Title: Fathomfolk (Drowned World #1)
Author: Eliza Chan
Genre: Fantasy, high fantasy, romantic fantasy
Publisher: Orbit, Illumicrate Edition
Publication Date: 2024
Format: Hardcover, Illumicrate Edition
Length: 417 pages

Read if you like: East and South-East-Asian inspired mythology, ocean folk tales, oppressive societies, magic as a taboo, political machinations

Rating: 

I received Fathomfolk through my Illumicrate subscription, and while I knew nothing about it when it arrived, it was one of the most original premises I’ve read all year. Set in a society that is part-human, part various magical sea folk, much of the setting and the characters felt entirely new to me, albeit with familiar themes and East and South-East-Asian-inspired mythology. 

Chan is a new-to-me author, but she’s a seamless world-builder. In a society where much was completely outside of my experience, Fathomfolk came together effortlessly in my mind and I quickly was immersed in the story. I really enjoyed this book, and I’m looking forward to seeing where Chan takes this unique story next.

The Book Synopsis: Fathomfolk by Eliza Chan

Welcome to Tiankawi – shining pearl of human civilization and a safe haven for those fleeing civil unrest. Or at least, that’s how it first appears.

But in the semi-flooded city, humans are, quite literally, on peering down from skyscrapers and aerial walkways on the fathomfolk — sirens, seawitches, kelpies and kappas—who live in the polluted waters below.

For half-siren Mira, promotion to captain of the border guard means an opportunity to reform. At last, she has the ear of the city council and a chance to lift the repressive laws that restrict fathomfolk at every turn. But if earning the trust and respect of her human colleagues wasn’t hard enough, everything Mira has worked towards is put in jeopardy when a water dragon is exiled to the city.

New arrival Nami is an aristocratic water dragon with an opinion on everything. Frustrated by the lack of progress from Mira’s softly-softly approach in gaining equality, Nami throws her lot in with an anti-human extremist group, leaving Mira to find the headstrong youth before she makes everything worse.

And pulling strings behind everything is Cordelia, a second-generation sea-witch determined to do what she must to survive and see her family flourish, even if it means climbing over the bodies of her competitors. Her political game-playing and underground connections could disrupt everything Nami and Mira are fighting for.

When the extremists sabotage the annual boat race, violence erupts, as does the clampdown on fathomfolk rights. Even Nami realizes her new friends are not what they seem. Both she and Mira must decide if the cost of change is worth it, or if Tiankawi should be left to drown.

The Review

I enjoyed this story, and there’s a lot to unpack to understand why. 

Based around a society where oppression abounds between humans and “folk”, who are various beings of the sea, Chan weaved a fairly complicated world and society together quickly and efficiently. Given how unique the universe was, I expected the world-building to feel dense, but Chan was able to create this lush society pretty seamlessly in the reading experience. I felt like I was up to speed and absorbed quickly, and once I was, I became super invested in the conflicts and characters that were tied to the complicated nature of this city. 

The politics of Tiankawi were among unique creatures, but the conflicts themselves were familiar to any society that houses vastly different compositions of people. I enjoyed the way that Chan pitted the bureaucratic approach to change against radicalism and highlighted the benefits and pitfalls of both. I was never quite sure which would win out and ultimately, neither did, with the situation just too complex for simple solutions, as is typically the case in a society as complex as this one. There are no easy answers when it comes to systemic discrimination and oppression, and I felt like Chan handled the weight of these themes with authenticity. 

I liked the characters, particularly Mira, though I did find myself wishing they’d grown a little faster. They all felt somewhat stuck in their ways for the vast majority of the book, and given that a fairly dense plot meant the book moved at a bit of a slower pace, this felt like a long time in terms of reading experience. That said, most of them got to where I’d hoped they’d be by the end, and there were some open plotlines where I think there’s some interesting potential for book two. 

My only challenge was that I felt the pacing lagged a bit in this book. I know I just mentioned that there was a lot of world-building and character dynamics that had to be established, and I recognize that likely led to a bit of a slower pace, but at times I had hoped to see things come together a little more quickly. This is more or less just preference though. 

Overall, I felt like this was a strong start to a unique fantasy series. I’m very interested to see where Chan takes it from here, I’ll definitely pick up the second book when it releases.