A review by triplebriiii
Hell's Aquarium by Steve Alten

adventurous dark informative tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

A solid addition to this series, focusing on David, which I enjoyed. Gah, David, so young, so naïve, such a man (derogatory) alskjdflsk. I do love David, and enjoyed seeing his journey throughout this book. His romance with Kaylie felt a bit stale, tbh. I don't think Kaylie was fleshed out as well as she could have been, which is a common issue with this author and his female characters. Nevertheless, we must have a damsel in distress to kickstart the man's hero's journey, or in this case, getting David to agree to that suicidal dive into the deeps. David's friendship with Monty, so reminiscent of Jonas and Mac's, I really hope it's as entertaining and lovable. 

This is another one where Jonas comes in at the end and saves the day. While I appreciate the dedication and loyalty to his main man, the dude is 66 now, it's time he had some rest. Speaking of ages, another victim of the author playing fast and loose with those. Considering Jonas was supposed to be 38 in the first book, and that took place 28 years ago, his age in this book should be appropriate. However, this book was also supposed to take place 5 years after book 3, where Jonas was supposed to be 63, so Jonas SHOULD be 68. I think the main ages issues happen in book 3, bc the math maths in book 4. Except for Terry, who's stated as 49 in this book, even though she's only supposed to be 12 years younger than Jonas. GAH okay I'm done, but as you can see I am very annoyed at these very simple errors that could have been fixed with good editing. 

The RAW group was so fucking annoying and honestly I wish their end was a lot bloodier than it was. I'm also infuriated that the fucking Prince survived, but I'm hoping for his demise in book 5. 

Angel, my sweet, sweet Angel, you shall be missed. That fucking Liopleurodon is just not as lovable as our giant shark, what can I say.  I hope Belle and Lizzy fucking slaughter the monster in the next book, I am obsessed with those sharks.