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skepticcurmudgeon's review against another edition
2.0
I really enjoyed Litany of the Earth and her first novel in that same neo-Lovecraftian world. However this one failed to generate any tension or momentum. Snooze-fest.
hauntedpostalworker's review against another edition
5.0
In a stunning sequel to Winter Tide, Ruthanna really focuses on what makes a family a family. Aphra goes in search of distant relatives, only to unearth a plot by Outer Ones to subjugate mankind to 'save itself from itself'.
the_grimdragon's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
3.0
"I thought, but didn't say, that a loss you could ignore was one you could survive. I knew she'd suffered a loss she couldn't ignore. I'd nurtured my own furies for a long time, and still held some of them tight; I'd no right to judge her grief."
kleonard's review against another edition
4.0
Ruthanna Emrys's *Deep Roots* is the smart and nuanced sequel to her *Winter Tide*. She does a brilliant job of turning Lovecraft's Mythos on its head through beautiful writing, great character development, and thoughtful engagement with the period.
kitty_whimsical's review against another edition
5.0
First, I must mention that one probably could read this without reading Winter Tide, but you really shouldn't. Anyway, after reviewing Ruthanna Emrys's Winter Tide last year, the sequel, Deep Roots, was one of my most anticipated reads for this year. I wasn't disappointed.
One of the things that Emrys does well is creating wonderfully layered, complex characters. They aren't perfect. They make mistakes, the same as anyone else. Despite numerous differences in age, race, culture, and even species, one commonality exists: the desire to do what is best for humanity. The conflict arises when those ideas of what is "best" begin to collide and conflict with the very nature of human beings and free will. This is seen on a larger scale with the Mi-Go and their desire to preserve humans from annihilating themselves, and on a smaller scale with Aphra's desire to rebuild her own people. Should you force someone into doing something for their own good? Can you, personally, decide what is best for anyone other than yourself? One person's prison may be another person's perfect world. You cannot command that anyone conform to what you think is right or good.
Speaking of non-conformity, Emrys continues to send Lovecraft spinning in his grave by focusing on the very people that Lovecraft feared and hated the most. There are at least two interracial relationships that I can think of off the top of my head. There are a few same-sex couples. The old man would be horrified to see so many non-white, non-heterosexual characters as the heroes of stories set in the multiverse that he created. Personally, I'm delighted. May Emrys and others continue to reshape the Lovecraftian mythos in their own fashions.
As for the plot, as with Winter Tide, it almost takes a backseat to the fascinating character interactions and relationships. We spend more time with Aphra's older relatives (the ones who've gone into the water). We learn a bit about what happened while Professor Trumbull was a visitor in the Archives (the home of the Yith who body-swapped with her prior to the events of Winter Tide). Even the Mi-Go are fascinating and complicated. Their own internal politics and beliefs aren't explored as thoroughly as I would have liked, but that's just not entirely unexpected, as they are the "villains" of the story. Even the ghouls that populate the Dreamland were interesting. Let's be honest, I read these books for the characters alone. Emrys could write an entire novel about Aphra and company simply having a picnic on the beach, and I would read the heck out of it. I must confess: this book was hard for me to read for personal reasons. One of the themes that Emrys highlighted in both this and Winter Tide was the value of found family. Many of us have experienced this feeling towards a dear friend -- the phrases "brother from another mother" and "sister from another mister" exist for a reason, after all. My difficulty with this book stemmed from the unexpected death of a member of my own found family about a week before the book was published. It was painful for me to fully sink into Aphra's world and watch her continue to grow and build bonds with her confluence when my own "confluence" had splintered. This is, strange as it may sound, a good thing. It is a testament to Emrys's skill as a writer that she has created characters that can move the reader so deeply. It has been several weeks since I finished the book, and Aphra, Charlie, Audrey, Catherine, Caleb, Deedee and the others still linger in the back of my mind.
In Conclusion: This series is more than worth your time, even if you haven't given Lovecraft a second thought. You don't have to have read a word of his fiction to be able to appreciate these novels. Having some familiarity with the mythos definitely informs the reading experience, but Emrys makes things entirely accessible for even complete newbies. Read Winter Tide first, then snag a copy of Deep Roots.
One of the things that Emrys does well is creating wonderfully layered, complex characters. They aren't perfect. They make mistakes, the same as anyone else. Despite numerous differences in age, race, culture, and even species, one commonality exists: the desire to do what is best for humanity. The conflict arises when those ideas of what is "best" begin to collide and conflict with the very nature of human beings and free will. This is seen on a larger scale with the Mi-Go and their desire to preserve humans from annihilating themselves, and on a smaller scale with Aphra's desire to rebuild her own people. Should you force someone into doing something for their own good? Can you, personally, decide what is best for anyone other than yourself? One person's prison may be another person's perfect world. You cannot command that anyone conform to what you think is right or good.
Speaking of non-conformity, Emrys continues to send Lovecraft spinning in his grave by focusing on the very people that Lovecraft feared and hated the most. There are at least two interracial relationships that I can think of off the top of my head. There are a few same-sex couples. The old man would be horrified to see so many non-white, non-heterosexual characters as the heroes of stories set in the multiverse that he created. Personally, I'm delighted. May Emrys and others continue to reshape the Lovecraftian mythos in their own fashions.
As for the plot, as with Winter Tide, it almost takes a backseat to the fascinating character interactions and relationships. We spend more time with Aphra's older relatives (the ones who've gone into the water). We learn a bit about what happened while Professor Trumbull was a visitor in the Archives (the home of the Yith who body-swapped with her prior to the events of Winter Tide). Even the Mi-Go are fascinating and complicated. Their own internal politics and beliefs aren't explored as thoroughly as I would have liked, but that's just not entirely unexpected, as they are the "villains" of the story. Even the ghouls that populate the Dreamland were interesting. Let's be honest, I read these books for the characters alone. Emrys could write an entire novel about Aphra and company simply having a picnic on the beach, and I would read the heck out of it. I must confess: this book was hard for me to read for personal reasons. One of the themes that Emrys highlighted in both this and Winter Tide was the value of found family. Many of us have experienced this feeling towards a dear friend -- the phrases "brother from another mother" and "sister from another mister" exist for a reason, after all. My difficulty with this book stemmed from the unexpected death of a member of my own found family about a week before the book was published. It was painful for me to fully sink into Aphra's world and watch her continue to grow and build bonds with her confluence when my own "confluence" had splintered. This is, strange as it may sound, a good thing. It is a testament to Emrys's skill as a writer that she has created characters that can move the reader so deeply. It has been several weeks since I finished the book, and Aphra, Charlie, Audrey, Catherine, Caleb, Deedee and the others still linger in the back of my mind.
In Conclusion: This series is more than worth your time, even if you haven't given Lovecraft a second thought. You don't have to have read a word of his fiction to be able to appreciate these novels. Having some familiarity with the mythos definitely informs the reading experience, but Emrys makes things entirely accessible for even complete newbies. Read Winter Tide first, then snag a copy of Deep Roots.
dantastic's review against another edition
4.0
Aphra Marsh's quest of resettling Innsmouth to New York, where her confluence runs into a snag: two factions of Outer Ones!
I enjoyed Winter Tide quite a bit so I pre-ordered this. Oddly enough, I was approved for an ARC on Netgalley AND a friend gave me the ebook as a birthday gift on the day it shipped. The stars were right that day.
Anyway, Aphra Marsh's goal of repopulating Innsmouth brings her to New York. She discovers a family with Innsmouth blood only to find the son has joined a cult led by a group of Outer Ones, aka The Mi-Go, aka The Fungi from Yuggoth. Arpha Marsh and her friends are caught in the middle of two rival factions with humanity's fate in the balance.
As with [b:Winter Tide|29939089|Winter Tide (The Innsmouth Legacy, #1)|Ruthanna Emrys|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1463670456s/29939089.jpg|47306624], there's a lot to enjoy here. Ruthanna Emrys takes some Lovecraftian concepts and fleshes them out, taking them away from Lovecraft's fear of the unknown roots. The Mi-Go are a lot more than one-dimensional monsters in this tale, given three (or more, if you want to get non-Euclidean about it) dimensions. The ghouls are also fleshed (heh) out quite a bit, given something of a culture.
The characters are a far cry from Lovecraft's, not falling to pieces with the first brush with the unknown, probably because all of them are part of the unknown to some degree. Charlie is gay in an era where it's nowhere near as acceptable as today and also studies magic. Aphra is one of the last of the Deep Ones. Catherine was host to a Yith. Audrey has something different in her heritage.
The jaunts to the Dreamlands and the trek into the Outer Ones' mine were cool set pieces. The magic system is one of the things I like the best in this series. Magic isn't free and takes its toll. Aphra's learning quite a bit but isn't coming through unscathed by any means.
As I've said many times before, I like the stuff inspired by the works of HP Lovecraft more than the works themselves. Ruthanna Emrys' humanized Lovecraftian fiction is some of the best out there. Four out of five stars.
I enjoyed Winter Tide quite a bit so I pre-ordered this. Oddly enough, I was approved for an ARC on Netgalley AND a friend gave me the ebook as a birthday gift on the day it shipped. The stars were right that day.
Anyway, Aphra Marsh's goal of repopulating Innsmouth brings her to New York. She discovers a family with Innsmouth blood only to find the son has joined a cult led by a group of Outer Ones, aka The Mi-Go, aka The Fungi from Yuggoth. Arpha Marsh and her friends are caught in the middle of two rival factions with humanity's fate in the balance.
As with [b:Winter Tide|29939089|Winter Tide (The Innsmouth Legacy, #1)|Ruthanna Emrys|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1463670456s/29939089.jpg|47306624], there's a lot to enjoy here. Ruthanna Emrys takes some Lovecraftian concepts and fleshes them out, taking them away from Lovecraft's fear of the unknown roots. The Mi-Go are a lot more than one-dimensional monsters in this tale, given three (or more, if you want to get non-Euclidean about it) dimensions. The ghouls are also fleshed (heh) out quite a bit, given something of a culture.
The characters are a far cry from Lovecraft's, not falling to pieces with the first brush with the unknown, probably because all of them are part of the unknown to some degree. Charlie is gay in an era where it's nowhere near as acceptable as today and also studies magic. Aphra is one of the last of the Deep Ones. Catherine was host to a Yith. Audrey has something different in her heritage.
The jaunts to the Dreamlands and the trek into the Outer Ones' mine were cool set pieces. The magic system is one of the things I like the best in this series. Magic isn't free and takes its toll. Aphra's learning quite a bit but isn't coming through unscathed by any means.
As I've said many times before, I like the stuff inspired by the works of HP Lovecraft more than the works themselves. Ruthanna Emrys' humanized Lovecraftian fiction is some of the best out there. Four out of five stars.
qalminator's review against another edition
5.0
Very enjoyable sequel. This time around, we have the "migo" (aka the Outer Ones), the trapezohedron, ghouls, and the Dreamlands threading their way through the plot. The Innsmouth books are more about connections between people (of whatever species), but sometimes those connections are forged through conflict. And sometimes people make choices that others do not understand. It's a beautiful exploration of free will, and understanding, and trying to figure out what the right thing actually is.
Highly recommended.
ETA: The audioversion is quite good. I wish Gabra Zackman would read more things that interest me. She's quite good. I was surprised by her pronunciation of trapezohedron. I had mentally pronounced it trapeze-oh-hee-dron. She pronounces it tra-pez-oh-head-run. It's an uncommon enough word that I don't know that there's actually a definitive standard. :)
Highly recommended.
ETA: The audioversion is quite good. I wish Gabra Zackman would read more things that interest me. She's quite good. I was surprised by her pronunciation of trapezohedron. I had mentally pronounced it trapeze-oh-hee-dron. She pronounces it tra-pez-oh-head-run. It's an uncommon enough word that I don't know that there's actually a definitive standard. :)
ielerol's review
4.0
I didn't love this one quite as much as Winter Tide, but it was still very good. The story is more plot-focused, less interior, but even as the characters felt a lot of pressure to act quickly, most of what the actually do is talk and argue with each other. Honestly I understood that the stakes were high but not quite why acting was so desperately urgent. I really wanted Aphra to take a damn nap and I'm still not sure why she couldn't? None of what was happening seemed immediately irreversible. But maybe I'm underestimating the perception that someone in the FBI or military could order a nuclear attack out of fear as soon as they learned about the Outer Ones.
Early on I kept finding myself asking, "But are the Outer Ones good guys or bad guys?" and the answer is of course, they're people, complicated and messy as all the rest of us.
From the book description I thought there would be more time spent on contacting people with Deep Ones blood and trying to rebuild Innsmouth's community, and there wasn't actually much of that, but I'm still satisfied with the story I did get.
Early on I kept finding myself asking, "But are the Outer Ones good guys or bad guys?" and the answer is of course, they're people, complicated and messy as all the rest of us.
From the book description I thought there would be more time spent on contacting people with Deep Ones blood and trying to rebuild Innsmouth's community, and there wasn't actually much of that, but I'm still satisfied with the story I did get.
skylar2's review against another edition
3.0
I really love Emrys's setting, characters, and over-arching story, but this book just didn't have the tension driving it forward that Winter Tide did.
tyrshand's review against another edition
4.0
Emrys continues to write beautifully about a diverse cast of characters and cosmic horrors that are much more "human" than we'd expect from their appearance. I loved and the exploration of what an "I'm right" -- with no room for discussion -- type group mentality can do and the problems they can generate. Really, Emrys explores the mental states of so many different kinds of people and how those can clash or meld so well. I think she may write the most nuanced characters I've read in fantasy recently. Once again, the story is slower than some may like, but I actually count that a strength of the novel. The pacing allows the relationships to be explored thoroughly, and I think that's exactly what makes these novels so good. I dearly hope the series continues for a long while.