book -- not a Great Book, but definitely worth a read, if this is the kind of book you're into.Into the Drowning Deep is a plot book, not a character book. The plot, of course, centers on an expedition to find "ancient sea creatures of legend" (as the publisher's blurb says). I think I can, without spoiling anything, translate that phrase as "mermaids". It will also not be a spoiler to tell you that they find *something*. Finally, since Mira Grant is McGuire's horror brand, you will not be surprised to hear that the "something" found is scary. If you enjoy the frisson of horror, Into the Drowning Deep works -- it is scary and tense.There are some well-drawn characters, particularly marine biologist Victoria (Tory) Stewart and sirenologist Jillian Toth. Tory Stewart is the closest Into the Drowning Deep has to a main point-of-view character. But the focus is not on character -- not on telling people's stories.McGuire's treatment of scientists is better in Into the Drowning Deep than in her other Mira Grant novels. In particular, the scientists -- most of the characters of Into the Drowning Deep are scientists -- seem human. They're not all good or nice humans -- quite a few of them are real jerks. (Since I intend to post this review on Amazon, I'm avoiding stronger terms, but use your imagination.) That's OK -- scientists are human, and some real scientists are indeed colossal jerks.The bigger problem is that the characters of Into the Drowning Deep are not scientists. Over and over, when I read Into the Drowning Deep, I found myself thinking, "No scientist I have met thinks or talks like this." But that's not quite true. There is one scientist I know who talks and thinks like the scientists in Into the Drowning Deep: Jim Watson. James D. Watson is one of the men who received the Nobel Prize for working out the structure of DNA. He wrote a famous memoire, The Double Helix, about his part in that work. I am willing to entertain the hypothesis that The Double Helix accurately depicts the thought processes of one scientist: Jim Watson. It is certainly not the way most scientists think.The depiction of scientists in Into the Drowning Deep is what I might expect if someone read The Double Helix and took it as a true depiction of the way scientists think and talk. I am not saying that that's what happened -- I don't know if McGuire has ever read The Double Helix.

I read first the short story "Each to Each", signed by Seanam McGuire, on LightSpeed magazine (issue 49). Then I discovered the 'other', Mira Grant. Both stories are about life under the sea, but the subjects are totally different. What is important, to me, is the creativity of the author that, in both cases, presents a scientifically plausible plot, and she is superb in the developments. I have been reading SF for more than 40 years, and this book was a pleasant surprise - women writing SF are in great number nowadays, and Seanam McGuire/Mira Grant is certainly one of the best authors.

What a great read. I loved every moment and hope to see another book or short story follow up in this world. All the stars!

I absolutely loved this book and couldn't put it down. A sci-fi horror thriller about mermaids! Yes mermaids. Not the red headed singing and friends with seagulls kind, the creepy scary cannibalistic kind.Official synopsis: '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 maritime 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.'The tension builds beautifully after a brutal opening chapter. There is a wide range of diverse characters and everyones got their own baggage and their own reason to be on the voyage. The story really does play on how scary the ocean is and how we don't have a full understanding of what is down there.I loved the few brief moments that the POV switched to the creatures and we get to see their world view. I would have liked more of that. I also really enjoyed the scenes between Hallie and the captured individual and thought that might be explored further.There was gore throughout but not overly so but enough to give you an idea of the horror. There is also a lot of science talk, this did not feel too much to me and swamp the story, instead it grounded the story in reality making it even scarier.The only down side for me is that I felt that it finished too quickly especially after a significant event near the end of the book. I am really hoping we get a sequel! I neeeeed a sequel.Great read

One of the best science fiction horror books I have ever read! It took me 3 days to finish it, and I just didn't finish it sooner because of work.'Into the Drowning Deep' is gorgeous and at the same time terrifying. I believe that because of Disney's Little Mermaid we are used to beautify mermaids, so I love how the author portrayed them as major predators, intelligent ones at top of that.The writing was so clear that I could feel my tension going up at some parts, I could feel what the characters were feeling and that was amazing, I was completely immersed in this book.The book also mixes a lot of scientific names, so I had to google some of the things to understand what was happening, but that didn't bother me because now I know things I wouldn't know otherwise and knowledge is always a blessing.If you like mythological creatures and horror, you're gonna love this book!

This was a fantastic, intelligent Horror Tail about Human Kind and the things lurking in the Sea. Never meant to befound. The Charakters where alive and bright. I loved she included deaf characters!