Into the Drowning Deep (Rolling in the Deep, #1) in Creatures, Creatures Everywhere!

Apr 30, 2018 Lena rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: horror, disappointed, merfolk-may

"They sang no songs of their own, only songs stolen from the victims of their hunger.”

Boo to that ending! Boo I say! This book did not live up to the vicious promise of Rolling in the Deep.

(view spoiler)

These are five star intelligent aquatic monstrosities playing second fiddle to two dimensional uncharismatic fools.

I am insulted on their behalf.

B ...more

42 likes · Like · see review

Sep 13, 2018 Lyn❤Loves❤Listening to Real Voices Only!!!!❤️🎧📚 Addict ON HIATUS rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: why-tf-did-i-bother-with-this, audio, lgbtqia, series-worth-continuing, best-of-the-best, diverse-cast, gruesome, amazing-narrator-performance, well-written-author, horror

5 stars for this unique killer mermaid horror story.

Mira Grant's take on mermaids is creepy as fuck!!

A group of scientists out to prove mermaids are real get more than they bargain for. ...more

36 likes · Like · see review

Jun 15, 2024 Jay rated it really liked it

Shelves: modern-horror, sf

Yes, killer mermaids (well, sirens), but this is genuinely an sf/horror, no fantasy present. (Almost) plausible science aside, this is a thrill. It starts slow, sure, but it all builds to a glorious, action packed third act. The characters are fun, the dialog (in the calm bits, anyway) clever, and there's even a cute little romance (emphasis on little; all sex is offscreen). I enjoyed the heck out of this creature-feature, I hope you do too. ...more

9 likes · Like · see review

May 17, 2018 Melanie rated it it was ok

Shelves: horror, ha-group-read, women-horror-authors

I'm not sure why I'm giving this book a 2 star rating, it's probably closer to a 1. It's not that I really disliked this book, the story itself was quite engaging, it's just that I really disliked Grant's writing. There's an excessive amount of loooooong bracketed paragraphs, which seemed so unnecessary, even to the point of three or four per chapter! Maybe her editor was asleep at the wheel, maybe the printer was supposed to delete them before print, who knows? But she does far too much telling I'm not sure why I'm giving this book a 2 star rating, it's probably closer to a 1. It's not that I really disliked this book, the story itself was quite engaging, it's just that I really disliked Grant's writing. There's an excessive amount of loooooong bracketed paragraphs, which seemed so unnecessary, even to the point of three or four per chapter! Maybe her editor was asleep at the wheel, maybe the printer was supposed to delete them before print, who knows? But she does far too much telling and not enough showing us her character's motivations. For example,

'years of being a woodworker at home and a perfectly groomed, coiffed manager at work had left her father meticulous about anything that could affect either his appearance or his performance.'

I don't want to be TOLD what a character's like, I want to be SHOWN, then I can infer for myself, but Grant tells us every single motivator all the way through. One character in particular is revealed as autistic about half-way through the book, and yet very little of that character's previous behavior showed any autistic traits, (and autism is something I understand quite well).

Maybe Grant just struggles to find good analogies or descriptors? On three different occasions, she refers to the skin tightening around her characters eyes. I think my own tightened from sheer confusion over this, WTF does that mean? Conjunctivitis? A developing sty? That squinty thing people do when they're trying to recognize a smell? I'm still perplexed.

I can see that Grant did a LOT of research for this book, (though some of it is questionable, you're not supposed to hyperventilate before free-diving), but the environmental message was far too in-your-face. As a genre, horror is the perfect place to explore morality and our place in the universe, but really great horror makes us self-reflect, it doesn't shove the message down our throats and tell us what to believe.

Having said all that....

One of the things I liked about the book was the action scenes. The sirens themselves were pretty terrifying and there was just the right amount of gore. If you like your horror more like an action/thriller read, you'll probably love this. ...more

6 likes · Like · see review

Jun 29, 2022 Books_inthe_Batcave rated it really liked it

Shelves: audiobook, horror, audible, suspense

Great suspenseful tale of why you should stay out of the water.
Loved the scientific aspect of explaining the mermaids.
Sadly the ending felt rushed.
Listened to the audiobook version. The narrator did a great job, except the accents were a miss, especially the Australian one.

Like · see review