DNFing because the book isn't gripping me, I'm not a fan of the prose. Props for being unique though--the underwater creatures and settings are hard to find in fantasy, especially in YA and adult.

Thank you to NetGalley for sending me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Fathomfolk by Eliza Chan is a political fantasy set in an aquatic city that is home to humans and creatures of myth also known as "fathomfolk." Creatures like sirens, sea witches, kumihos, and more that are struggling to find peace in a city where the classes are heavily divided and many are suffering due to prejudices and mistreatment.

The author did a wonderful job of creating a world thick with tension and rich descriptions that made the reader feel like they were truly immersed. However, I really struggled connecting with the characters and the story itself. It felt a bit clunky and slow at times and the main characters were either benign or unlikeable.

For those reasons, I gave this book a three star rating. I think that it could go either way for readers and so if you're one the fence, its worth giving it a try. The world building alone was really great and worth diving into.

Fathomfolk is a complex story, weaving together a story from the perspectives of several different women trying to live in a society where fathomfolk are second class citizens, powers curbed and agency stolen in many respects. It did a lot to fan my indignation and frustration as I read. You come to understand why everyone moves through Tiankawi the way they do. The world building happens along the way, which I feel is a lot more reader-friendly than the info-dumping I’ve experienced in other books. That said, I could’ve used some descriptive epithets in the beginning or maybe a short “terms to know” page.

The split in the narrative was a little off for me at times. There was a solid stretch about 1/3 into the book where I feel like I didn’t hear about Mira at all. While true that her role is fairly straight forward, I felt her absence in those chapters. Also because her role was straightforward for so long, I also thought there was a certain lack of nuance in Mira’s struggles professionally and in her relationship with Kai. I wish we’d seen more of why they were in love earlier in the book instead of jumping in right when their relationship started becoming strained. I appreciated that the readers are shown all the ways big and small that being the chinthe captain isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, but I was slightly frustrated at Mira’s seeming complacency with it. I know she as a character felt that you need to change the system from within, but it was hard to see play out. By the end of the book, the world is changed, and I appreciate the growth Mira has undergone.

Nami is the quintessential unreliable narrator. You understand why she’s making her choices, but I knew they were all going to lead her down the wrong path, especially as the manipulation to shape her decisions became clear. I think she could be considered the primary protagonist; her growth throughout the book is notable though not always linear.

Serena is infuriating. She’s everything you love to hate, and as much as I loved seeing her plans go downhill, it was at great cost to the rest of Tiankawi, including all the other characters.

I'll be interested to see what wrenches Cordelia throws into the mix in the next book. She’s got a lot to claw back.

Ultimately, I did enjoy this book quite a bit. It wasn’t a consistently engaging read, but I thought it was a good book and I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for the sequel. I enjoyed the weaving together of all of the different cultures to create the myriad of fathomfolk. I think Tiankawi is a world that starts to explore the impacts of mixing lots of different people and the pains as they try to co-exist. It’s not perfect, but the characters are all trying for a better future for everyone.

I received my ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my review.

I'm honestly confused about all of the low star reviews for this book because I absolutely loved it. Was it a little on the nose at times? Sure. Was it less of an adult fantasy and more of a YA? Totally. But was it an absolute RIDE? Yes!

There's so much mythology and folklore in this world that Eliza Chan crafted, while also feeling like a fun mix of The Little Mermaid and a Hayao Miyazaki movie. So yes, of course I freaking loved it. I like that she mixed in a lot of political intrigue and racial disparity into Fathomfolk and let that motivate a revolution. We follow characters with their own motivations and standings in Tiankawi, allowing us to see more of the world. I think that future books will read more as NA as we explore the world further and deal with the fallout of the ending. I can see the problems that other people had with it, but I just couldn't put it down.

*Thank you to Orbit and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review*

Many thanks to NetGalley and Orbit Books for an ARC of this book.

This debut novel is the first in a trilogy set in a dystopian fantasy world peopled by “fathomfolk”, so called because they are an adaptive species possessing qualities of both humanity and undersea creatures, and also by just plain humans. Thanks to ongoing environmental crises triggered by human greed, unthinking pollution of the water supply, and over consumption, the world is in a precarious state. Its inhabitants live mostly in semi-submerged city-states. Only two of these remain as ‘havens’, as they tumble like dominoes into a uninhabitable condition, and as neighbouring states go to war over scarce resources. Starvation and disease are rampant, and desperate refugees pursue dangerous and exploitative means to escape to the havens.

No exact period is established for when this is taking place, nor any exact geographic area. The places described are fictional lands with names drawn from a number of Asian cultures, past and present. But the story is uncomfortably close to what is even now happening on earth. The struggle for safety and the conflict between the privileged and underprivileged, in each society and in the world, are disturbingly familiar.

Author Eliza Chan was inspired by Asian myth and legend, and some of the character’s names, beliefs, rituals and symbols are recognizably Korean, Chinese, Japanese and Indian. The fathomfolk are not one people, and she shows how their differing customs and appearances also denote different castes and hierarchies. They include a minority of mixed-race people, like the main character, Mira, the half-siren half-human captain of the border guards, who knows full well that she was appointed not because of her high grades but as a “trophy”. She is meant to represent both the absence of racism in Tiankawi, a human-dominated half-submerged city-state, and its opportunities for the underprivileged. Her siren mother, whose name and customs suggest South Asian heritage, was a refugee who married a Tiankawian human. Her father’s family was always suspicious of the “estuary” child and her mother, and her father abandoned them when she was very young. Mira grew up in the city’s worst slum, where most of the refugees lived in abject poverty on rickety boats.

Most of the fathomfolk, mythical characters like sirens and water dragons (the highest rank among them), possess both amphibious characteristics and the ability to disguise as humans to avoid frightening humans, but mostly to protect themselves against human hatred. Even though there are instances of suspicion and prejudice within their own ranks, none are so arbitrarily hateful as the reigning humans. The fathomfolk can look human but can’t live without gills, the mark that gives them away. And so they are the ‘bottom feeders,’ among other derogatory terms, in a society determined to keep them contained there.

Chan tells an evocative fable-like story in this first book. The multilevelled world of submerged, semi-submerged and above-ground communities is colourful and lively, its clashing sounds and colours giving it a sensual texture. Mira’s self doubt, lack of confidence, and self-destructive compulsion to ‘play her part’ as subservient to her human commanders is very believable. As an estuary (mixed race) person, she fits nowhere. Her loving and devoted partner, the magnificent Kai, the water dragon lord and ambassador to Tiankawi from the only other remaining—but fast deteriorating—haven, is honourable and compassionate. For me, this is part of the problem. Except for a few depraved fathomfolk who exploit both sides, but whose personal histories at least explain why, the humans are a undifferentiated lot of nasties. Especially those in power, who are racist, anti-refugee, cruel and extremely class conscious—even to poor humans. While that is certainly believable, it’s also disappointing. There isn’t a single decent, humane, noble, human leader. Maybe that’s for Book 2. This one ends with the usual hook for the sequel, but one that is very well done.

Fathomfolk takes place in the fictional city of Tiankawi, where humans and sea-folk (“folk”) live together in not-quite harmony. The setting and characters are a pan-Asian blend of various mythical water creatures (plus a few Western ones), and the plot follows three folk women: Mira, a half human/half siren captain of the guard, in a relationship with the Minister of Fathomfolk and working to create better conditions for the folk; Nami, a dragon who’s the younger sister of the Minister of Fathomfolk falling in with a group of folk radicals; and Cordelia, a sea-witch who makes bargains with human and folk alike to advance her own interests (whatever those might be).

Fathomfolk has some positives going for it, but ultimately I didn’t care enough about the plot or the characters, and likely won’t be picking up the sequel. I enjoyed the setting of Tiankawi and the myriad types of sea folk in theory, but I would have liked to explore more about the folk culture - everything felt sketched in broad strokes. The only character I was interested in was Cordelia and her machinations (Mira being a bit too self-sacrificing and Nami being too immature and reckless), and the author is a bit heavy handed depicting the prejudice against the folk and the hierarchies within the folk itself. Plotwise, the first 40% of the book was a bit of a drag to get through; I did find it to pick up after that and the plot grew more interesting, especially as Nami discovers more about the truth of the city. Overall, I think there was a lot of potential here that just wasn’t fulfilled, but I’ll be keeping an eye on the author’s later works.

3.5/4 stars rounded up

Honestly, looking back on the entire book, I enjoyed Fathomfolk. I especially enjoyed the imagination of Eliza Chan, bringing together a unique world. The world-building was probably some of my favorite as Tiankawi is a partially submerged city of stilted buildings, poverty and wealth, as well as humankind and fathomfolk - a conglomerate of uniquely described beings that can live on land or underwater. The book was quite slow for me through the first half, but I get that some of the world-building needed to progress before the storylines. I didn't find the characters to be loathsome as some readers have, but I did have a hard time figuring out Cordelia's motives beyond sowing chaos to increase her business opportunities.

The second half of the book picked up for me and I enjoyed some of the character changes throughout. The relationship between Nami and Firth is not something I enjoyed and I think the reasoning for that will be revealed in the second book of the series (hopefully). I also didn't particularly enjoy the ending. There are a lot of political and cultural lines that are drawn throughout this book and the ending felt like a bit of a cop-out way to "bring everyone together." It felt out of place and rushed. Will I read the second book? Likely, as I did enjoy this book more toward the end and I did feel connections with some of the characters, so of course I want to see what happens to them moving forward!

Thank you to NetGalley, Orbit Books, and Eliza Chan for allowing me the opportunity to read an advanced readers copy of Fathomfolk in return for giving an honest review!

This review was made possible via an ARC through NetGalley

Fathomfolk by Eliza Chan is an adult East and Southeast Asian-inspired fantasy that uses Asian and Celtic mythological creatures sources including kappa, kelpies, kumiho, sea witches, and sirens. We open with Mira, a half-human half-siren, being made captain of the chinthe border guard despite distrust towards sirens. The half-submerged city, Tiankawai, has a lot of tension between the fathomfolk and the humans. Nami, a water dragon princess and Kai, Mira’s partner’s sister, is sent to live with Kai after she breaks one too many rules and steals a water dragon egg. Nami’s dedication to the cause of equality for fathomfolk is shaken when a human is beaten in front of her and being told that a kumiho created an illusion isn’t enough to convince her that something else isn’t going on while Mira is facing difficulties at work as tensions rise.

This is more of a mix of broadly East and Southeast Asian culture and Celtic folklore and British names. The food and culture, the descriptions of architecture, and the tensions between human and fathomfolk and different species of fathomfolk create a rich world that feels unique but isn’t overwhelming.

Tensions between fathomfolk and humans and the chinthe border guard reflect real world discrimination and inequality, with the humans looking down on the fathomfolk from the top of the city while the folk live in the bottom half of the city. Nami reflects the youth being passionate about political movements and dedicated to creating change while Mira and Kai represent trying to change things from the inside in the ways that they can. Cordelia, a sea witch, represents achieving your goals by any means necessary, including pretending to be someone you aren’t.

One thing I was delighted to see was the handful of parallels to The Little Mermaid, one of my favorite fairy tales/Disney movies. I wasn’t expecting it and I loved how those aspects were integrated.

I would recommend this to fans of Asian fantasy, readers looking for more books featuring mythological sea creatures, and readers looking for a political fantasy that feels really personal and focuses on the female POV.

Enchanting storytelling woven with an intricate world and characters fighting for justice by any means necessary. A stunning read

This book follows the perspectives of several female characters in their experiences of the city Tiankawi, which is where the plot of the book takes place. All of these characters are extremely complex and unique, and I found myself with conflicting feelings for all of them. The characters are written in such a way that I am rooting for them and cursing them for their foolishness in the same breath. I think the author wrote the complexities of the characters very well and I was torn between loving and hating some of them.

The political climate in the book is pretty intense. A lot of scenarios that are very applicable to the world today play out, and I found myself feeling outraged on behalf of the characters because I could truly sympathize with the frustration and injustice of their situations.

The magic system made sense, and I enjoyed the diversity of the mythological characters that were presented in the book. The main characters' personalities and the creative use of mythology reminded me of Shanghai Immortal by A.Y. Chao, which I really enjoyed.

Unfortunately, a DNF for me at 25%. While the premise was interesting, this book needed a lot of editing. and for a book about a water based society, it was very dry. I enjoy an unlikeable MC, but I really found all of the three main characters obnoxious and impossible to sympathize with.

A massive shout out to Netgalley for allowing me to review this title.

Fathomfolk by Eliza Chan was a book with a really interesting and unique premise, but which still tackled important topics. But sadly it was only for the last 25% that I really felt invested in what was going to happen.

The story is set in a world where mythical sea creatures from all cultures have the ability to shift into human form and live on land. This is especially prevalent in the human city of Tiankawi. But fathomfolk are not equal. In fact, they are treated as a threat to the humans, with limiters put on their arms to keep them from harming any of the human folk.

The plot follows a young Dragon that wants to prove to her mother that she's capable of what her family expects of her and who also wants equality and justice. But this causes her to make wrong choices and along with a host of other characters that try to sway her, it all escalates quite quickly - and not for the better.

For the majority of this book I struggled to feel a connection with any of the characters. They do grow throughout the book, and they do have redeeming qualities. But I think what happened was that this book had such a massive scope and input of ideas, that the elements of what make you care about characters got lost.

All in all, the book was okay. I'm not sure if I'll continue with the sequel when it's out, but we'll see. There are some threads that I am curious to find out more about. And hopefully the follow-up will be a little bit more direct. But I have to say, I really did like the portrayal of the dragons!

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit books for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I was excited to get into this knowing it’s an Illumicrate monthly pick, the cover is gorgeous, and the premise sounded absolutely amazing. That said, I just didn’t connect with anybody. This book fell short for me and it may be that I don’t like politics what hit too close to reality in my fantasy mythology books and this one deals heavily with subjects like that despite the mythology.

The world of Tiankawi is diverse, colorful, and easy to picture. I enjoyed the multiple points of view. They helped me see more of the world and better understand the struggles of the characters. The ones that could be seen as ‘villains’ were hard to dislike. I understood why they were doing what they were doing. Though I did have a bad feeling about one of them in particular, which proved to be sort of correct. I enjoyed both the political and natural world aspects of this book. It really showed the struggles between different groups of people and of those trying to protect the land. It showed what could happen in situations where the land is too damaged and that’s the one part of the book that made me sad. I’m happy to see there’s a book two coming to this series and I looked forward to reading it.

* Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit books for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own*

I was so excited for this story. I loved the idea of a world full of aquatic creatures from various Asian mythology, folklore and religion. And that cover is just gorgeous! Unfortunately, I didn't end up loving this book. The vast array of creatures in this book may have been it's downfall. With all the different mythical beings it was hard to follow which character was which. They were different but not different enough. The characters also felt very one note and not complex which added to my confusion of who was who. I enjoyed the plot overall but to truly love a story I need to connect or feel for the characters. I also knew this story would be a hard for me to love it was based in/on the water because I don't connect with seafaring stories very well. I think there is a lot of potential not only for this story but Eliza Chan as an author as this is her debut. I still highly encourage anyone who is interested to give this story a go.

This world had a great chance to be something incredibly interesting and creative, but I feel every time there was more world building I got more confused about what was going on.

The first half of the book was very slow, however the second half there was always a new event occurring. There were several times where I felt a desire to know what happened in the weeks between these event, how did the Fathomfolk react vs how the humans did? I will say I felt the action scenes were very well written and explained I just wish there had been a little more context as to how and why we got to this point.

I really did like all three of the main characters, they are what makes this 3 stars for me. Each one I thought had a unique view of the world and what they wanted to do to change it for the better. I hope to see more of the political sides of each in the next book.

For this being a debut fantasy novel I do think that it was a good start and can't wait to read more the author!

I unfortunately ended up DNFing this book. I really like the concept and the world building, but I just couldn’t get into the story. I wasn’t connecting with the characters which is important for me as a reader.

3 stars

I let this book go at around the 13% mark. Though the synopsis sounded perfect, the cover is beautiful, and on paper all the stars should've aligned for me, I couldn't push myself to read any further. The world building was beautiful, but I wasn't able to fully connect to any of the characters, which surprised me especially for Nami, the defiant water dragon.

This may just be a case of "right book, wrong time," and if I were to pick it up at a different point down the line, I might be able to devour it in one sitting. Unfortunately, that doesn't happen to be now.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing a free digital ARC for my honest review.

I was really hoping to love this book as the cover is beautiful and the synopsis and hype around this book sounded incredible to me.

I was just very disappointed because I felt pretty much zero connection or interest in the main characters. Some of them were just boring and others I downright didn’t like.
Additionally, the first half of the book was so slow for me. I really had to power through to not DNF before 50%. The plot did pick up in the later parts of the book however it was hard to finally be invested when all of the world building and character introductions took place much earlier at the start of the book.

What i did love about this book was the world building and the writing style as both felt very artistic and beautiful. I’m sad that I loved that so much yet I couldn’t love the story because of the plot and characters.

Thank you so much NetGallery and the publisher for approving my request.

I had high expectations for this novel because of its intriguing promise, but unfortunately I ended up DNFing after a few chapters, as the book was evidently not for me! I will not be posting any reviews on public platforms as I do not find it fair given that I did not get to experience the entirety of the book and don’t have a fully developed opinion to share.

My thoughts on Fathomfolks:
Overall, I found the world building to be the most fascinating aspect of the book, and the fathomfalks were intriguing creatures to explore, the politics also seemed promising, but all other aspects did not pique my interest, from the plot to the characters or the slow pacing of the story, nothing seemed to work for me.
Although I'm appreciative for the opportunity to read this book, I'm saddened that it wasn't as enjoyable as I had hoped.