3.75-ish stars.

I found myself feeling claustrophobic in Elijah's head. We see most of the story from his POV. There are a few Grady chapters, but they don't explain much, mostly that he doesn't want to have problems with the law, he is a kind man, travels/works with supportive (or at least understanding) cousins and he is obsessed with Elijah.

The problem with the lopsided perspective on things is that it doesn't provide enough depth to the secondary characters. Even Grady remains very sketchy. What drew him to Elijah? Love at first sight? Lust? Pity? I just don't get it.

Crane. I would love - love! - to know more about him. With all his meanness and bullying there is something else lurking under the surface and I was hoping it would reveal itself. But - no. It was a disappointment.

The ending was left open and for once I can't complain about it. At all.

WARNING: No tentacle sex!!! 

Quite a bit is left unsaid in this story. I see it as a positive thing, it adds to the mystery.

*

The ending fails to spell out not only MCs future but their immediate future as well. Like "5 seconds from now" future. No one had seen the captain die. The boys step outside the room and - who knows? 

*

They see the captain?

*

They drop dead?

*

Their zombie body parts start falling off?

Omg I need a bucket for this one!!!! Tom ♥.♥ =)~~~~ *turns into a pile of goo*

*

At one point I felt sorry for the captain. He seemed like a very lonely creature with a major crush on an alien (to him) being. Such a big crush, indeed, that the poor dear made himself so trusting, so blind, accepting all the BS Edouard fed him. All the way to the very end.

"Betrayal. Misery. Edouard Montreuil... ...Stay beneath the water with me, Edouard Montreuil. I’ll wrap myself around you in the trenches, and I’ll make you a god of the deep..."

****

This is A Happy For Just F*ckin Now Ending. Somehow it worked for me.

Surprisingly, I don't want a sequel, but another book set in the same universe would be great.