Set in a flooded world, this story follows the crew of the Steadfast on their mission to capture an ancient abyssal. Sally, a very powerful demon-binder, also called a cleaver, is asked to come along on the mission. Haunted by his own ghosts (quite literally, in this world remora, the remains of the deceased, attach themselves to cleavers and exist as voices inside their mind), he agrees, hoping to be able to use the coin to soon free himself from the worst of them.
This story features a lot of very interesting world building, making use of excerpts of fictional documents in the beginnings of chapters to tell the readers a bit more about the world in increments without becoming info-dumpy. From the magical and religious systems, to the nautical lifestyle, to the way trauma and relationships are explored, the narrative weaves a beautiful tapestry that is very fun (and often heartbreaking) to follow along. Sally is the main character a traumatized trans man, who copes with his issues by drinking until the voices quiet, but the other characters are equally as interesting. Mary is a trans woman, who can summon demons, with a past and a failed summoning that haunt her. Dru is a young girl, orphaned too soon and only cared for by a man barely able to take care of himself, who suddenly finds herself wanted for her unusually strong summoning powers. Y, the ship’s captain, a former pirate turned Navy after his town was destroyed, struggling between the bonds he has caged himself in and his desire to save himself and his crew. And Weatherby, a scholar, who seems to know a lot more than they let on. Plus of course, the demons and their reasons for allow themselves to be summoned and the way they work with and against the constraints placed upon them by the summoners.
Another strong point of this narrative is the representation of platonic t4t (and as in all my favorite stories the t stands both for trans and for trauma) in the companionship between Mary and Sally. They start out not really trusting each other, then are forced to share a cabin and after discovering that Mary’s touch can help Sally quiet the remora in his head find themselves slowly growing closer and supporting each other.
If you enjoy cosmic horror, swashbuckling adventures, traumatized characters, really intriguing worldbuilding and some incredible action scenes alongside really touching emotional connections, you will want to check this book out!
TW: alcoholism, abuse (sexual and emotional against an adult, physical, emotional and neglect against a child, both are in the past), body horror, multiple character deaths, torture