Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant

 

Science fiction and horror

Seven years ago, a ship filming a mockumentary about mermaids over the Mariana Trench was found abandoned, with no sign of the crew. Horrific found footage shows the ship being attacked by creatures from the sea. The footage is generally written off as fake but some people believe it was real, among them Victoria Stewart, now a marine scientist, whose sister was on the previous expedition. Now the Imagine Network is sending a second ship to the area, not for entertainment, but a legitimate scientific expedition. This time the ship is armored and has armed security that includes a husband/wife team of lethal and remorseless bug game hunters. The ship arrives on station and the scientists find what they are looking for but these mermaids ain’t Ariel. Teeth, lots of teeth.

I read this 438 page book in one day, so yeah, it pulled me in hard. Besides being fast paced and thrilling with characters you’re invested in, the story is founded on hard science. The author avoids the pitfalls of the info dump while showing the reader how science is done. There are multiple POVs but the MFC specializes in interpreting sonar signals, i.e. she interprets signals returned from beneath the surface.

When the story cranks up it is a heart racing thriller but it’s the science that pulls it together. What is the biology that allows the “mermaids” to exist at the crushing depths in the Trench? What kind of society do they have? How do they communicate? The story also has fun with scientists’ egos and how graduate students are treated. The two big game hunters are blatant caricatures but that didn’t bother me, they are mostly fun to watch. I did think the ship security was pretty bad but I think that was deliberate since they were hired by an entertainment company. I would have been looking for combat veterans myself.

I recommend this if you want a solid, fast paced horror story, grounded in science, with scientists doing science stuff, and awash in a significant amount of splatter gore. It was a fun read for me.