Synopsis

For many generations the Just have been at war with the Protectors. In their strange world, supported by a huge pillar poised in the vast and mysterious Deep, ritual bloodshed and sorcery have obsessed the inhabitants since the beginning of time. From the skies, the half-human, half-machine Visitor enters this world, his purpose unknown. Is he a peacemaker, an observer or a warrior the likes of which this planet has never seen before? Only time can tell – but time is something that his makers have not allowed for… (Source: S.F. Masterworks)

Swords, Sorcery and Sci-Fi!

It’s not often that I write reviews like this. In over 290 reviews I’ve written on this site, there have only been two where I’ve written them from the perspective of not having finished them—John Crowley’s The Deep makes three. As such, this review will be slightly shorter than usual.

Mixing sci-fi and fantasy, John Crowley’s first attempt at the genre occurs in a world known as the Deep. A mediaeval-style planet under a feudal system, it’s a world suffering under the constant in-fighting between the Reds and the Blacks, who wish to rule the world. This perpetual cycle of violence is interrupted, however, by the arrival of an alien from the stars known as The Visitor. This alien doesn’t know his purpose on the planet, but his arrival heralds the beginning of a change in this world, for better or worse.

On premise alone, Crowley’s debut sci-fi novel has all the hallmarks of a series that I’d love, including alien observations on primitive society and an interesting deep-dive into the common misconception of feudal society. Unfortunately, the series never clicked from the word go.

Having had time to digest why the series never clicked for me, I’ve come up with two reasons why I ended up dropping the series. The first revolves around The Deep’s characters. Addressed only by their titles, e.g., Redhand or Black Harrah, it quickly becomes apparent how easy it is to get everyone confused. This is only perpetuated further, as almost every character involved in the story’s main source of infighting has the singular ambition to either rule or cut down members of the enemy clan. No character feels as though they have agency, and as a result, none of them stand out.

The second problem I had with this series stems from Crowley’s prose. Dry and meant to deliberately obfuscate events, it only serves to exacerbate any of the other problems I had with this series. With each passing page, this technique made reading the novel increasingly difficult, to the point where I felt I was only forcing myself to go on for the sake of completion. Whatever enjoyment I got out of this series had long gone by the time I’d decided to call it quits.

While I don’t doubt that The Deep has many fans, I just don’t think I will ever come to love this story. The promise of an interesting premise alone was enough to keep me going, as thin characters and the author’s dry prose left me out in the cold.

I Give The Deep: 4/10