Friday, September 2, 2016

Rolling in the Deep

Rolling in the Deep

Rolling in the Deep by Mira Grant is a novella about mermaids- and they're not nice mermaids. It's a found footage type of story about a documentary crew that sails out to the Marianas Trench to find "proof" of mermaids. It's all a hoax of course- the expedition is financed by a network (modeled off the SyFy network?) that is going to air a documentary on their "findings"- kind of like the Finding Bigfoot shows. The problem is, they do find something- and weeks later the ship is found adrift with no survivors. 

This probably sounds like a spoiler but it's actually spelled out in the blurb, so it's no secret that there are no survivors. Rather the story is about what actually happened. And it's a doozy. I had seen this novella around and was curious about it, and I've been looking for stories about nasty mercreatures. This one totally delivered and my only regret was that it wasn't longer. I wanted more. The story is a bit horrifying and there's some lead up, but when the action starts it's full throttle. You know there's bad things coming and I was hoping I wouldn't be disappointed- I didn't want the ending to be anti climactic or a let down. No worries there. 

It can be tough to make you care about characters in a short story like this- there's not a lot of time for characterization and Grant does a nice job making us care about some of these people. There were several that I really would have liked to have survived, and she also includes scientists in the crew. They include different disciplines- cartography, deep sea biology, etc- and the scientific underpinning provides a nice touch. The reader knows what's coming but the crew doesn't, so when the scientists begin to see hints it ratchets the tension up that much more. 

If you like horror or science fiction and want to read about some truly nasty mermaids this is the perfect read. 

 

25 comments:

  1. I ddn't even know this one was out there. I read her other novella this Spring, the name escapes me now, but it was really cool. I will have to look this one.

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  2. I'd only heard of Mira Grant's zombie novel before; this novella also sounds chilling! Glad to hear that it was so good!

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  3. I didn't realize this was a novella, can't see myself reading it now since they are just too short for me. It does sound like it'd be a good read about nasty mercreatures though. I'm also curious how a book can be like found footage. It seems like a unique concept and like it would do a good job of increasing the tension since the reader knows what's coming. And I love the cover!

    Btw, I actually watched one of those fake documentary things about mermaids on TV once lol.

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    1. If you get a chance you should check it out, I'd be curious toi see what you think. I'm not a big reader of novellas either but in this case it was a fun exception. If anything I want more of this kind of stuf- this could have been a whole book for me. :)

      It's found footage in the sens that someone had a camera rolling on board whens tuff happened. So when they found the boat they found the video. Also they had a fake mermaid crew on board to "pretend" they found mermaids- too bad they did. :) And I've never seen one one of those!

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  4. OMG. I have so much rage for mockumentaries like the one Animal Planet did on mermaids. The idea of the "researchers" meeting the horrors of the sea? YES. I will be reading this one. THANK YOU.

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    1. I hope you like it. And review it to share your thoughts lol. This was fun. I've never seen those mockumentaries but I can imagine... and I'm wondering if Mira Grant feels similar to how you do, given the cynicism of the concept in the story.

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    2. Are you trying to say I don't actually review what I read? (I totally never review what I read... LOL.) I wondered the same thing about Mira Grant. She probably hates those things, too. Don't watch them.

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  5. This did a really good job of showing how those mockumentaries are done and the conflict between real science and faux science. And Grant knows how to write some really nasty creatures!

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    1. I thought so, I've never seen those but I like how she had so many boxes ticked off, so to speak. they thought they had all the bases covered. Except for the real thing!

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  6. I like reading about mermaids, both the nice ones and the creepy ones. It's always interesting to see different takes on mermaids. I like the cover for this one, it conveys the underwater feel and the creepy aspect well.
    Reading a book where you already know how it's going to end can be very interesting when well done. It sounds like a good one.

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    1. I haven't read a lot of mermaid stories, but I like the idea of nasty mermaids or at least ones that aren't all nicey- nicey. lol some that maybe resent human intrusion on their domain. that certainly happens here!

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  7. I think I need to read this! I mean, the cover is clearly badass and fabulous, and I have heard great things about Mira Grant so, yeah, it sounds good! Plus, mermaids! I don't think I have read about mermaids like, ever. And a ship with no survivors is one of those things that gives me the creeps, but in a way I NEED to know more about, so yeah, you've sold me! Great review, I will definitely be picking this up!

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    1. Oh yes, you should check this out. I'd love to see what you think. It's nice and short and a little tense, and then of course bad things happen ha ha. I can't wait to see what you think...

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  8. I need this book! I am not a big fan of mermaids but scary ones I think I can handle...lol.

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    1. Yes read it and let me know waht you think!!

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  9. I've not read the Night School series, but I have read The Secret Fire the first book in her series with Carina Rozenfeld. Recently got an ARC the second book as well so will be starting that soon!

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    1. I was looking at that after reading through the first Night School. If that series stays good I may read those as well...

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  10. I've been wanting to read this one, but I didn't know it's a novella. I love horror and mermaids so I'll definitely have to try this one. Great review!!

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    1. Oh it is a great combination of horror and mermaids. and it's short being a novella. would love to see waht you think!

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  11. I've never heard of this one until now. It looks delightfully creepy! I'll be adding this one onto my Goodreads TBR. :)
    Miranda @ Miranda's Book Blog

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    1. It is pretty creepy, and fun too. You know bad things are coming but not exactly when. :)

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  12. Since I found out Mira Grant was a pen name for Seanan Mcguire, I've been growing more and more interested in her work and this sounds intense!

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  13. Glad to see you enjoyed this one! I've been eyeing it for a while. I love stories with nasty mercreatures but they're sometimes hard to find.

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