I enjoyed the overall story and setting of this story but felt as if I needed more development in the characters. For their positions in Tiankawi, I wish they had all made certain strides towards being more aware of the situation and having a plan to counteract whatever came at them.

First I would like to say I am BEYOND grateful to @elizachanwrites and @orbitbooks_us for sending me this copy of Fathomfolk. I remember one day coming across this cover and I KNEW I wanted to read this. I really enjoy reading fantasy inspired by other cultures/folktales/etc. So I was very interested when I heard about this one!

Fathomfolk is a debut fantasy duology by Eliza Chan that is influenced by Southeast Asian fantasy as well as many real life topics like politics, diaspora, racism, climate change, and the effects of pollution, to name a few. I very much look forward to seeing how this story wraps up in the sequel!

Make sure you check out Fathomfolk! 🚨OUT 2/27🚨

•Sirens
•Underwater World
•Water Dragon
•Young Adult
•YA Fantasy
•Debut Author

Fathomfolk follows the story of three main characters: half-siren Mira, water dragon Nami, and sea-witch Cordelia. It is set in a world of humans and fathomfolks, specifically mostly in the city of semi-submegerd Tiankawi. And is written on multiple points of view.

On the positive side, I really liked Chan’s writing. It was what mostly kept me going and wanting to read more. I liked the writing style. It mostly was able to pull me in. I also appreciate the extensive research it must have taken to build this world and to bring all these Asian mythological creatures together. There were water dragons, sirens, sea-witch, kappa, chang-bi, kun peng, jangjamari, kelpie, etc. I was not familiar with some. It was nice to be introduced to them.

It also, at its core, touches on many socioeconomic and political issues. It talks about the issues of immigration, racism, diaspora, refugees, radicalism, classism, post-war period, public service, and more, many of which were handled with nuance.

On the other side, the world-building was a bit confusing, especially at the beginning. At some point, it also felt like many different mythological creatures were just randomly thrown in there. Almost like they were just decorations. Like the world-building just relied on having all these mythological creatures around.

The decision to make the Drawbacks as the villain also surprised me. At the beginning I thought they were the group who fights for the greater good. For the common fathomfolks, for their rights. And then they were not. The opportunity to give an example of how activism can work effectively was wasted. They had to be the villain. Given the sociopolitical situation in the city, turning this group in that direction kind of did not sit right with me.

At many points along the way, it felt like so many things were happening. As we were following three main characters, we also see disasters after disasters happen to them one after another. There was a slow part somewhere in the first half but then things just started happening. Like there was always something going on. It was tiring and sometimes made my head hurt.

Ultimately, Fathomfolk kind of left me conflicted. I did enjoy a couple of things, but some things also just did not work for me.

Ta-da! I have finished!

My thoughts:

I admit, when I got this ARC I was so excited, I began reading it and did not feel the pull immediately. It took me almost half the book to really connect to the characters and even once I finished the book, I felt like there was so much more potential (ex, Kai!!!) We have some extremely intentionally flawed characters (Nami, Cordelia), but I really wish we had their internal reasoning for at least HALF their actions, just tell me WHY!!! I was actually so confused. Im over here screaming at my book at Nami because of a scenario she was in only to be constantly gaslight into the same scenario again.

Overall, I really did enjoy the book. It wasn't perfect, but it was unique to me so 3 stars!

( Spoilers ahead~~~)


I will say, that around the 50% mark, the book really did pick up, bringing into focus the Fathomfolk revolution. The Drawbacks were the "leaders" of this so called revolution, but I can safely say I was questioning their intentions and reasoning for everything they did. They did more damage to their own people than the humans in the end???? We are constantly hit with "I thought you would understand"'s that gaslight us into siding with them, but I'm going to need some more explanations from ya'll. I was "HMMMM"ing the whole time there.

I did feel the hostility in the Human/Folk, which I thought was really well done. My heart hurt for the folk during the fires and all the backlash after was hard to read.

Also for Kai, HE HAD SO MUCH POTENTIAL!! He had one chapter for a personality redemption towards the end, and that was IT! My little heart barely raised a beat after that, when it could have given me a heart attack. We needed more from hims during this book. </3 Also Firth was awful. He reminds me of that one toxic boyfriend everyone has had at one point that was just highly manipulative all the time and controlled you by feeding you false validation. talk about ICKKK.

Thanks to NetGalley and Orbit for an advance copy of Fathomfolk in exchange for an honest review. Overall, I liked this book and its unique setting and characters. It does feel a little long at first and there is a lot going on, but the worldbuilding of Tiankawi and many mythical underwater creatures (naga, dragons, sirens, kelpie, etc.) were particularly interesting. The story is highly political and full of action, double-crossing, and intrigue. While Nami's youthful impetuosity and naiveté gets a little repetitive at times, and some characters are pretty stereotypical (like the tough rebel leader), others like Cordelia, Mira, and Trish are more realistic and sympathetic.

This was a political fantasy focusing on a half siren and her partner a water dragon. This story was told from 3rd person which made it difficult to connect with the characters and all their multiple points of views. I did enjoy the setting and touches on political and social issues. The story was definitely original and what a world she's beginning to build.

Thank you to Orbit for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I had high expectations for Fathomfolk once I heard Southeast Asian cultures inspired it. I'm always looking for representation in books and movies, and Fathomfolk felt like a warm hug. Fathomfolk follows three strong female characters through an urban fantasy touching on representation, class struggles, and acceptance of self.

Between the perspectives of Nami, Mira, and Cordelia, we see multiple layers of the community in Tiankawi, a partially submerged city in the middle of a vast ocean. Originally a place for the fathomfolk, humans have built and polluted the surrounding area.

Fathomfolk leans more into politics than the magic aspects of the world, and I appreciate that. However, I hope to have more fantasy aspects in the coming books in this series. Chan brought many surprises to the surface. It was done in a way that brings up the histories of many Southeast Asians or many folks of color connections. Chan exposes the desperation of communities that live under oppression and what they're pushed to do.

Thank you to Orbit Books for my arc!


So did anyone figure out that this book is literally just the movie Shark Tale minus the sharks? thats all i kept thinking as I was reading. I honestly didn't really care about anything going on in this book. the writing style was okay, it felt very YA more so than adult which was disappointing. the characters just seemed very one dimensional. The conflict in this book was just mediocre for adult.

This book was... rough to say the least.
It felt very poorly planned. I'm actually surprised that the publisher let it get past edits like this. I also couldn't believe this was an "adult fantasy" this book read YA and middle grade most of the time.
With so many amazing Asian inspired fantasy out these days the bar is set way higher than this.
If I had just picked this up and it wasn't an ARC, I would have DNFed it.
2.5 starts rounded down to 2 stars.

Eliza Chan's "Fathomfolk" introduces readers to the semi-submerged city of Tiankawi, a beacon of refuge amidst civil unrest. Mira, a half-siren border guard captain, seeks to reform oppressive laws against Fathomfolk but faces challenges when a water dragon named Nami aligns with extremists. Despite its flaws, "Fathomfolk" offers a promising premise. With themes of revolution and magic, it will appeal to fantasy fans. Though it falls short of its potential, it marks a noteworthy debut for Eliza Chan.

Ahoy there mateys! The beautiful cover and description led me to be excited for this book.  Who doesn't want a sea yarn with sirens, seawitches, kelpies and kappa?  Who doesn't want to know how humans survive in a half-flooded city?  This is a bit of an unusual review for me because only read about 4% or around 20 pages.  I really just wanted this book to grab my attention and never let go.  The main character, Mira, was already annoying me.  She is half-siren and stuck in between the two worlds.  The book seemed already headed towards riots and extremists on all sides.  I don't tend to like those topics.  The characters seemed one-dimensional and the world-building light.  But again, sea yarn. And I wanted to be wrong.  So I read a lot of reviews trying to convince meself that I should pick up the book again.  Convinced that this read is not for me.  Wrong book for this reader.  Yer mileage may vary.  Arrr!

"Fathomfolk" is a fantasy novel set in the Asian-inspired, semi-submerged city of Tiankawi. Throughout the story, we follow the perspectives of various women. Right from the start, it's clear that the narrative will explore themes of racism, albeit within a fantasy setting, focusing on the conflict between Fathomfolk and humans.

I really wanted to enjoy this book due to my Asian heritage, and I'm always supportive of Asian authors. However, I found the story to be lacking.

The main characters didn't capture my interest, and some aspects of the plot didn't seem logical.

Nami comes across as juvenile and insufferable, often acting impulsively without thought. Mira's hot-headedness made it hard for me to believe that she managed to ascend the ranks without adeptly handling the politics of Tiankawi. Cordelia was the most intriguing character, yet the "revelation" about her lacked any mystery for me.

The world-building fell short. I would have preferred a deeper exploration of a single type of water-dwelling creature rather than a mix of many different ones taken from folklore and haphazardly combined to create a community. It's no surprise they find it hard to rise up.
The rationale behind the Fathomfolk agreeing to keep a dragon egg hostage as a peace gesture also remains unclear to me. Like it’s a living thing, and an egg of a “rare” creature to boot. Why in the world would they agree?
Overall, I think the book needs more detailed world-building, as well as better development of its characters and creatures. I don't plan on reading the next books in the series.

I received the ARC from NetGalley, and I am SO GLAD I did. I enjoyed this story, the similes and metaphors to our world and the representations within this story. The idea of underwater people being lower class is a creative idea that made those who read it closely think about what it’s saying about our world.

First and foremost, this cover is one of the most intricate and beautiful ones I have seen. Working in a Library we come across covers all the time, but this one took my breath away. Asian folklore is always spell-bounding!

I liked this, but I didn't love it. The world is unique and interesting, creating an environment perfect for conflict to drive the political plot forward. Unfortunately for me, I felt like the point-of-view characters (and the side characters) didn't match up to this setup. I found them somewhat one-dimensional and didn't think their stories meshed together well. The description for the book also fails to mention one of the point-of-view characters, leaving me confused when she first appeared. While the worldbuilding was written beautifully, I felt some of the dialogue felt flat or awkward. Overall, this had me wondering if my expectations were too high or if the execution fell flat.

Fathomfolk sounded SO good - politics, rebellion, changes in status quo, and more. It sounded like just my cup of tea as a fantasy politics enthusiast. Unfortunately I was so bored by the politics and confused by the rapid POV shifts. I was quite determined to love it, but when I got to 40% and I was still bored and confused, I gave up at that point. I was also not a big fan of how on-the-nose some of the thematic work was - but that's going to be a very personal. Ultimately I think people end up liking the characters more than me will probably enjoy the story overall, but for me, there was just not enough to keep me going.

Thanks to Orbit and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I do not have much to say other than I enjoyed the journey this novel took me on. It was a surprising and excellent marriage of Eastern and Western folklore and fairytales. Although I did not find most of the characters likable, I was still invested in their journeys and wanting good things for them. This is a testament to the author's skill. I also enjoyed the twist at the end!

2.5 rounded down.

I had such high hopes for this book and it was right up my alley - I studied folklore and mythology in modern pop culture in my Master's program and will always have a soft spot for people using their native myths in their writing. However, at just over halfway through, I'm going to DNF this book. I'll try to finish it eventually, but unfortunately the issues I have with it are making the thought of reading another 200 pages feel incredibly overwhelming.

Without getting into any spoilers for the book, my biggest issue is that it desperately needs a heavier hand with the editing. The world-building is rich but dense, with a massive cast of mythological creatures for the reader to keep track of. I think the first 200 pages could have been aggressively trimmed down; while I love the complexity of political messages within the narrative, it felt like the author needed to hit every single possible historical event (concentration camps, people being marked by arm bands, ghettos, etc) and while that's realistic when a minority group is oppressed, it's also very dense to read and slows down the narrative. Some of these details could have been touched on more lightly or revealed in subsequent books so that the reader is placed within the narrative of oppression without slowing down the reading process.

I think if this book was shorter, with its message condensed and refined, it would really shine. I loved the characters and thought Mira and Nami's opposing responses to the realities of their world was very realistic, especially given how each of them were raised, and that kind of nuance is not always well-explored in narratives like this one. There are a lot of strengths to this story and I'd love to see it refined in sequels - I'll certainly keep an eye on Chan as a writer to see how she grows!

DNF for now… the writing felt very elementary and the story line is not well flushed out. Didn’t captivate me enough to want to continue reading at this time.

Oh man this book should’ve swept me away. It’s exactly the type of fantasy I love. But I just didn’t care about the characters. The world building was beautiful. But something fell flat. I wasn’t invested and I had to push myself through. I so wish I could say I loved it.