Review: Down in the Sea of Angels by Khan Wong

Disclaimer: I received an advanced reader copy of this book via NetGalley and my opinion is entirely my own.

Down in the Sea of Angels by Khan Wong is a science fiction novel that bridges characters across time, and this is a particular sci-fi trope that really tickles my fancy, and I do want to start this review by saying that it’s a really hard trope to pull off effectively. You run the risk of leaning too heavily on one particular time period and letting the novel suffer as a result. 

In Down in the Sea of Angels, I found myself drawn to the story of Li Nuan the most. Her story was compelling and heartbreaking and I wanted to stay with her for almost the whole story. By contrast, I found that the other two characters just didn’t have the same pull. I’m not quite sure whether it’s because of the setting or whether I just personally didn’t find the others compelling. 

This had the effect of making Down in the Sea of Angels feel lopsided and not quite well polished. The dialogue often contains a lot of exposition and there is quite a bit of telling in places where more depth could have been added by showing. Good but not great, worth the read if you think it’ll be for you.

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