Out of the Drowning Deep

by A.C. Wise

Synopsis:

In the distant future, when mortals mingle with the gods in deep space, an out-of-date automaton, a recovering addict, and an angel race to solve the Pope’s murder in an abandoned corner of the galaxy.

Dreamy, beautifully written queer science-fantasy novella, for fans of Becky Chambers and This is How You Lose the Time War.

Scribe IV is an obsolete automaton living on the Bastion, a secluded monastery in an abandoned corner of the galaxy. When the visiting Pope is found murdered, Scribe IV knows he has very little time before the terrifying Sisters of the Drowned Deep rise up to punish all the Bastion’s residents for their supposed crime.

Quin, a recovering drug addict turned private investigator, agrees to take the case. Traumatized by a
bizarre experience in his childhood, Quin repeatedly feeds his memories to his lover, the angel Murmuration. But fragmented glimpses of an otherworldly horror he calls the crawling dark continue to haunt his dreams.

Meanwhile in heaven, an angel named Angel hears Scribe IV’s prayer. Intrigued by the idea of solving a crime with mortals, xe descends to offer xyr divine assistance.

With the Drowned Sisters closing in, Scribe IV, Quin, and Angel race to find out who really murdered the Pope, and why. Quin’s missing memories may hold the key to the case - but is remembering worth what it will cost him?

I had to sit with A.C. Wise’s Out of the Drowning Deep for a while to digest it, because I didn’t have any immediate coherent thoughts. I liked it a lot: the science-fantasy setting, the mystery, the idea of Scribe IV, and the complex darkness of the relationship between Quin and Murmuration. It felt like there was so much more going on around the edges of the story that the characters operated within: the way faith could make gods, and what gods are then, and what the Bastion is for, what the Bastion is like from other eyes… Fascinating.

For those looking for a murder mystery set within a science-fantasy setting, I can see it being pretty unsatisfying, though, because the mystery itself is more of a backdrop to the exploration of faith and addiction, to exploring the dynamic between Quin and Murmuration, and what Angel might want and decide to do. The mystery’s a fairly simple one, and there’s not a lot of time spent on unravelling it, even though it’s the cause for some of the movements of the plot.

I went into it fairly blind, just knowing I’d come across a review by someone who’d liked it, that it was a novella, and the library had stocked it, so I just took a chance, and found it fascinating. I’d love to have dug a bit deeper into Scribe IV’s evolving purpose, because it felt like he was left rather static at the end… but that’s a small point that isn’t even really a complaint.

Rating: 4/5