Kirkus Reviews QR Code
THE MEDUSA DEEP by David Neil Lee

THE MEDUSA DEEP

by David Neil Lee

Pub Date: June 15th, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-989496-31-2
Publisher: Poplar Press

A Canadian teen works to stop malevolent extraterrestrials from taking over Earth in this YA sequel to Lee’s H.P. Lovecraft–inspired The Midnight Games(2016).

Hamilton, Ontario, is still reeling months after terrifying beasts tried passing through a wormhole and a mysterious airship blasted the threat back to its own realm. Nate Silva, determined to track down that airship, called Sorcerer, treks through Hamilton’s North End during a heavy snowstorm. He comes across a rusty warehouse, and after he enters it, he learns that he’s actually inside Sorcerer—and that it’s about to take flight. This amazing craft and its crew have traversed time and space in a long-running battle against the Great Old Ones, a group of creatures plotting to colonize Earth. But humankind’s next threat won’t come from the sky; it turns out that the evil Nyarlathotep is already here, deep in the Pacific Ocean, ready to rise to the surface. Soon, Nate teams up with his grandfather, whom he’s never met before. The 80-something man, decades ago, survived a harrowing encounter at sea with something diabolical, and he may be the only one who can find its “underwater grave.” Lee enhances his novel with references to the Lovecraft mythos, although these don’t monopolize the narrative. Menaces include winged, clawed beasts called thrals and a creepy Cthulhu-worshipping cult (a remnant of the series’ first installment). However, there are other elements that smoothly tie into real-world events, including World War II, and a surprising passenger appears on Sorcerer, as well. Nate’s no-nonsense attitude befits a worthy hero, but Lee gives him just enough snarkiness to make him a believable teenager. The author further invigorates this sequel with vibrant detail, from the sounds of Sorcerer(“the airship sighed and shuddered like a huge beast with a broken heart”) to the description of the North End’s abandoned, dilapidated factories inhabiting “a Chernobyl-like wasteland.” A smashing cliffhanger sets up a potential third installment.

Familiar mythical creatures bolster this dark, ongoing adventure.