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A review by thisonecassie
Rolling in the Deep by Mira Grant
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This is an amazing read, fast paced, spooky but not 'hide under the covers" level. The descriptions of the 'mermaids' is absolutely wonderful, descriptive enough to invision them, without removing the 'mysterious' factor. Each chapter ended with a quote from the documentary about the Atargatis and you the reader could then explore how the documentary differed from the contents of the chapter, allowing the reader to not only explore how the documentary presented the information, but also to identify what they excluded, an exercise in media literacy via mermaid horror. I loved getting to know the crew of the Atargatis, and the assorted newcomers on board for the filming of the documentary, and though the novella is short (as novellas tend to be lol) you still get same amount of character development, and in particular I loved seeing Peter go from a quiet older scientist, who spoke who rarely to... well he speaks the most during his last moments alive, a passage that is my favorite part of the novella, and follows after my review.
Overall I truly loved this book, and I look forward to reading the novel Rolling in the Deep, I am giving this Novella 5★ stars, because I love it, and I can't imagine any way it could be better in one aspect, without removing its amazingness in the others (in this case, I wish we had gotten more of a look into individual characters though processes and emotions, but in doing so that would remove the "documentary" aspect)
This is my favorite passage from the book, spoiler tagged since it is from the last chunk, and is thus ya know... spoiler-y.
“You are a clever thing, aren’t you?” he asked. He didn’t get out of his chair. If there was one mermaid on the deck, it stood to reason that there would be more. They were beautiful predators, and the ocean was a merciless cradle for their development: they would never have survived through the centuries if they had been foolish enough to follow their prey into hostile environments when they weren’t sure of winning. “Do you have a language?”
“Do you have a language?” echoed the mermaid, and slithered closer. It moved like a mudskipper on land, Peter noted. He would have liked to take measurements, to know how fast they could move. He would have liked to take blood samples, to measure blood oxygen, to know how long the mermaid could stay out of the water.
He was never going to know any of those things, and he found that he was content with this reality. He had seen a mermaid before he died. How could he demand anything more?
The mermaid slithered closer still. He could see the small, fluttering membranes inside its nasal passages—the creature was breathing! It was actually breathing! It must have possessed at least rudimentary lungs. But…why? The Mariana Trench was the very definition of deep water. What evolutionary pressures could possibly have led a creature born in its crushing depths to need the ability to breathe air?
“You’re a miracle,” he breathed.
“You’re a miracle,” the mermaid echoed, before it leaned up and carefully, almost delicately, ripped away his throat.
Overall I truly loved this book, and I look forward to reading the novel Rolling in the Deep, I am giving this Novella 5★ stars, because I love it, and I can't imagine any way it could be better in one aspect, without removing its amazingness in the others (in this case, I wish we had gotten more of a look into individual characters though processes and emotions, but in doing so that would remove the "documentary" aspect)
This is my favorite passage from the book, spoiler tagged since it is from the last chunk, and is thus ya know... spoiler-y.
“You are a clever thing, aren’t you?” he asked. He didn’t get out of his chair. If there was one mermaid on the deck, it stood to reason that there would be more. They were beautiful predators, and the ocean was a merciless cradle for their development: they would never have survived through the centuries if they had been foolish enough to follow their prey into hostile environments when they weren’t sure of winning. “Do you have a language?”
“Do you have a language?” echoed the mermaid, and slithered closer. It moved like a mudskipper on land, Peter noted. He would have liked to take measurements, to know how fast they could move. He would have liked to take blood samples, to measure blood oxygen, to know how long the mermaid could stay out of the water.
He was never going to know any of those things, and he found that he was content with this reality. He had seen a mermaid before he died. How could he demand anything more?
The mermaid slithered closer still. He could see the small, fluttering membranes inside its nasal passages—the creature was breathing! It was actually breathing! It must have possessed at least rudimentary lungs. But…why? The Mariana Trench was the very definition of deep water. What evolutionary pressures could possibly have led a creature born in its crushing depths to need the ability to breathe air?
“You’re a miracle,” he breathed.
“You’re a miracle,” the mermaid echoed, before it leaned up and carefully, almost delicately, ripped away his throat.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Ableism