Fathomfolk

DNF - PG 33

Why?

Oh, so many, many reasons.

TL;DR
The short answer is because I don't like the characters or the writing style.

The long answer...

WARNING: Minor climax spoilers not hidden. Major climax spoilers hidden.

I went back and forth a lot on whether or not I should just dnf this book and move on. The thing is, I love the idea for it. The concept is so brilliant and inventive and I've just never seen world building like this before.

When I sat down with this book, I was prepared for lots of powerful descriptions and a real melting pot. I thought the book was going to be a fathomfolk diaspora with lots of racial commentary. So, I was admittedly not sure how much I would personally enjoy it, but I was so excited to start reading.

I read the first page or so probably four or five times before I actually started the book - and every single time I was intending to keep reading, but there was just no hook for me. The writing feels very plodding, like a lot of words were just padding and, really, unneeded.

Each extremely short chapter averages under 7 pages and then we have a POV change. Usually this would work for me, at least somewhat, but this isn't a far-flung cast. Mira (MC 1) is dating Kai who is Nami's (MC 2) brother. And Mira and Serena (MC 3) meet before the 30 page mark.

And those three MC's? I'm not even slightly interested in any of them. They are all so narrow minded, bigoted people that I don't want to read about them.

It was such drag-y, slow going for me (I started it June 11th, it is now July 3rd. I managed to read 35 pages) that I went to read reviews and see what people had to say. I found reviews talking about the big ending twist. (I already knew there's to be a second book in the series.) So, out of curiosity, I spoiled myself.

Since then, I have struggled even more with the book because the big twist doesn't work at all for me with what type of book this was purported to be.

On the back cover it says ‘A thrilling, incisive fantasy of diaspora [...].' The diaspora appears (after 35 pages and reading many reviews) to be of the fathomfolk (‘sirens, seawitches, kelpies, and kappas' are also specifically mentioned on the back cover).

The big ending twist is suddenly and completely against their will, all the humans of (at least) Tiankawi (the city) sprout gills to save them from a tsunami because of a wish that Nami makes.

I don't see how this ending works with the story that is apparently being told. To me it totally negates the conflict of the story.

I will be curious to read the reviews for the sequel to see how this ties into the story, but... I just don't get it. (Also this is unwilling body modification which I am kind of squicked out by, especially considering we get this description: 'Almost simultaneously, a woman screamed. Rubbing at her son's neck, at the newly formed gills as if they were dirt stains to be removed. She ran her hands down her own neck, eyes widening in horror at what she found.') (Also, also this seems to be - do note how little I actually read - a case of either ‘magic can do ANYTHING' or meddling gods. Possibly both.)

It was shit.

I received this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This one was a long time coming and honestly it was worth the wait. I think my main takeaway from this book is that it makes you think. I've had books that I've loved but forgot about in a day and I still remember and think about this book a week later after reading.

We follow a lot of different characters in this novel that are each trying to make sense and create order in a world that doesn't appreciate, trust or even like them due to their “species” aka race. This book gives poignant examples that are especially relevant in todays modern landscape that really added depth to the world and made you really feel and empathize with the characters. It leads to the central question, how do you seek to change the world around you? With violence or through work and dedication? And the pitfalls that come from both.

My biggest gripe with the book, is how it ended. I should put this at a 4.5 because this almost ruined the book for me but I didn't like a character choice but I respect it.

I really liked this book and I look forward to the sequel!

Quit @ 3%

Sad to say, this is another book that I thought I was going to really enjoy due to the blurb but it left me wishing I DNF'd halfway through like I wanted to. 

First things first, if you want an adult fantasy with some sort of world-building that isn't painfully simplistic, this isn't it. This is my biggest complaint, what exactly is adult about it? It really feels like the world building was simply things that the author decided sounded cool but didn't think them through. Almost nothing get explained or built on, things “just are”. The book doesn't want you to think too hard on it, and that's fine, but it should not be advertised as adult fantasy – this is simpler than some YAs I've read. We don't even have an answer as to why the sea folk can shapeshift into humans. Can they only shapeshift into humans? Is there no other race out there? Why humans in particular? What gives them the ability to shapeshift? Is that considered magic or it “just is”? There is a sea witch which can shapeshift into other sea folk but we don't really get any explanation on how her powers work either, she is just a witch and that must mean she can do any magic that is convenient at the time. There is also no magic system whatsoever, the sea folk can water bend like 3 times in the book, that's it.

In general, the sea folk felt more like an aesthetic than anything that matters to the plot. The characters do almost everything (including sexual stuff) in their human forms. The entire book takes place in a single human city, the politics revolve mainly around whatever happens in said human city. We don't even know anything about the sea world aside from the fact it has royalty. You might as well just interchange the sea folk with humans, and you'd have gotten the same kind of story, there's nothing unique about them aside from making the book stand out for its aesthetic. 

Fathomfolk is mainly a political fantasy which i tend to like, but sadly it didn't make me invested in them at all. It's the most basic politics and revolution plots you can find in a lot of younger books. Was it bad? no, but it also that you haven't seen many times before.

The characters were fine, for the most part. The female leads were all distinct, even if the villain felt like she was a little too inspired by Ursula from The Little Mermaid... Sadly, all the male characters were plot devices and I bet I will forget them in 10 hours.

The ending thinks it does something shocking but it feels cheap and ridiculous. On the bright side though, I think it might pave way to plot at least somewhat more interesting than book 1 but I am not going to be coming back to this series.

All in all, I am very sad that this ended up being such a dreadful read for me, as it was one of my most anticipated releases for this year. Initially I kept giving it a benefit of a doubt because I thought it has potential on which it can build on but it just doesn't. 

Thank for Netgalley & Orbit for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Fathomfolk is a uniquely imagined fantasy novel, full of political intrigue and social commentary. The story happens in Tiankwani, a drowning city where humans and fanthomfolk live in a post-war environment. To aggravate the already existent tension between species, Humans have polluted the oceans (does this sound familiar?

Where do I start with Fathomfolk? Overall, it was a decent read. There were some interesting elements of the plot line - I particularly enjoyed the bits with Cordelia/Serena, however the lack of connection between some of the character relationships and the ending let the book down.

Now the world building, that was impressive. Expanding upon the idea of the lands being drowned and taken over by the waters, Tiankawi is a solidly written half-sunken city. It was easy to submerge yourself into what was being introduced to you, in particular the difference in districts and the few moments we see where the community within get together.

However, the main characters felt a bit lacklustre. There was an idea of something that was building up for each individual, but I suppose there is only so much you can do when you begin to take a more political route in the story. The romance was quite difficult to read sometimes, even knowing that Nami and Firth were portraying a naive child with a manipulative Folk, but it was a bit uncomfortable. Also, Kai deserved better.

The ending was...anticlimactic. It was the sort of ending a child would provide to a mash-up improv in a playschool setting. To say that it was a disappointment would be putting it kindly. Hopefully there is some way to salvage this, seeing as this was an ARC. 

Thank you, Netgalley UK, for approving my request in exchange for a honest opinion.

I found myself having to read it unwillingly because I received an ARC copy to review. I am very sorry about this because i had a very high motivation to read it. There is a severe shortage of modern novels with mythological sea creatures and above all there is a shortage of good, solid novels!
When I read the back cover, I had already imagined that it would be the best book with sea creatures, given the multitude of mythological creatures and troublesome current issues such as pollution and discrimination.

The world is indeed rich, well-researched and well-thought, but what annoyed me the whole time is that names of spirits and creatures are thrown into the book without explantation (and at least in the arc copy without a glossary). In order to understand what the author was talking about or how that newly introduced character looked like, I had to constantly google them. A few examples are: kappa, saltlick, Fumiho, chang-bi, chinthe.

I had problems with the characters as well. I could never tell Nami from Mira, who was the half-mermaid and who was the water dragon because they had the same voices. The same goes for Kai who was supposed to be the finacée of one two, but it didn't make any difference. I thought it was an initial difficulty due to the fact that I had to orient myself in the new world and adapt to the new characters, but unfortunately this difficulty remained even at the 60% reached. Furthermore, all three of these characters seemed very immature to me and I didn't get attached to them.
the only voice distinct from the others was Cordelia the sea witch who plots and manipulates characters to her personal advantage from behind the scenes. hard to get attached to her, though :D

unfortunately, the story didn't grab me either. i got the impression that nothing happened in the first half of the book and events start to happen towards the second half. unfortunately, by that point i had already lost interest in the whole thing.

It's not a debut that I feel like recommending, unless you are prepared for what to expect.