This book by description had SO MUCH POTENTIAL. The world building is lovely, how cool is a city on a waterfront? With visuals like this it's hard to not appreciate the what Eliza Chan created here. The vibes and visuals, excellent. Those two things don't make a cohesive book, or full fledged story.

What fell short for was the characters themselves. With three POVS, each with their own strengths and motivations, the plot and pacing should have moved this book at a faster rate. Mira is the first Fathomfolk to reach Captain in their military and WANTS to make change. She wants to help humans and fathomfolk live harmony, pave the way for others to do the same. She unfortunately is more of a wet blanket at times than an actual active person. Things seemed to happen to her, not her making things happen. I liked her at first, she wanted to do good, just something about her character fell flat for me.
Nami is the sister of the ambassador for the Folk(as I will be calling them from here) who lives on land. She's... brash, and short-sighted but I don't think it's necessarily unrealistic for her age.
Cordelia(I will never not think of Buffy when I hear this name, this the wife of an affluent man. She just sort of creates chaos? So at least she was doing things? But they weren't great.

I couldn't connect with them.

I'm not sure how I feel about the ending as well. I have more mixed thoughts about this book than straight forward and thats actually a good summary. Just, meh. I think it would have been better marketed toward a YA audience, than an adult.

Thanks Netgalley and Orbit books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

I really wanted to like this book more, but ultimately it fell flat for me. I think this book was very ambitious and that unfortunately worked against it in terms of what the author managed to execute. Really interesting worldbuilding and ideas though!

The short blurb and the cover drew me into reading this book and it did not disappoint. Fathomfolk is an intriguing story set in Tiankawi where fathomfolk and humankind coexist. Although initially I rated this book a four star, after some reflection, I dropped it down to a high three star review.

First, the aspects I enjoyed. The idea of fathomfolk is quite rare in books I have read, and I really enjoyed the integration of different species of ocean creatures living amongst humans. I enjoyed the politics-it did remind me of Jade City, where characters had to navigate their roles and expectations in Tiankawi. The descriptions and atmosphere was creative and beautiful. The challenges the characters faced, Mira's career for example, was so realistic and full of set-backs. I felt the frustration of dealing with the racial tensions between the folk and humans.

Parts of the book were not as adult fantasy as I expected. Characters are quite one dimensional, they are either good or bad. Someone is in love without conditions or they hate someone entirely. I wish characters were shown more through their interactions as opposed to the author telling the reader about that character's personality/feelings/etc. Nami especially did not grow as a character, although perhaps that's just speaking to growing up in general (falling back into patterns, rash decisions). Moreso the YA aspect of this book

Am I going to be awaiting the sequel? Yes. I'm waiting to see how my favourite captain fares in the next novel.


Thank you, NetGalley and Orbit Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Fathomfolk is set in an immersive world where the city of Tiankawai is semi-submerged under water due to climate change. The premise was very promising. The cover is absolutely stunning and is what drew me in to reading the book.

I really enjoyed the world-building, especially in the first half of the book. I think the author did a great job with creating a lush environment. The magic system was quite interesting as well - we have water shifters, dragons, sirens, and more sea creatures. However, I did think the characters fell a bit flat. Other than Mira, there were no other characters that I was interested in or rooted for. I also found the multi-POV to be a bit hard to read, especially because the chapter would end at a pivotal scene (and not like a cliffhanger) and the next chapter would pick up from the perspective of another character in the same scene (or a completely different scene). There wasn't a cohesive plot, which works in character-driven stories, however as I did not feel invested in the two of the POV characters, the pacing felt quite slow to me.

I think the premise and the ideas were quite interesting and promising, but perhaps could have been executed a bit better. But overall I think this was quite impressive for a debut novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit books for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Still not a fantasy person, but this was quite enjoyable! In this novel, fathomfolk are water creatures from various folklores (I had to look up many of them) who somewhat coexist with humans in a semi-submerged world that seemed to me like what our future might be like if we don't do better managing climate change. Eliza Chan addresses issues around class, the environment, refugees, and more within the context of the Pan-Asian world of her construction. She explores complex questions around the various forms that activism and anti-oppressive work can take. While some of it was predictable, the world she created was so vivid that it kept me engaged. In the right hands, this could be visually spectacular. I am looking forward to the second installment!

The concept for this book is amazing! I could picture it so vividly and was hooked from the description. Unfortunately, the execution is very much lacking for me. The world building went on too much without giving me something to care about while I learned. Often, the timeline was hard to follow. Ultimately, I’m left disappointed.

I’m so disappointed that I didn’t love this book. The cover is absolutely stunning and the summary sounds so good. Unfortunately I couldn’t get into the story, even after multiple attempts.

★★★★★ - 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰
Fathomfolk by Eliza Chan
Book 1 - Series
༘Spoiler free ༘
⭐️3.875/5
🌶️
Epic Fantasy, Political Fantasy, Urban Fantasy
Multi POV
➳ Dragons 🐉
➳ Revolution 💥
➳ Mythology 📜
➳ Urban Setting 🏙️
➳ Partially Drowned City 🌊
➳ Equality 🟰

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

💖
LIKES:
⋆ Intricate world building, with vivid imagery and descriptions that make you feel submerged in Tiankawi.
⋆ Triple POV provided for an intimate view of the social/species based inequalities, and helped really spark the passion and fire for Tiankawi’s revolution.
⋆ The political intrigue in this book was exquisite, and complemented by the beautifully immersive setting. Once the groundwork for the world and magic system itself was laid out, i loved getting into all the political/social plot points.

❤️‍🩹
DISLIKES:
⋆ This book is packed with worldbuilding, as well as action. The first half of the book is heavily world building. As such, the pace doesn’t start flowing smoothly until after 50%
⋆ There is *a lot* that happens in this book and I think that this could have been two books, with the plot or worldbuilding more evenly distributed throughout the book.

**Fantasy Scoring**
Worldbuilding ➷ ✅ 5/5
Foreshadowing ➷ ✅ 3.5/5
Plot ➷ ✅ 3.5/5
Relationships ➷ ✅ 3.5/5

Thank you to the Eliza Chan, Orbit Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to provide my honest opinion on the ARC of this book.

I really wanted to love this book, and it did have some really great parts!

Things I liked: -the world-building is a neat concept. I loved that the author incorporated different water creatures from various mythology.
-Mira’s character was complicated and novel, a good foil to Nami
-Kai

Things I didn’t like: -the pacing. There were times I couldn’t tell how much time had passed or how events lined up
-Cordelia’s motivations seemed murky at best

In general, I just felt like something was missing. A neat idea that just fell flat. 3.5 stars

Thanks to orbit books and NetGalley for the digital ARC.

Unfortunately this book was a DNF at 26%. I felt that the world building was lacking. I also was not a fan of our main female character so it was very hard for me to care about the story. I might come back to this one but I am not too sure.

I was really looking forward to reading this, and I ended the book disappointed and feeling very let down. While the world was immersive, it was extremely drawn out and I had to convince myself not to DNF the entire first half. I wish I had though, I wasn't entertained or engaged. The cover is beautiful and the concept is unique, but the execution was lacking for me.

Tiankawi is the beacon of hope, the city of wonder where humans and Fathomfolk can gather together in harmony…or is it? With the layout of the city, humans are literally looking down on their Fathomfolk counterparts. Fed up with their treatment, an anti human extremism group decides to take things into their own hands causing upheaval and worse for Tainkawi.

Chan tells the tale of Fathomfolk through the eyes of half-siren Mira, water dragon Nami, and sea-witch Cordelia. As with most multiple POV stories, I tend to gravitate towards certain characters wanting to continue their POV chapters. I was particularly drawn to Mira and Cordelia. It was easy to feel for Mira as she did everything she could to improve her city and make positive, meaningful changes only to be thwarted at every turn. I also enjoyed Cordelia’s POV because of all the strings she was pulling without anyone being the wiser. Her craftiness in scheming was impressive. Unfortunately, I wasn’t a fan of Nami and her POV. While I recognize her POV was necessary to give insight to the rebel group, her decisions were frustratingly predictable. I felt the world building as well as the magic was immersive and well done. One of my struggles with this story was the plot. I wish it had a faster pace as it slowed down too much at times, in my opinion. This definitely felt like an information heavy book preparing readers for the sequel. After the ending, I am curious to see where the author goes with the next book in the series.

eARC courtesy of Netgalley and Orbit

Thank you so much for the eARC and for the opportunity to continue to support AAPI authors!

Fathomfolk sounded amazing, with an interesting preface and who does not want to read more about Asian Mythology??

I felt like this book unfortunately fell short. I found myself wanting more world-building, more character development, and more attachment to the characters. The action definitely picked up in the second half which was exciting and very magical! I just wish that more of it had started in the beginning as well.

Hopefully through a few more rounds of edits, this book will be more polished in time for the pub date. I did love the "will they won't they" romance of Nami and Firth, which feels undone-hopefully we will get more insight into their relationship in the next book!

Overall, this was a magical and interesting glance into different Asian Mythologies and I loved the description of the cafes, the movement of the water, and of course, the strong sense of communities. I would recommend this book to anyone who liked The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea.

The world building was beautiful and the characters were believable - two things I love in good fantasy. The idea of a semi-drowned world is so intriguing and the socioeconomic and political disparities that will create especially when you throw in the folk makes for a fast paced read with so much dimension.

This is an excellent debut from Eliza Chan. If you've read Jade City trilogy by Fonda Lee you'll definitely be a fan.

This is a multi-pov book that has themes of xenophobia, classism, romance, and revolution. Interestingly there is also a little bit of a A Little Mermaid influence with a sea witch and a siren.

I liked this book, but it was a little too dry for me. The first 50% of the book was heavy world building with strong references to the political structure of not just Tiankawi, but the whole world. Even with all that world building, I still felt like the book could have done with more background on the past and how the world got to be how it is. Basically there is no or very little dry land left in the world. Humans barely co-exist with fathomfolk on semi-submerged cities. It's not going well either as humans continuously exploit fathomfolk and keep them at the bottom of society.

I did think the love story between Mira (siren) and Kai (a dragon shifter) was very sweet. Whereas the love story between Nami (Kai's sister and dragon shifter) and Firth (Kappa...maybe) was toxic hot garbage. I appreciate the realistic depiction of an emotionally abusive relationship because I think it helps people identify the signs in their own lives. Just because it's fantasy doesn't mean there aren't real world application.

This is a solid fantasy novel especially for fans of Fonda Lee.

Thanks to NetGalley and Orbit for the ARC.

(Full review from Goodreads)

I honestly think this book is incredibly misunderstood. This is a story that comes from experiences within a diaspora community and how othering has come to define immigrants while also tackling the heavy topic of xenophobia. I’ve seen other reviews that will complain about the mixing and mashing of different mythologies within the book, but isn’t that what a the lumping of minority groups basically stands for for the majority? The lumping together of different ethnicities simply because of their geographic region? Just something that I think some people might have missed in their read-through, but again, this is their opinion and I’m not shaming them for it. But going into this expecting a fun and simple Asian mythology inspired water tale is doing the book an incredible disservice. 😔

The fathomfolk of this fantasy world are a mishmash of different water creatures from all over the world. From the kelpies and selkies of the British isles to the water dragons and kappas of Chinese and Japanese folklore. I thought it was really cool getting to see all these creatures together in a multicultural like manner as it helps set the tone for them all coming from the ocean/water. And even within the fathomfolk community lie prejudices that is prevalent in some real life minority groups. The othering of these water creatures as an “us vs. them” concept really set up the tension and premise of the novel as the POV characters attempt to navigate a world that is set up against them in the first place. 🌊

Mira is a half-siren and her story revolves around the prejudice that she faces as one of the fathomfolk but also as a human. I honestly related to her the most out of all the characters because I have faced some of her personal problems in my own life as an interracial adoptee, from the incredibly invasive and uncomfortable questions from strangers to that of people questioning your “proficiency” in your native language. While it was a bit too close for comfort, it really made me feel seen in a way that I actually wished this kind of book was around when I was a young teenager trying and failing to get my bearings as a Chinese adoptee in a white (and later on Hispanic) majority area. 🧜‍♀️

Nami was an interesting character for me. She is both a spoiled young woman from a privileged background, but is willing to learn from her prejudices and mistakes. She’s also rather easily manipulated as she gets roped into a scheme that turns out to be both nothing that she thought it was, and way in over her head. I can understand her stance on activism as I have friends who are very much in this mind (even though I tend to lean more towards Mira’s perspective). Her maturity in the book evolves over the course of the plot, though at times I do feel like she backtracked here and there which would sometimes be frustrating for character development. 🐉

The last two POVs of Cordelia and Serena were interesting. I won’t talk more about them in case of spoiling the plot for others, but they both will do anything to protect those that they love, even if it means doing despicable things in order to get their way. I am excited to see where Cordelia goes in the next book though! 🐙

The world building itself was great, it did feel at times a bit daunting. I do feel like there could have been a bit more info about the world here and there instead of bits and pieces as the story progressed, but in the end, I pictured something like a half submerged Hong Kong. 🌆

In general, I thought the story was done very well overall. As much as the characters were frustrating in their own way, it made them out to be more real people to me with their faults and morals. Again, I think people should be going into this book not expecting a mythology retelling like read, but instead a fantasy that is based on diaspora communities struggling to thrive in a system that wants nothing to do with them. Definitely worth a read for those who liked the racial tensions and prejudices that were present in the Daevabad Trilogy with kickass women who’ll stop at nothing for those they love and deem to be a worthy cause. 🪸

Big thank you goes out to Orbit Books and NetGalley for accepting my request to read in exchange for an honest review. And to the author, Eliza Chan, for writing an incredible book that tackles diaspora themes in a fantastical way that still feels relevant in today’s times. 💙

Publication date: February 27!

Overall 4.25/5 ⭐️

This book really shines in its worldbuiling. The half-sunken city of Tiankawi was vibrant and beautifully rendered, and it feels like the author gave this world a lot of thought, which I appreciate. I tend to gravitate to Asian-inspired worlds, and Tiankawi did not disappoint.

The novel has three POVs, and while I liked them all, I think I enjoyed Mira's perspective the most. I think the thing that may deter some readers is how political the novel is, but I do think the politics and focus on fathomfolk rights was handled well and was really interesting.

The writing is very accessible. I think this book would work really well as a crossover novel for readers who typically read YA fantasy and are trying to branch out into adult fantasy. Overall, I would definitely recommend this novel, especially to fans of The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea!

Thank you to Netgalley and Orbit books for granting me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

My Rating: 2/5

The premise was really interesting and I was excited about it. A semi-submerged world with Fathomfolk and humans, trying to find equality and a balance to coexist. I wanted to love it, but I just couldn't get through it.

I unfortunately found the whole thing boring. The story, the characters, the writing... I couldn't drag my way through. I was never interested in any of the characters or the things they were going through. I struggled to follow and want to follow the different storylines.

The cover was beautiful, the blurb really drew me in, and the idea of this world is still one that I love, but unfortunately the book was not it for me.

~ ARC received through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The world in this book is so incredibly imaginative and I loved the dual world created with an ecosystem both in and out of the water. I felt that Mira was a very strong lead and Serena was such a fascinating character to follow.

I do feel like some of the water elements were not explained and so had to suspend my disbelief a few times which took me out of the story. I would also say that this book was packed to the brim. I think taking out a few explosive moments and focusing more on each individual one would have really helped some of the emotional beats later on.

2.5 stars

“Fathomfolk” is a triple-POV fantasy set in the wildly wealthy city of Tiankawi, which is home to the humans that live on land and the fathomfolk (water dragons, kappas, sirens, and more) who live in the waters that run beneath the city. While I absolutely loved the concept and the worldbuilding, all three different points of view sounded the same to me, with nothing unique to distinguish them, which I found disappointing. The overall writing style also just didn’t really work that well for me, which is definitely subjective and shouldn’t deter anyone from trying this book - there are definitely a lot of things to recommend it.

My thanks to NetGalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.