Tuesday, November 14, 2017

Into the Drowning Deep


Seven years ago, the Atargatis was found empty after a voyage to make a faux documentary about mermaids, funded by a sci-fi channel Imagine. No one was ever found. Now, in 2022, a new ship is chartered by the same company, much more prepared, with a crew of all different types of (mostly skeptical) marine scientists, a pair of big game hunters, and cutting edge technology to find out what happened. Will they find nothing or something the world has never seen?

Into the Drowning Deep takes place in the near future of 2022 where things are just a little bit different. Advances in medical technology have been made including repairing spinal injuries that would normally leave a person without use of their legs. Self driving cars are a typical sight on the road. Unfortunately, pollution and climate change have taken a small but significant toll on day to day life. Human sympathy and care for animals and the environment is outweighed by indifference at best and greed or flat out ignorance at worst. This sets the stage for what will come later for both a creature relegated to myth and intelligent beings relegated to entertainment and containment. There is a running discussion about marine mammals and how sentient they are. Legislation was passed to improve treatment of marine mammals, but they are continually used selfishly by humans no matter how well meaning.

Seanan McGuire especially excels at getting into the heads of each and every character. Each one of their unique experiences and points of view is showcased without judgment or censorship. The cast of characters is large and diverse with different ethnicities and expressions of sexuality in addition to numerous disabled people. It felt like real life where people aren’t homogenous. My favorite character is Tory, a marine biologist focused on marine sounds, who lost a sister in the Atargatis. Her life’s obsession has been finding out what happened to her, working as a whale watching guide for use of the boat on its off time. Olivia is an unexpected character as a person with autism working as a reporter for Imagine. She copes with intense social situations by exploring the place thoroughly in advance and always being accompanied by her camera man. I love Olivia because she goes against so many stereotypes of people with autism and shows that they aren’t limited to certain industries or activities.

Less sympathetic characters, such as the Australian poacher couple, are given the same treatment. Their hatred of and blatant disregard for animal preservation laws and enthusiasts is on display along with their love of the hunt, the kill, and each other. All of the characters are well rounded no matter their politics or opinions. Jillian Toth has been talking about mermaids for years and knows she’s right. She didn’t want to go on the first voyage because she rightfully had no desire to encounter them. Filled with guilt over the first voyage, she feels obligated to be on the second one, accompanied by Theo, her estranged husband who she still loves but refuses to be around. I loved the inclusion of complex, unconventional relationships. Human emotions and situations are messy and not always easily defined.

The horror elements of the novel are amazing. It’s starts off like a typical horror film with the last footage of the Atargatis. The plot reflects that of Aliens, seen in many horror sub genres, and feels familiar even with the difference in creature and location. The ocean is so unknown that the story feels plausible. The mermaids themselves are slender with fish tails, humanoid upper bodies, and full lips. Other than their basic shape and lips, they are eerily inhuman with bioluminescent fibers like hair on their heads. They masterfully mimic other sounds when hunting and have a sort of sign language to speak to each other. As amphibians, the mermaids can survive out of water for a time, trailing slime to move around more easily and moving with much swifter speed than expected. Their attacks are savage, quick, and incredibly bloody. Their bodies are host to its own ecosystem never before seen that is deadly to humans. While these creatures are deadly and frightening, human shave some culpability for forcing them to the depths of the ocean and invading the only territory they have.  A discussion for their preservation is posed with both sides being argued. One side arguing that they are dangerous and the other arguing that humans should preserve all life, not jus the cute and cuddly.

Into the Drowning Deep is a well researched, engrossing novel that speculates on where we are going as a world. It has everything: an exploitative corporation, science, gore, horror, suspense, dynamic characters, romance, and critique of society. The only small problems I had were in the pacing (but science takes a while to explain) and the fairly abrupt ending. I hope there will be a continuation to the story. In the meantime, I will be reading the short story prequel, Rolling in the Deep.

My rating: 4.5/5 fishmuffins

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