alyssaarch's review
4.0
Finally, we get the story that Haydon has been leading up to since the first book! Ven goes underwater with his merrow friend, and Char comes along. I was very excited to read this and I’m sad that there aren’t any more Ven books that have been published–it seemed like the end of it was leading up to something else (maybe another book), but oh well. At the very least, this book concludes rather satisfactorily while leaving a bit open, so I guess we have to use our imaginations for now to fill in the rest.
As usual in these books, Ven is out of his element, but it’s heightened to a great degree in this one, since he and Char have procured a way to breathe underwater, so they join Amariel in her home–under the sea! Char annoyed me more than usual in this book because he was so grumpy about joining in the adventure, but insisted on not being left behind. But, other than that, I really enjoyed the characters, both returning and new.
I especially liked how things work in the ocean. You don’t talk (because water doesn’t carry sound very well), but there is a thrum to the ocean that can carry your thoughts to other people, so you have to be very careful about what you think and what you’re allowing to be carried by the water. I really liked this idea and it helped transform the ocean to almost be otherworld with how differently everything worked, like sleeping, moving about, talking, etc.
It’s hard to say much else without giving spoilers, but it’s a fun, adventurous fantasy. I’ve really liked all the previous books; weirdly, I don’t think you need to necessarily read this one in the order of the others, since it’s quite different and only has Char continuing the adventure from previous books, so you don’t need the foundation to understand what’s going on. It’s wonderful to read about random events happening and then have them woven together beautifully at the end; the main climax really is quite wonderful. I’m hopeful that maybe (eventually) future books will be published, but until then, I’m happy with this series overall.
Also posted on Purple People Readers.
As usual in these books, Ven is out of his element, but it’s heightened to a great degree in this one, since he and Char have procured a way to breathe underwater, so they join Amariel in her home–under the sea! Char annoyed me more than usual in this book because he was so grumpy about joining in the adventure, but insisted on not being left behind. But, other than that, I really enjoyed the characters, both returning and new.
I especially liked how things work in the ocean. You don’t talk (because water doesn’t carry sound very well), but there is a thrum to the ocean that can carry your thoughts to other people, so you have to be very careful about what you think and what you’re allowing to be carried by the water. I really liked this idea and it helped transform the ocean to almost be otherworld with how differently everything worked, like sleeping, moving about, talking, etc.
It’s hard to say much else without giving spoilers, but it’s a fun, adventurous fantasy. I’ve really liked all the previous books; weirdly, I don’t think you need to necessarily read this one in the order of the others, since it’s quite different and only has Char continuing the adventure from previous books, so you don’t need the foundation to understand what’s going on. It’s wonderful to read about random events happening and then have them woven together beautifully at the end; the main climax really is quite wonderful. I’m hopeful that maybe (eventually) future books will be published, but until then, I’m happy with this series overall.
Also posted on Purple People Readers.
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