This novel was so beautifully written and full of lore, magic, and so much culture. Beneath the beautiful prose lies commentary on the conquered versus the conqueror, the preservation of ethnic differences, and political tensions that make each page incredibly gripping. This is one of those stories that takes a while to get going but once it does, it's just absolutely fascinating. Will definitely be looking forward to more of Ana Lal Din's works!

Roma is a sacred slave of the goddess, and all she wants is freedom. But deserters of their servitude are executed. She has to make the ultimate choice when her younger brother is sentenced to the same fate.
Leviathan is the bastard son of the ruling tyrant, and was raised to be merciless and cruel, despite his soft heart and his clan heritage. When he is shown how he can change what is happening in his country, he must decide if he will continue to follow his father's wishes, or find his own path. I loved this book. It was hard to read, but that's because it didn’t shy away from violence, racism, sexism or any of the excuses people use to blame and assault others. Which also means that the book needs several trigger warnings. Although nothing is extremely explicit, these topics are a fact of life for the characters and are described as such. Not only that, the characters are rich and fleshed out, and a lot of time is spent determining their mental states before a lot of the big challenges become a problem. My favourite part was Roma's character growth, and the little hints at something more going on than just the awful land fights and attempts to overthrow a tyrant. I definitely recommend this book if you can handle a the brutality, and I can't wait for the next one!

The Descent of the Drowned was written by a Muslim author which is what instantly reeled me into the book. Safe to say, the story is just as captivated and intriguing as you work through an intensive plot that will have you hooked at the edge of your seat.

I ended up being unable to get into this story so I had to DNF it early on in the book. The writing felt dense to me and I just couldn't connect.

This was one of my favorites reads of the year so far! Roma is an intriguing character and the world building is vivid and original! Roma lives within the confines of a society who has indoctrinated her in a certain way, throw in a romance and you have the mix of an excellent YA book.

dnf at 10 % . I might pick it up again, but the language was too difficult for me, I had to pick up a translator everytime I didn't understand a word, which lead to me being distracted... As I said, the story has potential and it seems good! I love mythology and this seems like the type of book id love! The author seems to be very talented and ill try to read this book someother time.

The Descent of the Drowned is an Indo-Persian fantasy that melds a darkly beautiful tale about the darkness of humanity and the vengeful spirit that resides within a scorned woman.

The story follows Roma, a sacred slave of a goddess and a member of the lower caste. She has been devoted to serving the Goddess Lamia and forced to serve patrons in an unfair society that sees women as mere vessels without a voice. Roma must rise from the ashes to claim her vengeance or be smothered into silence forever. On the other side, we have Leviathan, the bastard son of the seemingly immortal and tyrannical Firawn. Raised to be the weapon wielded by his vicious father, Leviathan knows a different kind of prison; one that has scarred his mind and hardened his soul. Leviathan must break free from his evil father to reclaim his soul and pave a path to salvation. Roma and Leviathan’s destinies collide and little do they know just how important they are in saving humanity–or destroying it.

This is not only a debut novel, but the first of a trilogy. Our author, Ana Lal Din, puts so much of herself into her creation. There is a real sense of empathy for her characters and a passion to create an epic fantasy that you can sense from the first page. However, this debut, there is much growth and development to be had. While the characters are carefully drawn and the world built upon a basic understanding of Indo-Persian culture and pre-Islamic Arabian mythology, the writing sometimes lacks that connective tissue. Meaning, the characters seemingly teleport from one place to another, events happen in rapid succession with no clear timeline, and the crux of the narrative doesn’t pick up until the back half of the novel – which can feel somewhat frustrating as the first half lags with a ton of exposition and buildup.

Despite some flaws in the writing, the actual content of the book is fiercely engaging. Firstly, this is not for the light-hearted, and I struggle to suggest it to teens. It is very much a narrative for adults or those who are prepared to read about, well, the worst of humanity. This book has everything from sex-based violence, self-harm, PTSD, poverty, human (child) trafficking, forced drug addiction, and a myriad of horrendous actions done to our leads or characters they cherish. It is a depressingly accurate book on the dangers and harsh reality of colonized land and societies that value human suffering over all else. Due to Lal Din’s background, the book feels honest and raw rather than condescending and violently stereotypical. There is a keen awareness that despite this being a fantasy, the reality depicted in her novel is a pure reflection of our world today.

Ultimately, what will keep readers engaged until the end and beyond (The Blood on the Blade, I look forward to reading you), is Roma and Leviathan. Lal Din does an excellent job crafting characters whose actions and thoughts are so clearly realized that the anticipation of what they will do next has you in a panicked state. These characters are victims of circumstances beyond their control and it is in their ability to regain their freedom of choice that the book comes alive. The excitement that comes from them building up their courage to stand against the forces that hold them down has you feeling like you are standing on the edge of the cliff with uncertainty as what lies below. The book is slow and tough to jump into, but well worth the struggle as this ends with our characters being at a dangerous crossroads. What will happen next?!

To sum this up, Lal Din has quite the book on her hands. The Descent of the Drowned is a socially aware fantasy that makes you want to scream into oblivion and that is the sort of thing any reader wants. What is most effective about Lal Din’s writing is her ability to evoke such strong and visceral imagery and emotion. She is well on her way to becoming a formidable force in the fantasy realm and is certainly an author to watch.

This was a DNF for me at about 15%.
Maybe I didn't give it enough time but I could not click with this story or the characters. There was a lot of info dumping in the beginning. And some triggering content (def dark fantasy)
I would consider revisiting this book at a different time, but where my headspace is right now, I could not finish this book.

A fantasy debut by a minority author written in foreign lands. If that doesn't get your blood running, then dive into this book! The story is rich and the characters are fully fleshed out. The language is descriptive and plants you right into the world.

This novel is an Indo-Persian #ownvoices novel inspired by Pre-Islamic Arabian mythology and it is as ravishing as it is terrifyingly thrilling. With poignant prose, The Descent of The Drowned reads strikingly evocative of identity redemption and lends to an intensely vivid plot for the senses. Fans of dark embellished word choices, multicultural elements, and mythology, will enjoy this amazing debut novel by Ana Lal Din.

Roma, one of the main characters in this novel is a devadasi slave to a God. As an abandoned babe, she was dropped off on the temple steps of Lamiapur like an orphan after she was born under the full moon. At age 4, she was dedicated to Mother Lamia, with many other girls and she must live as a chosen one. Considered vessels to the gods, refusal to abandon her patrons is the worst crime she could commit. Yet, she is tormented in her devotions to the divine, the belief system she was brought up with and the many wounds inflicted on her physically and mentally.

“Patrons are vessels of Lord Biran just like we’re vessels of Mother Lamia. And we should be grateful for our sacred zaat because we’re safe. If we didn’t worship-“
“Safety is an illusion,” Roma interrupted. Meriel and Goldie turned their heads toward her. “And the nature of an illusion is to deceive.”

Leviathan is a soldier of the highest brutality. Son of an immortal tyrant and a mother of the clans, he is torn between two worlds. He wants to be free of what the controlling Firawn made him, but when his mother died, his identity burned with her.

I am ashamed to say I did not finish this book. The subject matter was too harsh for me. I loved the idea of it but the reality was that it triggered things in myself that I would have rather not.

This was a pretty good debut but I have somewhat mixed feelings over it. First of all, I liked the rich and vivid worldbuilding, the dark themes present throughout the book were pretty well-executed, and I loved seeing the mythology. The main characters were also well-written with clear motivations and well-developed arcs. What really stumbled me was the pacing, which was way too slow for me at times - too much space was given to the set up and things started feeling very dragged out to me. The plot felt a bit vague to me as well and we don't really get a proper resolution at the end either. Basically, this book felt like a very long prologue and I would've liked to have some catharsis. Overall though, this was a fairly good book for a debut with a lot of potential and I hope the follow ups will be even stronger.

Arc provided by netgalley. I was so excited to read about this book mainly because of pre-Islamic Arabian mythology and because it was written by a hijabi woman and I was not disappointed! I struggled with the plot in the first half, but this is not a fast paced book so that must be why. I found the characters likeable and the author raised awareness to many important topics.

TW/CW: rape (not explicit), self-harm, suicide, death of a parent, gore, drugs addiction, prostitution, sex, human trafficking, transphobia.

The story is set in a fantasy world inspired by South Asia. Talks about Roma who was dedicated to goddess Lamia since childhood and raised in the temple. In this world there are a castes' division - or zaat - and Roma will be called to honor the gods and serve a male patron (with her body).
On the other side there is Leviathan, the son of the big ruler who is very cruel and rules with fear. Throughout the story Levi struggels with himself and the things he has done in the past.

I found the story to be extremely detailed, sometimes you can feel that the plos is slow and the magic-system is not clear - I am not sure how it works.

The author mentions in the acknowledgements that she wanted too spread awareness and explore the theme of power in human kind and what people do for power.

A great fantasy coming from a muslim author, love to see the diversity, the story was unique to itself, I would've appreciated a faster pace, but the last half of the book kept me at edge, I couldn't even stop. Indo-Persian fantasy with lots of mythology but a kind heads up for you, if you're going into the book thinking it to be a light hearted fantasy, please don't do that, it touches on dark themes and topics like slavery, prostitution of woman, children and transgender people, abuse, rape, self harm and more and might not be for you, if you're into light reads. That being said, i might even die after that cliffhanger, i need the next book ASAP.

For me this book was a bit hit and miss, I really enjoyed the premise and was really looking forward to reading and although I really enjoyed it, I’m not very familiar with pre-Islamic Arabian mythology and it did throw me out of the story a little. But I did like learning about it through this book and I think that is what makes this book stand out from the crowd as it isn’t something you see very often.

This was a really different read than what I expected. It was good, and I definitely recommend it, but it was not the best or most entertaining I've read this year.

This book hooked me from the beginning. It was an engrossing story with real-feeling characters. I would recommend this.

I have perfectly curated my Instagram feed to solely feature artists that create book (and Star Wars) fan art. It’s glorious. I love seeing how people bring my favorite characters to life, and I indulge in each unique style and expression. I share this because this is how I discovered The Descent of the Drowned by Ana Lal Din. She posted @adamar.art‘s portraits of the main characters in advance of her debut novel’s release date. I caught a glimpse of Roma and Leviathan and was done for. Now I’m here to tell you months later to read this book and support new authors and your friendly fan art creators.

Magic has been leeched from the land and a drought rages against a colonized Indo-Persian civilization ruled by a tyrannical leader known only by his title: the Firawn. A ruthless caste system keeps people in order while religion keeps them fearful. Roma was abandoned and raised as a Lamiadasis, a slave that serves the goddess Lamia. She dreads the day when she will be called to honor the gods and serve a male patron with her body. Leviathan is the bastard son of the Firawn and has been honed into a violent weapon to serve his father’s interests. He tries to keep the darkness at bay and takes risks to help his mother’s ostracised people in the clans. As Roma begins to question her place and purpose in the world, Leviathan grows reckless in an attempt to avenge his mother’s death. Paths become tangled as their choices begin to usher in the beginnings of opposition and unrest under the Firawn’s rule.

If you already think you know how this story goes, I assure you – you don’t. The Descent of the Drowned shocked me senseless, and I loved every gut-wrenching moment. Lal Din’s debut novel trailblazes its own unique path. The story features mature content and I’ll note trigger warnings for slavery, rape, human trafficking, abuse, suicide, and self-harm. While nothing is detailed in explicit terms, these instances are present and affect our main characters. In most stories, I find authors shove these happenings to the background, but Lal Din brings them to the forefront to make powerful statements about inequality. I found the story to be extremely detailed, especially in terms of people’s appearances. Some may consider these details extraneous but I see it as another way Lal Din draws you into the world. She wants all your senses engaged as she paints a picture – and she continues to share art on her Instagram.

There are a lot of themes that can be examined in Descent, but by far my favorite was the consequences of actions. Every decision made by Roma and Leviathan left a wake, causing unintended ripples that reverberated across the lake of their social circle. And the resulting actions are…brutal. As the reader, you see everything through Roma and Levi’s eyes, and it makes the consequences that much more difficult to bear. The cause and effect is so profound I actually dropped my jaw in surprise several times when reading. The thing is, Lal Din didn’t shy away from the aftermath of her character’s decisions. Again, I find that most stories have outcomes that are muddled or pushed aside but here it’s shoved in your face and asks “how are you going to deal with it?” It was refreshing to see characters really struggle, to see them be selfish and scared knowing that their choices aren’t always easy or right.

The world feels so much bigger than what I got to see. A lot is hinted at but not revealed…at least not yet. My worldview was very limited as Roma is confined to a sacred compound and the surrounding city. And while Levi does travel quite a bit, it’s never really about where he is and more about what he is doing. I also barely scratched the surface of the elusive magic the Firawn is so desperate to harness. But Descent is setting the stage for something bigger. Lal Din planted several seeds that have the potential to blossom throughout the series. I have no doubt she has something exciting in-store.

Lal Din crafted The Descent of the Drowned’s dark themes with care and shed light on complicated human experiences. It is a uniquely daring and compelling story, and it’s flying too low on the radar for my liking. The book absolutely deserves a spot on your TBR, so I hope you’ll pick it up and expose yourself to this captivating debut.

Rating: The Descent of the Drowned – 8.0/10

This book had such an intriguing premise. I was so excited to dig into it.

While it was somewhat entertaining I just couldn't quite connect with it or the characters. I felt like I never got invested in what happened.

I did love the dark setting and the abundant cultural influences! It was very unique and interesting.
This book was definitely darker than I expected. I didn't mind that but I think it's more of a "new" adult book than YA.

Overall, a good story but not my favorite book.