Song of the Deep by Brian Hastings | Book Review

Song of the Deep is the debut novel by game developer Brian Hastings and is the companion to the Song of the Deep game by the masterminds over at Insomniac Games.

The book tells the story of Merryn, a twelve year old girl, who lives at the edge of the sea with her fisherman father. They are rather poor, and although occasionally they go to sleep hungry, they have each other. Every morning her father sets sail and every night Merryn stands at the edge of the cliff with a lamp to lead her father home. One day, as she waits atop the cliff edge he is no where in sight. As she falls asleep waiting, she has a dream that a sea monster has attacked her father’s boat and her father is calling out her name as he is being dragged down to the bottom of the endless sea. So she does what every little girl would do for her father...she builds a submarine from things her father pulled in or had lying around, and dives into the water. Because for the brave young hero there is NO DEPTH TOO DEEP.

I’ve said this before, but I was going through a pretty bad reading slump that ended a few months ago. For a couple of years, I would rarely finish any book that I picked up. (And that was only if I picked up a book in the first place.) However, being a huge fan of Insomniac Games (the creators of Ratchet and Clank and Resistance) I was excited for their new indie game, Song of the Deep, and when I was given an advance reader copy of the Song of the Deep book I decided to give it a try...

Needless to say, I really enjoyed it. It’s a short book (probably because it’s targeted for a younger audience) and comes to an end at around 170 pages. Throughout those pages you follow Merryn as she dives deeper to discover her childhood bedtime stories comes to life. The book begins with an author’s note in which Brian Hastings explains that his inspiration for this book (and the game) was his daughter. He wanted to create a character that her daughter could relate to and be inspired by. It’s important to keep that in mind because the impact of some of the events in this book (especially page 91) are a lot more meaningful relative to the letter.

Usually in my reviews I would talk about the good, the bad and the ugly. However, in Song of the Deep there is no real bad and as for ugly...well that depends on if you like Swish or not. (So no ugly either.) Instead I will try my best to put to words why the book is so good for someone well over it’s age range. (They do say the book is for everyone but that’s just so that people like me don’t feel bad.)

THE BOOK IS FUN TO READ. There, that about sums it up. There are certain things in life that will make you forget of your adult life responsibilities and just sink it to a story like a little kid. As Merryn sees things she once believed to be folklore and tall tales it is hard not to smile in wonder with her. At the same time it isn’t just a sun-filled story of a daring rescue. Even in a children’s book, if you go deep enough, the sea will soon drown out the sun’s light. (Too deep?) Basically, something is happening to the sea and it’s Irish myth inhabitants. (Personally I think it’s the deeper meaning of humans destroying the sea but I can’t confirm that and the author hasn’t denied it so I will keep on dissecting the story like a high school English teacher.)

From the merrow maidens to the Watchers, the sea gardens to the Forbidden City there is both adventure and danger around every cave and coral reef. The sea is as dangerous as it beautiful and this book shows it. But what are obstacles if not for things to circumnavigate and it is interesting to see how Merryn deals with the problems and challenges as they arrive. (Real talk I would have given up pretty early on. What can I say, the Watchers aren’t my definition of a good time.) Also I have to give a shout out to the physics of this book that is clearly absurd, but you also can’t beat it’s logic either. For example, in order to get out of the small sub Merryn turns the sub upside down to create an air bubble and slips out. To get back in she swims into the capsized sub and flips it back around. And the air supply you ask? There’s a filter thing that filters water to air as long as she minds the words of Dory: “Just keep swimming.”

Finally, I credit this book wholly for getting me back into reading. The sense of wonder that had failed to make me flip to the next page in so many other books returned. I loved the story and it’s characters enough to keep on reading to the end. To say it made me feel like a kid doesn’t do it justice. Instead it made me enjoy the story even if I wasn’t (a kid). I don’t really know why either. It could be Brian Hastings just got used to great storytelling after years of game developing or the book was just what I needed at that time. Whatever the reason, if you like these reviews it is thanks to this book in a way. And I didn’t really need to write a review for this book but I wanted to so I can share with you that little experience.

It seems I am rambling at this point so I will cut this short in order to not ruin any more of this book. I would highly recommend giving Song of the Deep a read. It is not very long and if you want a quick vacation read. Also if you like beautiful book designs then that’s another box to check off. One more thing, if you are parent then DEFINITELY read this book to your child (or get it for them if they can read by themselves.) It is PERFECT and teaches a lot of lessons about family, love and perseverance.