Review: The Ravening Deep by Tim Pratt
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Introduction:
After discovering an ancient temple in the deep ocean, dissolute fisherman Abel Davenport becomes influenced by a long-dead god. He attempts to restore the god’s cult, but his actions result in a plague of twisted doppelgangers being unleashed on Arkham. Davenport realizes that he alone cannot stop the monsters from resurrecting the Ancient One, and decides to start a new cult to end the old one. To achieve this, he teams up with redeemed cultist Diana Stanley and notorious thief Ruby Standish. They must also convince Carl Sanford, the powerful leader of Arkham’s Silver Twilight Lodge, to join their cause. Together, they may be the only hope of preventing a catastrophic eldritch invasion.
Review:
Mother of all holy things! Wow! Just wow! Tim Pratt has yet again proven why he’s a Hugo Award Winner because The Ravening Deep was truly a whirlwind of awesomeness to read. It is a fascinating blend of science fiction, fantasy, and mythology that is both intriguing and suspenseful, with unique and goose flesh inducing innovative concepts. As is typical of Tim Pratt’s writing, the world-building is excellent, the plot is intricate, and the characters are beautifully crafted. Despite its brevity, the story’s plot was flawless, and there was not a single dull moment throughout the entire narrative. I haven’t ever played Arkham Horror games but Tim Pratt makes it almost impossible not to explore them or other literature based on the games by different authors, with his fabulous writing skill and storytelling. Told in multiple point of views, The Ravening Deep delves in to unique mythology concepts unlike anything I’ve ever read before and I loved every single part of it. Of course there were a few moments here and there the plot became somewhat rickety but it didn’t necessarily distract me from enjoying the story at all.
Diana, Ruby and Abel were unique and great protagonists. I do understand the story is based on a game so Tim Pratt can’t derive from the narrative much but I would have loved to dig deeper into Ruby’s story as she was a really interesting character. Cain was a brilliant antagonist and I absolutely loved Carl Sanford’s character. The dialogs were well written and the interactions amongst characters felt natural and on point.
In conclusion, The Ravening Deep is a brilliant book that has the potential to turn into it’s own series and Tim Pratt is truly a gifted writer that never fails to impress me. My heartfelt gratitude to Netgally, Aconyte Books and Tim Pratt for providing me this advanced reader copy of The Ravening Deep.
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