Into the Drowning Deep (Rolling in the Deep, #2)

by Mira Grant

[Melanie]

My review and an extended sample of the audiobook are posted at Hotlistens.com.

I have been a huge fan of Mira Grant’s writing, since I listened to Feed, the first book in her zombie series, Newsflesh. Now, I jump at every chance I get to read her stuff (though I’ll admit that I still need to try her work under her main pen name of Seanan McGuire). When I heard that she was starting a new series, I jumped at the chance to listen to it.

Into the Drowning Deep is the story of a group of scientist who go out on the search for mermaids. The story start with Imagine Network, a science-fiction TV station that has done some documentary style stories on things like Bigfoot, Yeti and more. Imagine sends a crew out in search for mermaids. The ship and all passengers are never seen again, but there is some footage that was uploaded before the ship went silent.

Fast forward several years and Imagine wants to find out exactly what happened. They get a group of scientists together to go out and find these mermaids. They start with Tory, whose sister was on the original ship.

This book has a great cast of well-developed, diverse characters, which is a standard for Grant. Her characters are completely unique in every way. Dr. Jillian Toth is the scientist who has always believed that mermaids exist. Theo Blackwell is the right-hand man of the CEO of Imagine Network. He’s also got a leg injury that’s left him disabled. Toth and Blackwell are in an estranged marriage. Hallie, Holly and Hannah are sisters and each in their own disciplines of science. Holly and Hannah are twins and both were born deaf. Hallie is their older sister and also the twins’ translator. Olivia is the “host” of this voyage for the Imagine Network. She is the on air personality that will tie all the scientists stories together along with her cameraman, Ray. Olivia is also mildly autistic and doesn’t deal with crowds. Ray is also her protector, when the need arises.

I think two of my favorite characters are Jacques and Michi Abney. I don’t think I would like these two if I ever met them in real-life, but I do like them in this book. I know that sounds weird, but I’ve never claimed to not be weird. Anyway, they are big game hunters (anyone who knows me, knows that I’m completely against trophy hunting, so you are probably really confused as to why I like them). There was just something about these two and their deep love for each other that made me love them. I didn’t like them at the beginning, but the more I got to know them and see them together, I just fell in love (I still don’t like big game hunters though, that will never change).

There aren’t any “bad” characters in this book. I don’t think there is any Grant book that I’ve read. There are “bad guys”, but they are written so well, that you can’t help but fall in love with each and every character (even if you love to hate them). The problem then arises that never in any of Grant’s books that all the characters will make it out alive. These are a sci-fi/horror books after all. I don’t believe you can have a horror story where everyone makes it out alive. That just wouldn’t work.

I really love how Grant writes these stories with excerpts from interviews, news articles and other clips (again, a common theme in her books). You also get POVs from many different characters (though Tory is really the “main character” in this story). I love that you also get POVs from the dolphins (the dolphins were really amazing. I loved them) and even the mermaids, at times. It really helps to get every side of this story. I really hope that we are getting more books in this series. I really want to learn more about this world and about these mermaids. If you’ve never tried Mira Grant, I highly recommend her stories.

Narration
I’ve listened to Christine Lakin in the past, with Rise (an anthology of short stories from the Newsflesh world) and Mira Grant’s Parasitology series. I knew going in that I would like her narration. I thought she did a great job with this series and cast of characters. There wasn’t a single voice that I didn’t think fit the characters. I think part of the reason I loved Jacques and Michi Abney so much, is the way that Christine Lakin voiced them. I thought their voices were perfect for their characters (I wonder if I would’ve liked them as much if I had read the story??)

**I like to thank the publisher for providing me with a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.