Rolling in the Deep

I loved Rolling in the Deep; it was just the right amount of horror for me. It is gruesome and bloody and had me thinking about it long after, but it did not give me nightmares. I enjoyed Mira Grant's writing style, there was humor, and there was tension. I appreciated the research she put into the book that made finding mermaids plausible and terrifying. These are the kind of mermaids you neither want to find or want to be found by. I loved the ensemble cast of characters from the Imagine filmmakers, to the scientist, to the performers, and the Captain and her first mate. A few reviews were saying that the story wasn't long enough to properly flesh out the ensemble cast to get you to care about them and what happened to them, but I had no problem being scared and sorry for them. I was glued to the pages, I felt the tension, and I hoped that someone might survive (even though I knew from the beginning no one would). And I will be reading Into the Drowning Deep.

Wow! I knew this wasn't going to end happy and I was a bit concerned that it would be too sad or gory. My worries were all unfounded. This was creepy, haunting and mysterious. This was a perfect little bit of spooky. I will be reading book one soon. I can't wait to read what others find in this stretch of ocean.

To be honest, this really does not need to exist. “Into the Drowning Deep” is perfectly fine on its own, and is a fully fleshed-out version of this. Also reading this first would spoil the mystery that makes ITDD so suspenseful in the beginning. With that being said, if you loved ITDD like I did and wanted more like I did, this novella was perfect. I wish there was an edition of ITDD that had this novella combined into it as flashback sequences - that would be the best way to present this story imo.

It's barely a book, a slim horror novella where we get a reality show out on the ocean in a cynical attempt to discover mermaids. Armed with begrudging researchers, a hardened crew, shallow TV talent, not to mention a couple aces up their sleeves it's not without a bit of shaudenfraude when the expedition goes horrible south.

And much like Cabin in the Woods - when the mermen finally appear, it's bloody, but over all too quickly.