Review of The Deep and the Drowned by Ian Green

It's always exciting to discover an unexpectedly good book by a new-to-me writer. The story lingers and there is hope of goodness to come—a back catalog to comb for more gems. Ian Green's Extremophile was such a moment for me, and upon completion, I noticed Green was releasing a new novel this year, The Deep and the Drowned (2026). He did it at least once, can he do it again?

The Deep and the Drowned is the genre opposite of Extremophile. Not a bad thing, just am observation for would-be readers. Where Extremophile is edgy cyberpunk, The Deep & the Drowned is pirate fantasy adventure. Readers follow in the footsteps of Killian Heroneye, captain of the Cutlass Hawk. He and his crew pilot the isles, looking for buried treasure. And treasure is needed, not just because Heroneye wants the plaque above his door to remain valid, but he is also deep, deep in debt. Every island and every port runs the risk of debt collectors looking to collect, usually at the point of a sword. If that isn't bad enough, a powerful mage sees Heroneye as the key to meeting a sea god. The mage forces the captain into a mission that may just never see dry land again.

And 'dry' is a good word to describe the authorial voice of The D & the D. To be clear, there is zero requirement on Green's shoulders to emulate the prose of Extremophile in every book he writes. But again, I must observe: The Deep & the Drowned is written in blasé prose. The setting rarely comes to life. The characters lack edges. Dialogue is ho hum. For example, Heroneye is supposed to be this derring-do pirate captain, flying by the seat of his pants, constantly getting himself out of scrapes through humorous and/or clever means—a Han Solo of the seas, kinda, sorta. But the vivacity with which one might expect such a character to be rendered, doesn't exist. He comes across as bog standard, vanilla agentic, nothing regularly snappy or Gotcha! about him.

The concept of The Deep & the Drowned is clear: pirate adventure with elements of fantasy (limited magic and powerful gods). The details of execution are where the novel fails to deliver something to bring this formula to life. The scene that sticks in mind is Heroneye returning from a successful grave looting. Ensconced in a bathtub at an inn, he hears footsteps in the hall, and knowing debt collectors are approaching, leaps naked from the window to escape. This and the street fight which follow (swordfighting in the nude) is intended to be comic relief. But the scene lacks the edge necessary to communicate This is humor. It's ho hum. Stuff happens. More stuff happens. Doo-da-dee... What's this inane object on the ground over here?

I went online after finishing the novel to see if I missed something. Big, bold adjectives are everywhere in reviews—high-octane, fast-paced, relentless, vivid, imaginative, etc. Untrue. If you are a reader relatively new to genre fantasy in 2026, I can see those words ringing true for you. Spend any amount of time reading said fiction, however, and this novel will settle into its mediocre place. Execution doesn't deliver on the premise.

I could go on. I will. The name of the ship: Cutlass Hawk. Hey ChatGPT, take some pirate-y words and make a ship name. The mage's name, Blade Mournchild. Really? An obvious grimdark portmanteau. But I'll stop there. For readers with long experience, The Deep and the Drowned is adventure that may not distinguish itself from other such books. It feels uninspired, uncertain what it wants to be. New to reading in the genre, however, and it has a chance of clicking.