Review: Deeplight

Deeplight by Frances Hardinge
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ok this is not my normal kettle of fish (haha see what I did there) but actually enjoyed it a lot!

It's weird!

There are monster-gods!

Lots of fish and fishy things!

OH! FISHY THINGS HA HA GET IT COZ EVERYONE IS UP TO SUSS.

Wow, look how well my brain works after all this science and sea. Sorry. I need some time to dry out.

Also, Jelt is a JERK.

***
A day later ...

Okay, here I am to write a proper review for this highly unusual book!

Shall I give you the plot?
Hark is a troubled young orphan being constantly led astray by his best buddy, Jelt. They're living in a world where the gods are dead and pieces of them can still be found in the ocean. These pieces can be used for technological advancement - or sold to the highest bidder. Naturally, one particular piece might just be lurking, waiting to get Hark into an ocean of trouble ...

Ah, Hark. He's a good kid at heart but he's terrible at saying no and is completely blind to how toxic his friendship with Jelt is. It really frustrated me because I respected his loyalty but man was it misplaced. He does manage to make some other 'friends' though so at least there are other characters for us to like. PHEW.

The gods are freaking COOL. I mean, forget everything that you know about gods. These guys are basically all tyrannical monsters that once lived in the ocean devouring seafarers and ships and submarines and basically the floor was lava only the floor was an ocean full of these guys. They're gone now but their legacy is ingrained in the inhabitants of the Myriad and there are still some priests with memories of the time they terrorised humanity with their godliness. I loved the stories and was right by Hark's side when he was pestering people for more information. It was really fascinating to learn about these dark deities. It got dark enough to actually give me nightmares. That was unexpected. This is not a cheery story, my friends.

The world building in this story is incredible. It's limited to the Myriad, and while there is talk of 'the continents', they don't feature in this book. This is all about Hark's tiny world and it is full of the most amazing details. It's an interesting blend of science and mythology - I want to say magic but it doesn't feel like the right word here. It's more like ... the science in this world is just really different to the science of our world. These gods were real things and their makeup has provided advanced technology to those who have scavenged parts and experimented with them. It provides a lot to ponder.

The ocean features heavily (obviously) but the sea-creatures are limited in favour of all the weird and wonderful things that also reside in this strange double ocean. Maybe you should just read the book to figure out what I mean about that - I am not equipped to explain it other than to tell you it is equal parts strange and awesome.

Honestly, normally this much ocean and this much length and this much frustration with a main character would have turned me right off but I just found the whole thing so intriguing, so even though I would get frustrated with Hark there was still so much more I needed to know. Hark may not be particularly likeable but he's an honest sort of character, and he needs the length of this book for his growth to be realistic.

There are a lot of moral questions here if you want to think deep, but on the surface this is just a really unique story about a world far different from ours. I loved the complexity and the details, though there was never so much it weighed down the story and kept it from travelling at a nice steady pace.

It does get quite dark in places and there's not really any humour in it, but it raises some really interesting ideas and provides some wonderful characters for us to judge with all of our perfect righteousness (note sarcasm). I feel quite justified in calling Jelt a jerk, though. It's been a while since I hated a character this much.

Highly recommend for those looking for a unique coming-of-age tale set in a wet, tumultuous world of dead god-monsters and strange science.

With thanks to Macmillan for a copy to read and review

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