The Vanishing Deep is a story set in a future where most of the earth has been submerged underwater. The premise is really intriguing and one that we haven’t seen much of. The story brings up themes of sisterhood, love and loss, and the ethics around life and death.
The protagonist, Tempest, was easy to connect to except for the fact that the author kept trying to paint her as socially awkward and off-putting…which isn’t how a protagonist should come off to a reader. So I suppose it’s a good thing that she was a sympathetic character to me despite supposedly being not one. It just felt like an unnecessary aspect of the character that the writer had tried too hard to implement for the sake of trying to make Tempest seem “different” or unique. Tempest seemed a perfectly worth and sympathetic protagonist without it.
Also, the more I read, the more the explanations for the rules of the world bothered me. Many of the most important aspects of the magic system/science fiction, were simply stated as fact without any support, asking the reader to suspend their belief and simply accept what is being told to them. It seemed all too convenient and that was really dissatisfying. It was enough to make me want to put down the book. However, the story was an easy read—perhaps because it didn’t require the reader to go too deep as every aspect of the story was very superficial.
Overall, I think it was a fun and easy read. It would definitely make an alright beach read. But there are so many other books that I would recommend reading over this one that are also fun and easy reads, but are also better developed and much more satisfying.
The protagonist, Tempest, was easy to connect to except for the fact that the author kept trying to paint her as socially awkward and off-putting…which isn’t how a protagonist should come off to a reader. So I suppose it’s a good thing that she was a sympathetic character to me despite supposedly being not one. It just felt like an unnecessary aspect of the character that the writer had tried too hard to implement for the sake of trying to make Tempest seem “different” or unique. Tempest seemed a perfectly worth and sympathetic protagonist without it.
Also, the more I read, the more the explanations for the rules of the world bothered me. Many of the most important aspects of the magic system/science fiction, were simply stated as fact without any support, asking the reader to suspend their belief and simply accept what is being told to them. It seemed all too convenient and that was really dissatisfying. It was enough to make me want to put down the book. However, the story was an easy read—perhaps because it didn’t require the reader to go too deep as every aspect of the story was very superficial.
Overall, I think it was a fun and easy read. It would definitely make an alright beach read. But there are so many other books that I would recommend reading over this one that are also fun and easy reads, but are also better developed and much more satisfying.