Novella Review – Rolling in the Deep by Mira Grant

“Leave the dark places in the sea for fools and explorers.”

This is a short story that counts as 0.5 in the “Rolling in the Deep” series. The author also writes books under another name – Seanan McGuire – although when I picked this up, I hadn’t read anything else by her. (I have since and she is one of my absolute favorite writers now!) I wasn’t sure of what to expect from this going in, as it wasn’t a series at the time and I randomly spotted it in the Kindle section of Amazon through browsing. I love anything relating to oceanic mysteries or horror stories, and mermaids will always grab my attention, so this is right up my alley!

The story follows a group of about 200 people as they board a large ship called the Atargatis to film a documentary about the possibility of mermaids existing in the Mariana Trench. The 200 are made up of the ship’s captain and her crew, various scientists, and the documentary employees themselves – as well as a group of performance mermaids, excited to flex their fins in the big, blue sea. Everything seems to be going well until the scientists stumble upon exactly what they were looking for – and exactly what they weren’t.

I absolutely love this, and have actually read it a couple of times since the first. A full length book was released after I read this first novella, and I immediately purchased it. I brought it with me on vacation and it freaked me OUT! I’ve since recommended both the full-length book and this novella several times to several people; it’s one of my forever favorites! A friend I made through the bookish community, author Eric Guinard, actually sent a copy of the physical novella to me as a birthday gift this year and I am so thankful! I didn’t think I’d own a physical copy due to its limited release, and am so happy to have it! A reason to read it again – for the fourth time now!