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Well Met by Water
An adventure with mermaids (science fiction, not fantasy): Cathay saved Rand's life after he'd been chained in the water and cut to attract the sharks by fellow gangsters. However, Cathay and her dolphin companions freed him.
ebook
Published June 29, 2023
About the author
Joy V. Smith
20 books40 followersJoy V. Smith has been writing stories since she was a kid. Her stories and articles have been published in print magazines, webzines, and anthologies; and her SF has been published in two audiobooks, including Sugar Time. Her books include Taboo Tech, Strike Three; Detour Trail; Sugar Time; The Doorway and Other Stories; and e-books: Velvet of Swords (SF), Well Met by Water (SF), Cold New Planet, Hidebound (SF romance/adventure), Pretty Pink Planet (SF), Hot Yellow Planet (the sequel), and Remodeling: Buying and Updating a Foreclosure. She lives in Florida with Pemberley, the tortoisehell cat, and Samwise Gamgee, a chihuahua cross.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
November 23, 2025
Review Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Jamie Michele for Readers’ Favorite
Well Met by Water by Joy V. Smith follows Rand Beckett, who is left to die in the ocean after a criminal dispute, but survives when a water-adapted human, Cathay, frees him with help from trained dolphins. Her people maintain hidden sites on coasts and underwater, while tracking groups that seek to capture, study, sell, or engineer marine-capable humans. Rand, familiar with criminal channels, enters those circles to gather intel for Cathay and her people. His reports assist in locating holding areas and captives, and in identifying the structure behind the operations. He learns that the criminal network is searching for advanced ocean travel systems under development by Cathay’s people. The purpose? To prevent further exposure and experimentation by relocating to a place beyond the ocean.
To say that Well Met by Water by Joy V. Smith went in a completely different direction than I thought from the book blurb would be a total understatement. I got that there would be human and human water-dwelling hybrids of the chimeric variety, but it is the science fiction elements that really surprised and delighted me. Smith integrates a wonderful, broader science fiction context which, without spoiling what they are for, includes the construction and preparation of fully realized vessels like Sun Song, Sea Star, and Deep Blue. The world-building is exceptional, with the training and movement of the underwater teams being the highlight among many in a textured aquatic series of environments. The book concludes satisfyingly, but there is a little cliffhanger, and I am excited to see where the sequel takes us. I'm pretty sure it will be out of this world. Very highly recommended.
Reviewed by Jamie Michele for Readers’ Favorite
Well Met by Water by Joy V. Smith follows Rand Beckett, who is left to die in the ocean after a criminal dispute, but survives when a water-adapted human, Cathay, frees him with help from trained dolphins. Her people maintain hidden sites on coasts and underwater, while tracking groups that seek to capture, study, sell, or engineer marine-capable humans. Rand, familiar with criminal channels, enters those circles to gather intel for Cathay and her people. His reports assist in locating holding areas and captives, and in identifying the structure behind the operations. He learns that the criminal network is searching for advanced ocean travel systems under development by Cathay’s people. The purpose? To prevent further exposure and experimentation by relocating to a place beyond the ocean.
To say that Well Met by Water by Joy V. Smith went in a completely different direction than I thought from the book blurb would be a total understatement. I got that there would be human and human water-dwelling hybrids of the chimeric variety, but it is the science fiction elements that really surprised and delighted me. Smith integrates a wonderful, broader science fiction context which, without spoiling what they are for, includes the construction and preparation of fully realized vessels like Sun Song, Sea Star, and Deep Blue. The world-building is exceptional, with the training and movement of the underwater teams being the highlight among many in a textured aquatic series of environments. The book concludes satisfyingly, but there is a little cliffhanger, and I am excited to see where the sequel takes us. I'm pretty sure it will be out of this world. Very highly recommended.
Displaying 1 of 1 review