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The Other Mermaid
In the far north, a secret has been hidden for centuries.
Army medic Daniel Manston has already been executed once for a crime he didn’t commit, and now he’s determined to stay alive. But to do so, he must solve a centuries-old riddle about the relationship between the sea people and humanity. On the remote arctic island of Svalbard, he finds an ally in Deryn, a female hermit whose task is to transcribe records of the ancient past. Together, they stumble upon a terrible truth that changes everything – and puts them both in mortal danger.
In a land of ghosts and strange creatures, what is real, and what is not? And can you tell the difference, when your life depends upon it?
Army medic Daniel Manston has already been executed once for a crime he didn’t commit, and now he’s determined to stay alive. But to do so, he must solve a centuries-old riddle about the relationship between the sea people and humanity. On the remote arctic island of Svalbard, he finds an ally in Deryn, a female hermit whose task is to transcribe records of the ancient past. Together, they stumble upon a terrible truth that changes everything – and puts them both in mortal danger.
In a land of ghosts and strange creatures, what is real, and what is not? And can you tell the difference, when your life depends upon it?
- GenresFantasy
286 pages, Paperback
First published November 5, 2022
3 people are currently reading
19 people want to read
About the author
Billy O'Shea
7 books12 followersBilly O’Shea grew up at an airport on the west coast of Ireland.
He studied at Trinity College Dublin and under sentence in Mountjoy Jail, but dropped out of both before completing his education. He then briefly pursued a career as a sound technician and sitcom saboteur with the Irish television station RTÉ before being washed out of the country in the great emigration wave of 1980.
He landed in Denmark and struck out as a ballad singer at night, while living a double life as a student in the daytime.
He was awarded a gold medal by the University of Copenhagen in 2000 and shook hands with Queen Margrethe. After that he refused to shake hands with anyone else ever again, for which reason he was denied Danish citizenship in 2022 and sought asylum in Svalbard, near the North Pole.
He has written several novels, which have been translated into Finnish, Danish and Chinese, to the puzzlement of many. His work is not recommended for the sound of mind or adults above the age of 80.
He studied at Trinity College Dublin and under sentence in Mountjoy Jail, but dropped out of both before completing his education. He then briefly pursued a career as a sound technician and sitcom saboteur with the Irish television station RTÉ before being washed out of the country in the great emigration wave of 1980.
He landed in Denmark and struck out as a ballad singer at night, while living a double life as a student in the daytime.
He was awarded a gold medal by the University of Copenhagen in 2000 and shook hands with Queen Margrethe. After that he refused to shake hands with anyone else ever again, for which reason he was denied Danish citizenship in 2022 and sought asylum in Svalbard, near the North Pole.
He has written several novels, which have been translated into Finnish, Danish and Chinese, to the puzzlement of many. His work is not recommended for the sound of mind or adults above the age of 80.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 1, 2022
The story is very much a meandering story and a melancholic one at that. Every time I sat down with it, it captured me and pulled me in. It didn't go like I wanted it to, but I think it went in more interesting directions. It's very much a dark story and a dreamy one, that leaves a lot for the reader to tease out themselves.
The book does not follow traditional story structures - at least non that I know. As with O'shea's other work I have read a lot of the narrative is driven by outside forces sweeping our protagonist along - in that way it feels more like real life - though with a lot better sense of dramatic timing of course.
For once the nested narratives did not annoy me, but fleshed the story out. All of them sad and dark, but intriguing.
For the parts in Svalbard i wanted more of the every day scenes... I guess I should find a non-fiction story set up there.
The book does not follow traditional story structures - at least non that I know. As with O'shea's other work I have read a lot of the narrative is driven by outside forces sweeping our protagonist along - in that way it feels more like real life - though with a lot better sense of dramatic timing of course.
For once the nested narratives did not annoy me, but fleshed the story out. All of them sad and dark, but intriguing.
For the parts in Svalbard i wanted more of the every day scenes... I guess I should find a non-fiction story set up there.
July 26, 2024
I really enjoyed it!
Though I expected (and had hoped for) more of the story line to actually involve the sea people, to meet them, know more about them. But I guess that is part of the book’s charm, are they real or are they not?
The beginning was a bit confusing, but I love how it all tied together at the end. And the open ending leaves me with aching questions - was it a fever dream? Is his family alive and sea people? Is Deryn a mermaid too? God, I would love a sequel to this.
It was also really fun to read as a Dane!
Though I expected (and had hoped for) more of the story line to actually involve the sea people, to meet them, know more about them. But I guess that is part of the book’s charm, are they real or are they not?
The beginning was a bit confusing, but I love how it all tied together at the end. And the open ending leaves me with aching questions - was it a fever dream? Is his family alive and sea people? Is Deryn a mermaid too? God, I would love a sequel to this.
It was also really fun to read as a Dane!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 23, 2021
I was lucky enough to read the novel before it was published.
What to say about this fantasy/Sci-Fi/mythical/fairy-tale/post apocalyptic adventure thriller with hints of steampunk? I liked it. A lot! For reasons that might not convince other readers to immerse themselves into this unconventional world but some might find them intriguing enough.
First, the setting is different unless you’ve read the author’s other novels. It's not the US or UK or some other location that other books of the genre already chewed up beyond recognition. It's Scandinavia and the northernmost reaches of the liveable world. And we're not served a cookie-cutter post apocalyptic scenery. After the global disaster, this world evolved differently. It regressed into a “Middle Ages meet Victorian-like” era with very limited knowledge of the existing world, and complete misunderstanding of the world before the cataclysm, the world we take for granted.
Second, I like the style. It flows. And it's peppered with just the right amount of sarcasm and dry humour. It's rich, but not pompous. It's easy to follow, but not simple.
And third, I like that it's built around a fairy-tale. Especially a fairy-tale that's been so cleaned of anything even remotely potentially disturbing that it barely bears any resemblance to the original. And this book takes us the other way, it shows us the dark and horrifying potential other side of the coin.
It’s a stand-alone story, but it gives quite a few paths for future novels to take. (Not so subtle hint.)
In short, the story is unique, imaginative, gripping and engaging. If you have to get up early in the morning don't start reading it the evening before.
What to say about this fantasy/Sci-Fi/mythical/fairy-tale/post apocalyptic adventure thriller with hints of steampunk? I liked it. A lot! For reasons that might not convince other readers to immerse themselves into this unconventional world but some might find them intriguing enough.
First, the setting is different unless you’ve read the author’s other novels. It's not the US or UK or some other location that other books of the genre already chewed up beyond recognition. It's Scandinavia and the northernmost reaches of the liveable world. And we're not served a cookie-cutter post apocalyptic scenery. After the global disaster, this world evolved differently. It regressed into a “Middle Ages meet Victorian-like” era with very limited knowledge of the existing world, and complete misunderstanding of the world before the cataclysm, the world we take for granted.
Second, I like the style. It flows. And it's peppered with just the right amount of sarcasm and dry humour. It's rich, but not pompous. It's easy to follow, but not simple.
And third, I like that it's built around a fairy-tale. Especially a fairy-tale that's been so cleaned of anything even remotely potentially disturbing that it barely bears any resemblance to the original. And this book takes us the other way, it shows us the dark and horrifying potential other side of the coin.
It’s a stand-alone story, but it gives quite a few paths for future novels to take. (Not so subtle hint.)
In short, the story is unique, imaginative, gripping and engaging. If you have to get up early in the morning don't start reading it the evening before.
August 5, 2023
The book starts out almost like a classic murder mystery, which to be honest is not my cup of tea. It was this "almost" that made me persist and for that I was rewarded.
The story takes place in a future that looks more like the past, where a Cataclysm, vaguely explained, has wiped out our modern way of life some time ago in the book's present. Daniel, the main character, an orphan and soldier, rapidly turns from murder witness to convicted to spy to fugitive. The story takes him to the remote and now almost uninhabited Svalbard, where he and a woman turned monk find out more about the Cataclysm in the ruins of the research station and the Global Seed Vault, about the secret war between mermaids and royal humans.
If you are into classic murder mysteries, this book might frustrate you, because for all that we find out, a lot remains unclear and unexplained even at the end of the book. This, however, is in keeping with the context of the book. Two people deciphering old documents on Svalbard - information is limited. They find the diary of a researcher who wrote down the events on the research station just as the Cataclysm happened - strange things happen, then communication collapses, they don't know what happened. Nobody comes. This is, all considered, a very realistic depiction of an apocalyptic event seen from one person in a remote place.
So while the limited information can seem frustrating, I felt it really added to the context of the book, the remoteness and how these two people, involuntarily brought together through the necessities of survival in the Arctic, are trying to figure out things from the scraps they are given.
I felt the ending was rushed and didn't keep in pace with the rest of the story. At first I was a bit irritated at it, but thinking about it some more, I realise it intentionally keeps things unclear for us. Are there mermaids or not? We're not supposed to know, just as most of the world in the book doesn't.
The story takes place in a future that looks more like the past, where a Cataclysm, vaguely explained, has wiped out our modern way of life some time ago in the book's present. Daniel, the main character, an orphan and soldier, rapidly turns from murder witness to convicted to spy to fugitive. The story takes him to the remote and now almost uninhabited Svalbard, where he and a woman turned monk find out more about the Cataclysm in the ruins of the research station and the Global Seed Vault, about the secret war between mermaids and royal humans.
If you are into classic murder mysteries, this book might frustrate you, because for all that we find out, a lot remains unclear and unexplained even at the end of the book. This, however, is in keeping with the context of the book. Two people deciphering old documents on Svalbard - information is limited. They find the diary of a researcher who wrote down the events on the research station just as the Cataclysm happened - strange things happen, then communication collapses, they don't know what happened. Nobody comes. This is, all considered, a very realistic depiction of an apocalyptic event seen from one person in a remote place.
So while the limited information can seem frustrating, I felt it really added to the context of the book, the remoteness and how these two people, involuntarily brought together through the necessities of survival in the Arctic, are trying to figure out things from the scraps they are given.
I felt the ending was rushed and didn't keep in pace with the rest of the story. At first I was a bit irritated at it, but thinking about it some more, I realise it intentionally keeps things unclear for us. Are there mermaids or not? We're not supposed to know, just as most of the world in the book doesn't.
May 7, 2023
This is a real page turner of a book. At times it reminded me of Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell - a series of stories stitched, all related, but spanning a vast expanse of time. There is a lot covered in this story but stick with it - the rewards are worth it.
The depiction of a post-apocalyptic world is cleverly handled by O'Shea and he easily convinces the reader about this - without having to spell it out.
The main character, Daniel Manston, is totally believable as is Deryn, a female hermit whose task is to transcribe records of the ancient past. The relationship between to two is full of tension and their dialogue, for me, is one of the most enjoyable parts of the book.
As with O'Shea's other works there is a strong grounding in Nordic landscapes and a lot of this story is based on the remote arctic island of Svalbard. Again, O'Shea's clever use of language brings the biting cold right into the reader's bones! A great read.
The depiction of a post-apocalyptic world is cleverly handled by O'Shea and he easily convinces the reader about this - without having to spell it out.
The main character, Daniel Manston, is totally believable as is Deryn, a female hermit whose task is to transcribe records of the ancient past. The relationship between to two is full of tension and their dialogue, for me, is one of the most enjoyable parts of the book.
As with O'Shea's other works there is a strong grounding in Nordic landscapes and a lot of this story is based on the remote arctic island of Svalbard. Again, O'Shea's clever use of language brings the biting cold right into the reader's bones! A great read.
August 15, 2023
I really enjoyed the book and the combinations of futuristic, fantasy and conspiracy. I read it in two days because I couldn’t stop. I loved to read about Svalbard, which is where I bought the novel.
Just the ending (last 2 pages) felt very rushed, very little development of what had happened, both in the storyline and historically, which is very unfortunate, and yet I still fully recommend.
Just the ending (last 2 pages) felt very rushed, very little development of what had happened, both in the storyline and historically, which is very unfortunate, and yet I still fully recommend.
December 29, 2023
This book never went in the direction I thought it would, and that absolutely worked for me. Both pensive and a wild ride.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews