A review by mercapto
The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler

adventurous informative reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

This book was always going to remind people of Arrival with the symbolic language and linguistic interpretation, but it definitely had its own flavour that worked to separate it from this comparison early on. 

It’s an interesting book. I’m not sure if I liked the concept more than the actual execution; it skims the surface of going in a certain direction and then changes to another, like the philosophy of consciousness and humanity and then drone fight scenes and people getting graphically killed. I felt like the scenes where they interpreted the language were too immediate, and too off-screen. They would see the symbol, sleep on it, then suddenly know what it meant, and just seemed too convenient. It would work better as a movie, I can picture exactly how they would film it and maybe that was the problem - it was dying to be a screenplay. 

That being said, it did delve into some interesting concepts of humanity, collective judgment, the worth of different species. I loved the AI fishing boat storyline, and the final reveal in the epilogue was such a nice addition (although I felt it was unnecessary to have Eiko essential be SA’d when he was already becoming a slave. It wasn’t really mentioned again as relevant to his trauma so didn’t add anything extra). 

I like the three separate narratives, and they did eventually come together, but I think it was a lot of build up only for the conclusion to be quite abrupt, especially on Rustem’s part. It all felt a bit rushed in the last 100 pages. I liked Ha, but I would have loved it to be from Evrim’s point of view - I loved them as a character! Maybe the sequel (which it definitely set up as a possibility) will delve a bit more into them post-freedom. 

However, we needed more octopuses! We needed more than shadows of them on a beach and myths! Again, this would work much better as a movie, as it risked repeating the same imagery that fails to have the ‘wow’ impact with each interaction. A flash of something, did you see it?, a moment of recognition when there was doubt if they were intelligent. 

Mostly unrelated to above, but I’d love to be a robot monk saving turtles. I don’t think it was a coincidence that the artificial characters were the most likeable. 

I know I’ve said a few negatives here, but ultimately I liked this book a lot despite the flaws. I actually finished reading it while walking down the street which I never do because I needed to know how it ended! I would enjoy a film adaptation if one was ever made. 


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