Merfolk Books?

[MermanJamie]

Does anyone have any suggestions for any good books featuring mermen and mermaids? Every time I've searched up books about mermaids, I get books for little girls, and whenever I've searched up books about mermen, I get very graphically sexual books. I'd preferably like them to not follow stereotypes. Pretty much everything I've found so far, has been incredibly stereotypical. I'm not trying to offend people who have qualities stereotypically associated with merfolk, because that's totally amazing, but I just want to see some variety. I love when I can read things about my interests, but if everything is either pink, frilly, and cutesy, or full of sex, neither of which is all that appealing to me.

[SeaGlass Siren]

Hi Jamie ! Have you checked out my book site that I'm working on?

http://ssmermaidlibrary.blogspot.ca/?m=1

[Princess Aegean]

I recommend the waterfire saga. Mermaids, mermen, nothing stereotypic (in fact it sometimes pokes fun at the stereotypes) and lots of action!

[GatorPie]

I too have found the same issue. What the heck is with all the fluff and stuff?! I am currently reading The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd (not enough Mer stuff, but good so far) May I also recommend The Sea Lady by HG Wells. :)

I've gotta check out this Waterfire saga!! Thank you.

And a whole blog dedicated to Mermaid books... Oh my! So much love!

[TritonsGuard]

One site you might want to check out is "Mer Books Blog." It has been up for years, and has many reviews on mermaid books as well as movies. It has been less active in the last few years, but there is still a lot of info.

[Aurelian]

Ugh, I have the same problem! There are only 2 books/series I've found so far that are not to "mature" or to little-kiddish. The two book series I have found are the Waterfire Saga and The Tail of Emily Windsnap. I love both of them and own several books from them.

[MermanJamie]

Thanks for all the great suggestions!

[MermanJamie]

Your blog looks like it has a lot of good reviews. I'll definitely check out some of the books.

[Merman Chatfish]

A friend of mine has written two ya/fanticy books. The first one is at https://www.wattpad.com/story/42391865-tails-transformations-book-1, second is at https://www.wattpad.com/story/46799315-fins-transformations-book-2

[Misha]

Hey guys, I was looking for merfolk book recommendations that are not the usual stories, and found your thread. I'll definitely check out the series you posted :D

I can also recommend you guys a new series, Underneath - A Merfolk Tale (https://www.amazon.com/Underneath-Merfolk-Tale-Under-Book-ebook/dp/B01LX4WFMO/). The second book is coming this Tuesday :)

Here's the blurb in case you're interested:

When an injured merman is found washed up on a beach in Maine, his arrival at the ER leaves his new doctors at a loss of how to treat him. Worse, how are they going to keep him from the military's eager hands?

One reporter is hot on the trail of what she believes is an elaborate hoax—or the story of a lifetime. A story that has her tracking elusive clues into an ever-growing house of secrets surrounding one of the richest families in New York City.

For merfolk have been hiding in plain sight for centuries, and are now torn between sacrificing one of their own—or telling humanity the truth.

[MerWriter]

Hey all-

I've been lurking around here for about a month now, but I figure this should probably be my first post. I don't do much cosplay, but I do draw and write about seafolk. My first book (a cozy mystery) is out now FOR FREE and it takes place on an island of sea nymphs. You can check it out here: https://goo.gl/d3TTbB


It's surprisingly doing really well! Had no idea there were so many of us out there.

[BobLee]

Are you a writer? I'm a college student. I need to write an essay on the internal structure of fish. My friend advised one platform, which helps students in writing the academic paper. Can you help me? I would like to find more resources, which will help to fully reveal the topic that I got. Thank you

[btburt]

Hi, all:

I'm an SF writer, so this thread caught my eye. I've just published the last book in a science fiction trilogy (Aquarius Rising Trilogy) where the bulk of the action takes place in the oceans; the main characters are mostly Aquarians, a hybrid species that are half-human, half-dolphin, who have built thriving reef-cities amid the ruins of drowned coastal cities in the wake of global warming. Not classic merpeople from myth or fantasy... but kind of the "science geek" version. ;-)

Anyway, if you're looking for something a bit different where marine mammals and ocean-dwelling humanoids are the heroes, this might appeal to you. You can find out more about the series here: http://www.briantburt.com/novels/index.html

For what it's worth, Book 1 won EPIC's 2014 eBook Award for SF and Book 2 won the 2016 Readers' Favorite Gold Medal for SF.

If you have any questions about the novels or the ideas behind them, feel free to post them. Thanks!

[merman caspian]

I have the Waterfire Saga, How To Be A Mermaid, and the Swans Landing trilogy for my Kindle and just today I picked up a copy of mermaid folklore and myths from Barnes and Noble

Merman Caspian

[Merman Dylan Zalrian]

I actually have a story on Patreon that was formerly on Fictionpress. It's come a LONG WAY since its fictionpress days. It's still a work in progress, but chapter 1 is PUBLIC to give everyone a sample.

http://www.patreon.com/posts/7876460

The summary.

When Dylan Tidalian was younger, his sister vanished after saving him from a Fallen Shark. Now, he's exploring the sea around his home searching for his sister. Whether it be fate or because of his deep desire to find his sister, he emerges from a dreamscape that restricted his search. The world he finds himself in, however, is filled with monsters, and his home has Fallen to Darkness.


I'm going to be honest and just say that working out the details of how Sleep and Dreams work was difficult, but I think I came up with something awesome.

In fact, the Wayward Tides Series has so much in it that I had to break up the history into 3 ages and create a Patreon account to share all the extra information that makes up the world I'm writing about.

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[copyboy]

I have actually just started a new YA series that is themed around mermaid transformation.
http://amzn.to/2vICaxo
41967

[Merman Dylan Zalrian]

I didn't realize I already shared my book.

[copyboy]

I didn't realize I already shared my book.

Just tweeted your book link. Hope it helps.

[Merman Dylan Zalrian]

Just tweeted your book link. Hope it helps.
Thanks. My book is still a work in progress. The chapters are just early access.

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[Satine]

One of the best merfolk book series. It changed my life... was ingo by Helen dunmore the series also has the tide not, into the deep, and crossing ingo. You can not go wrong with this series it is a must read !!!!

[Mermaid Delphinidae]

I'm also trying to find different types of merfolk books. I got the first Lost Voices book, so I'll see if that's any good. What I really want are merfolk books that take place primarily underwater. Seems like most of them are about merfolk going up on the surface and hanging out with humans for one reason or another. I wanna see merfolk doing merfolk stuff, ya know? The Waterfire Saga sounds promising, it looks like I can read the first one for free since I have Amazon Prime so if I don't like it, at least I only lost a little time, ha ha.

I do write my own stuff, but I don't think it's good enough to post. At least not yet, maybe someday.

[merman caspian]

The Waterfire Saga is one of better YA series I've read in a while, though I do agree there should be more books of mer hidden from humans beneath the waves and interacting with other mer.

Merman Caspian

[Mermaid Kane]

The Waterfire Saga sounds promising, it looks like I can read the first one for free since I have Amazon Prime so if I don't like it, at least I only lost a little time, ha ha..
It's pretty good. NOT perfect, for sure.

Lots of mythology and made-up words (world building basically) if that's what you like.

[Ransom]

Unfortunately mer fiction is still, like it or not, heavily influenced by The Little Mermaid (which I confess, I've never watched). Publishers have to make entirely subjective decisions as to what will sell, and a lot of the big hits like Harry Potter, Twilight, etc. were rejected many times until they were picked up on a gamble.

There're also other factors, like protagonist identity (young teens like to read about older heroes, girls often want to read about boy heroes but not vice versa) and the editors you have access to.

I've never read Waterfire, but if it did well some publisher might be willing to take a chance.

Who knows, the next breakthrough could be lurking in someone's hard drive. Maybe yours.

[Mermaid Holly]

Honestly, the waterfire book was okay (I only read the first one), but it really bothered me how they threw so many new characters in at the very end of the first book. Aside from the two main characters, it seemed like the author but off more than they could chew when it came to developing three other characters in so few pages. Also the idea that they are magically stronger together? A bit random. Maybe thus is cleared up in the other books, but based on the first one, I really had no interest in any of the others. I only picked it up because of the cool cover.

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[Mermaid Kane]

Maybe thus is cleared up in the other books, but based on the first one, I really had no interest in any of the others. I only picked it up because of the cool cover.

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Not really tbh.... they are still just thrown around.

[Mermaid Delphinidae]

Unfortunately mer fiction is still, like it or not, heavily influenced by The Little Mermaid (which I confess, I've never watched). Publishers have to make entirely subjective decisions as to what will sell, and a lot of the big hits like Harry Potter, Twilight, etc. were rejected many times until they were picked up on a gamble.

There're also other factors, like protagonist identity (young teens like to read about older heroes, girls often want to read about boy heroes but not vice versa) and the editors you have access to.

I've never read Waterfire, but if it did well some publisher might be willing to take a chance.

Who knows, the next breakthrough could be lurking in someone's hard drive. Maybe yours.

Yeah, The Little Mermaid is still the definitive merfolk story in popular media. Though it doesn't help that writing a story that takes place underwater requires much more work and worldbuilding. Plus it's difficult to make a live-action TV show or movie that takes place entirely underwater, so we're not gonna get those stories from there. (which is why I think audiences would benefit if animation was taken more seriously, but that's a rant for another day) I'm hoping that the popularity of merfolk stuff right now means maybe we'll get more stuff, but I'm not holding my breath.

[Ransom]

Yeah, The Little Mermaid is still the definitive merfolk story in popular media. Though it doesn't help that writing a story that takes place underwater requires much more work and worldbuilding. Plus it's difficult to make a live-action TV show or movie that takes place entirely underwater, so we're not gonna get those stories from there. (which is why I think audiences would benefit if animation was taken more seriously, but that's a rant for another day) I'm hoping that the popularity of merfolk stuff right now means maybe we'll get more stuff, but I'm not holding my breath.
Apparently there's a remake of Splash with Mr Tatum in the lead. It's a step though not (imo) in the right direction.

Some of our fellow mers here are writers trying to do exactly that -- and I'm hoping to put my own spin on it someday.

Let's hope more good writers step up to the challenge -- after all, characters don't have to be human to be relatable to readers.

[Mermaid Delphinidae]

Apparently there's a remake of Splash with Mr Tatum in the lead. It's a step though not (imo) in the right direction.

Some of our fellow mers here are writers trying to do exactly that -- and I'm hoping to put my own spin on it someday.

Let's hope more good writers step up to the challenge -- after all, characters don't have to be human to be relatable to readers.

I write about merfolk cause no one else is writing what I want. But my writing is pretty garbage so I'm not gonna be changing the industry, ha ha.

Personally I have more hope for The Little Mermaid remake. Yeah, it's (obviously) another Little Mermaid story, but if it's as successful as the live-action Beauty and the Beast it might have some influence. Speaking of Disney, I'm surprised that they (or shoot, anyone else) never attempted a Mermaids franchise. Do like with the TV series and have it take place with Ariel before the events of the film, and she has a bunch of mermaid friends. Or they could pull a Lion Guard and make it about Melody, she joins the mermaid world and explores and make friends, shenanigans ensue.

Anyway, I just finished the first Waterfire book. I thought it moved way too fast, but since the target audience skews young I understand why it was kept fast and short. It could have better established some of the characters, but other than those problems it was fine. It did a good job of creating a believable underwater world and only slipped up a few times.

[Mermaid_Izzy]

I write about merfolk cause no one else is writing what I want. But my writing is pretty garbage so I'm not gonna be changing the industry, ha ha.

Personally I have more hope for The Little Mermaid remake. Yeah, it's (obviously) another Little Mermaid story, but if it's as successful as the live-action Beauty and the Beast it might have some influence. Speaking of Disney, I'm surprised that they (or shoot, anyone else) never attempted a Mermaids franchise. Do like with the TV series and have it take place with Ariel before the events of the film, and she has a bunch of mermaid friends. Or they could pull a Lion Guard and make it about Melody, she joins the mermaid world and explores and make friends, shenanigans ensue.

Anyway, I just finished the first Waterfire book. I thought it moved way too fast, but since the target audience skews young I understand why it was kept fast and short. It could have better established some of the characters, but other than those problems it was fine. It did a good job of creating a believable underwater world and only slipped up a few times.

I think it’s a good idea, but I hope they don’t make it like Lion Guard in what they did to the characters because it was bad enough they had to change Simba’s voice, but either the lines or the voice action did not capture his character.


Side note: I am working on mermaid story called “The Cove.” It might not have enough for the plot to make it into a novel, but it will at least be a novella.



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[Ransom]

I think it’s a good idea, but I hope they don’t make it like Lion Guard in what they did to the characters because it was bad enough they had to change Simba’s voice, but either the lines or the voice action did not capture his character.


Side note: I am working on mermaid story called “The Cove.” It might not have enough for the plot to make it into a novel, but it will at least be a novella.



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Sequelitis. The bane of Disney classic movies everywhere :(

[NeverlandMerman]

I’ve been looking for good books also, and here are two trilogies I beg you to try
the first is The vicious deep trilogy written by Zoraida Cordova, and it is my favorite merman story to date, it is about a guy who learns he’s actually a merman and heir to the throne, but must go through a few trials to prove he deserves the throne. Huge part takes place under the ocean, and by book three it wrapped things up more or less for the better I really want more books like that

the second I read book one in high school and took me a while to track down the other two as they are out of print
the water trilogy by Kara Dalkey, book one takes place fully underwater i believe it’s honestly a nice little series and if you like medieval stuff the end has a nice little plot twist I didn’t see coming but gave a character far more depth than anyone ever thought about it is in the perspective or a mermaid though but I still really liked the series

[BoWu]

Check out Mermaids Are Real: The Mystiq Prong. It's a coming of age story about a boy who grows up "Topside" after a fisherman finds him during a storm. He finds out he's a merman from the animals who follow him when he's surfing. He returns home and must deal with his father's old nemesis while he discovers his own powers.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07FTMLGQS?pf_rd_p=d1f45e03-8b73-4c9a-9beb-4819111bef9a&pf_rd_r=CARYJH99D27Q1D69NQXM

[Mermaid Malia]

The Mermaids Three Wisdoms by Yolen. Such a sweet story about a girl who has hearing issues (representation! Yay!) meets a mermaid who was cast out of her pod and is stranded as a human, and can’t speak.

[Mermaid Jaffa]

Daughters of the Sea by Kathryn Lasky. I've read Hannah. It was a pretty good read. I've yet to find the other two books in the local bookshops.
https://www.kathrynlasky.com/book-series/series/daughters-of-the-sea

[Kwilena]

Something old: The most poignant Merfolk book I read was The Merman's Children by Poul Anderson.

Something new: Now the scariest mermaid book I ever read was Into the Drowning Deep. It's not from the mermaids' point of view, but rather of the cryptozoologists searching for them. It's written by Seanan McGuire under the pen name Mira Grant.
Seanan McGuire's other works are definitely worth a look - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seanan_McGuire

[selkie.astraea]

Hey there! This is a bit of an old thread, but I feel like it's worth mentioning a mermaid book I got a hold of and am currently about 30 pages into. It's called Poor Unfortunate Soul and it's basically the story of Ursula, but a LOT darker than the Disney movie so far. It ties in with other fairy tales, and so far I love it. I've never heard anyone mention it, and I found it for three dollars on sale at the back of a book shop. Hmmmmm....
Upon looking it up, I've come to the realization that the version I have has a different cover, one of Ursula's human form. Not the sea witch appearance. And I didn't realize it was part of a series until now!
Edit: sigh. It seems to be more about the author's own characters than Ursula herself. This is pretty disappointing. I was hoping for more sea witch mayhem. But I did find another interesting, more promising book called Part of Your World with, again, a darker premise than the original Little Mermaid movie, but much better reviews.

[NeverlandMerman]

That is a really good read I’ve read almost all of the ones in the series need to read the last two currently in the series but I agree the weave famous Disney characters together love fairest of them all best still

i actually have been working on writing a book but it’s slow process I want some good merman books lol

[Mermaid Delphinidae]

i actually have been working on writing a book but it’s slow process I want some good merman books lol

I know how that is! What kind of stuff do you want to have in your book?

[NeverlandMerman]

It’s a mix of my own reality main guy is part merman and lives on land, like me he shares medical issues, but I altered reality some to let him be able to do stuff I couldn’t along with ability to transform.
his best friend finds out and accepts it.

I’m just having trouble figuring out where I want the story to go

[CoriTheMergirl]

If anyone is looking for awesome merfolk fiction, this fanfic sequel to the thirteenth year is pretty dang good. It is the rare fanfic that surpasses its source material.

https://my.w.tt/ECIcnhJ2x5

[jaybay]

I too have found the same issue. What the heck is with all the fluff and stuff?! I am currently reading The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd (not enough Mer stuff, but good so far) May I also recommend The Sea Lady by HG Wells. :)

I've gotta check out this Waterfire saga!! Thank you.

And a whole blog dedicated to Mermaid books... Oh my! So much love!Omg she wrote one of my favorite books ever (secret life of bees). How is the mermaid chair?

what do you find on a mini beach?



microwaves!

[Galaxia]

I am working on the last of the Mer Chronicles. If you like mermaid and Magic..... it could be for you. https://www.goodreads.com/series/172901-mer-chronicles

[Mermaid_Liv]

I wrote this article about the best mermaid books! https://www.mermaidliv.com/post/the-best-mermaid-ya-books

[Migheledark]

I didn't even know there were so many books about mermaids! I remembered about a very good service https://freebooksummary.com/category/desert-exile about books, there I will look for some more books (I will definitely share my findings with you). This service always helps me find good books, for example, I recently read the summary at the Desert Exile there and I am delighted with it. Thank you again for your recommendations!

[Lorrytorry]

Every year, I reread all my favourite books and it can be assumed that I know it by heart. Recently, I had to write an essay about literature, which I didn't really like, I don't like fiction, so I turned to https://www.academicghostwriter.org/ , who can write about everything you need. This option is great because I don't have to spend so much time on unnecessary things!