Synopsis: On the eve of Earth’s collapse, young Marisol Blaise is taken to live on an underwater ‘mersation’ known as Aqueous with parents not her own. There, she must compete in the trials, grueling tests designed to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each trainee, hoping to be assigned to the all-male elite diving team known as the Cuviers.
Desperate to prove to herself, the residents, and all of her parents, dead and alive, that she is worthy of this prestigious placement, she works tirelessly to shatter misogynistic beliefs, only to discover that it was not only the men who constrained her — A much uglier untruth exists.
Critique: “Aqueous” by new novelist Jade Shyback is the first volume of her new and ground-breaking fantasy series.