The Descent Of The Drowned

Author:  Ana Lal Din
Publisher: White Tigress Press
Pages: 360
On Sale: March 15, 2021
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Mythology
Stars: 4/5

From the Publisher:

She is bound to serve. He is meant to kill. Survival is their prison. Choice is their weapon.

As the sacred slave of a goddess, Roma is of a lower caste that serves patrons to sustain the balance between gods and men. What she wants is her freedom, but deserters are hunted and hanged, and Roma only knows how to survive in her village where women are vessels without a voice. When her younger brother is condemned to the same wretched fate as hers, Roma must choose between silence and rebellion.

Leviathan is the bastard son of an immortal tyrant. Raised in a military city where everyone knows of his blood relation to the persecuted clans, Leviathan is considered casteless. Lowest of the low. Graduating as one of the deadliest soldiers, he executes in his father’s name, displaying his worth. When he faces judgement from his mother’s people-the clans-Leviathan must confront his demons and forge his own path, if he ever hopes to reclaim his soul.

But in the struggle to protect the people they love and rebuild their identities, Roma’s and Leviathan’s destinies interlock as the tyrant hunts an ancient treasure that will doom humankind should it come into his possession-a living treasure to which Roma and Leviathan are the ultimate key.

Set in a colonised Indo-Persian world and inspired by Pre-Islamic Arabian mythology, The Descent of the Drowned is a tale about power, identity, and redemption, and what it takes to hold on to one’s humanity in the face of devastation.

From Me:

I really enjoyed this book, and it was a really refreshing change to other YA Fantasy stories. I loved the Indo-Persian setting and I felt her world-building was really well done. I enjoyed most of the characters, but some of Leviathan’s boys blurred together a bit for me. Overall the book wasn’t predictable, but I did feel that some parts were rushed or jumped too quickly from one to another. Not that I was expecting chapters of Lord Of The Rings style travelling, but it felt like they occasionally teleported from one spot to another with no time passing. I’m still really looking forward to her next book and finding out what happens next.

Would fit The 52 Book Club’s 2021 prompts:

7 – An Author With Only 1 Published Book
12 – Title Starting With The Letter D
17 – A Character On The Run
26 – An Author Of Colour
32 – A Selfish Character
40 – Found Via #Bookstagram
47 – A Character With A Disability
51 – Published in 2021