Tideborn is the concluding volume in Eliza Chan’s Drowned World duology that started with Fathomfolk. This book takes up a few months after the cataclysmic end of the first book. Being a sequel, this review will contain spoilers for Tideborn. Those who haven’t read the first book but who like Asian-inspired, maritime-themed fantasy with strong, complex female leads should stop here and go and read the first book.
Tideborn opens in the wake of a near-tragedy but with another impending. Siren Mira and her dragon partner Kai managed to save the human population of their city Tiankawi from an impending tsunami but at the cost of Kai’s life. Mira, as part of the city council, is now facing a human uprising and general upheaval in the city. The tsunami was caused by the death of the giant sea creature on which Tiankawi was built and now the grieving partner of that creature is coming across the ocean intent on revenge. Kai’s sister Nami, once a rebel, is dispatched along with a mixed crew to intercept the travelling monster and convince it not to attack the city. At the same time, also in the mix, is the seawitch Cordelia, who now runs Tiankawi’s drug trade but really wants to reconnect with her estranged children and take revenge on her husband.
Fathomfolk and Tideborn are built on an interesting mix of mythologies and a kind-of Asian polyglot world. The Fathomfolk themselves come in a range of guises – sirens, kumiho, dragons, bunyips, selkies etc – and can take human form. Humans are just human (even after they gain gills), and are generally prejudiced against all types of fathomfolk. But there is also a pecking order in the fathomfolk world. This milieu allows Chan to explore issues of racism and acceptance, a key theme of these two books.
Tideborn takes a bit of time to set up its action but about halfway through kicks into gear and then keeps upping the pressure on its main characters through to a number of escalating confrontations. Chan delivers all of this within a well-realised weird but recognisable world and drives the action with relatably flawed characters with complex motivations and backstories. And while the story as a whole is wrapped up, there is plenty of room for more stories within the universe that Chan has developed.
Tideborn by Elzia Chan
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