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A review by julianship
Deeplight by Frances Hardinge
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
3.5 stars. I really wanted to like this book more than I did, unfortunately. It took a tremendously long time to get going– there's so much setup, and while the last third of the book is fantastic, the beginning really drags. The premise and worldbuilding are exactly up my alley– I love a book that grapples with the material traces of the past, in this case, deeply dangerous artifacts of dead gods. But the book simultaneously took a very long time to tell me interesting and fairly fundamental details about basic worldbuilding while getting off to a slow start (usually it's one or the other!)
I didn't dislike Hark, our POV character, but I found his relationships with other characters frustratingly one-note, in particular the emotionally (and eventually physically) abusive friendship he has with Jelt. I get that this is YA, and we're not always going to get profound explorations of the psychology of a dangerous relationship. But I still wish that we'd seen a side of Jelt that hadn't just been him belittling Hark; the book told me that existed, but because I never saw it on page, it was harder to empathize with Hark's loyalty and inability to leave him behind. Hark cares deeply about Jelt while feeling trapped by him. This is part of the psychology of abuse– it's never just bad parts, or it wouldn't be so hard to leave. The book clearly wants me to feel that tug towards Jelt even while finding him monstrous, but I just can't find it in me– he's never anything but an asshole on page, and not even in a fun way.
That aside, there are some really delightful moments in the book– for my qualms with the pacing, Hardinge's prose is excellent, particularly in action scenes and body horror moments, and the climax is truly gripping. Selphin, who's a Deaf side character we get to see more of in the second half of the book, is a delight, and I could honestly read a whole book about her instead. Overall, I really liked the handling of Deafness/Deaf culture in a world where people who go down into the depths often come up with hearing loss, making it a badge of honor. Initially, I thought, oh, this is a fun worldbuilding detail, but Hardinge doesn't fall into the trap of forgetting about a character's disability or magicking it away when it becomes inconvenient for plot reasons. As Selphin becomes more integral to the story, her Deafness ends up shifting the course of the plot in interesting ways.
Overall, there are great moments in this one, but it took long enough to get going that I had a hard time appreciating them. In part, maybe this is because I did it as an audiobook with a narrator I didn't love. Joshua Akehurst does an acceptable job, but his delivery feels a little flat, even at a higher speed (which is my usual fix for an unengaging narrator.)
I didn't dislike Hark, our POV character, but I found his relationships with other characters frustratingly one-note, in particular the emotionally (and eventually physically) abusive friendship he has with Jelt. I get that this is YA, and we're not always going to get profound explorations of the psychology of a dangerous relationship. But I still wish that we'd seen a side of Jelt that hadn't just been him belittling Hark; the book told me that existed, but because I never saw it on page, it was harder to empathize with Hark's loyalty and inability to leave him behind. Hark cares deeply about Jelt while feeling trapped by him. This is part of the psychology of abuse– it's never just bad parts, or it wouldn't be so hard to leave. The book clearly wants me to feel that tug towards Jelt even while finding him monstrous, but I just can't find it in me– he's never anything but an asshole on page, and not even in a fun way.
That aside, there are some really delightful moments in the book– for my qualms with the pacing, Hardinge's prose is excellent, particularly in action scenes and body horror moments, and the climax is truly gripping. Selphin, who's a Deaf side character we get to see more of in the second half of the book, is a delight, and I could honestly read a whole book about her instead. Overall, I really liked the handling of Deafness/Deaf culture in a world where people who go down into the depths often come up with hearing loss, making it a badge of honor. Initially, I thought, oh, this is a fun worldbuilding detail, but Hardinge doesn't fall into the trap of forgetting about a character's disability or magicking it away when it becomes inconvenient for plot reasons. As Selphin becomes more integral to the story, her Deafness ends up shifting the course of the plot in interesting ways.
Overall, there are great moments in this one, but it took long enough to get going that I had a hard time appreciating them. In part, maybe this is because I did it as an audiobook with a narrator I didn't love. Joshua Akehurst does an acceptable job, but his delivery feels a little flat, even at a higher speed (which is my usual fix for an unengaging narrator.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Body horror, and Bullying