A LETTER TO THE LUMINOUS DEEP

This story of pen pals turned lovers unfolds in a series of letters and “Automated Post missives” as the two learn more about their underwater world.

Struck by curiosity, E. Cidnosin writes a letter to Scholar Henerey Clel hoping he’ll help her identify an “Elongated Fish.” Through their ongoing correspondence—as well as later letters between members of their families—we learn more about E. and Henerey and the world around them. For instance, one of Henerey’s scholarly publications says this: “Ever since the tragedy of the Dive ushered in our new Society, people who seek to understand the creatures with whom we share this world have published great Treatises to prove themselves as worthy Scholars.” In this new society triggered by the mysterious event called “the Dive,” people live primarily underwater in places like Boundless Campus and Intertidal Campus, as well as on the Atoll, which is the “only known landmass in the world.” E. lives “a few hundred fathoms off-coast” of Boundless Campus in a family home called “Deep House.” She suffers from “a Malady of the Mind that made certain things—like leaving the house, interacting with strangers, or not obsessing over the fragility of her own mortality—very difficult.” Even so, as her correspondence with Henerey grows, so does her fondness for him. The diction and syntax of the letters revel in a bygone era’s romance and quick wit, showcasing the art of letter writing. The long-distance friends eventually meet at a gala hosted by E.’s brother, Arvist, at Deep House, where their conversation ingeniously continues on the back of the event’s “programme.” The scholarly search for knowledge to better understand this underwater world propels the plot into the unknown, where many curiosities are yet to be uncovered. Additionally, the letters between E.’s sister, Sophy Cidnorghe, and Henerey’s brother, Vyerin Clel, allude to something that has happened to the couple, and Arvist makes a last-minute confession that sets further mysteries in place to be unraveled in the next book in this series.

Whimsical and heartfelt, with a radar trained on delight.