Serena is a mermaid living off Vancouver Island and her
people are known as Undine. They can go on land and walk,
but sadly they are now hunted by werewolves - which used to
guard them. Humans are called by them Ungainlies, for their
lack of agility in the water. The maiden Serena is the
youngest, as no more mermaids have been born in the past
fifteen years.
THE RISING wonderfully depicts the richness of life under
water. This life is under threat, from increasingly acidic
seawater. Told in present tense, the tale follows Serena to
archives and here she reads how females go on land with
males to conceive, and alone to give birth. At this time
the werewolves should protect them but Serena's mother was
attacked by them for no known reason. Serena, exploring on
land, puts other Undines in danger by leading a wolf
towards them as she runs for safety. Accordingly she is
punished by being assigned the post of Werewolf Liaison.
Serena, who prefers sea vegetables and kelp to a diet of
fish and shellfish, is just as caring for abovesea nature,
redwoods and bumblebees alike gaining her sympathy. A
garden of wolfsbane which is poisonous to wolves is her
first port of call. She just wants to deter attackers.
Thus she meets - in some safety - Liam, a werewolf who in
human form works at a bowling alley. He's not all that
friendly at first. But what could he have to fear from
her? Is there some root cause of the wolf revolt that has
been kept hidden?
The story becomes darker and leads to pitched battle, so
it's no Little Mermaid retelling; Serena uses both knife
and bow and arrow to protect her people. Readers who
enjoy a well-realised fantasy world with the additional
flavour of the water element will take to this tale. The
violence would make THE RISING unsuitable for younger
readers but more mature young adults as well as adults
could read it. I mainly enjoyed the detailed descriptions
of the environments as well as the bravery and
inquisitiveness of the mermaid girl.
Serena is the youngest member of a dying race. The
increasing acidity of the ocean is destroying her home, but
it is an outside force that most threatens their dwindling
population. Werewolves, who once served as protectors for
mermaids in the Kingdom of the Undine, now seek to eliminate
all who dwell in the ocean—and Serena is about to find
herself right in the middle of the deadly conflict.
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