Daughter of the Deep by Rick Riordan | Book Review

Young adult fiction is the genre that has given us many a bestsellers and talented authors who create adventure, science fiction, utopian stories. Rick Riordan is known for his mythical and legendary characters that blend the tales of the past with our present world. He has written many successful books that have also been adapted in films, e.g. Percy Jackson adventures.

One of his recent stories is slightly different though. It is based in the world featured in author Jules Verne‘s books – The Mysterious Island and 20,000 Leagues under the Sea. You may know that the common character in both books is Captain Nemo – an exiled king from India who travels around the world in his submarine the Nautilus.

Inspired by the Captain Nemo’s character graph in the above books, and building on the other characters in these books, Rick Riordan gives us a story based in today’s world called – The Daughter of the Deep. Recently, I had a chance to listen to this book in a handy audiobooks format, and here are our thoughts on this book on behalf of Team Thinkerviews.

Book Cover:

Let us take a look at the cover page of this book.

The cover page of this book is designed to convey the underwater world in colours of the ocean. A massive Octopus is weaving its tendrils around a submarine, while two divers in diving gear look upon the battle. The submarine is made to look like a futuristic craft, blending into the colours of its background.

The coverpage conveys the sense of the thrill and struggle portrayed through the book, and is bright enough to attract the fans of Rick Riordan…

Storyline:

Anna is turning fifteen soon and on the morning we meet her, her brother Dev gives her an early birthday present – a pearl necklace that is a memory of their late mother. The siblings are students at the Harding-Pencroft Academy, where they are learning all things ocean related. It is a big day for Anna, because she will be on to a weekend of tests that will determine her progression throught he school.

But as the bus containing Anna’s class is travelling away from the school, they witness a brutal attack with torpedoes that obliterate the school. All that is left, is this bus full of teenagers and their teacher Dr Hewett. And suddenly, Anna has lost all her family – including her brother.

Dr Hewett informs them that the attack was made by a rival marine school – the Land institute. He charges the Sharks onboard – including Gemini Twain – with security of Anna Dakkar. Why? Because she is now the last surviving descendant of Captain Nemo.

Secrets start tumbling out. Anna discovers that her friend Ester is the last surviving descendent of the Hardings. That  her parents died in an attempt to reach the long-lost Nautilus.

The crew of teenagers get aboard their school yacht Varuna and set sail for Lincoln Island. However, they are repeatedly attacked by the Land Institute’s submarine Aronnax. Anna is able to reach the Nautilus through her knowledge of Bundeli language as well as music.

But, more bad news is on the way. Anna and her crew find that the crew of Aronnax is led by none other than Dev. As part of the Lincoln island is destroyed and the crew is on run again, they have to face a final battle – including state of the art submarines and a giant octopus.

What will happen to Anna and her crew? Will she get her brother back?

Views and Reviews:

The book is interesting for many reasons to the young readers – especillay its portrayal of marine life, the underwater world of the water and how important the oceans are for our ecosystems and risk we face by altering our climate and its impact on the marine life. The author builds a typical school world by creating houses of Dolphin, Shark, Cephalopods and Orcas. As Anna says herself, it will remind you of Harry Potter setup. The focus of the school is marine sciences and how technology has developed in the marine world, developing tomorrow’s marine experts.

This books is a bit more retro, a bit more sci-fi compared to other Rick Riordan books, due to its Jules Verne elements: Anna and Ester, the Harding – Pencroft vs Land versions of captain Nemo, Ester’s dog Top, the intelligent orangutan Jupiter on the Lincoln Island, etc. And the Nautilus itself…The author makes her into an almost sapient, artificial intelligence which responds to music and the language of its creator. The author also tells us that Captain Nemo understood genetics and the Nautilus only responds to a direct descendent carrying his genetic code.

As Captain Nemo created by Jules Verne was a wronged king from India, there are a fair few Indian elements in the story. Anna and Dev’s heritage and cultural references to an Indian family, their ancestral language of Bundeli, etc., But also things like the name of their yacht – Varuna – the god of the seas and so on. However, Anna’s friends and class are really multi-cultural and multi-lingual.

Rick Riordan’s trademark thrill and fighting elements are present all throughout the book keeping it entertaining and interesting. The way the book ends, also leaves an opening for next installments in the series. Like other works of this nature, the book may also be soon seen on the silver screen.

Summary:

A book launching the adventures of Anna Dakkar, that will be very appealing to all fans of Jules Verne and Rick Riordan….

ThinkerViews Rating:

Around 7.5 stars out of 10.

Quick Purchase Links:

• Buy - Daughter of the Deep by Rick Riordan - Paperback - Amazon IN
• Buy - Daughter of the Deep by Rick Riordan - Kindle EBook - Amazon IN
• Buy - Daughter of the Deep by Rick Riordan - Audiobook - Amazon IN
• Buy - Daughter of the Deep by Rick Riordan - Paperback - Amazon US
• Buy - Daughter of the Deep by Rick Riordan - Audiobook - Amazon US

Over To You:

If you already have read the book do share your remarks and thoughts via comments below. Does this review help you in making your decision to buy or read the book? Do not forget to share this article with your friends over various social networks. Please follow/subscribe us on various Social networks like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Spotify, Amazon Prime Music, Audible, and others. And yes, you may like to subscribe to our RSS feeds to get latest updates for the site to land right in your mail box.