Song of the Deep by Brian Hastings

Synopsis: Twelve-year-old Merryn lives with her fisherman father in a little cottage by the sea. Each day, her father braves the tumultuous waves and returns home in time for dinner. One stormy evening, he doesn’t come back. Merryn has a vision that he’s been dragged underwater by a terrifying sea creature, and he needs her help. Determined to rescue him, Merryn builds a tiny submarine and embarks on a journey through the undersea worlds she’s only heard about in her father’s lullabies. As she faces the dangers and wonders of the world below the waves, she realizes that her father’s stories were all real.

Readers can also experience Merryn’s daring journey firsthand in the new Song of the Deep video game from acclaimed developer Insomniac Games.

Review: The first thing I saw when I discovered this book is that the video game and so the story come from the same person who made the game: Spyro the Dragon. I’m not a big fan of games but it’s true that Spyro always allowed me to spend a nice little moment when I was younger. So when I saw the release of this novel, it is true that I was curious to see how it was.

I can tell you firstly, that the book object itself is beautiful if only by this superb cover. Indeed, it was like seeing an old book with all the pages of different lengths, and it’s very nice to browse them this way. But there’s more because each chapter is accompanied by an illustration and I thought that the idea was well found, especially as the illustrations are very well done too. Well, between all this we have a story and you are probably wondering how it is … I’ll tell you right now! Here we follow, as explained by the synopsis, Merryn a young girl who lives with her father who is a fisherman. While our heroine dreams to travel through the seas, her father disappears one night without coming home. Armed with her courage, she builds a small submarine to her size to go in search of her parent. Thus she will discover that the rhymes of her childhood were real and that there is a world much bigger underwater than she would have thought.

It was fascinating to follow the journey with Merryn, whether by design or by the text and it is true that we are curious to see what she will face to find her father. It’s a nice story in the depths of water that carries us and which we are eager to discover the purpose. Merryn has a lot of courage and determination and it is touching to see what she is willing to do to save the creatures she meets or even her father. A nice little discovery.

4 

mellianefini

 

30 thoughts on “Song of the Deep by Brian Hastings

  1. Really? Spyro was one of my favourite games! Fascinating . . . This one sounds really good and, I must say, I’m intrigued by the illustrations you mentioned 😀
    Thanks for reviewing this title, Melliane, I noted it down!

  2. This sounds like a true gem, what with the cover and those pages and illustration. I’m not particularly fond of games either, but the book seems to be something I might like. Wonderful review!

  3. I had such fun with the game and I have been so curious as how well the book’s adaption would be. Gah, such a pretty cover. I may have to grab this one up as I love reading these MG books as a escape or with my girls.
    Lovely review – Melliane 🙂

    Hope you have a great weekend 🙂

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