A Letter from the Lonesome Shore by Sylvie Cathrall

“Moments after we docked onto the Structure – just as I was considering whether I could risk glancing fondly at her again – we were suddenly plunged into absolute darkness. Though the interior lights in the depth-craft activated quickly, all I could see outside was impenetrable murk. No luminous fish, no shadowy deep-sea whales, not even a solitary bubble. I had imagined such scenes before, when I yearned to take part in the Ridge expedition, but I had never experienced the all-encompassing depths myself. As my eyes adjusted, the depth-craft continued to shrink around me. I became convinced I was pressed into a glass slide in some sublime scientist’s microscope. I could feel only the confining motion of those hungry, heavy seas – well, that and an intense rocking sensation that would not cease.”

A Letter from the Lonesome Shore by Sylvie Cathrall

A Letter from the Lonesome Shore by Sylvie Cathrall is the sequel to A Letter to the Luminous Deep and the final book in the Sunken Archive duology. As much as I enjoyed this book, I felt that it lost just a hint of the magic of the first book. I’m unsure if that’s because the book went in a completely different direction than I anticipated or if the epistolary aspect of the book was less effective with certain characters being physically together. That being said, I still thoroughly enjoyed the book and highly recommend the duology. Epistolary novels are pretty challenging to execute well, and both of these books draw the reader into another world entirely.

This novel follows the events of book one, picking up directly where the first left off. E. and Henerey have disappeared, and we finally get to see where they end up. Much of the book surrounds them falling into a new way of life, realizing that they may never be able to make their way back home. They write unsent letters to their siblings, Sophy and Vyerin about their time in this new place together.

Meanwhile, Sophy and Vyerin’s search for their siblings hasn’t ended. They can’t let go of what happened to E. and Henerey, and their search will send them further into the unknown than they ever imagined.

Also in this novel, we get some added characters appearing for the first time such as the Thirtieth Second Scholar and the Fifteenth First Scholar who both manage to add more humor to the story.

I really enjoyed seeing Henerey and E. finally have time together. To learn each other in person and grow to care for one another. This book has a lot of mystery and when everything comes together at the end, it really is a beautiful ending, and I really loved the way the story wrapped up. I’m definitely looking forward to reading more by this author in the future.