Review: From the Depths by B. S. H. Garcia

Blurb:

The world can sustain the needs of many, but the greed of a few can destroy it for all.

In a life steeped in peril, the Brune family has thrived on the knife’s edge. Renowned for their smuggling and bounty exploits, Konar and Karliah’s parents command both respect and fear. Comfortable yet haunted, the family faces the constant threat of perilous assignments, leaving scars that even a parent’s protective embrace can’t heal.

Still, Konar dreams of scholarly pursuits, and Karliah sees the world as something ripe for the taking. When the emperor dangles an irresistible offer—a job to end their dangerous pursuits forever—the Brunes seize the chance. But there’s a catch: the item in question is little more than a myth, deemed impossible to find.

As the family embarks on the voyage of a lifetime, their bonds are tested like never before. Locating and securing the prize will require sacrifices beyond measure, and when your family is in the business of pirating, trust is the greatest myth of all.

From the Depths is a prequel novella that takes place roughly a thousand years prior to the events in Of Thieves and Shadows—volume one in the epic fantasy series, The Heart of Quinaria.

Review:

After that banger of a first novelette, I just had to jump immediately into this next one! I craved more of the world of Quinaria, and Garcia delivered up another great read! 

From the Depths takes place one thousand years prior to the main books in this series. The story is set on the Islands of Zelos, islands not directly under the emperor’s rule, but not removed enough from his influence. We follow a family of pirates, which was such an unexpected turn after the previous one that followed rebellion leaders. What Garcia did with From the Depths was reminiscent of the likes of Hobb with her The Liveship Traders series. She wove a tale equally as enchanting as her previous work, but set it into a different locale, following different characters, and in doing so gave the world of Quinaria even more depth and culture, broadening its scope.

“The scrolls no longer wish to remain hidden. They itch to fulfill their purposes.”

From the Depths never wavers on that superb storytelling quality that I was first introduced to in the previous novelette. Garcia’s writing is absolutely captivating in its imagery and characters. It is so purely atmospheric you can feel the intensity of the heat and humidity of the jungle on your skin, or hear the imaginatively created new creatures calling out to each other in the jungle during the long sticky nights. And once again, she introduces new things, phrases, and cultural backgrounds sprinkled throughout the story adding to the larger picture of the world of Quinaria, expanding its horizons and the various peoples who inhabit it. We also get a nifty glossary tucked into the back to help us readers out if we need it. I love when those are included ^_^

I thoroughly enjoyed the uniqueness of this fresh new perspective that also simultaneously progressed the storyline of the mysterious lost scrolls, which were first introduced in From the Ashes. Where in that one, we followed two adults heading a rebellion, in this one, we follow the children of famous pirates who have been tasked by the Emperor of Az Zar to find the lost scrolls. Driven by the desire for greater fame and fortune their parents, of course, can't refuse such an offer. Koner, who’s twelve, and Karliah, who’s eight, don’t have much choice either but to get roped into this seafaring family adventure right alongside their privateering parents. And boy is it an adventure that will leave indelible memories, and even more permanent scars. 

‘Karliah couldn’t remember the last time he went anywhere without a book’

I adored Konar with all my heart. He’s bookish just like us, always carrying one tucked under his arm with aspirations of becoming a scholar one day. He is the sweetest soul, a total cinnamon roll character who just wants a peaceful life in pursuit of knowledge. Then his younger sister, Karliah is quite the opposite in her spunky personality, and her willingness to go out of her way to trick the wealthy out of their coin purses. She’s such a scrappy little sister who keeps poor Konar busy trying to keep her mischief to a manageable level. Their sibling relationship is one of my favorites, the tug and pull of their bickering balanced out with their protectiveness of each other. It felt very realistic and on par with my own relationship with my younger sibling. There really needs to be more books out there with strong sibling relationships in them like this. It adds another integral layer of humanity to the characters, another point of motivation that drives them to do the things they do, and I swear it’s sorely lacking in books.

‘Karliah felt herself shrinking, compressed, like a mud pie packed over and over again until it was as dense as a rock.’

Another point where Garcia excels in this new novella is her portrayal of family dynamics. In addition to the highly relatable sibling relationships, she also delves into the struggles and woes of a disruptive home life. We see the impact of dealing with a parent caught up in alcoholism, how that makes the children feel, how they shy away from that parent. Or how the constant fighting between parents affects them, causing them to avoid being at home. Garcia just has such a way of writing these very realistic situations and really grounds you in the perspectives of the children witnessing this on a regular basis, and creates those emotional ties between you and them. 

“Don’t let your skepticism poison you against the world. There’s always some good in it, in people. I promise.”

Once the sea adventure got under way, this was totally giving me Pirates of the Caribbean vibes! Did I have the theme song playing through my head while reading this? Absolutely! I additionally kept having a craving for rum based drinks >_> 

Ship battle scenes are one of my favorite things to read, but they are also a rarity as so many fantasy books take place on land. Nothing beats a ship battle on a storm tossed sea with…creatures that shall remain nameless for the sake of spoilers. It made for such delightful reading! The pages were turning themselves especially aggressively at that point. And the whole treasure hunt, with the caves and other…creatures. I need more. So much more!