Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC of 'Fathomfolk' by Eliza Chan.

I was SO excited for 'Fathomfolk' by Eliza Chan just because the concept felt right up my alley. I'm gutted because Chan's writing style is glorious but this story just wasn't for me, I felt like it dragged for me in all the wrong places. I probably will read the next novel but I just wished I loved this book more.

Oh boy, I was NOT prepared for Fathomfolk. I expected a relatively typical East Asian inspired fantasy with a fun ocean bent--what I got was the most harrowingly, skin-crawlingly accurate portrayal of the current tensions surrounding immigration, race, class and power and how all those intersect. As an Australian, this book hit especially hard; asylum seekers and in particular 'boat people' have been hot-button topics here in recent decades (just as much as in Eliza Chan's native UK). I felt she absolutely nailed so much of the trauma and horror around this very ugly part of the 'race relations cluster' that we don't see depicted quite as often in US books, just given the different ways immigration and racism tend to manifest in these different cultures.

Across the board, Eliza Chan handled her thematic material so perfectly, and so brutally. The allegory she chose was very elegant, and allowed her to illustrate many of her points particularly deftly, in a way which I suspect drives home the message to white readers in a way that might not land as powerfully if using more typical fantasy analogues for real-world race. I also really loved the complexity and nuance Eliza Chan afforded all her characters and factions: everyone had their own priorities and agendas in a way that rang very true to life, everything was illustrated in varying shades of grey, and if there was one message that rang clear as a bell, it's that there are no easy answers to racism and intolerance.

I've seen a lot of reviewers criticising the character of Nami, but I felt her arc was maybe the most powerful, and the one that drove home many of the thematic content the strongest. She's so believably flawed, so believably *young*, and through her Eliza Chan showed just how it is that well-meaning but headstrong and naive young people can be so easily manipulated and radicalised. I found her character arc so heartbreaking but so REAL--and all the more painful for that--because paths like hers are precisely the ones that in the real world lead to teenagers ending up in suicide attacks and on terrorism watch lists.

The other two POV characters were brilliant, too; I particularly enjoyed how Eliza Chan used three very different fathomfolk all with different backgrounds and perspectives (a special shoutout to Cordelia, my devious sea-witch queen) to examine her themes from all sides, as well as to illustrate just how much *minority groups are not monoliths* and there are just as many tensions and layers of prejudice and intolerance within as without. The web of relationships was fascinating and well-crafted, and oh my god, the number of gut punches Eliza Chan delivered. She wasn't afraid to use her characters in brutal ways to drive her thematic material home, and I am incredibly here for it.

Of course, it almost goes without saying that the worldbuilding was rich and textured, but I'm going to say it anyway because it really was so unique and so sparkling. I loved it. My one quibble with the book (for which I probably should lower my rating, but can't bring myself to) is that a lot of it felt underedited, on a line level. The first 20% was very polished, but through much of the rest of the book there was a distracting over-reliance on sentence fragments and some poor epithet use that dulled the sparkle on the otherwise technically very competent writing.

Overall, this is a brilliant debut from an obviously incredibly intelligent and insightful author whose career I'm super excited to follow. I eagerly anticipate the sequel, and in the meantime will be recommending Fathomfolk far and wide.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Little Brown UK for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

Welcome to Tiankawi, where revolution is brewing in the semi submerged city, between humans and the fathomfolk. A world where sirens, sea witches, kelpies and kappas, live within the waters. A debut fantasy novel inspired by East Asian mythology and ocean based folk tales comes a shining pearl of a story.

A safe haven of human civilisation and for those creatures who are fleeing civil unrest. At least, that’s how it first appears. But in the submerged city, humans are quite literally, on top of the hierarchy. Peering down from shining towers and aerial walkways on the fathomfolk who live in the polluted waters below.

For half-siren, Mira, a promotion to captain of the border guard, means an opportunity to help her downtrodden people. But if earning trust and respect of her human colleagues wasn’t difficult enough, everything she has worked hard for is put in jeopardy. A water dragon, fathomfolk royalty, Nami, is exiled to the city. When extremists sabotage the annual boat race, violence erupts, as does the suppression of fathomfolk rights. Both Name and Mira must decide if the cost of change is worth paying the price or if they should, leave this city to drown.

From an epic fantasy world comes a modern, myth infused story of revolution and magic set against a glittering yet decaying city. Enter a world of magic, sea folk and intrigue where nothing is really as it appears. A world rife with suppression, revolution and the need to fight for what is right. But what if the cost is far too price to pay. Do they save what they’ve worked so hard for or do they let everything drown? I guess you’ll have to read to find out.

"Fathomfolk" is one of the best fantasy novels I've read in a while and I'm already looking forward to reading the next part in the series.

The world building was interesting, I really liked the characters, and the ending left me wanting more.

DNF due to the chaotic world building! I honestly struggled to get through the first few chapters... started to skim a little bit and unfortunately, it wasn't worth it.

Unless I completely missed it, I felt like this story gave no attempt of trying to make us feel any emotion to these characters? They all came across straight away as bland and surface level? Okay I understand that some depth could show up later but, it's too late? I have nothing to feel like I want to root for these characters or to see where they end up.

This was one of the least engaging books I've read in a while and I'm actually sad to say that - with this being advertised for fans of Jade City and The Bone Shard Daughter (which is a big claim by the way - and both books I loved) this was a big disappointment for me.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publishers for this ARC in return of my review!

These are my very honest thoughts and I hope this book finds the right audience who will love it!

Thanks to Little Brown Book group and Netgalley for providing me with the ARC to this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a brilliantly clever book that took some very real issues of the real world and applied them to a world build that was fascinating and executed very well. EC has taken the racism and xenophobia that is disgustingly apparent in our world and used them as tools to weave a narrative between three women who all want the same thing but will chase it in different ways, each with the idealism and cynicism of experience weaved through their characters. There is some very real subtext on migration and integration of different cultures throughout this book. 7

Nami is young and idealistic, her naivety to the real world leaves her open to manipulation while using any means necessary to achieve her aims. Leaving the question when have you gone too far? When you use violence to achieve your goals at the price of the people you are trying to save, are you still the freedom fighter you claim to be? How will you react when you have to face your own ingrained bias and racism?

Mira has the cynicism of one who has experienced growing up in Tiankawi and the costs it has taken from her mother to get her to the point she is the only fathomfolk Captain in the city guard. She is very aware of the tokenism of her position but as a half human, half fathomfolk she tries to use conformity to prove to the humans that fathomfolk are not dangerous. I actually really loved that we came into this book with her and Kai (but to avoid spoilers we are stopping here)

Selena is using politics, she wants to protect her position and children through political machinations and deals with all races while hiding who she actually is from all around her. When her secrets are found out though she will do anything to save herself and her children. Selena embodies the fight for herself over everyone else.

The ending of this book is both heartwarming and breaking. I NEED BOOK 2.

Tiankawi is a half-submerged city where humans live alongside the fathomfolk - sirens, kelpies, sea witches. The seas are polluted and troubled and although sea creatures found refuge in Tiankawi, they are treated as second-rate citizens.
Mira is a half-siren and a member of the border guard who is working together with her water dragon/ambassador boyfriend Kai to change the system from within.
Nami is Kai's privileged, stubborn younger sister, exiled to Tiankawi because of the trouble she caused at home, in the futile hope that her brother will restrain her.
And Cordelia is a sea witch married to a city councillor, playing a very dangerous political game.
Chan builds a very detailed fantasy world brimming with tension and high stakes. However, I struggled to finish this book precisely because there was too much detail, as if the author was trying to cram every vivid detail into the book, dragging the plot to a halt. The world building felt so over-indulgent at times that it was a chore to read through.
Theoretically, the political conflict in Tiankawi is complex and nuanced, with racism/speciesism, colonization, oppression and exploitation of the poor, but the character arcs don't reflect that. In fact, the characters feel more like cliched YA sketches than real people. Mira is a reluctant, law-abiding, irritatingly insecure heroine who refuses any help or clever advice until it's too late. Nami is a criminally stupid teenage rebel who makes the wrong choice every single time. And Cordelia - although she had a huge potential for nuance - ended up as a cartoonish villain, a less entertaining version of Ursula from The Little Mermaid. The only character I felt any empathy for was Kai, but he got far too little attention in the novel.
After the very long first half where almost nothing happens and we are introduced to all the nuances of the world, things start moving very quickly. However, the parts of the story that are meant to click together (Nami - Mira conflict, Kai's solution) feel forced, and the final mythical twist feels pulled out of thin air, a cliffhanger for book 2.
Overall, the concept, the world, the idea of the political conflict all seemed fine, but the characters and the pacing made reading this story a chore for me.

I like this book, I feel like it has built a strong base for the author to be able to continue writing other instalments for this series. I liked most of the characters and their backstories, however sometimes I felt like there were too many chapters from the pov of one character. I'm happy I persevered through the first few chapters because that is when it starts to get good, those chapters were kind of slow due to the world building which is completely understandable because the author needs to set the scene (but I have to admit that sometimes it was kind of hard to imagine the world because of the amount of information). I loved/hated the ending, loved because I think it is a good start for the next books, and I hated it because .... (but to discover why you should definitely read the book). The book was very focused on the politics, and the author was very successful in making it interesting and not overwhelming for people that are not used to reading these kinds of books. If you feel like the synopsis is intriguing (or if you like this amazing cover) you should definitely give this a try.

Eliza Chans writing is beautiful and well paced.
I have to admit that initially I was a little scared of this book because of the multiple characters and how they all fitted together but I am so glad that I persevered as this is by far one of my favourite fantasy books of the year.
Well written, fantastic world building, characters you will either love or hate and a storyline that I found refreshingly interesting.
Highly recommend.

The cover art and the synopsis, 10/10. The world building was well done and I really liked the magic system and all the different mythical creatures involved in this book.

Unfortunately, there are some downsides - the main ones being; there are so many characters to keep track of, it's a slow starter, I struggled to connect to some of the characters, and Nami. Nami is beyond naive, and because of it she causes sooo many problems with her choices. She really annoyed me at times.

I wanted to love this book so bad, I'm actually devastated I didn't.

Overall - 3.5⭐️

Thank you to netgalley and Little Brown Book for the ARC in exchange for an honest review🤍


My review will be published on goodreads (goodreads.com/bookish_kirst), storygraph (https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/bookish_kirst), and Instagram (instagram.com/bookish_kirst) on Feb 21st 2024.

‘Fathomfolk’ featured excellent world building and a fantastical, water-based magic system. It also raised enticing hints at what has happened to Earth as we know it. The author has obviously done their homework on mythology; borrowing from many tales and creatures of lore, while adding her own unique flair.
Marked down to 3.5 from 4 for the pull-the-rug-from-under-you ending that I really didn’t like. To be fair, it was foreshadowed a number of times, but given events shortly before this, I’d dismissed the warning signs.

Disclaimer: thank you to netgalley, Eliza Chan and the Little Brown Book Group for a free arc in return for an honest review.

Book Review 📚
Fathomfolk by Eliza Chan - 3/5 ⭐

Unfortunately, this one wasn't for me. It started off stong and was leading to what seemed a great story, but I couldn't pass 47%. I ended up DNF'ing.

The world building was absolutely fantastic and couldn't fault it at all, but the characters were just undeveloped and "boring". They really let the book down.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little Brown Book Group for allowing me to read this ARC - this is an HONEST review from my own personal opinion.

I DNF’d at 30%. This is a fantasy rife with politics, examining the class system, political power, rebel factions, and racism through the Fathomfolk/human divide and although I really loved the sound of it I struggled to get into the story. It felt like there were lots of POVs, too many different characters, and nothing was happening. The writing in itself was good but I wasn’t engaged with the story and by a third of the way through I was expecting less scaffolding for the plot and more action to get stuck into so although I’m sure that this will intrigue other people, it wasn’t the book for me.

I struggled a lot with trying to rate this book, if I'm being honest.
There's nothing objectively wrong with it, I guess, it's just a matter of personal taste - I simply couldn't warm up to the characters. But the story in itself is still great! I adore the world of Fathomfolk and all the world building that went into it. It's so lush and intricate with all its' descriptions, I could probably read a book made up of Eliza Chan's descriptive prose alone!
So that's how it still gets 4 stars, even if I disliked some of the characters quite a lot.
Thank you so much for providing me with a copy!

Unfortunately not for me. I felt that it had merit but was disjointed and I couldn't connect to the story. Interesting concept and world building, however it was not executed well.

There were aspects of this that I enjoyed, like the setting and worldbuilding. That being said, when I finished the books, I felt like there were aspects missing.

The human world, it's a mess.

The Fathomfolk are all the people of the sea, be they sirens, kelpies, or even the highest of water dragons. The partially submerged city of Tiankawi gladly offers them a safe haven from their conflicts, living happily side by side with the humans there.

At least, that’s how the humans probably like to think about it. It turns out that “side by side” isn’t really true in any sense of the words. Neither are “gladly”, “safe”, nor “happily”, if we’re keeping track. But other than that, entirely spot on.

This debut novel by Eliza Chan expertly blends a variety of aquatic mythologies and contemporary influences into a fascinating fantasy setting. The world building is notable, but also drawn on a small enough scale for you to actually take in the little details.

The story is mainly told from a couple of perspectives. There’s Mira, a half-siren born in Tiankawi and the first of the fathomfolk to be promoted to captain of the border guard. And then there’s Nami, who is a complete disaster dragon who has never met a bad decision she didn’t fancy. To complicate matters further, she’s also the sister of Mira’s high-ranking ambassador boyfriend, Kai. All of them are trying to improve the life of their people in their own different ways. The antagonists are complicated and even occasionally sympathetic - apart from one moustache-twirling kelpie, who I disliked immediately and you will too.

The story is something of a slow burn for the first third as we’re introduced to the world, and accelerates quite rapidly after that point. My only complaint, which is not really a complaint, is that the city is left in such an intriguing state by the end of the book, that I’d quite liked to have seen a little more of the consequences of what happens. But it’s quite the hook for the next one.

All told, I’m eager to read more in this world, and I highly recommend this debut.

Thanks to Little Brown Book group for the advance copy.

I love when world building is so intriguing and unlike the norms of other books! So reading the synopsis of this and the cover had me adding it to my tbr.
Though this book was fun to read. It was still lacking in some of the most important areas - the romance, an mc you continuously root for. I love love love a slow burn! Friends first and then slowly trickling in with the romance. An Insta love puts me off a story really fast. Tho I didn’t hate the romance, I just wasn't invested as much. Plus the female ML has moments where I’d wanna pull my hair cos of the decisions she made. No spoilers but I’d pick up book 2 just with less investment in the romance or ML. Or maybe it’ll be much better in book 2

Thank you Little brown book and NetGalley for providing me an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. My review is my own and not influenced by others.

First of all the cover is really nice looking and the story sounds interesting. However, I found the writing style chaotic and there were to many characters and the chapters were too short to feel a connection with it. I just couldn’t see the picture clear and remember who were who in this story to feel encaged.

Seeing the other overall good recensies, I think this book could work well for others. Unfortunetly, I wasn't one of them.

Tiankawi is an affluent above water city where fathomfolk and humankind live side by side, supposedly representing affluence, unity, peace, and prosperity.
However, Tiankawi may be above the waves, but it's not the flawless paradise they pretend it is.

Mira (half-siren) was the first fathomfolk in the military and the first to reach captaincy.
Kai is the dragon prince, the ambassador for fathomfolk trying to work towards a better future for his people.
Nami is Kai’s opinionated and stubborn younger sister who is exiled to the above-water city by their mother after a failed heist to steal a dragon pearl. She is determined for drastic change and falls in with an anti-human rebellious extremist group.
Cordelia is the ambitious, selfish wife of one of the most powerful councillors. However, she manipulates from behind the scenes, striking deals to better her position as she conceals her fathomfolk identity.

She wished she could take a blade and shave away the rot, but the deeper she dug, the more she realised the veins ran right through her. All she could do was acknowledge them. Try to change them.

This is magical and reminiscent of a fairytale. The Asian-infused descriptions of cafes and bars giving it a cozy atmosphere of familiarity, community, and roots whilst being shadowed by contempt, pride, and fear.
This book deals with xenophobic-adjacent issues and behaviours and looks at how a society can come together, or fall apart, when forced to integrate, work together, and confront long-held prejudices.

The romance felt quite juvenile and very insta-love like. In this vein, everything felt fairly predictable however I’m hoping a side character I really enjoyed in this book who randomly kept popping up will have a greater role in further books and add further queer representation to the main cast.

Whilst the plot felt quite predictable, the slant on the sea and fathomfolk and the visuals (vibes?) of the atmosphere kept this fresh.

If you enjoyed this, I would recommend Daughter of the Drowned Empire, and The Girl who Fell beneath the Sea.

Thank you to Orbit for providing an arc in exchange for a review!