Four stars: A thrilling, scary book with lots of scientific jargon and man eating mermaids.

It has been seven years since the Atargatis set out to film a fake documentary about mermaids. What the crew wasn’t expecting was to run into real life, man eating mermaids that devoured the crew, leaving an abandoned ship and terrifying video footage. It is September 2022 and the powers behind the doomed voyage of the Atargatis are seeking to clear their name and determine once and for all what those creatures that attacked the ship really were. A new state of the art ship packed with plenty of scientists, including the world’s leading expert on mermaids sets sail to find the truth. What will the crew find? Will they survive?
What I Liked:
*Mira Grant is one of those authors who manages to thrill, terrify and educate readers all at the same time. This latest book: Into The Drowning Deep gives us plenty of interesting science along with man eating mermaids. What is not to like about that? This is a thriller for all of you who want a darker type of mermaid. It was a jolly good time.
*I appreciated all the attention to detail and the science that was packed into this one. Ms. Grant has done her research, and she presents plenty of interesting facts on marine biology, climate change and some of the creatures that roam the oceans deep. A horror novel that is educational. Awesome!
*If you want a diverse cast of characters, this one has them in spades. There is a vast array of multi cultural characters presented in this one as well has two hearing impaired twins. I enjoyed getting to know the many characters and learning about their talents.
*The mermaids, or sirens if you will, are fantastic. I loved how scary and fascinating they were. I was impressed at how well they were written. I can’t wait for more, especially when it comes to the Queen Mermaid.
*This was packed with suspense and foreshadowing. It is apparent from the get go that danger, horror and death await the crew, and many of them go into the voyage knowing that they may die. I loved how the suspense ratcheted up with each and every chapter, keeping me hungrily turning pages.
*The ending is fast and furious, but it does tie off most of the loose ends. No big cliffhangers or lots of undone story threads. It has a solid ending and it could stop here, but I hear there is more to come!
*I read the audiobook narrated by Christina Larkin. Ms. Larkin is an excellent narrator, and I thought she did a wonderful job with the different voices.
And The Not So Much:
*I thought the book ended rather abruptly. There is this big pivotal moment and a gargantuan reveal regarding the mermaids, and then it breaks away and fast forwards. I would have liked to stay in the moment and see things play out further.
*I have to admit, I did get a little tired of the foreshadowing. I can’t tell you how many times that it is mentioned they were going to die. I got to the point where I wanted to just get on with it. I think this fatalistic foreshadowing made me disconnect from the characters because I figured they were all going to die anyway so best not to get attached.
*I had a hard time with the stupidity of the people on board the ship. They were all educated and they knew they were sailing into danger, and even when it was apparent that their lives were in deadly peril, they still sat there like sitting ducks. Nothing is more important than lives.
*I was angry about the dolphins.
*I wish that more of the language angle was developed. I think there was potential with that story line, and the sign language, but it wasn’t explored enough.
*There is a hint of a LBGT romance. I wasn’t a fan of the romance because it felt thrown in and out of place. Not to mention it starts out under stressful circumstances, not the best way to start a relationship.
*The book has many different view points. I struggled with the shifting voices, and I had a hard time latching onto characters, or developing emotional attachment to them because the narration shifted too much. It would have been more impactful with less view points.

Into the Drowning Deep is a bloody good time. This is a horror novel with man eating mermaids. Who doesn’t want to know more about these creatures? I loved that this was an educational novel packed full of suspense. My hesitations with this book are that I didn’t like the multiple points of view, and I thought there was too much foreshadowing. If you want a terrific horror novel, check this one out. I am eagerly looking forward to the sequel.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for this review.
Posted@Rainy Day Ramblings.

For most of us, earthbound humans as we are, space isn’t the final frontier—it’s the ocean, as impenetrable, hostile, and filled with mysteries as any distant planet. Just today, I read an article about a nightmare shark EU scientists found trawling off the coast of Portugal. The adorably named frilled shark is anything but: its evolution largely stalled since the time it shared the world with the T-Rex, this snake-headed creeper has 25 rows of razor-sharp teeth. Despite being 80 million years older than humans (give or take a couple hundred thousand years), we know basically nothing about it. Every time there’s a tsunami, or scientists send remotes two miles below the surface, we discover myriad creatures seemingly created from the fuel of nightmares, bristling with spikes and teeth, adapted to extremes of pressure, cold, and darkness that only make us seem weaker, softer, and ever more so crunchable and delicious in comparison.

The horror of the bleak ocean depths informs everything about Mira Grant’s Into the Drowning Deep. (Mira Grant is a nom de plume for the inestimable Seanan McGuire, who won a whole bunch of awards, including the Hugo and Nebula.) Seven years before the events the novel begins, the good ship Atargatis set sail on a reality tv mission, dispatched by a media conglomerate to film a faux-documentary that would be right at home in Syfy’s Saturday evening schlock lineup. Their mission: to hunt for the mythical mermaid lurking somewhere in the deep ocean valley of the Mariana trench. It didn’t go well. In short order, the ship found bloodstained and drifting, the crew and passengers vanished without a trace. Because the voyage was to be televised, their disappearances don’t exactly remain a mystery: there is clear, unquestionable footage of eel-like mermaids pulling themselves onboard and murdering everyone with their, yes, 25 rows of razor sharp teeth. (For more on the fate of the Atargatis, pick up the 2015 novella Rolling in the Deep; it’s not essential you read it before the novel-length sequel, but it’s horrifically fun.)

Unfortunately for the family and friends of the lost crew, the “unquestionable” evidence was ultimately able to be questioned. Despite the clear lack of tampering with the footage, most everyone believes the Atargatis tragedy is a hoax perpetrated by the media company. (To what end is never clear; easier to believe the conspiracy than confront the awful truth.) Those lost left behind all manner of bereaved and questioning loved ones, who put together a second voyage in search of answers. Along with a compatriot of hangers on, scientific explorers, media darlings, corporate flacks, and other such unsavory types, they set out abord the Melusine, a ship purpose-built for the mission, to find the answers they seek, and discover the truth about the mermaids at the center of whole bloody affair.

The people of the Melusine end up being a mess of competing needs and expectations. There’s Dr. Jillian Toth, a “sirenologist” responsible, in many ways, for sending the Atargatis on its ill-fated journey; she could not bring herself to join the original mission and is wracked with guilt over the loss of the original crew, sent out to find creatures of the murderous deep with her ill-received research in hand. There’s her not-quite-ex-husband, who, after a near-fatal injury fighting whalers, ended up the right-hand man for the dodgy media company funding the clamatous expedition. There’s the sister of a media darling who perished on the Atargatis, and the woman who replaced her. There are deaf twins and their hearing sister; a married pair of veldt hunters; a whole passel of security people hired more for their looks than their competence. And then there’s the multimillion dollar research ship itself, which might as well be named Mermaids McMurder Face.

There’s a pall of inevitability as the Melusine shoves off, its complex social strata and interpersonal histrionics falling away once the terrifying reality of the drowning deep comes to bear on its unprepared crew. From the first, Jillian Toth expects they will all die on the water, two miles above the Mariana Trench, and it’s hard not to give this pessimism credit once the dying begins in earnest. Ultimately though, the horrible sirens of Into the Drowning Deep are mere biological creatures, not the magical, fantastical ones of myth and legend (even if they informed those myths.) They can be studied, understood, and beaten back into the dark, if only we can put our well justified terror of the abyss aside. This book kept me reading long into the night, giggling at its gleeful push-pull embrace of B-movie horror tropes even as I gripped the pages tight.

Great descriptive writing, interesting plot. I just this was more suspenseful, scarier.

You'd never know that Mira Grant is the psydonym for Seanan McGuire if you only went by writing samples. Grant's books are scientifically based, horrific thrillers that keep you on edge for most of the book. Into the Drowning Deep is no exception to the rule. Right from the very two things are very clear:
- Mermaids are real.
- They are not friendly like Ariel...

Plot
I found the overall plot unique in that the mermaids are monsters (I don't think I've ever encountered this idea before) and yet a bit standard in that it follows the typical monster book timeline. Monsters appear, not everyone is convinced, people investigate, monsters appear, etc. In the case of this book there was really o other way to handle the discovery of mermaids and so it was a good choice for a classic timeline to be used. I think Grant chose well to have a classic monster plot with a very unclassical (is that a word?) monster.

Timeline
Few authors are very good at ensuring their timelines and timing between events makes sense. Michael Crichton was someone who had a really good handle on this. How long does it take to walk an area, shoot a gun, travel to the ocean, etc. And for all the scientific information in Into the Drowning Deep the thing that bothered me the most was that each chapter indicated the date (day, year) and location we were at. Which is all well and good when it's relevant. But for most of this book it is not relevant. What would have been far more helpful is the time on that day of that year given how many events happen close together.
I'd have to go back and map out the timeline to be sure but I believe that at one time a character mentions a time and then a few chapters later a different character mentions the time and it's in the past (even though it is clearly supposed to be linear). Maybe I'm picky but this kind of thing really bugs me and gets in the way of my enjoyment of the ongoing story. I start thinking too hard about the continuity instead of enjoying the ride. This was my biggest annoyance in this book, and given how many authors break it (on a constant basis), it's actually a fairly mild complaint.

Rollicking Ride
For someone, like me, whose standard genres do not include horror, and who has massive hydrophobia (fear of water); Into the Drowning Deep didn't even have to try that hard to scare me. But regardless of those two factors I think the average person would be both intrigued by our mermaids as well as horrified by them.
Grant describes the biological water creatures in detail and has clearly thought about what makes it most intimidating or scary; as well as what makes it practical and scientifically plausible given it's habitat and evolution.

Science
I'm no marine biologist or any of the other fancy scientists featured; in fact I'm not a scientist of any discipline, but I felt throughout the entire book like Grant had done her homework in regards to the plausible biology, environment and evolution of the mermaids. It reminded me a lot of Crichton. I'd be comfortable saying that enough research was done to make it all sound legit. And maybe it's not perfect but hey it's fictional (we hope!) mermaids after all! I'm not concerned about each individual trait being scientifically accurate so much as it all seeming to make sense and flow with the story being told. Grant certainly achieved this for me.

Overall
I really, really enjoyed this book. Into the Drowning Deep is easily a book that will stick with me and that I would happily recommend to anyone that wants a good horror/thriller story.
My husband is a big horror fan and has read Grant before. I believe he is now very interested in reading this one based on my reactions to it. He even had to console me one night when I woke up thinking mermaids were after me! (Yes I am a bit of a wuss, but remember massively hydrophobic so this was a challenge from page 1 for me).
Of all the things I'll say I'd like to say, I want to thank Mira Grant for giving me more reasons why the ocean is scary as hell and why I'll stay on land. I'd also like to thank Grant for taking a sweet, pretty, only sometimes a bit scary mythological creature and making it a true monster that could (and will) haunt nightmares. So be forewarned there is no Ariel, Princes or magical transformations in this story. You can be rest assured that happily ever after is (obviously) not in the cards.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first Mira Grant book and she's been on my radar for awhile with Feed. I didn't really know what I was getting into when I requested this book since I skimmed the description (I like to be surprised) but wow what a interesting concept for a book. Because of this book, I actually did my own bit of research on the Mariana Trench and the challenger deep just to see what all of the hype was about (to be honest, I'd only ever heard of the band). So incredibly fascinating, and the author's research on the area was spot on. The amount of detail that went into some of those scientific accounts, although a bit over my head, was commendable.

I'd personally classify this as a monster book. I haven't read one of these in awhile and what a wild ride. I could honestly picture all of these people on a research boat, like sitting ducks in the middle of the ocean, provoking something that wants to eat everyone, to come calling. The apprehension, nagging fear, and the shaking of my head while I was reading what was happening kept me entertained. You'd think it'd be clear who to root for however the author gives brief insights into the mermaids perspectives as well as the other sea creatures that find themselves down in the depths of the ocean. You start to humanize and identity with everything so I found myself constantly flip flopping. The descriptions of the mermaids, the ecosystems, the human aspect, the main characters...I love that you get to see a slice into everyone's world, even if it is just for a moment, because really, you never know who's going to be served up for dinner next.

It was really well done and I'd recommend to anyone wanting a different take on the traditional "lovely ladies of the deep" folklore and if you want a monster book that you can really sink your teeth into. I normally don't also talk about the content of what I'm reading in general conversation with people who aren't devoted readers like myself, but I honestly talked about this book. Many, many, many times and how the whole concept was just so cool and fresh. I'm wondering if there is going to be sequel because there were a few questions left to leave us dangling. But honestly, just read it.

I never knew I needed a horror novel about mermaids so badly until I read Mira Grant's Into the Drowning Deep. And when I say "horror novel about mermaids," I'm not talking about some rogues from the Disney archives. Oh no, friend. Here, there be monsters.

Remember a few years ago when the Discovery Channel (or whoever) aired that "docufiction" special about how mermaids were supposedly real? Into the Drowning Deep takes a similar concept and takes it into a terrifying, but very interesting direction. It's been seven years since the original crew and there ship, the Atargatis, set out to film a "mockumentary" featuring the discovery of what could only be called mermaids. All that is found of the cast and crew sent to the depths of the Mariana Trench is their bloody, deserted ship and some video footage. Now, after years of the footage being dissected and legal litigation Imagine Entertainment is putting together a new team of scientists, cryptozoologists, filmmakers, and crew to try and solve the mystery of what happened to the Atargatis and her crew. And to confirm whether the mermaids, those terrible creatures glanced in the original footage, are real.

What I love the most about this book is how sciency it is. Not in the way The Martian is sciency, but in that there's enough discussion of (what I presume to be) real-world biology and evolutionary, and behavioral concepts to make much of the events of the novel that much more convincing. The characters' varying backgrounds and personalities open up some thought-provoking dialogue about conservation and the environment as well without being preachy. Grant is also an expert at scene transitions and multiple perspectives. She is an admitted horror film buff and it often shows in her writing and pacing.

Another notable inclusion in this story is its representation of American Sign Language. There aren't any actual pictographs of signs, but the inclusion of two deaf characters and their interpreter puts a lens on a specific condition and respectfully explores the joys and prejudices possible by giving the reader a glimpse into another experience.

My only real criticism about this novel is that there are times when Grant is sometimes repetitive in terms of expressing a character's motivations or intentions. But it's never enough to be annoying, it's just sort of...there.

More of a heads-up: this is also very clearly set up for a sequel or two. I believe there already is a prequel novella. I'm not the biggest fan of series but I read them when they're good. And this is a good, fun, thrilling, story that I'm excited to continue reading. I hope it's not too long before the next volume!

Review: INTO THE DROWNING DEEP by Mira Grant

I've often noted in reviews that I am an aficionado of marine horror, also marine science fiction and marine exploration. I am as fascinated by the Earth' s oceans as I am by space, and the Poles. All this is to say that I leaped headfirst into INTO THE DROWNING DEEP, found it non stop reading, and loved it immensely. This novel has it all: exploration, lots and lots of science (yes, I love that too), human interaction, horror, strong human spirit, human frailty, greed and concupiscence, SCARY "monsters," cryptids and cryptozoology, and an excellent writing style which kept me riveted at seat's edge from the very beginning.

I am so thankful this is a series debut; I can't wait to read what the author will come up with next in this series!

Mira Grant (aka Seanan McGuire) is one of the authors I just love to fangirl over. From Zombies to Fae and everything in between, you cannot go wrong with one of her books. I was not disappointed when I got around to reading Into the Drowning Deep. In fact, when people asked me what I was reading, I highly enjoyed telling them I was reading a book about killer mermaids. I found the cast of characters intriguing and those that I thought were despicable did meet their maker in wonderfully gruesome ways - *snicker* muwahahahaha. I am most definitely looking forward to seeing what happens in the next installment.
*Received an ARC from NetGalley & Orbit Books for an honest review.

So you've got to go into this series prepared for a bunch of people to die. We are dealing with killer mermaids after all. This one takes off from the prequel, when the TV producer, Imagine Network, commissioned a ship and brought on a number of scientists to head to the Mariana Trench in search of mermaids.

Only the ship was found, the crew of 300 never to be seen again. (Don't worry, not a spoiler for the prequel - they lead with that!)

This one starts off a number of years later but we get more of a chance to experience this loss, as many of the characters in this first book had some connection to that first expedition. One of the main characters, Tory, is the sister of one of those missing people and her navigation of grief, even so many years later, is really at the heart of this book. This is an ensemble cast so while Tory seems to be the main MC (main main character :P), I think there are a number of secondary MCs who are still pretty central to the action.

While people are still pretty skeptical about mermaids, Imagine Network has commissioned another ship, on the down-low, to head out to Mariana Trench and find out what really happened to the Atargatis. This time they're more prepared for real threats (or are they?) and have many security features in place so that there's definitely no chance anyone is ever going to get hurt or killed or possibly eaten (is the sarcasm coming off well enough?). I honestly was constantly reminded of Jurassic Park as this one was setting up - you know there are killer dinosaurs there, stop going back to the island!!!!!!!

As excited as I was for this series, it was a bit of a shock to my system seeing that this one was 400 pages, especially since I haven't read a book that long since high school. I tend to seek out books in the 100-200 range but once I got into this story it moved along at a nice pace. But maybe the next books in the series can be a little shorter??? (I say as I write a 900 word review :P)

This one is laid out very similar to the prequel in that we get the story interwoven with "official documents" - some chapters are introduced by lectures from one of the current crew members who leads a class on mermaids, there are some memos from the TV company, other news stories - a number of context-building items that really help give us the full story. I also found these parts really impressive because along with the ensemble cast with many MCs to look after, there are also many different voices in this docs section and somehow the author is able to make each of the voices easily distinguishable!

The author has really made an effort to have a diverse cast of characters in each of these stories. The main character is bisexual and another of the MCs identifies as a lesbian, both openly discussing this throughout the book. There's also POC rep, Deaf rep which figures really prominently in the story, disabled characters, and autistic rep. I really liked the way this last one was handled because the character was introduced first without that label attached and it was only after we learned about her personality and her background and all her interests that she shares that identity with the reader. It felt like a really excellent way of not making this character a stand-in simply to be used for the diverse rep but to show a real person behind these identities.

As I don't identify with any of the rep presented here, I really can't comment on how well it's done. I have had some experience with the Deaf community and learned about ASL in some of my uni courses and I found that the treatment of ASL in the book was really respectful and in line with how my Deaf prof taught us about it.

Little minor thing that kind of bothered me was one of the romances in the book, which I'll describe as vaguely as possible so as not to give away any spoilers. I thought the pairing itself was great and I'm glad they were able to develop a relationship but when your ship is under attack by mermaids, maybe now's not the time to slip away for some alone time, maybe? I also found it very weird that after a single day together one of the partners was already calling the other by a nickname. Especially since they were acting like enemies earlier in the story. Maybe they move really quickly though, who am I to judge.

Really solid addition to the series and I'm looking forward to the next book! I ended up with more questions than answers - some that are maybe cliffhangers but others that felt like they were forgotten about, so I didn't enjoy this one as much as the prequel but I'm still excited to see what comes next.

Seven years ago, the Atargatis was lost at sea, found months later adrift, broken, and covered in blood. Every crew member and passenger was gone, including scientist Victoria Stewart's sister, who was part of the film crew for their "mockumentary" project. They had gone to the Marianas Trench to discover mermaids and the footage found on the destroyed ship indicates that they found them, and that the mermaids found them absolutely delicious. Now a new vessel is being sent out, the Melusine, in an attempt to find the mermaids again and discover what happened to the crew of the Atargatis. Tory isn't going to miss the chance to avenge her sister's death, but what they find in the Marianas Trench is more dangerous than anyone could have ever expected.


A new horror novel from well known author Mira Grant, Into the Drowning Deep brings the mermaids we think we know to nightmarish new levels. They are cast as the ultimate predators of the sea, territorial and attentive to the humans encroaching on their waters. Their intelligence and memory for the delicious meat treats aboard floating metal in their waters makes them a deadly threat to everyone on the Melusine, and they only start to realize, far too late, how much danger they're really in. Mira Grant is able to weave all the classic foreshadowing of good horror into the novel, building our attachments to the central characters and making the notable deaths messy and memorable. Far more of our heroes survive than I would have expected, but I wonder if the story is truly done here. I dearly hope they'll be back in future stories to continue their research into the monsters of the Marianas Trench.

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, <em>discovering</em> 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.

I'm not much of an ocean person. I grew up in the mountainous desert, and that's where I feel most at home. I love the endless expanse of desert terrain, stopped only by the mountains, which I suppose is how people feel about the endless expanse of ocean, stopped only by the sky. But I wanted to read this because the idea of killer mermaids sounded pretty cool, and the book delivered quite well.

First off, I love that there were two deaf characters. You never see deaf characters in books. And I loved all the science, even if I didn't understand all of it. The characters were all pretty decent. They weren't super deep and fleshed out, but they all had enough of their own personality to not be totally flat. There were a few I really liked, and a few I hated, and most of the ones I liked ended up living, which was a plus. There was lots of blood and gore and mayhem, but not overwhelmingly so, Even with all that, the most terrifying part of the book was Tory's swim through the pipe at the bottom of the ship. It was so anxiety-inducing. Just the thought of having to swim through the water with the mermaids, then under the ship to a tube, then up the tube which was barely enough for her to fit, and then there being glass at the end... x_x So much anxiety.

I did keep thinking of a couple of movies while I was reading this. The parts when Hallie was trying to communicate with the mermaid reminded me of Arrival, and then them taking the mermaid back to land reminded me of The Lost World. And while I don't think it will end in the same kind of disaster (a mermaid and a tyrannosaurus rex just aren't the same), there's always that thought that something terrible could happen.

I went in expecting certain things out of this, and I wasn't disappointed at all. It's a great book that mixes horror and science, and it holds your attention throughout the whole story. I'm interested to see if there is another novel, and whether my Lost World type predictions come true. If Grant decides to write a sequel, I'll definitely be there to read it.

Mermaids are real--the legends, at least, are enough to launch a voyage in search thereof. There'll be a good mockumentary, right? But the expedition never came back, and the footage was...killer. Years later, another voyage sets out to discover the truth. Super-fun for fans of: cryptozoology; SyFy; binge-watching terrible movies on the couch in comfy clothes with a bag of Doritos and a gallon of iced coffee (or Coke or COKE AND TEQUILA); binge-reading terrible cryptozoology books on the couch with similar fare; fast-paced writing broken up in short, gulpable chunks; really good writing; Mira Grant; Seanan McGuire; snark; karma; wonderful high-concept payoffs, and overall excellent reading experiences. This is one of the best and most fun experiences of my reading year. Readers usually get to pick between cryptozoology books and well-written books, we don't usually get the slam-bang exceptionally well-executed crypto-extravaganza, but this is it. I blurbed it for my local paper in our public library's column, bought a copy for our library (their money), and bought a copy for my reading buddy (my own money). It's the equivalent of Ellie Sattler seeing the dinosaurs for the first time in "Jurassic Park." Bonus points (we're well over 100 now, just buy the damn book) for the shout-out to author Daryl Gregory.

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.

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.

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.

Spooky, creepy, science-y, with loads of diversity. Just the way I like it.

I received an ARC ebook from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

4.5 out of 5 stars

"Into the Drowning Deep" came as a recommendation. So, without reading the book blurb, I dug into the story, which took me by surprise--I was NOT expecting the turn of events, and that made me like the book a lot. Unfortunately, there are hiccups. For example, the narrative often goes on tangents with long parenthetical flashbacks (yup, enclosed in parenthesis, like this comment). Which slows down the overall pace and at the time, made me want to skim-read. Also, some heavy descriptions ask for lots of patience. Other than those problems, book's excellent, if you like horror and gore and science thrown together!

In summary, "Into the Drowning Deep" is a great, entertaining novel for Science Fiction/horror fans.

I got an eGalley of this book through NetGalley to review. This book was an interesting read that followed up the events that took place in the Rolling in the Deep novella. It got a bit long at times but overall I enjoyed it.

This is definitely one of those slow-boiling horror types of novels with a heavy paranormal bent to it. The whole time you know things are going to go very poorly for the characters on the next mission. I liked the suspense but was a bit disappointed that the story was so predictable.

I also felt like given the deliberate pace of the rest of the story the ending was very rushed. The pace of the story was a bit slower than I would have liked; too many of the same issues were addressed over and over again.

I did enjoy all the scientific research the characters were doing. I also enjoyed the characters in general; even the side characters have a lot of depth to them and are interesting. I also liked the near future setting of the book and how global issues of ocean temperature and global warming were discussed.

Overall this was a good book about horrific mermaids and the future of our world as a whole. I think it should have been shorter and that the ending was rushed. I will most likely read future books in this series because, in general, I like Grant’s writing style.

I am so so excited that I was approved for an ARC of Into the Drowning Deep. As you all know, I am a huge fan of Mira Grant/Seanan McGuire and try to read everything she writes. 2017 was a big year for her with 7 published books. This, sadly, is the last this year.

Into the Drowning Deep is a sequel or follow up to the super scary and amazing novella, Rolling in the Deep. Drowning, however will stand on its own; you do not need to read the first book to understand. (Seriously though, Rolling in the Deep is fabulous and you should check it out at http://www.subterraneanpress.com).

This novel follows Victoria, whose sister was one of those lost on the Atargaris in a previous mission to the Mariana Trench looking for mermaids. There’s a new and larger team of scientists and television personalities going out there and this time they think they’re more prepared. They’re probably not. 🙂

This is straight up horror and it is fabulous in that way that only Mira Grant can do. It’s smart, hilarious, and ultimately horrifying which is what we’re all looking for with a book like this, right? She also does a crap-ton of research in order to make all her terrifying things believable and oh my! are they believable. It makes everything that much more scary.

So definitely go check this out if you want something scary and well written and terrifyingly plausible.

Get ready for a page-turning, beautifully written novel about monsters and battles on the high seas - with a little bit of romantic flair thrown in. Fans of YA and action-packed fiction will enjoy.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ebook copy in exchange for my honest review!

I'm not usually drawn to science fiction books, but when I hear there's a book about killer mermaids, then I need to read it. INTO THE DROWNING DEEP by Mira Grant was more than I could hope for! It was still a thriller - which I love - and was written in a way that made it feel possible and real.

I had read the prequel - ROLLING IN THE DEEP - and flew through that one. INTO THE DROWNING DEEP takes place seven years after the events in the prequel. The Atargatis sets off on a voyage to Mariana Trench. They are filming a "mockumentary" and are trying to bring ancient sea creatures to life. All were lost at sea, never to be seen again. Many think it's a hoax for their "mockumentary" and others call it a tragedy. Fast forward seven years, and a new crew is preparing to set sail.

Part of the crew is the sister of one of the crew lost at sea in the first voyage. When footage from that first crew surfaces and shows mermaids, Victoria, a sirenologist, is determined to get the truth. I don't want to go into too much more detail, but of course, nothing ever seems to go as planned and the crew will find out secrets from the depths of the ocean.

This book had me pulled in from the start. The science aspects of this novel intrigued me and the potential of mermaids existing kept me flipping the pages. We will never truly know all the secrets that the ocean is keeping hidden from us - one reason I will not swim in the ocean! How do we know mermaids aren't real? Grant took on a unique perspective on these mystical creatures. We all grew up with Ariel - a beautiful half woman half fish with an incredible singing voice - well, these mermaids are from that.

The characters were all fantastic. Each unique and brought something new to the table. The scientists, the hunters, and all were so diverse. I feel like that can be a daunting task to develop such different characters, but Grant did this flawlessly.

Overall, if you want a unique thriller-meets-science fiction novel, then look no further! This reads perfectly as a standalone, but I'd highly recommend reading the prequel. I know it's not a true retelling of any kind of fairytale, but I'd still consider this a retelling of the mermaids we all know and loved growing up.

I give this 5/5 stars!