Deeplight

by Frances Hardinge

[HekArtemis]

I really liked the world, the idea of the ocean gods, the loss of religions and break down of the priests. I liked most of the main characters and loved Quests back story and revelations. I wasn't expecting this to feel so much like an investigative thriller type novel, but I kind of liked that too. Making deafness and hearing loss and sign language a commonplace thing was an interesting addition and I thought it was done well and made a lot of sense.

"a friendship as dark and dangerous as the ocean" - what that means is our mc, Hark, is in a very abusive familial relationship with his "friend" Jelt. Jelt is a jerk. This book really captured abuse well actually. The way Hark was gaslit over and over. But because it captures abuse well it's hard to read.

Overall I think I really liked this book. The abusive friendship detracted for me though.