It’s creepy and it’s gay. Need I really say more?

I finished another chunk of Into the Drowning Deep and while becoming more terrified of dark places in the water, I also discovered one of the scientists was gay. A few scenes later I learned the newscaster was also gay, as the two women began blushing and being awkward around each other. Not implied gay, mind you. This is not me reading into behavior. The author confirmed. These women are gay and crushing on each other. I nearly died.

Listen up, friends. Finding a book with explicitly gay characters that isn’t a romance novel or specifically about the “gay” experience, is rare. This book isn’t marketed for the gay crowd, either, which is awesome. It’s a horror/thriller novel. And two of the main characters are lesbians and (fingers crossed) gonna share some intimacy before being murdered by sea creatures. They might even live! I mean, barriers are being crossed here! The “kill the gays” trope that so prevalent in media might not be a part of this story…

When I woke up this morning, I was still thinking about how happy I was to have this nerd courtship happening amidst the cruise ship Bloodbath. And that’s when I started thinking about how the culture is changing (in this respect, for the better) – that horror novels have lesbian protagonists now. And not a solitary lesbian, either, but two of them. I mean, one would have been amazing… but two is like winning the lottery. I couldn’t think of a single horror novel with lesbians (other than Sawkill Girls, a YA horror novel that just came out last month).

I did a quick search and got several small press book results. But Orbit is a big publisher. Into the Drowning Deep has almost 10 thousand reviews on Goodreads and a 4.03 star rating. This is a huge win – for myself, for the community, for readers everywhere, and for the author.

*I finished this book shortly after writing the first half of this review – in 2018. For some reason, I never got back around to finishing it or posting.

So here I am… four years later… finally posting this review in 2022.

And I’m happy to report that there are even more gay horror and thriller on the shelves now, with more being published each year. So many more that it seems strange now that I was so shocked by the inclusion in this book only four years ago. Sometimes you just have to get the ball rolling and leave the rest to gravity and demand. I’m also happy to report Into the Drown Deep was badass until the very last page – and remains one of my all time favorite horror novels. The visual imagery from several scenes will haunt my mind forever. We’re talking permanently seared. Like how I can’t see a picture of a lighthouse now without thinking of The Southern Reach Trilogy.

This book deserves a sequel. It doesn’t necessarily need one, but damn would I love to read one. The author, Mira Grant (aka Seanan McGuire), has even said that she has a story in mind but her publisher doesn’t seem too keen to get the book out. I find that outrageous. Why would you not want to bank on a sequel to such a popular book?

Recently the author Brandon Sanderson told the world he had a few books that he’d written that were unpublished and started a Kickstarter campaign to see if his fans would help him get the books out. It became the largest Kickstarter campaign in history, raising over 20 million dollars in three days. All I’m saying is that I would fork out some money to the Kickstarter campaign for more mer-murder books.

Do yourself a favor and read this book. It’s got action, adventure, mystery, thrills, chills, and mysterious terrifying creatures. It’s outstanding, unique, and worth every bit of your time.

RATING: FIVE STARS

Title: Into the Drowning Deep

Author: Mira Grant

Originally published: November, 2017

Genres: Horror fiction, Science fiction, Fantasy Fiction, Nautical, Adventure, Thriller