📕 Title: Fathomfolk
✏️ Author: Eliza Chan
📖 Genre: Fantasy / Political Fantasy
⭐ Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
✅ First book in the Drowned World Duology
👥 Third Person / Multi-POV

BOOK BLURB

Tiankawi is a is a semi-flooded city, home to humans and fathomfolk alike. But while the humans live in skyscrapers above the water, fathomfolk live in the polluted waters below and suffer from the deadly gill rot disease.

A group of fathomfolk radicals has risen up and recruited Nami, a water-dragon princess, to their cause. Mira, the first ever fathomfolk captain of the border guard, has to decide where her loyalties lie.

REVIEW

As someone who enjoys political intrigue, rich world building, and allegories to real life social issues, this book hit the mark for me. I would NOT recommend this book to those looking for romance / romantasy.

The world building is incredible, visible in how people speak, what they eat, how they travel, and even their idioms. It’s easy to imagine Tiankawi and the diversity of the fathomfolk who live there. Fathomfolk are not a monolith, but instead diverse groups of people whose cultures are inspired by Asian communities.

“We’re not all exactly the same: dratsie, baiji, siren. Humans lump us together. Fathomfolk. Salties. But we’re different. We shape-shift or use our waterweaving differently. Distinct.”

A commentary on social issues including immigration and dispora, racism, prejudice, and class, the story also features parallels to real life history and contemporary issues.

Fathomfolk explores the political environment through three Fathomfolk: Mira, Nami, and Cordelia. Mira’s position of being the first fathomfolk captain of the border guard presents both personal and professional challenges given her biracial identity and upbringing in Tiankawian culture. Nami, a young and naïve dragon princess, gets involved in a radical group of Fathomfolk. Cordelia, a shape-shifting sea witch, presents herself as human while manipulating politics behind the scenes.

Each character is flawed, making decisions that sometimes made me want to yell at them, but each of them exhibits growth, with their initial view of the world evolving throughout the story. I connected the most to Mira’s story but related to Nami at times too.

I wanted to throw my Kindle at the wall after that ending, but I’m so ready for the next book!