Daughter of the Deep

All you need to know about

DAUGHTER OF THE DEEP 

Author : Rick Riordan

Ana Dakkar is a freshman at Harding-Pencroft Academy, a five-year high school which graduates the world's best marine scientists, naval warriors, navigators and underwater explorers. Ana's parents had both died while on a scientific expedition funded by the Academy, and Ana's elder brother, Dev, was the only family she has got left. Harding-Pencroft Academy was her only home, and her only family.

As Ana's fifteenth birthday was fast approaching in a week, and her freshman year was coming to a conclusion with their weekend trial at sea, Ana's only worries were whether she would pass the trials and live to gloat to her brother, and not mess up spectacularly.

That is, until her freshman class witnesses a horrifying catastrophe on the bus ride to the ship, a tragedy that would change their lives in the worst way possible

In the light of the recent tragedy, Professor Hewett, the professor accompanying them, reveals that their rival school, Land Institute and Harding-Pencroft have been fighting a cold war for more than a century, and this recent attack by the Institute had officially turned up the heat of the war. The freshman of Harding-Pencroft are now the last survivors of the academy, and the primary targets of Land Institute. 

Now, Ana is in more danger than ever. She is potentially the most important person in the world, and the last person who could continue the legacy of her family, and protect it's unique heritage from the world. But now that Land Institute and their masterpiece, The Aronnax, are hot on their trail, can Ana and her crew of woefully under prepared freshmen save the world?

Daughter of the Deep, though it is written by Rick Riordan (author of the Percy Jackson series), does not have not connection with the Percy Jackson universe. It was released on 5th October 2021 as a science fiction standalone.

My Comments

Daughter of the deep is one of the best science fiction books I have ever read, and while I usually don't indulge in standalone books, Daughter of the Deep made me change my mind. Jules Verne is one of the greatest writers of all time, and while his books had excellent and riveting plots, I usually found it a little slow. But Rick Riordan has taken inspiration from Verne's novels, and put a wonderful spin to it. I couldn't help but fall in love with the writing style, the amazing characters and the compelling story of Ana Dakkar's greatest adventure. While I had been apprehensive at first, I became more and more engrossed in the story until I just couldn't put it down! The book portrayed the mystery and the ethereality of the sea beautifully, the bewildering twists in the story only added to how mind-blowing it was. On the whole, the Daughter of the Deep is a phenomenal experience and a must read for all readers of age 12 and above.