Books like Fathom

Nia and her unstable cousin Bernice flee into the ocean, one to be captured by a water witch who wants to awaken the sleeping Leviathan and bring on the apocalypse, one to be rescued by a disgraced god who is not yet ready for the end of the world. With the broadest scope of Priest's novels, Fathom has the potential to be her best work yet—but for want of a protagonist, the novel flounders. Neither a fun read nor particularly meaningful, the book is a disappointment and I don't recommend it.I've read four of Priest's prior novels, and she's generally a very technically skilled writer with tight plots, solid characterization, and plenty of detail. Her books are swift reads, have an interesting Southern Gothic flair, but for the most part they're forgettable—for all their technical skill, they lack the vital artistic spark which would make them meaningful. Fathom (like Dreadful Skin, my favorite of Priest's novels) has the potential to break that mold: from country girls to elder gods, with more lyrical prose than Priest's usual, the book spans a vast range and could have great nuance and meaning.But Fathom does not succeed—in fact, it's my least favorite of Priest's novels. What the book needs is a protagonist. It offers plenty of potentials, but none of them work out: one is actually an antagonist, one's a sidekick, one is too mysterious, and the intended protagonist is encased in stone (literally!) for half of the book—and when freed, she follows directions more than she thinks for herself. The book jumps between points of view and temporary protagonists, preventing the reader from making an emotional connection to the story or characters. Without a sense of action and anticipation, the book seems to lack purpose despite the strong plot. Fathom may be ambitious, as stories of elder gods often are, but it doesn't actually say much other than "let sleeping gods lie." There's no outright reason to avoid Fathom. It has a lot of potentail: unique mythology and magic, uncommon characters, an intriguing premise, gritty detail and brutality, and a promising mix of lyricism and plot. But all in all, though the book isn't outright bad it fails to be easily readable (as many of Priests novels are) or deeply meaningful (as this one could be), and so it is something of a disappointment. Priest reaches further with Fathom and I commend that effort, but she reaches so far that her great technical skill fails her—and that artistic spark never emerges. I wanted to enjoy this book, but I didn't, and I don't recommend it.