Into the Drowning Deep

This is a spoiler-free review
Read on In The Sheets

The “Killer mermaids” concept of Into the Drowning Deep immediately caught my attention and, while I'd never read anything by Mira Grant prior to this, I'd only ever heard good things and wanted to give her writing a shot.

For starters, I honestly never thought I'd get into this sort of book, nor is it something I'd have normally sought out. Unexpectedly Into the Drowning Deep made me a fan of not only Mira Grant but also mermaids? Though, it also made me terrified of mermaids, so thanks for that.

The premise here is that the crew of a television network had been sent into the ocean to film a cryptid mockumentary about mermaids, but were instead lost at sea. Footage recovered showed the crew being eaten alive by mer-creatures and, of course, everyone chalked it up as a publicity stunt and hoax. Now, seven years later, they're sending out a new crew consisting of scientists, experts, and hunters, armed with advanced technology and equipment, to find out what happened once and for all.

A couple things here are super obvious after reading Into the Drowning Deep. The first is that Mira Grant (Seanan Mcguire) loves mermaids and she'll make you love them too. The second is that she did a hell of a lot of scientific research, because I found myself convinced during multiple points of the story that mermaids could be real. Which is ridiculous. There were at least 2 nights this week where I found myself Googling them and their feasibility at three o'clock in the morning. Nonsense.

Mira Grant didn't just create an awesome new mermaid book though, she created an awesome new mermaid. She straight up reinvents them and reimagines their entire biology, culture, intelligence, personality, ecosystem, and motivations. It's honestly brilliant. A full redesign. Mira Grant has done for mermaids, what George A. Romero did for Zombies. Sure, scary killer mermaids have always existed, but this is some next level stuff. It's super unexpected and brilliant. Did I say brilliant already? I don't care, I'm sticking with it.

There's no question in my mind that this is 5 Star read, you will not be disappointed. At no point is the story ever slow, the characters are diverse and delightful, with a wide variety of representation. It's all handled expertly and developed perfectly over the course of the story.

I'm gonna have to stop myself here because I'm swooning, but trust me, it's a treat. Pick it up.