Fathomfolk review

5/5 stars
Recommended if you like: urban fantasy, political intrigue, underwater myths, multiple POVs

Big thanks to Netgalley, Orbit, and the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I really liked diving into the world of Fathomfolk. There’s a lot of interesting things going on with the people and with the worldbuilding, and I think the different perspectives offer quite interesting views on the whole thing.

This book is set in a fantastical post-apocalyptic world where rising seas and the Great Bathyal War resulted in most (all?) land being underwater and humans having to live in a floating city while fathomfolk, live either in underwater havens or as second-class citizens in the city alongside humans. Tiankawi is a fairly advanced city, with skyscrapers and elevator trams to take people places, but it also has its more downtrodden areas as well where people, human and folk alike, have to struggle to make a living. None of our POV characters come from the privileged side of the city, but all three of them end up walking in those circles, and so we get to see different aspects of Tiankawi’s many sides.

Tiankawi is a city on the edge. There are factions within factions and near everyone seems to be scheming in some way. More things are done through backroom channels and underhanded maneuvering than out in the open, which makes it tricky to determine at times where things will go next. It’s definitely a city ripe for violence and I think the situation and where it leads felt very realistic.

I also thought the folk were pretty interesting. There are nagas and dragons and sirens and kelpies, and a whole bunch of other kinds of creatures that I’m less familiar with or hadn’t heard of. It was interesting seeing the range of folk there were and the different ways their magical nature showed up and how that impacted them and their culture. I’m definitely interested in learning more about the various folk in book 2 and seeing how things stay the same or change after everything that happened at the end of this book.

Mira is a half-siren, half-human border patrol who’s determined to use whatever influence she has to try and change the way folk are treated in Tiankawi. Over and over again she’s proven herself to be the best and has climbed up the ranks through dedication and hard work, but she’s also not blind to the things going on in Tiankawi and the way people see her. She takes the stance that things need to change but that meaningful change means exerting influence inside the system little by little until the system is doing what you want it to be doing. Her fiancé, the dragon prince and ambassador to one of the havens, Kai, fits in that same category and the two of them work well as a team trying to get their agenda achieved. Mira is my favorite POV character and I wish she got more page time in this book since I thought she had a very level way of looking at things and had a realistic sense of the humans and the folk. I also really liked her relationship with Kai and thought it was super sweet.

Nami is Kai’s younger sister and has a rebellious streak a mile long. She also wants to change things but is more radical about it and believes the only way to do it is to work outside the law. She was part of a student group in her haven and pulled a stunt that got her banished. Tiankawi surprises her in many ways, and though I do think she began to see both sides of it, there was definitely a part of her for a good portion of the book that continued wanting to use force to achieve her goals. Nami is very stubborn and set in her beliefs, which can make her a frustrating character at times since she tended to act without seeing the whole picture first and kind of had a tendency to make things worse. That being said, Nami undergoes a lot of personal growth in this book and I think she comes out better for it. I also don’t entirely blame her for all of her actions since 1) she does start waking up to reality, and 2) she’s 100% being manipulated by someone who is very good at what they do. I don’t really think all of Nami’s actions are always her own, and once her mistakes are made, she does do her best to make up for them.

Cordelia is another major POV character and is a seawitch with a tentacle in every pot. She makes deals all over the place and is behind the scenes pulling the strings in a surprising number of ways. Cordelia is an interesting character but she’s definitely not one I like, though at times she does seem to make some sympathetic decisions. I just feel like I don’t have a good feel on her and that makes it hard to want to sympathize with her. Her family is clearly a big motivator, but there’s an undercurrent of ambition there that I think drives her more than she lets on.

For side characters, Kai is my favorite. He’s not in it too much since he has his own things going on outside of Mira and Nami, but he’s a gentle and understanding character, and it’s clear he cares a ton about his family, folk in general, and Tiankawi as a whole. He has a lot of grace, even in circumstances where I think it would be okay if he lost it a little. Overall a very lovable and wholesome character.

Trish is Mira’s mother and someone Mira would risk a lot for. Trish is an older siren who’s been around for a while and has seen all sorts of what the city has to offer. Despite that, she’s a lot like Mira and has a very level head about things. She exerts a fairly calming influence as well and I think her and Nami’s relationship is something that Nami desperately needed. She definitely feels like a mother, which is kind of silly to say, but I really think Chan was able to get Trish’s vibe down very well.

Firth is another side character, though he’s a member of the Drawbacks, a radical folk group in Tiankawi that stages demonstrations. They have a reputation for being dangerous, so naturally Nami falls in with them. Firth is a slippery sort and a smooth talker. He seems like someone who’s pretty open and just wants you to give them a try,’ but over the course of the book I feel like his vibe slowly changes to something a little more solid and a little more hardline than he first came across. I’m not really a fan of his character, but I also don’t think we’re supposed to like him. I am interested to see what he gets up to in book 2 though.

The ending of this book was a rollercoaster. So many things came to a head in succession, some of it quite surprising. I liked how all the pieces came together and I liked how unexpected some of it was. One of the solutions was actually downright hilarious, not going to lie, and I’m super intrigued to see where it will go. The ending-ending is bittersweet and I’m holding out hope there’s a solution though I don’t know if I actually expect that or not.

Overall I enjoyed this book and can’t wait for book 2. There’s a lot of getting to know Tiankawi and the culture of the city and the people and folk who occupy it, so the beginning can be kind of slow at times. However, the payoff is definitely worth it and all the characters are intriguing and have depth to them.