If there’s one thing Frances Hardinge does well, it’s worldbuilding. From the vivid setting of the Myriad and the Undersea, to incredible descriptions interweaved with history and culture of the world, I was filled with love and want to visit a place I can never visit. I did however have issues with the pacing at some points, particularly the second half where reading felt like a chore. Overall I enjoyed this world and the fantastic cast of characters, but did not match the love I felt for some of her previous books.

For centuries the bloodthirsty gods of the Undersea terrorised the islands of the Myriad. They were served, feared and adored. Then, thirty years ago, they rose up in madness and tore each other apart. Now, none remain. To Hark, the gods are nothing but ‘godware’ - valuable scraps to be scavenged from the ocean and sold. Until Hark uncovers a piece of godware with unusual powers, powers which could change his life forever...

Deeplight is a strange, wild tale set in an equally strange, wild world. Frances Hardinge is a master storyteller, and if there’s one thing she knows how to do exceptionally well, it’s worldbuilding. The Myriad and the Undersea beneath it make up a gorgeously vivid setting. Hardinge’s descriptions of the rugged coastlines and bustling marinas filled me with a sense of wanderlust for a fantastical world I could never visit. The history of the islands - and the deeply entrenched awe and fear of the gods of the Undersea - was so rooted in the culture and collective experiences of all of Hardinge’s characters that I felt the same reverence they felt any time one of the gods was mentioned.

I also LOVED the characters and their relationships. Hark has a very complex relationship with his best friend Jelt - the two have never known any family but each other, and they’re as close as brothers, but as the story progresses Jelt’s abusive nature becomes apparent. It’s a testament to Hardinge’s storytelling prowess that Jelt’s constant gaslighting and manipulation of Hark seemed so benign at first. It’s only as Hark becomes aware of his maltreatment at the hands of Jelt that the reader does too.

If there’s anything that lets Deeplight down, it’s the pacing. Despite Hardinge’s beautiful prose and utterly unique ideas, I found that the second half of the novel dragged unnecessarily.

Having said that, while it didn’t quite match up to the brilliance of The Lie Tree, Deeplight was an enjoyable read featuring a wonderfully strange setting and a memorable cast of characters. It’s clear that Hardinge’s inexhaustable imagination hasn’t run dry yet and I can’t wait to see what she writes next.

Many thanks to Pan Macmillan for providing a copy of Deeplight. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Publisher: Pan Macmillan
Rating: 3 stars | ★★★✰✰
Review originally posted to Paperback'd Reviews

I don't know if it's the timing - because it is hard to believe I wouldn't like a Frances Hardinge novel - but I really struggled to get into this. I am putting it aside at 25% and will come back and try later with a finished copy. There's nothing bad to even say about it; I just couldn't connect with the characters or narrative.

A 10/10 read for me: completely absorbing and dark, with wonderful characters. I loved the inter-generational friendship, and the myth vs reality of the sea gods was intriguing! I always enjoy Frances Hardinge's writing, and her books just keep getting better.

This is a lovely tuck yourself in a duvet and hide until the book is finished read, gorgeously immersive and with a compelling fantasy setting.

We follow Hark and Jelt, two teenage boys coming of age in the Myriad, a set of islands shaped by capricious Gods who have all but died out leab=ving the islands vulnerable to invasion. Hark and Jelt's friendship is tested and the finding of a mysterious object alters their lives forever. Their relationship is so true to life, espcially where Hark begins to doubt that Jelt does not have his best interests at heart.

I love the different characters on the islands, my favourite being the "sea-kissed", who are scavenger divers who have lost their hearing due to water pressure at depth.

A very satisfying read.

I was immediately attracted to this book by its wonderfully strange and vivid cover and by the idea of an underwater world filled with the relics of long departed Gods who still overshadow the lives and ambitions of the humans who live and survive in this carefully constructed world. Here we discover two friends, raised together in poverty, and scavenging for survival. They live on one of a series of islands that form the world of the Myriad, each island with its own long dead gods, each with its own strange traditions and stories. The sea surrounding the islands hides many things and something dangerous lurks in the deep waters of the undersea. Something which changes the lives of our two friends forever. This is an action-filled story, full of tension, fear and friendship, and the reader is sucked into it from the very first page. An absorbing read, full of things to exercise your imagination. Thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommended to anyone who enjoys revelling in the world of fantasy.

Deeplight straddles the line between MG and YA, I think. It’s got the feel of a middle grade adventure, with a focus on friendship and finding oneself, but the depth and philosophy of something older. It’s fantasy, but with a Weird, Lovecraftian bent, and it occasionally dips into the realms of horror (I found some of the body horror a bit grim!). The adventure and theology and weird science and coming-of-age elements feel like they should be too much for the book to handle, but they’re blended seamlessly into a tale with so much depth and nuance that it feels utterly real.

When we first meet Hark, he’s something of a cheeky chappy, performing small cons on gullible foreigners who are tempted to buy godware (literally bits of the old gods salvaged from the sea). There are hints that his life has been hard, but he’s still very kind and easygoing, which made it hard for me to warm to his ‘best friend’ Jelt, who is a classic manipulator and emotional abuser. It’s easy to see why Hark clings to Jelt out of a sense of shared background and loyalty, but for me as an adult with experience of people like that, I never once got the sense that Jelt was someone to be liked, which made reading the first parts of the book an interesting experience. Watching Hark develop over the story was wonderful – he’s a really strong character. He has to make a lot of difficult decisions, and I really felt for him.

The world-building here is phenomenal. There’s very much a sense of real culture in the Myriad, and as more of the story is unveiled we learn more and more about what happened to the gods, we can see how that has affected the people of the islands. The depictions of the old gods are so interesting! I love that their very existence is ambiguous, since they are gone, and the younger generations of the islanders have a fascinating mix of apathy and respect towards them; they are legends in one sense, and junk in another. I wasn’t expecting such an in-depth look at the nature of worship, but I was very impressed.

I also loved the easy way in which deafness was built into the world; in a culture that values diving (particularly in a sea that actively plays tricks on you), there is a large proportion of people who have tinnitus, or other diving-related deafness. Sign-language is common, and Hark uses it throughout to communicate with others; it’s casually mentioned that accommodations are made as a matter of course, such as the first row of public gatherings being automatically left as for the deaf so that they are able to see the lips of the speakers. There is a major character who is deaf, and her ability to communicate is never compromised; other characters check whether she is more comfortable lip-reading or using sign-language as a matter of course. It’s simple, but effectively done. To a certain extent, other disabilities are treated similarly as well, though they don’t get much focus. Spending too much time in the Undersea can cause your body to mutate, and those Marked like this are similarly afforded respect and care.

The book is slow to begin with, but not in a bad way. It’s a book about the power of stories and how they can warp the truth, so Hark has a lot of information-gathering to do. I don’t use slow as a criticism exactly, simply to contrast it with the last quarter or so of the book, where the action ramps up and things become a race against time. It could have been slimmed down and sped up, yes, but it would have lost so much of its depth and texture that it would have been a horrible shame; there’s an entire world in this book, and it needs time to unfurl.

I think this book is brilliantly written, and a fantastic read, but something is making me hover between four and five stars. I think it might be that the plot has all this depth and gorgeous exploration of morals and religion and power, but the characters fall a tiny bit short? The bad guys are slightly too moustache-twirling and Hark slightly too good, and I would have liked a little bit more moral greyness. I wonder if this comes from the tension between the younger and older aspects of the book: the world and plot would work in an adult novel, but the characters are just a tiny bit too simple for that? It’s not something I noticed while reading, but while thinking about the book afterwards. I still think that Deeplight is brilliant, so I think it genuinely calls for a four and a half star rating (rounded up for NetGalley).

Hark and his best friend Jelt are scavengers, living hand-to-mouth and by their wits. When one particularly daring scavenging excursion uncovers something very valuable, their fortunes appear to change for the better. But something is stirring in the ocean beyond the safe harbour of the Island of Lady’s Crave, turning Hark and Jelt’s newfound treasure into an object of terror and potential cataclysm.

As is always the case with a new Frances Hardinge book, I could not wait to read Deeplight. It is a story that does not disappoint, both in terms of great character development and breadth of worldbuilding.

Hardinge’s lyrical writing, incredible imagination and treating her audience as intelligent readers means that Deeplight is one of those books whose reading age extends from children to adults with ease.

Deeplight is an indulgence to wallow in, soaking up the weird sea world life of the inhabitants of Lady’s Crave, complete with all their intrigues and goings on.

Hark’s narrative leaves you with your heart in your mouth as he careens from one potential peril to another, using his silver tongue and intelligence to extract himself from the fire.

So, pull up a comfy chair, wrap yourself up against the oncoming winter weather and luxuriate in a glorious adventure of total immersion.

I love love love Frances Hardinge. Her ideas are unique in every way, and she brings them to life in a way that's so unusual I can't even wrap my head around how she does it. This is probably my favourite of her books yet (I'm a sucker for ocean cryptids). Old gods and penniless scavengers and lost, ancient mythology and science combined. Wonderful.

At long last – a really good blurb that gives a sense of the world and the stakes without deciding to spill all the major plotpoints in the first half of the book. And it would have been a crying shame if they had Spoiled this one, because it’s a real gem. I very quickly fell in love with dear little Hark, a streetkid who has been forced to live on his wits from a very early age. The main reason why he is still alive is because his bigger, smarter best friend Jelt has always looked out for him. Of course, nothing is for free and in return, Jelt expects him to fall in with his schemes to earn more. More money, more of a reputation… the kind of life that Jelt believes he should have – and Hark needs to be there alongside, whether he really wants to or not.

The story of these two boys unspools against the backdrop of a busy port, an increasingly profitable trading post now the savage sea gods who used to roam the Undersea are now all gone. Though there are still traces of them littering the seabed, or caught up in the barriers to keep out some of the more normal sea monsters, so there is a brisk trade in their remains littering the bed. As society is still adjusting to the apocalyptic changes caused by the death of the gods, more merchants arrive from other parts while there are factions still mourning the loss of the gods…

The depth of the worldbuilding is impressive and engrossing, given it is achieved without any holdup in the narrative, which gripped me throughout. I also loved the unpredictability, as just as I’d figured in which direction the story was going – it suddenly changed direction, dragging poor old Hark in its wake. The cast of supporting characters were all beautifully drawn, adding to the enjoyment and drama. I may have been initially attracted to this one because of the lovely cover, but it was the amazing writing that held me. I’ll definitely be tracking down more books by this talented author. Highly recommended for fantasy fans of wonderful worldbuilding and great storytelling.

The ebook arc copy of Deeplight was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest opinion of the book.
10/10

Hark is a master wordsmith, spinner of tales and a storykeeper. A perfect description of Ms Hardinge herself. The intricate weaving of words, the fluency of the storyline and the well-developed characters all lead to another stunning book from this award-winning author. Each of her books is so unique and individual. It’s a must-read for teenage, young adults and old adults alike. This truly deserves all the awards I’m positive it’ll be nominated for. Fabulous.

I loved Frances Hardinge's historical fantasy, The Lie Tree, and couldn't wait to read her new book, Deeplight. It combines fantasy with a terrific adventure story, reminiscent of Greek and Roman myths. Only in this story, the gods are monstrous beasts.

For centuries these gods terrorised the Myriad until one day, without warning, they turned on each other. Within a week all the gods were dead and an industry had sprung up salvaging scraps of the corpses. Hark and Jelt make a dishonest living scavenging this 'god ware'. Jelt is the unprincipled leader but Hark is the one who ends up in trouble. Hark's skill is that he usually talks his way out of it - until the day he's caught and finds himself indentured to a scientist obsessed with harvesting the magical powers of this god ware.

Frances Hardinge has the most amazing imagination - I am in awe! - and the incredibly detailed world she has created is a masterclass in world-building. The characters are flawed but thoroughly engaging. It was wonderful seeing them grow and change, especially Hark's heart-breaking realisation that Jelt only cares about himself. Or, as Selphin says, "You're not allowed to choose your friends any more." My favourite character was the pragmatic Selphin and her love/hate relationship with the sea. I became so immersed in the Deeplight world, that even several days after I'd finished the book, the story still stayed in my head.

Deeplight is a clever cross between Mary Shelley and Jules Verne. I have no hesitation in recommending Deeplight to fans of YA fantasy and anyone who loves a thrilling adventure story. One of my favourite reads this year.


Thank you to Frances Hardinge and Macmillan Childrens' Books for my copy of this book, which I requested via NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.

I love this author and loved this book. It is beautifully original, well written and captivating. If anything, it was too short, as I did find myself bombarded with information at times - what a complex world!

For centuries the gods of the Undersea ruled the islands of the Myriad with terror. They were worshipped and feared by the islanders who painted eyes on their ships and threw sacrifices to the gods to appease them. Then, without warning, the gods turn on one another, causing widespread destruction and chaos on the islands until all the gods were dead. Thirteen-year-old Hark lives in the world post-gods, telling stories he has gleaned from older islanders to tourists for quick and easy money. But then a chance find turns his life upside down, a god heart. Is it possible the gods can come back? And if they can, should they? Is the past best left in the past? Has the world already changed too much to go back to what it was?
Told through the point of view of Hark, a happy-go-lucky lad trying to make a living for himself off his wits. He is immediately bright and engaging, he doesn’t complain about his situation, he finds his way to make the best of where he is. A charismatic character, Hark draws people to him even if they see through him, he’s an irrepressible force of nature.
Hardinge’s world-building is first-class. From the first page, we’re sucked into a world that is concrete, bright in colour and folklore that is realistic and captivating. There are no large information dumps, the past is woven in with the present as Hark learns more and more about the gods he holds dear in his heart even though he wasn’t alive when they were born. The stories of the past drive the novel forward as much as Hark’s physical and emotional discoveries.
The characters are complex and multi-faceted. All characters have their own motivations and whether they work together is based on whether their motivations take them in the same direction or not. Even the antagonists have understandable motivations, garnering sympathy for their situation, as the consequences of a single decision or act take their lives far from where they imagined they would be. There are no true villains, just people trying to get on in the world which makes them more realistic, more accessible, and strengthens an already powerful story. This is my favourite fantasy of the year.
Ultimately, this is a story about change, positive and negative changes, irreversible changes, and accepting those when they happen. Hark must let go of the poisonous relationships of his childhood that hold him back. The islands of Myriad have to let go of the gods who often destroyed whole villages on a whim. It’s about letting go of the past, not letting it dictate our futures, an uplifting message people need to hear regardless of their age.

As usual Frances Hardinge creates a beautiful, vibrant world that readers can get lost in that is full of interesting and fleshed out characters. I was hooked from the beginning and the plot twisted in unexpected ways keeping my attention throughout. An all-round fantastic read!

In premise, at least, Deeplight pings a little bit of Pratchett's Nation--the gods are dead, what do humans do now? Well, the humans in Hardinge's island chain of Myriad are making profits out of it by diving into the seas and collecting godware for sale. What Hark does best is tell stories, a skill that often helps get him out of trouble--and scam continental tourists for easy money. When a job goes wrong, Hark's life changes in many ways, and not always for the better.

Deeplight feels in many ways like an exploration of the various friendships that a troubled young person may have in their life and how it impacts them. There's Quest, the ex-priest, who trades stories for stories in a bid to understand Hark and offer advice. There's Kly, the Sanctuary supervisor, who has a soft spot for Hark and offers him leeway and understanding even when he messes up. There's also Dr Vyne, the one who bought his indenture, who offers him a second chance and a brand of tough love that keeps Hark on the safe and narrow--for now.

And then there's Jelt. The childhood friend and protector who has saved him many times--from the exact same trouble he caused. Hark's friendship with Jelt is a clear case of abuse and gaslighting. It sat uncomfortably with me in the beginning, seeing the way Hark question his own decisions and push aside his worries just because he feels like he owes Jelt something, that Jelt--being bigger, stronger, better--may be right about his cowardice and disloyalty. I wanted him to break away from Jelt, to stay clear of that obviously toxic relationship, but in a novel, things have to happen so again and again, Hark gets sucked into Jelt's downward spiral, drowning in deeper and deeper waters even as he tries to stay clear of the heavy hand of the law.

But Hark has resilience and Hark also has good, wise friends in Quest and Kly and Selphin who together try to save the world from ending.

WHERE DO I START? 

Ok, let's kick off with our main character. I rarely 'get on with' main characters who are men/boys, especially when the book is aimed at younger readers* but Hark was great. What I liked was that Hark managed to have character development through the story but it wasn't 'he starts the book as an ass and by the end is basically a decent human being'. Hark isn't a great person when the book starts, he's mid-crime as the book opens, but he isn't obnoxious in a way that other male main character's can be.

It's possible I have just been deeply scarred by Killer T and will never fully trust a male main character again? 

But no, Hark not only grew on me as the book went on, I liked him from the beginning. He manages to feel reckless but also to have a dose of common sense at his core which isn't something you see all too often. 

*I'm no expert but I think I'd probably stick this in the 'upper middle grade - younger YA' category. 

The setting my friends, THE SETTING. 

I've said it so many times but Frances Hardinge has this way of writing worlds that totally suck me in, I'm utterly in awe of the way she creates cultures and superstitions in each of her books, all of them drastically different and detailed and OH MY. 

This is no exception. It's a world where the gargantuan undersea Gods have vanished but all the superstition surrounding them is still there. The idea of a black market (and a legitimate market) for the remnants of the old Gods was so well done, along with the idea of priests becoming defunct and needing care - it is all so well thought out. I need someone to do a whole set of art prints of the creatures described in this book because I want to festoon them throughout my home.

I can't exactly explain it because you have to experience it for yourself but I will say that this felt like the essence of Pacific Rim but a fantasy novel and SO MUCH more. 

I did say this would be incoherent, didn't I?

But no, it was everything, and I can't get into some of it because I think it would be a spoiler but Frances Hardinge continues to be the master of the 'last-minute plot reveal that you just weren't expecting that makes everything fifty times more amazing' in this book too. 

I cannot wait to re-read this book, I may have to plan in a re-read within this year, that's how much I liked it. The characters, the plot and (most significantly) the setting totally captivated me and I would gladly read fifty more books set in this world. 

Frances Hardinge remains one of my 'auto buy' authors. 

My rating: 5/5 stars

I received a digital advanced review copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own. 

Deeplight publishes October 31st!

I loved this book! I'm a fan of Hardinge's writing anyway and have lots of her books. Her world building, characters and story telling is just amazing.
I go into her books not knowing anything and lose myself in them. I highly recommend any of her books.

Thanks a lot to the publisher and NetGalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

An excellent book, the author easily transports us to the Islands of the Myriad, where we meet Hark and his best friend Jelt (who I absolutely hated with a passion!) The author really made me feel for Hark and I was on his side all of the way through the book.

This is a story of undersea gods, fearful people, pirates, religion, and friendship. I was really swept away with this book, excellent storytelling!

The further I went with Deeplight, the more inadequate I felt—as a writer. The imagination that Frances Hardinge brings to her world is magnificent in its depth, breadth, description and otherworldiness.

Not only does she invent new aliens, but they are alien gods the like of which you've never dreamt before. They are colourful, sensuous, dangerous, vitriolic, and live under the sea, in a breathable fluid that behaves in entirely different ways from seawater. Not only that, but the people left behind on the surface reveal their history through stories told to each other. Stories within stories are a powerful way of bringing the reader into the created world. They are also a lot of work. A lot of work. And difficult to link without stringing them together like an anthology.

Frances Hardinge brings Hark, a young man with dubious friends, to court. There he makes up a story of how he's ended up there, in a desperate plea for clemency. Luckily for him, someone needs a storyteller to lure the redundant priests into telling their own stories. It could be a new life for Hark, but his friend Jelt, and the people who got him into the court in the first place, have other plans for him.

Like the Lie Tree, there is plenty of interaction between the characters. Jelt is a toxic friend, to put it mildly. I kept telling Hark to ignore him, but Hark of course kept reminding himself of the things Jelt had saved him from—just after he decides to dump him for the things Jelt's just done.

Unlike the Lie Tree, I really enjoyed the danger that they walked inexorably into. This is a cracking good story, full of things to exercise your imagination. You admire the writing for its cleverness while never letting it detract from the excitement of the plot.

They gave the Lie Tree a Costa Book Prize.  This is MUCH better!