What do you think?
Rate this book
Drowntide
As Queen Amelyor's powers decline, Keiris, her son, decides he must find his long-lost twin sister, and the secret of his heritage
224 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1987
2 people are currently reading
157 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 23 of 24 reviews
September 16, 2021
Carina l'ambientazione e la storia!
Peccato per il finale e la copertina
Peccato per il finale e la copertina
December 19, 2018
Keiris is the scion of a family/clan, of Adenyo stock, which has the genetic ability to span (communicate telepathically) with sea creatures known as mams. The ordinary people of his society are Nethlor who accepted the Adenyo after their lands were drowned following a volcanic eruption. When Kieris’s sister Nandyris fails to return from a sailing expedition he appears to be the only heir to his mother’s calling - yet he has not manifested any capability in it. In the aftermath his mother acknowledges her powers are fading, reveals to him that he had a twin sister whose father had taken her away very shortly after the birth and charges Keiris with the duty of setting out to find them both and bring his sister back.
This planet has two moons, whose celestial wanderings lead periodically to a period called drowntide when the land to which Keiris travels is subject to daily inundation. In his journey through the islands at the end of the land the book has similarities to Kim Stanley Robinson’s A Short, Sharp Shock (which this novel predates.) Keiris eventually meets the tide folk, where his father is a sort of headman, and his sister - who has the hallmarks of another called race, the rermadken. In following the tide folk’s yearly pilgrimage Keiris develops a spanner’s voice and we discover from their folk tales that all these varieties of human originated from, and left, a poisoned Earth a long, long time ago.
This novel still stands up reasonably well thirty-plus years after its first publication. The cover doesn't though.
This planet has two moons, whose celestial wanderings lead periodically to a period called drowntide when the land to which Keiris travels is subject to daily inundation. In his journey through the islands at the end of the land the book has similarities to Kim Stanley Robinson’s A Short, Sharp Shock (which this novel predates.) Keiris eventually meets the tide folk, where his father is a sort of headman, and his sister - who has the hallmarks of another called race, the rermadken. In following the tide folk’s yearly pilgrimage Keiris develops a spanner’s voice and we discover from their folk tales that all these varieties of human originated from, and left, a poisoned Earth a long, long time ago.
This novel still stands up reasonably well thirty-plus years after its first publication. The cover doesn't though.
November 14, 2015
I'm not massively fond of oceans and the deep; it's where Cthulhu resides, after all, and it's not solid ground. But SJV Scyoc's 'Drowntide' makes for excellent reading. Someone born on the shore of an ocean, who fears the water, discovers that there is far more in the deep for him than there is on land; it's a really well written book and very interesting. The oceans/deep places are not to be trusted, not because of Cthulhu (well, not all of them), but because of the tides, and the depths (obviously). Holds a mirror up to society in some ways. Interesting and worth reading, particularly if you're not a water-baby type.
October 12, 2010
I read this book as a junior high or high school student and couldn't stop thinking about it over the years. It took me this long to figure out the title and who wrote it. I thoroughly enjoyed returning to its pages which isn't always the case with rereads.
September 8, 2012
Poetic, evocative, vivid - like a dream. Like all of van Scyoc's books it really takes you to another world. For me, that's what sf/fantasy is all about.
March 29, 2017
It was unexpected. The book amazed me. Earlier take on the fantasy genre which tackles more on the struggle of existence than romance.
December 14, 2021
I'm reminded a bit of Patricia McKillip. It's not a fast paced book, the writing is poetical and the story is interesting. I got a bit impatient near the end (alas), but may reread at some later date. I loved Sydney J. Van Scyoc's Darkshild trilogy - this has a similar feel to it in some cryptic bits.
Edited to add: at some points, as he learns about who he is and his legacy, I kinda sat back and thought "what's the big emotional struggle with this?" But I guess we all have our own battles? lol
Edited to add: at some points, as he learns about who he is and his legacy, I kinda sat back and thought "what's the big emotional struggle with this?" But I guess we all have our own battles? lol
July 20, 2021
Me ha enganchado desde que lo vi en la tienda se segunda mano hasta que lo he terminado. Ha roto un embrujo de años en los que no leía con tanto gusto y voracidad. Un libro de fantasía extraño y no al uso que cantará una balada de amor a todos los que amamos el océano.
Un libro en el que prima, por encima de todo (y, especialmente, de las tramas amorosas típicas en novelas con protagonistas tan jóvenes) el descubrimiento paulatino del yo, más allá de los propios prejuicios, el entorno que nos ha criado y nuestros temores. Una oda al valor que se antepone a los miedos más persistentes y las voluntades más débiles (o falta de la misma).
Un libro extraño, único y hermoso. Una historia que me siento agradecida de poder haber leido.
Un libro en el que prima, por encima de todo (y, especialmente, de las tramas amorosas típicas en novelas con protagonistas tan jóvenes) el descubrimiento paulatino del yo, más allá de los propios prejuicios, el entorno que nos ha criado y nuestros temores. Una oda al valor que se antepone a los miedos más persistentes y las voluntades más débiles (o falta de la misma).
Un libro extraño, único y hermoso. Una historia que me siento agradecida de poder haber leido.
August 18, 2024
2024 shelf audit: 2 stars
DNF @ pg. 121 / 54%
Once the male protagonist gets to the island he has a guide he continually refers to as a 'girl' and refuses to sleep with because she's so young. But eventually sees the error of his aristocratic ways and impregnates her. Disgusting.
2018 review: 5 stars
So good! The last half is amazing and makes me want a sequel so baddddd!
DNF @ pg. 121 / 54%
Once the male protagonist gets to the island he has a guide he continually refers to as a 'girl' and refuses to sleep with because she's so young. But eventually sees the error of his aristocratic ways and impregnates her. Disgusting.
2018 review: 5 stars
So good! The last half is amazing and makes me want a sequel so baddddd!
October 20, 2018
Increíble, una oda al inmenso océano. Junto a la historia vas descubriendo las joyas, los peligros y los personajes que, Sydney crea para disfrute del lector. Nos describe un mundo marino apasionante, dota a sus muchos habitantes de todo tipo de sentimientos. Miedo, amor, desesperación, entre muchos otros. Y si eso no fuera suficiente, pone el centro de la historia a Keiris, el protagonista de la novela, una personaje atrapado entre dos mundos, completamente diferentes y a la vez tan iguales. Sin duda una novela que permanecerá en mi corazón toda la vida. ¡Leedla!
November 23, 2020
Another good one from Ms. VanScyoc. The hero, Keiris, is a prince on a planet with two moons. When the moons align, the drowntide occurs. Although it's a coming of age story, the planet and the people make it more interesting. Rather than spoil it for you, I suggest that you may be surprised by the back story when it's revealed. Recommended.
December 18, 2020
This was really nice. Very strange, but nice, easy reading
January 29, 2021
Muy buena obra. Me resultó un libro muy agradable de Alta fantasia bastante sofisticado.
Read
October 23, 2025As Queen Amelyor's powers decline, Keiris, her son, decides he must find his long-lost twin sister, and the secret of his heritage
August 6, 2022
Keiros lives in the pink palace, the only son of the woman who calls to the sea from the dais. Many, many years ago, Earth's sea was poisoned, so some Earth people and Earth mammals who had learned to communicate came by ship to this planet.
Some people who lived fully on land settled on land. These are the Neth who live on Nethlor. Some people lived in the sea. These are the Adenyo. When they arrived they found there are creatures already who live in the sea who look like humans but aren't. These are the remadken. The Adenyo interbred with them, then, after a while, some Adenyo went to live on land, and some remained as tidal people. When a great volcano disrupts the Adenyo living on land on the Isles of Aden they get on rafts and end up living on Nethlor where they help the Neth on their narrow, bony, spiny land, and live off the harsh, weird, lizard-filled dark sea by speaking to the mammals. But most of these Adenyo fear the sea. Keiros does too. But he learns he was born with a twin and that his father was not full Adenyo. He thinks he must have been half-Nethlor but finds out instead he is one of the tidal people everybody else thinks are extinct but are really still going strong.
His sister turns out to be a full-blooded remardken, and it is their responsibility to help the tidal people on their migrations by going down to the bottom of the sea and pretending to feed the plant that wails from the bottom, otherwise calling all down. Sometimes they get stuck there. They use sea-snakes to help them use mindspeak. Keiros gets settled there, gets a wife he kind of loves and she is pregnant when he has to go back to Neth, which he still half-loves, to be the new speaker on the dais. His father, who really loves his mother (and vice versa) may join him soon and take over for him.
Like all van Scyoc books this was very interesting. However, I didn't enjoy the setting or plot very much so didn't like this as much as the other books I have read by her.
Some people who lived fully on land settled on land. These are the Neth who live on Nethlor. Some people lived in the sea. These are the Adenyo. When they arrived they found there are creatures already who live in the sea who look like humans but aren't. These are the remadken. The Adenyo interbred with them, then, after a while, some Adenyo went to live on land, and some remained as tidal people. When a great volcano disrupts the Adenyo living on land on the Isles of Aden they get on rafts and end up living on Nethlor where they help the Neth on their narrow, bony, spiny land, and live off the harsh, weird, lizard-filled dark sea by speaking to the mammals. But most of these Adenyo fear the sea. Keiros does too. But he learns he was born with a twin and that his father was not full Adenyo. He thinks he must have been half-Nethlor but finds out instead he is one of the tidal people everybody else thinks are extinct but are really still going strong.
His sister turns out to be a full-blooded remardken, and it is their responsibility to help the tidal people on their migrations by going down to the bottom of the sea and pretending to feed the plant that wails from the bottom, otherwise calling all down. Sometimes they get stuck there. They use sea-snakes to help them use mindspeak. Keiros gets settled there, gets a wife he kind of loves and she is pregnant when he has to go back to Neth, which he still half-loves, to be the new speaker on the dais. His father, who really loves his mother (and vice versa) may join him soon and take over for him.
Like all van Scyoc books this was very interesting. However, I didn't enjoy the setting or plot very much so didn't like this as much as the other books I have read by her.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 4, 2017
I found this book secondhand, randomly, having never heard of it or the author before. I saw mermaids on the cover and instantly bought it. The first 70 or so pages had me desperately wanting the book to get good, then it hit me like a freight train. The whole story elevated to a mythical plane, at once both frightening and beautiful. The story was wonderfully written, and completely entrancing. Like a melody that takes you to a far away place of sea-magic, sadness, personal development and joy. Thoroughly recommend this book to lovers of fantasy, the sea, sea mythology, adventure, and the big questions of life.
November 1, 2014
The 1st book I read by this author and it got me hooked! The underwater setting is truly magically described and the coming-of-age story of a boy and his search for his father is very well written. However, one has to concentrate while reading, because the author doesn't describe all background of the book in detail.
May 16, 2016
This was the most unusual science fiction/fantasy I've ever read. It is like The Wizard Test in it's sad, mournful tone. Although the hero saves his sister and learns his history is with the sea people, it is very dark and brooding. I felt kind of depressed after reading it. So he is torn between 2 worlds! I wish the author had made him happy at the end, not being forced to live 2 separate lives.
June 23, 2010
stimulating your imagination
Read
October 8, 2012brilliant, just brilliant
November 28, 2012
Could not put it down and wanted more.
October 9, 2015
I've read it when I was a teen and was amazing! recommend it!
Displaying 1 - 23 of 24 reviews