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M. N. Arzu

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Underneath - A Merfolk Tale (The Under Series Book 1) Kindle Edition

by M.N. Arzu (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.6 426 ratings

Book 1 of 3: The Under Series

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Readers' Favorite Gold Award for Mythology, 2018
Book Viral Best Fantasy Award, 2017

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

A gravely injured merman has been found washed up on a beach in Maine, leaving his new doctors struggling between saving his life and keeping him safe 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.

Underneath - A Merfolk Tale is an exceptionally different take on mermaid stories, one that combines the fear of the unknown with the need to protect those we love the most.

"M.N. Arzú has succeeded in giving the Merfolk believable origins and a real world identity that leaves us hungry for more."
- Book Viral

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Editorial Reviews

Review

Underneath: A Merfolk Tale (The Under SeriesBook 1) by M.N. Arzú is a mermaid tale like no other. This deservedly award-winning novel begins as a half-drowned merman with a deep gash in his tail washes up on the coast of Maine. The comatose merman is rushed to ER where surgeon Gwen Gaston takes him under her protection and the medical staff try to figure out what to do with him. Meanwhile, the family of the merman is desperate to get him back without blowing their cover. It's not long before the United Nations gets involved and the merman is moved to a secure location. The U.S. military gets involved, a video goes viral, and the whole world -- including a very tenacious reporter -- soon learns about the mysterious being. Some in power see the existence of merfolk as a threat (and take action accordingly), protesters try to "Save the Mermaid" and the family and a doctor who truly cares try to figure out how to navigate the system to save the merman. It's not an easy task.

I found Underneath: A Merfolk Tale to be very enjoyable, expertly written and extremely believable, except for the merman part, of course. But if a merman were really to wash ashore, this is exactly the sort of thing that would happen. Underneath: A Merfolk Tale gets more and more exciting as the plot thickens and M.N. Arzú is very good at dropping hints to gradually show a fuller picture of the merfolk society. I really enjoyed the bits of humor and layers of mystery.

Underneath comes to a satisfying conclusion, but the story is far from over and the rest of the series is definitely going on my reading list. Highly recommended for lovers of science fiction, fantasy, mystery and good stories in general. I expect to some day see M.N. Arzú's name on a national best-sellers list.

- Readers' Favorite

From the Author

I've always been fascinated with First Contact stories, since they have all the elements for things to go really wrong, really fast. It's the kind of story that speaks of exciting characters and impossible decisions.

The first time I thought about writing Underneath was after seeing the statue of "Dying Merman" by Cameron Stahlman, giving me a lot to ponder of what would happen if a merman was found dying on a beach. Surely, it couldn't end well for the merman, could it?
I had no idea how many angles this story would take, but it's certainly been a joy to dive into the idea of the fantastic meeting the mundane.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01LX4WFMO
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Amazon Digital Services (October 18, 2016)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 18, 2016
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1075 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 326 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #314,485 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #467 in Mythology (Kindle Store)
- #2,436 in Fairy Tale Fantasy (Kindle Store)
- #3,499 in Folklore (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.6 426 ratings

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M. N. Arzu

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M.N. Arzu (1982) was born in Guatemala City, Guatemala, and fell in love with books at age 9, when her oldest sister translated The Chronicles of Narnia for her. Those books would set her on a journey of literature and other languages that continues till this day.

She graduated as a Graphic Designer, and she now feeds her creative world with equal measures of fantasy and science fiction, always seeking adventures in other realms.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5

426 global ratings

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cajunladym

Wow

Reviewed in the United States on March 27, 2024

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I was pleasantly surprised by this book written by M. N. Arzu. It looked interesting and different so took the chance. Wow. I am eager to read more by this author.

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Kit

Unique Merfolk Book w/ a Touching Family Dynamic!

Reviewed in the United States on August 20, 2018

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To put it simply, this was a great book. It was unlike any merfolk book I've read, not because the merfolk themselves were so unique, but because of the premise: What would happen if an injured man were brought to a hospital and it was discovered he was an actual merman?

I loved this realistic take on merfolk being discovered by humans and felt like the author did a great job at considering the way different parts of society would react (the doctors and scientists were interested for one reason, the military was interested for another reason, the reporters thought it a hoax and were trying to figure out the real story). The way the humans all had theories, the things they speculated on, the incorrect things they assumed, that added a lot to the realism. Even the way the merfolk reacted was believable, how they had to consider the risks of rescuing him.

The touching family relationships were my other favorite thing about this book. At the core of this story was a father and his three adopted sons, one of whom was the captured merman, Chris. They may have been adopted, but that didn't make their love any less strong. Julian was in a hard position, trying to figure out what was best, but I could very much feel his emotions and how much he cared for all of his kids.It was also really sweet how Matt would sit in his car near the place where Chris was being kept just to chat and even play music for Chris to listen to through their telepathic connection. And since poor Alex couldn't do the long-range telepathy, he sat on his computer nearly 24/7 to watch video feeds of Chris that he hacked into. There was such a strong, loving family dynamic.

There were some surprisingly emotional moments. Not just touching ones about family who loved each other, but also moments that made me feel angry at the doctors and military personnel and sympathy for the merfolk they'd captured.

Another great thing was that all the characters were three-dimensional and believable and felt like real people. And let me tell you, there were a lot of characters. I especially liked all the Brooks family members, but I think my favorite was Chris (the captured merman). The way he was portrayed through the other characters' eyes, the way his family felt about him, made him seem like a really amazing, kind, compassionate, understanding guy who brought light into everyone's life.

The one and only issue I had with this book was that it had too many POVs. Having so many POVs and so many characters made things harder to keep track of and slowed the story way down. I understand the reasoning behind the decision---the author wanted to show a variety of perspectives that included doctors, the military, the UN, and Chris's family---but I think the book could've had more of an emotional punch had it focused on fewer. That being said, it didn't bother me as much as I thought it would. I still managed to connect with the characters and sink into the story, which is usually the issue I have with too many POVs.

Overall, I really liked these characters, their touching family dynamic, this take on merfolk, the premise, and the whole story, and I would definitely like to continue this series and spend more time with the Brooks family!

Rating: 4 Stars

Original Review @ Metaphors and Moonlight (link in profile)

3 people found this helpful

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THE HOLEY ONE

Very enjoyable and plausible read with interesting characters of at least two species.

Reviewed in the United States on January 2, 2017

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For me, the best part of this book was the Bold Print at the end that said: END OF BOOK 1. I'm choosing to believe this means there will be a Book 2.
When I find a story I really enjoy I have very mixed feelings: I want to know how it "All-works-out", but I want it to continue as well. While I understand why authors utilize Cliff-Hangers, I believe every book should be able to stand-on-it's-own. I'm sure it's difficult to have a cliff-hanger ending leaving the reader with a strong desire to read more BUT without frustrating the reader. This is the rare books that has a great ending resolving the issues experienced while enticing me to look forward to the next in the series.
Because the authors do such a good job of writing overviews of their stories, I don't like to do what I call: HS Book Reports. Instead, I'll tell you why I liked the book so much I've given it a Five Star Rating. The story addresses Merfolk, normally considered Mythological creatures, but addresses the circumstances that occur when a seriously injured Merman is discovered washed up unconscious on a New England beach. The story is told in such a plausible manner you find yourself thinking, Yeah, this is probably what would happen. Of course the Government gets various organizations involved with completing and conflicting objectives. Thankfully, our Merman has family as well as some technicians who see him as an individual and not just as a study subject. Very interesting and enjoyable read with well developed characters of at least a couple of species.

Review by THE HOLEY ONE

15 people found this helpful

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A. Bowen

The only good merfolk story out there

Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2019

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The author hit this one out of the ballpark for several reasons. First, she's writing this as serious fiction and avoiding the 3 pitfall traps of merfolk stories I've seen so far, which are (1) making it like a fairy tale, (2) gay porn, (3) romance. By making this a sci-fan novel, she's allowing her setting to offer actual explanations for where, how and why merfolk exist. IMO, this is the only modern day approach to a merfolk novel that will work. She allows them to shift, which lets her make them sneaky and pits them against the native land dwelling humans quite well. It also offers high stakes for our merfolk-in-hiding as the series advances.

Second thing working well here is the character dynamics. She’s starting right off the bat with an alien culture that isn’t just a rip off and modification of a particular human culture (biology matters), and she’s filling it with characters that are interesting, have agendas, and offer plenty of chances for growth and development.

Finally, there's a lot of suspense and mystery in the series. How will humans react to learning about merfolk? How will merfolk react to being found out? What is this mysterious mer city? Where did merfolk come from? The list could go on for quite some time.

2 people found this helpful

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Jeanjaz

I Could Barely Put It Down!!

Reviewed in the United States on April 1, 2021

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I really needed to go to sleep, but I kept wanting to find out what would happen next. This book pulls you into the Brooks family and keeps you there, just like it did several others -- Nathan, Gwen, and Andrews (my personal favorite).
The basic storyline isn't too unusual -- along the lines of Starman, The Hulk series, E.T., and others, where an alien is running from the government and dissection. Ms. Arzu brings a fresh take with her Atlanta-esque race of Merfolk stranded on the earth, trying to hide and protect themselves from "primitive" humans.
I found a few grammar and/or typo errors, but this story is very well written in a contemporary style. I can't wait to start the next in the series.
I would rate this book PG because there is a little bit of language.
I recommend this book.
(Read with Kindle Unlimited Subscription.)

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Top reviews from other countries

Stephanie Jane (Literary Flits)

Loved this novel!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 4, 2022

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Underneath had come highly recommended to me by other book bloggers so I impulse bought a copy, then inexplicably dawdled for ages before I actually got around to reading it. Now I am kicking myself for not having opened this exciting merfolk novel sooner! I loved how Michelle Arzú acknowledges some familiar tropes of traditional mermaid stories, yet has written a very different feeling book to the usual mythology. A young adult novel at its heart, Underneath has interestingly complex characters, both teenagers and adults. I appreciated characters such as the parental figure, Julian, who is desperate to be a good role model for his family, yet finds himself completely out of his depth. While the central merfolk concept is (probably?!) fantasy, I felt that moments such as Julian's angst at not being an omniscient parent give Underneath a convincing grounding in reality.

I also loved envisaging individual scenes as they took place on the page. Arzú is a wonderfully visual writer who can vividly describe places and events without breaking the flow of her narrative. Underneath switches from tense confrontations to thrilling action scenes and I was gripped throughout. An intriguing sense of mystery threads through Underneath as well as we slowly discover more about the shadowy merfolk society hidden from human view. I don't think this novel can be pigeonholed into a single genre as it encompasses aspects from domestic drama to thriller. I was captivated by Underneath and will definitely not be waiting anywhere near as long before starting its sequel!

Lance Blades

Splash

Reviewed in Canada on November 17, 2017

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This book was a fun read. Loved the characters and can't wait to see more of the story. This could get really interesting.

Donna

Interesting

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 16, 2017

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This is a good book with a good story although a little slow to start. Once I got into it though I didn't want to stop reading. Thanks

FionaK

Very enjoyable.

Reviewed in Australia on March 18, 2017

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Thoroughly enjoyed this book. The author has a very easy writing style, and makes you engage with the characters from the beginning. The plot is a little out there, but I think that's why I enjoyed it so much, it's not just another ho-hum mermaid book. I will be reading more from this author, and look forward to book 2 in this series.

Karen E. Proctor

Brilliant read.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 12, 2016

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With the cold nights setting in there’s nothing better than a good fantasy to curl up with. I was looking for something a little different and on the strength of strong reviews took a chance on this debut. It proved a great choice! I can’t recall reading anything remotely similar and it’s a credit to the author than Underneath is not only superbly written but powerfully visual in its narrative. I like to clearly visualise a books characters and these simply sprung to life as I turned the pages. Intelligent and well conceptualised they feel tantalisingly real which I always feel is the mark of a good book. Definitely a great start to a series and very much looking forward to where the story takes us next.

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Underneath - A Merfolk Tale (The Under Series Book 1) Kindle Edition

Readers' Favorite Gold Award for Mythology, 2018
Book Viral Best Fantasy Award, 2017