The conversations in this book were just so awkward. Nobody talks like that. The relationships, the choices the characters made, the circumstances they constantly found themselves in... it was just lacking in plausibility in every conceivable way. I had a similar frustration with reading the similarly plotted classic Jurassic Park. It just seemed like a story that is so heavily based on science should have been composed of more intelligent individuals. But I guess it's a story that warns of human hubris...
Because of how awkward the writing (mainly the dialogue) is in this, I had a really hard time getting into the story. On top of the melodramatic/stilted dialogue, there were so many entire paragraphs in parantheses. I suppose this was done to indicate that it was background on an recently mentioned topic, but girl it just wasn't necessary, and it was annoying. Until the creatures started invading the ship, I just was not motivated to open this book and read. While I didn't hate any of the characters (other than Tory's ex, I don't even remember his name now), I just found their motivations unreasonable or otherwise bemusing. I could not figure out Theo's entire characterization at all. I liked the Olivia x Tory dynamic, but I wish we had gotten more of it, in some kind of epilogue maybe. Speaking of which, while I wouldn't be a proponent of this book being any longer than it is, why was the ending so abrupt? It was like "they were saved, yay, the end". A lot of aspects of the book did not make sense to me and honestly would make me think the book was written by an inexperienced author, which of course I know it wasn't.
I will say: once that plot picked up, I did kind of get into the story. I was able to very easily coast through the last 200 pages or so. By that point I had figured out how to tune out the bad writing in order to just enjoy what was happening. While I thought a Sci-Fi/Horror book would be scarier than this, the book does a good job at blending science and suspense. I will commend the author for how much research probably went into learning about several different fields of marine biology in order to write this.
Side note: Why is the book called "Into" the Drowning Deep? Literally only 1 person goes into the water and is immediately killed (2 people, if you count Tory's very late and brief encounter, but still). It'd be more aptly titled "On Top of" the Drowning Deep, but I guess that doesn't have the same ring to it.
Final verdict: The writing is bad, but the book is not completely unreadable.
Because of how awkward the writing (mainly the dialogue) is in this, I had a really hard time getting into the story. On top of the melodramatic/stilted dialogue, there were so many entire paragraphs in parantheses. I suppose this was done to indicate that it was background on an recently mentioned topic, but girl it just wasn't necessary, and it was annoying. Until the creatures started invading the ship, I just was not motivated to open this book and read. While I didn't hate any of the characters (other than Tory's ex, I don't even remember his name now), I just found their motivations unreasonable or otherwise bemusing. I could not figure out Theo's entire characterization at all. I liked the Olivia x Tory dynamic, but I wish we had gotten more of it, in some kind of epilogue maybe. Speaking of which, while I wouldn't be a proponent of this book being any longer than it is, why was the ending so abrupt? It was like "they were saved, yay, the end". A lot of aspects of the book did not make sense to me and honestly would make me think the book was written by an inexperienced author, which of course I know it wasn't.
I will say: once that plot picked up, I did kind of get into the story. I was able to very easily coast through the last 200 pages or so. By that point I had figured out how to tune out the bad writing in order to just enjoy what was happening. While I thought a Sci-Fi/Horror book would be scarier than this, the book does a good job at blending science and suspense. I will commend the author for how much research probably went into learning about several different fields of marine biology in order to write this.
Side note: Why is the book called "Into" the Drowning Deep? Literally only 1 person goes into the water and is immediately killed (2 people, if you count Tory's very late and brief encounter, but still). It'd be more aptly titled "On Top of" the Drowning Deep, but I guess that doesn't have the same ring to it.
Final verdict: The writing is bad, but the book is not completely unreadable.
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