A Letter to the Lonesome Shore by Sylvie Cathrall concludes The Sunken Archive duology in a deeply romantic and magical way.

In the aftermath of E and Henerey disappearing through the strange and mysterious structure which they both discovered outside of Deep House, the pair now find themselves in an unfamiliar world. Here they meet a society of scholars with closely guarded secrets but if E and Henerey have any hope of returning to their siblings then they must uncover the truth. Meanwhile Sophy and Vyerin desperate to find E and Henerey go in search of another Entry point in the hopes they will too be transported to this other world. 

“You are my saviour now. Perhaps that is how we will navigate this perplexing world – by saving each other in alternating sequence.”

Something I love about both books in this series is Cathrall’s completely gorgeous prose and the beautifully crafted epistolary form. I had wondered how we would hear E and Henerey’s account of what had happened to them and so the way Cathrall includes their personal notes, often unsent ones, alongside their journal records was just a fantastic way to get a full rounded picture. Now I have to mention that this did in turn slow down the plot, quite considerably, because E and Henerey spend a fair amount of these letters relating their true feelings and anxieties for each other, and this often became a bit too repetitive. However, it was sweet to see E and Henerey both finally spending an extended time in each other’s company and all the insecurities and shyness but also comforting companionship that came with that. From falling in love through letters to falling for each other in person, honestly that on the whole is beautifully done.

Although E is thrown into a foreign place far from the safety of her home in Deep House, she copes surprisingly well. Perhaps in part to Henerey’s support and understanding of her anxieties and perhaps in part because she was housed in a rather isolated area away from the curious scholars of this new world. Her intrusive thoughts keep overwhelming her but she seems to be able to dampen them quite effectively and prove her Brain wrong, which showed further depth to her character. The E we encounter in this book is someone who shows immense courage and strength by taking a more active role. In contrast Henerey displays more emotional upheaval being placed in an alien environment and though he braves much for E’s sake he does also show a vulnerable side which we hadn’t seen in depth before. 

As well as introducing us to a new world we also are introduced to a few new characters, Thirtieth Second Scholar, Fifteenth First Scholar and L. These were quite interesting characters because they represented how civilisation worked differently from E and Henerey’s world. Most notably these characters were frowned upon for showing any emotion, their names had been reduced to numbers giving them a lack of identity and they knew so much more than they were willing to reveal as they followed rules so closely. Believe me this was a frustrating aspect for me because we were teased of a Predator and I very much needed to know what that was. Yet once it was revealed I did immensely enjoy that part even though I was left with more questions. 

“I was born in a burst of song to an empty sea. For ages upon ages I trailed the waves, seeking others like myself. I saw nothing, but I heard everything. The richest sounds imaginable, flowing from speakers and singers I could not trace. The mystery drove me to despair. Why did it seem as though life was all around me, when I floated alone in the ocean?”

ARC provided by Nazia at Orbit Book—thank you for the copy.

A Letter to the Lonesome Shore is available now – you can order your copy HERE