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.

Death of the Author by Nnedi Okoraf

This novel didn't grab me at first. I read 100 pages then let the library loan expire. When it became available again I flew through it..

There is so much I’d like to write about Death of the Author but can’t for spoilers. The reader needs to experience it themselves. When I finished, I just sat there thinking, “wow”. 

So, the basics: Zelu is the American born, second daughter to Nigerian parents, a legitimate princess through her mother, paraplegic since an early age, failed author, and recently fired adjunct professor of creative writing. Feeling especially down and self-pitying after the wedding of a sister, Zelu opens her laptop and rather than writing about normal people having normal problems, begins to write about something not human, rusted robots.

This is a story within a story. Zelu’s novel, Rusted Robots is narrated by Ankara, a Hume robot, i.e. has the shape of the human. In this world, the human race is no more. Ankara is a scholar and collects stories, something the Humes love since they can’t create any of their own.

The other half of the novel is Zelu’s personal story. Her life changes dramatically when Rusted Robots is embraced worldwide and she is suddenly worth millions and can finally become independent. But there is a price to fame, her family doesn’t approve and her fans think they own her. And her sudden rise to fame naturally leads to cancellation when an ill-advised comment on a talk show brings a backlish.  

Death of the Author is a deep exploration of Nigerian culture and the place of some like Zelu within that culture. Zelu is loved by her family but because of her disability they see her as broken, someone who needs to be protected. Her success isn’t celebrated by her family who resist her attempts at independence and are frustrated by Zelu’s defiance and obstinacy.

For me, the themes are the power of stories, the need for stories, treatment of people with disabilities, generational communication, relationships, family, conflict between traditional culture and the generation one step removed from the culture,

Zelu isn’t particularly likeable and the reader might want to smack some sense in her but we still empathize and root for her. Likewise her family would drive me crazy but we see where her parents and siblings are coming from and can empathize with them as well. 

This isn’t hammered but Zulu is clear that there are different rules for black authors. This ties in with a book I’m reading called How to Read Now by Elaine Costillo which explores, among other issues, that there is the expectation that writers of color are expected to educate white readers. I recommend Costillo’s book.

This is a well written and moving story that I enjoyed and I want to read more by the author. I also had a tear in my eye at the end.

On a lighter note, food plays a big role in the story and I really want to find a Nigerian restaurant and try jollof rice and pounded yam.

Ten Low by Stark Holborn

 

So you're looking for a really good space adventure? Have I got the book for you.

Our protagonist is Ten "Doc" Low, a medic, ex-convict, ex-soldier on the losing side of a war with PTSD and crippling remorse for what she did in the war. She's eking out an existence on the barren, arid moon Factus on the edge of the known universe.

She rescues a young girl from a crashed ship who turs out to be an augmented super soldier. Ten sees redemption in getting General Gabriella "Gabie" Ortiz to safety but to do so they have to cross a wasteland and dodging bandits, cult-like organ harvesters, military hit-squads, and bounty hunters. Along the way they pick up allies but numbers don't equal safety and the future is far from certain.

Holborn does a masterful job of world building. She doesn’t try to explain everything at once but shows us as the story unfolds. The reader feels the bleakness of Factus, its its low oxygen atmosphere and filthy hardscrabble life.

The characters are well developed and you come to care for them. Ten's remorse and torment for what she did in the and need for redemption is real and visceral. The author has fun with General Ortiz, only13 years old but a hard-bitten, hard-drinking, soldier who will kill without blinking or regret. The group that forms around these two are equally well fleshed out and their motivation explored.

The book is fast paced with action scenes that are well written and near unbearable at times: narrow escapes, tense standoffs, gunfights, it's all here. But the story and character development are not sacrificed to the action. There also is a mysterious force that seems to be guiding but I don't think it veers into magic.

Someone suggest that readers who like The Locked Tomb series (Gideon the Ninth is the 1st) by Tamsyn Muir will also like this book. While there is no similarity in themes I get the vibe since I also love that series.

There are 2 more books in this series and I will be reading them.