Into the Drowning Deep (Rolling in the Deep, #1) in SpecFic Buddy Reads

Mar 14, 2018 Philip rated it really liked it

Shelves: horror, author-woman, 2017-releases, sci-fi

4ish stars.

This is my first Mira Grant book, although I've really the Wayward Children series written by her as Seanan McGuire. It has her signature writing style, but instead of the fantastical inventiveness used in her McGuire books, Grant is decidedly more science fictional. And bloody.

She begins with a cool premise - killer mermaids eating faces - and tries to make it as legitimate as possible by including an array of science-y people and explanations. Works for me, I'm now more or less con ...more

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Oct 20, 2017 Bradley rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2017-shelf, sci-fi, horror

Seven years after the fateful voyage of a doomed mockumentary hunting for signs of life in the deep, the fateful Mermaids, a truly scientific voyage is finally put together. The quest? To put the horrible rumors and/or the innuendo to rest. Or, as a few would prefer, to come back with proof positive that:

Mermaids are REAL.

Mira Grant, aka Seanan McGuire, has done it again. She's got this great talent at weaving horror into science fiction and bringing it right back into the horror foreground, and ...more

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Feb 21, 2018 Trish rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Killer mermaids!

It's not a strict necessity to first read the short story, but I do recommend it as it explains in more detail what happened to the ship Atargatis and thus what drives certain people in this novel (not to mention that it's a glorious gore fest).
To keep the premise short: a television network had wanted to shoot a mockumentary about mermaids and therefore sent the Atargatis along with some scientists and other people to the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean. Everyone died, the s Killer mermaids!

It's not a strict necessity to first read the short story, but I do recommend it as it explains in more detail what happened to the ship Atargatis and thus what drives certain people in this novel (not to mention that it's a glorious gore fest).
To keep the premise short: a television network had wanted to shoot a mockumentary about mermaids and therefore sent the Atargatis along with some scientists and other people to the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean. Everyone died, the ship was found adrift later.
Now, years later, the network is outfitting (or, actually, building) another ship, filling it with even more scientists, even better equipment, a security team and some big game hunters to prove that mermaids actually have been found (people are still questioning the video footage) and to further study them.
The problem, however, is not being able to prove the existence of mermaids - it’s what happens after the first encounter. *lol*

Some of the people on board have careers to save (or to build), others just want the money, the hunters are in it for the glory, and a few have personal ties to the original tragedy. All of them are utter stumbling fools.
I also can't believe that a company that already spends this much money, spends it on the wrong things (like training the security guards instead of hiring professionals) or deploying a few months too soon, therefore leaving the ship with several technical difficulties. Sure, those are key ingredients for such a story, but I like even monster stories to be as realistic as possible.

Yes, I admit I was in it for the blood and gore. Therefore, I wasn't too sad about the aforementioned idiocy all around or that basically all characters were pretty flat and walking stereotypes. But I was a bit disappointed nevertheless, because I know the author can do better.
Just like I was disappointed that there was far less blood and gore than I had hoped. *lol* Oh well, at least those I had hoped would die actually did and in almost the right way, too (mostly (view spoiler)), so it was OK.

The science was pretty cool, giving it a bit of a realistic note, making up for some fairly predictable elements. Overall though, the book could and should have been shorter. Several parts, while not being boring exactly, were just too drawn out while some other elements were left too vague, the ending having been extremely rushed even (I understand there will be further books but you have to keep the readers interested).

The action was great though and I laughed with delight during all the death scenes so all in all, this is pretty good popcorn fiction, reminding me very much of those monster b-movies I often like to watch.

...more

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Oct 17, 2019 Dennis rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobooks, horror

Killer mermaids!!!

description

This should be an automatic 5 stars, right?! Well, unfortunately it isn’t.

Don’t get me wrong, it is a somewhat entertaining novel, with a couple of interesting characters and some decent writing. But a research vessel setting sail for the Mariana Trench to look for mermaids that potentially killed the crew of another ship that was lost at sea? This should be a more entertaining book than it actually is.

The problem here is that the pacing is all wrong. The mermaids show up after ...more

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Mar 29, 2017 Justine rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2017-read

Basically this is like Jurassic Park at sea, with face eating mermaids instead of velociraptors. If that sounds appealing, you will probably enjoy it. I think this is my favourite Mira Grant novel since Feed. ...more

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Feb 11, 2018 Cathy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: underwater

I like the main characters, it involves the ocean, I was sold pretty much from the first page. Very entertaining popcorn horror story.

"Do I think they found mermaids?
Yes. Of course I do.
And I think the mermaids ate them all."

The first Ewww!-moment early on. I like to jump right in. I had a great mental image of the you-know-what in my head right away. Creepy!

Oh, and there is humour. Very important ingredient for me. Lots of angst, obviously.

Lots of clichees, predictable, but well done. Very va ...more

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Feb 06, 2018 Veronique rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read2018

“It was beautiful, in its own terrible way.
So many monsters are.”

Having read the novella that introduced these murdering mermaids, I had rather high expectations for this thriller/horror. Grant I’m happy to say didn’t disappoint.

Seven years have passed since the events surrounding the mysterious disappearance of all aboard the Atargatis, but many cannot let it lie, least of all the media company that had commissioned the original trip. A new expedition is put together to find out once and for a ...more

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Nov 22, 2017 Amanda rated it it was amazing

All the stars! Mira Grant is a brilliant storyteller and she is in top form with this book. I really hope this is the beginning of a series but it can definitely be read on it's own (no dreaded cliffhanger ending). ...more

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Dec 14, 2017 Lata rated it really liked it

Shelves: sf-f-h, x2017-read, auth-f

Face-chomping mermaids. And a variety of scientists looking for them. Need I say more? Oh yes, Jillian Toth -- I really liked her.

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Feb 21, 2018 Jo rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

LOVED. THIS! Wildly entertaining. I had so much fun reading this popcorn fiction (new term I learned from the folks from SpecFic Buddy Reads!). Nonstop action, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. First book I've read about killer mermaids, and it was awesome. The ending was a little abrupt for me, and many questions were left unanswered for me- (view spoiler) ...more

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Jun 17, 2020 Sarah rated it liked it · review of another edition

I've wanted to read this for a long time but I was disappointed. I was expecting horror fantasy, which is my sweet spot of fiction, but there was far more talking and talking than anything else. Lots of scientist characters that talked about the science of the mermaids but little genuine suspense or horror. Still a cool idea and the science stuff was interesting, at least. Just disappointing. ...more

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Feb 10, 2018 Cobwebs-in-Space-Ice rated it it was amazing

Shelves: a1-netgalley, armchair-california, a1-i-own-books, armchair-pacific, cold_marathon, 2018_new-weird, 2018_reads, 2018_sword-and-stars_challenge, 2018_sf-vs-f-_bingo_challenge, 2018_let-s-read-indie_challenge

Review: INTO THE DROWNING DEEP by Mira Grant

I've often noted in reviews that I am an aficionado of marine horror, also marine science fiction and marine exploration. I am as fascinated by the Earth' s oceans as I am by space, and the Poles. All this is to say that I leaped headfirst into INTO THE DROWNING DEEP, found it non stop reading, and loved it immensely. This novel has it all: exploration, lots and lots of science (yes, I love that too), human interaction, horror, strong human spirit, hum ...more

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Feb 06, 2018 Hope rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorite-authors, real-science-science-fiction, seanan-mcguire

This needs a sequel. I need for this to have a sequel.

I didn't know I needed murder mermaids in my life. Now, I'm not sure how I lived without them for so long.

I absolutely love how divinely inclusive this book is, and how much I enjoyed the characters.

I will be crossing my fingers until I hear a sequel is on its way to my greedy little, murder mermaid loving, hands. ...more

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