THIS GILDED ABYSS by Rebecca Thorne (BOOK REVIEW)
Death waits beneath the waves as two estranged lovers face their demons…Sergeant Nix Marr left her dark past buried beneath the sea. Then Kessandra, the people’s favourite princess (and Nix’s much-loathed ex), recruits Nix for a covert mission. Their goal – to investigate a massacre in the under-water city of Fall. Nix tries to refuse, but finds herself boarding a luxurious submersible as Kessandra’s bodyguard. After all, Kess always gets what she wants.
As they descend to the city, Kessandra reveals the chilling truth. They aren’t investigating a massacre, but the trigger that caused it – a sickness that turns victims into mindless killers. And when a royal passenger is murdered, it’s clear the infection is on board . . . and no one on the submersible is safe.
Trusting Kessandra, despite her lies, will become Nix’s only hope.
Having enjoyed Rebecca Thorne’s recent cosy sapphic romantasies (reviewed on The Fantasy Hive), I was interested in this very different genre turn for her into sci-fi/horror. I’m more than happy to say that it absolutely worked, and This Gilded Abyss now sits as my firm favourite of her books!
Protagonist Nix is a charmingly grumpy soldier, skilled at what she does within a system that seems determined to keep her down after her past relationship with Subarch Kessandra, the gorgeous, talented and inevitably Most Popular Royal in the city. Alas for them (but good for the plot!), both end up in close proximity as Nix is to guard Kess on a mission into the depths of the ocean to discover exactly what’s going on in the mines that keep their society running.
The world-building in this book is exemplary, with any exposition being conveyed naturally in conversation rather than as uncomfortable info-dumps. I found myself entirely clear as to the structure of this society, their history, religion and dependence on the mysterious substance that empowers virtually everything – including body modifications.
The tension is also brilliant, as we speed down into the high-pressure darkness of the underwater mines in a plush but still claustrophobic submersible. And then a virus breaks out. We’re now in ’28 Fathoms Later’.
Rebecca Thorne does not shy away from the necessarily graphic aspects of this story, and as the mystery turns into horror we face directly into the action. Whether it be hand-to-hand fights or ‘off-screen’ screams, I was never in any doubt as to just how bad this situation was becoming, and the stakes just seemed to escalate as the ship nears the mines themselves, with no way to know what our heroines will find – if they survive to disembark.
Every character is well-drawn, and I was genuinely distraught when certain much-loved friends were caught in the crossfire. Secrets are brought into the light, loyalties tested and I did find myself wishing at one point that Nix could catch a break for a quick nap!
Intense, thrilling and with a compelling romance subplot that never detracts from the action, I finished this in two days (because Life). I absolutely cannot wait for the sequel – huge thanks to the author for such a brilliant ride/fall!
This Gilded Abyss is out today from Tor! You can order your copy on Bookshop.org
