Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant is yet another one of my finds from the r/fantasy list of Top Books by Women in science-fiction/fantasy. I had absolutely no idea what the book was about and, boy howdy, was I in for it. (Truthfully, I assumed it was a space book and the "drowning deep" was space. I realize, in retrospect, that this was foolish, but I am going to give myself some grace and not refer to myself as an "idiot" on my own personal web log.)
It's about mermaids!
It's set in a near-future (2022). Seven years ago, the ship Atargatis set sail to create a faux-documentary about mermaids. All hands were lost and the footage of the mockumentary showed mermaids. Some people called it a hoax; others called it a tragedy. Now, the ship Melusine has been decked out by the entertainment company behind the mockumentary to be an oasis for researchers to go find out the truth once and for all about what happened on the Atargatis.
Mermaids! (They're like the dragons of the sea, as far as I'm concerned.)
We soon learn that the Atargatis was not a hoax and the killer mermaids start picking off our characters one by one. Grant is an amazing writer and each character has a different expertise and a different personality and I was absolutely riveted by this book. It's definitely a book about human hubris - the mermaids were living quite peaceably without us and now we're in their business and of course they're going to hunt us. It's a book about the environmental crisis - the usual mermaid food sources are no longer accessible to mermaids and that's because of human behavior, so if the mermaids come after humans, isn't that just the circle of life?*
Mermaids! (Creepy, killer mermaids!)
I honestly can't recommend this book enough. I was absolutely surprised by it and I was so eager to get back to my Kindle every night to read some. Every morning, I'd read it under my SAD lamp and I'd start each morning with a death report to my husband. It was an immersive experience and Mira Grant has just rocketed up my list of science-fiction writers to watch.
*Cue Elton John. Also, isn't it crazy to think there are big animals just roaming around the planet, not behind bars in a zoo or sanctuary? Sometimes I can't sleep because I think about LIONS. I mean, lions don't naturally live in Wisconsin, but what if I stumbled across one on my walks with Hannah? I mean, LIONS. This is my life.
Things I Highlighted:
"Science was all about curiosity. It was a world where the kids who touched hot stoves and poked sticks down mysterious holes in their backyards could get better tools, protective gear, and bigger holes to poke at. Asking scientists not to look into an open box was like asking cats not to saunter through an open door. It simply wasn't practical." (page 173)
Grant's love for scientists shows in every word she wrote, even as she wonders about the ethics of what they do.
"It seemed almost hubristic now, when the mermaids were real and present and dangerous. The Atargatis hadn't found the mermaids through a free and open exchange of ideas. The Atargatis had found the mermaids because the people on the ship were made of meat, and the mermaids had empty stomachs that they wanted to fill. That was how you found things, in the sea. Be delicious. That was all you ever had to do." (page 269)
It seems crazy that humans aren't always the apex predator, but the planet is mostly water, not land. Here there be dragons!
"Science is not a matter of belief. Science does not care whether you believe in it or not. Science will continue to do what science will do, free from morality, free from ethical concerns, and most of all, free from the petty worry that it will not be believed. Belief has shaped the history of human accomplishment - we believe we can, and so we do - but belief has never changed the natural world." (page 475)
This book was published in 2017 and when I think about the debates about science re: COVID, I can't help but think about how prophetic this paragraph is.
Things I Looked Up:
Mariana Trench - In the Pacific Ocean, this is the deepest oceanic trench on Earth.
Challenger Deep - This is a small valley in the Mariana Trench that is at least 10,000 meters deep.
Goananas - This is another name for monitor lizards.
No comments:
Post a Comment