I am so deeply in love with this world building I want to live in it for the rest of time. It’s the star of the story, it creates such a lush and unique place to be and sets the perfect tone for the story. While it does overpower the character building, I think it won’t weigh the series down if the next book allows the reader some room to breathe and see some bigger growth in the characters.

I also loooove me some good political fantasy and this plot doesn’t miss. The underlying themes of immigration, racism, classism, and oppression are woven beautifully throughout the plot and into the characters. I would have loved to see the characters dig into these areas of the story more, but as I said there’s hope for the future so it’s not a major loss for me.

I’m really excited to see where this story goes next, I’ll definitely be grabbing the sequel!

Thank you NetGalley for the arc!

If fantasy that leans more literary is your thing, this one is a must-read. Beautiful language, complex characters, and a well-developed world with an allegory for immigration and diaspora.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc! Opinions are my own.

Incredibly creative, lively, and complex world. I'd give 5 stars to that alone, especially when presented in a debut novel.

For me, what this story lacked was individual depth to characters. Every one seemed to have very similar voices, which caused a lot of them to blend together instead of shining through individuality.

The world presented in this novel is very unique and it's very lively and wonderfully described. I really enjoyed how the author built the world and the politics of fathomfolk and humans as well as reflecting real-life issues of living a poor immigrant life as well as tying it to realistic themes of classism and racism.

Unfortunately, the biggest downfall of the novel for me was the characters as I had a hard time following the narrating characters and who is what and whose goal was which. Their voices sounded really similar to each other and I frequently got confused about what was happening in the story. Otherwise, this is a pretty good introduction to a series, and would highly recommend it to people who have a deep knowledge of Eastern mythology and a deep fascination with the sea.

DNF at 25%
This book has a lot of potential, and for a debut novel I am impressed with its complexity- a unique concept, rich world building, political intrigue, tackling relevant issues.
But for me, it lacked a “hook”, that initial spark that pulls me into a new novel and leaves me grappling for more. Perhaps this comes in time, but a quarter of the way into this book I still do not find myself invested in any of the characters or plot points.
I think this could be a great novel for fantasy lovers of complex political plot lines, but perhaps not as much for readers who need that emotional connection to characters.

I really wanted to like this book, but truthfully, I found it hard to get into the worldbuilding. This is partly because it kind of ... overwhelmed the book? There was so much that went into it that it sometimes overtook the characters and story, or distracted from it. I think I'll give this another try when I have more time to really focus on the book and don't have so many others in my reading queue, but for now, I wound up putting it down about halfway through.

This book was such an immersive experience – it truly felt like a Studio Ghibli movie was playing in my head as I read. The gorgeous cover promises an experience that is reminiscent of part Ponyo, part Spirited Away, though the actual content of the story is quite different.

The author’s strong suit is wordbuilding – I would love to read book after book set in this world. Tiankawi is a sprawling city that is semi-submerged – with humans quite literally peering down from their ivory towers on the fathomfolk, aquatic beings like dragons, sirens, kelpies and more. This aspect of the story reminded me of Palestine, as many things do these days, and the blatant injustice of this all (in occupied Palestine, Israeli citizens and IOF forces quite literally force Palestinians to live below them and peer down at them, tossing their garbage at them). Regardless, you can imagine that with such horrid treatment of the fathomfolk by humans, this is a story that tackles xenophobia and discrimination, especially because the humans have forced fathomfolk to wear a bracelet that prevents them from accessing the full range of their powers.

The story follows a number of characters: Mira, a half-siren who is a cop (which pains me immensely because the most level headed character was a bootlicker); Kai, a water dragon prince and ambassador of the fathomfolk; Nami, his headstrong and radical sister; and Cordelia, a sea witch. Their story lines weave together and tell the tale about the stirring of revolution in the face of social injustice and climate disasters. My heart twinged in particular around the theme of immigration and fathomfolk climate refugees that are trying to escape to Tiankawi just to survive.

Overall, this was a very well done book and I’m looking forward to the sequel, though I hope, with the world already established, we can get some character development to have them more fleshed out (Nami, in particular, struck me as a bit two-dimensional – despite the number of times I wanted to shake her in frustration).

Special thanks to Orbit Books and Netgalley for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest opinions.

This is the first book I have read by this author, and I enjoyed it very much. Beautiful language, how well its written, the story was stunning.

I received this as an ARC from NetGalley/Orbit Books and was so excited to read this. The cover is absolutely stunning and the storyline intrigued me. I also love the underlying theme of the story. However, there was so much happening it was sometimes hard to figure out what was going on. It wasn't until the halfway mark that things started to click for me. Unfortunately, it felt like there was something lacking throughout. So much was going on, yet at the same time the story wasn't moving. Another issue I had was that for all the different characters we see, I didn't really click with any of them. For as much worldbuilding as there was, I only got crumbs of the character's backstories. Regardless, I hope in the second book all the small plot holes are filled and we can delve more into the character's themselves!

Thank you to the folks over at Net Galley for an early e-reader of this book.

And what a delight it's been.

Fathomfolk is told with the same whimsy of a fairytale, a satisfying helping of fantasy grit, and generous dash of romance. Rich world building, but a rather slow pacing with beautiful imagery that punctuates each scene. I feel this is a book you have to take your time with, but I also wanted to dwell on each heavy topic, each heated question, each moment like it were a sweet sucker candy.

Fathomfolk is a story /about/ the world, and the people in it propel it forwards; this often means at the sacrifice of complicated characters, but their drives were unique and interesting enough that kept me invested. People, after all, breath life into the world and the city of Tiankawi could hardly exist without the interesting comingling of fact and fiction. In all, I really enjoyed the rich story telling of a world balanced at the edge of a knife, where not everything is what it seems, and smart descriptors overlap with interesting dialogue.

the worldbuilding is exquisite, and the prose flows beautifully. I can see this book becoming a BookTok staple in 2024!

This book was so stunning and immersive. I loved all the descriptions of the world and it's an ideal read for anyone who revels in complex politics and themes of standing up for what's right.

I gave fathomfolk a 4.5 / 5 stars. This book would be good for fans of political based plots, gorgeous settings, magic, and east and southeast Asian mythology. If you liked City of Brass, or Sue Lynn Tan, give Fathomfolk a try!

This book was absolutely beautiful. It follows Mira, a half siren captain of the guard in Tiankawi, a half submerged city where seafolk of all varieties live in the water below the humans, who look down on them both figuratively and literally. This book is about magic and revolution and the power of a single (or a few) voices standing up for what’s right. The setting is beautifully described, from the glitz and lights of the upper city, to the grime and pollution of the water. It felt like I was really there. The multiple POV worked well for this book, with each character offering important insight to different events that made every perspective fun to read.

I deducted half a star because I struggled to get into the book the first few chapters, but once it picked up it was non stop action, and a major cliffhanger ending! I cannot wait to get my hands on a physical copy of this book, and I cannot wait for book two!

Overall, "Fathomfolk" is an absolute gem of a collection. Eliza Chan's masterful storytelling and poetic prowess make this a must-read for any lover of folklore and fantasy. I cannot recommend it enough and eagerly await more of her work in the future. Five stars without a doubt!

ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

An unexpected surprise of a debut. Fathomfolk punches without relent from beginning to end!

The story of Fathomfolk is centered around 3 main characters: half-Siren military leader Mira, recently exiled dragon Nami, and seawitch Cordelia living in the submerged city of Tiankawi. A supposed haven where humans and Fathomfolk are to live side by side, not with humans stepping on the folk. Oppressed, living in polluted squalor, and with their powers restricted - a civil war is brewing as the Fathomfolk continue to be pushed into further desolation.

You really get surprised with this novel, the artwork is obviously beautiful but it deals with heavy topics of immigration, civil war, climate crisis, and racism. Chan delivers on a coherent and heavily bricked story that pulls no punches with the discourse around oppression, intersectionality, and the taxonomy of activism. How far are you willing to go for change? What does successful change look like? How will you know you've made things better?

My criticisms lie primarily within the consistent barage of information and world building without fully forming the characters. I struggled with the narration as I was suddenly lost in who was the focus of each scene. Additionally, the first 50% of the novel still had me scratching my head with what the main plot was. From political drama to ending on a more fantastic note, don't be fooled from the beautiful cover - this book is rich with relevant social commentary.

I'm interested to see where Fathomfolk goes and look forward to (hopefully) seeing more of that fantasy element.

I was a little disappointed with this one, as my typical taste is for more character driven stories, especially in fantasy. I'm not impressed with tropes or romance and this book relied on both I think. I think it is very much a plot driven story. However, something being not my taste does not mean it was bad! I simply didn't enjoy it, but I predict that this is still the type that would fly off the shelves.

It's exciting, a very richly set story. Perhaps the setting and the political condition, to me, is the main attraction. It’s incredibly creative and new, unlike anything I have ever read before. I enjoyed Kai and Mira’s connection and the way it changed through the course of the book. The romance between Nami and Firth is full of slow burn and pining. Ultimately it’s a story of injustices, of diaspora, class struggles, but also hope and revolution. Each of the characters had their own way of navigating that. Their story is fast paced, action packed, and a load of fun!

Recommended for young adults and romantasy readers, comparable to The Water Outlaws. Thanks to Orbit Books and Netgalley for the opportunity to review this ARC

dnf @ 26%

by a quarter of the way through the book i should a) care about the characters, b) be interested in the plot and want to know or care what happens, and/or c) believe in the potential of these things in the future. unfortunately for fathomfolk, i was none of these.

i found none of the characters particularly interesting, except serena/cordelia, but i still didn't care about her or her place in the plot. the plot, which i couldn't parse at a quarter in. an identifiable macguffin should have entered the chat by that point. I understand the themes of xenophobia and systemic oppression are present in the narrative, but i think there were too many things going at once and so much info dumping in the very beginning, it got overwhelming very quickly.

the world-building is exceptional. eliza chan's creativity is incredible and really shines building tiankawi. however, the world is mostly built through frequent info dumps that can get exhausting quickly. i saw other reviewers that this didn't bother, but i think it's important to know going into a book if the world-building will be info dump-y.

3 stars because i didn't dnf it for its being poorly written or bad. it's not! i know it is and/or has the potential to be very good. eliza chan is undeniably a phenomenal author, and this book is clearly a great debut. maybe this book came to me at the wrong time, or i'm just not the right audience. but it didn't work for me. :(

I really enjoyed reading this book. First, the cover is stunning! Second, the world building was beautiful and very well done. I felt immersed in the world from the very beginning and that only grew as the book continued.

The themes of this book are very important especially in today’s world and I think they’re were handled really well. I really enjoyed the use of different fathomfolk to further some of the big themes of this book. I liked how she talked about different ways of going about furthering a cause and some of the benefits or downsides to each. I think the best part of this story was the ways in which these themes were interwoven into the story and shone beautifully throughout.

I wish we got more of Mira’s POV. And I am still confused with Cordelia in a few ways that I am hoping get expanded on in book two. But I LOVED Nami’s character arc, I didn’t like her at all in the beginning and she totally grew on me by the end.

The ending shocked me. Included in that sentiment, is the Epilogue which I think was a fantastic and necessary addition to the book.

I really enjoyed this book and cannot wait for the second one to come out!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Tell me why I’m WEEPING at the end of this book. Tldr Mira is a half siren military captain and she’s dating a dragon emissary named Kai. Kai’s sister gets exiled from their water haven to the earthly shore city to repent. Mostly it’s about racism and global warming with a lot of nuance and I am a shell of a human after reading. This goes just below song of Achilles in how much feeling I have and I just honestly can’t believe how good it was. It took a minute to get into with the world building but it was so fun with all different kinds of water sprites (for lack of a better term). 10/10 would read again and will read the last few chapters any time I need to cry

4.5 ⭐️

Wow! Eliza Chan’s debut novel gripped me from the first page. An intelligent, honest look at immigrations, class, race, and what connects and separates us from each other and from our humanity, in the form of enchanting and mythological story telling.

Fathomfolk tells the story of a community living if the half-submerged city of Tiankawi, where humans and fathomfolk (read: various mythological creatures) live and work. The humans are in power while fathomfolk navigate surviving among the polluted waters and various restrictions enacted ontheir kind- including wearing specially crafted bracelets which harm them if they so much as THINK about harming a human. Through multiple perspectives, readers are carried through the fight for equality, for the right to exist in safety, and are reminded that there is more than one way to fight a war.

+ From the start, this story flowed for me. Some books are that way- I just vibe with the authors style from the beginning.
+ Chan and her characters made me FEEL. I was irritated when characters made careless decisions, enraged by betrayal, frustrated when characters could not see through what I felt were dubious charms. Similarly, I smiled at tender moments and even teared up once or twice. A story that makes me feel is a story I want to read.
+ The characters were very believable. Nami, having been previously quite privileges and sheltered, is young and naive so while her choices are infuriating at times, they befit her character. Similarly, Mira, Kai, Serena, and Cordelia (iykyk!) make choices equally based on their own believable backgrounds, motivations, and experiences.
+ There was a well developed political system and beautiful work building.
+ beautiful set up for the sequels that I can’t wait to read!

I will say this may not be your quick&easy beginner fantasy read if shorter, simpler, generally happy-feel-good novels are usually your speed. This has all the earmarks of a first fantasy novel on a duology or series- ie, it moves slower in the beginning and readers take in a lot of information as an intricate world and magic system is being crafted. Additionally, we are privy to much of the political system and it is important to the plot, so those who don’t enjoy being part of the worlds politics may grow bored or wary while the action is set up. Frequent readers of adult fantasy likely won’t struggle with this, imo.

Overall very well done and highly recommended by this reader. Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Or it for the opportunity!