Deepwater King is the continuation of Claire McKenna's superb gothic, maritime, steampunk fantasy trilogy (see my review for book 1, Monstrous Heart) and the series continues to delight. I cannot get enough of the richly atmospheric setting, a rustic archipelago governed by blood magic and surrounded by stormy seas and sea-monsters that form the basis of both blue-collar industry and eldritch watery religions. The lore of the Deepwater people is so inventive and feels so true to life. Likewise the influence of the setting, customs, and culture is well-reflected in the characters, making them seem like genuine products of their environment and like real and fascinating people from a world that's different (but not so different at all, really) from our own.

In this installment of the series, main character and blood-magic wielding lighthouse keeper Arden Beacon is in a state of grieving, desperately seeking to outsmart and out-manoeuvre the oppressive political body trying to control her in order to fulfill a dangerous vow. Grief and longing are a persistent undertow running throughout this series as people mourn the loss of loved ones, loss of innocence on account of youthful mistakes, loss of one's place in their community and society at large, loss of traditions, even the loss of one's livelihood to capitalistic and technological forces. A strong theme of environmentalism in the face of unchecked resource development is also present. But at its core the Monstrous Heart trilogy is a love story—one of two people from two different worlds whose past mistakes have made them both outcasts, and most of all a love story with the sea.

I eagerly await the final book, Firetide Coast, due out later this year.