Bonjour from the Oceans

Bonjour! This is Md. Iman Anwar talking about a new book you may have read or should’ve read: Daughter of the Deep. Rick Riordan’s new book made me astonished with wonder and awe. The mysteries and actions are still part of his books with tensions and humor. So, join Ana Dakkar and her mates aboard the ‘Varuna’ against the dangers coming towards them.

I’ve written this article in a new way which I haven’t tried for other articles. In Daughter of the Deep, there are sixty-three chapters, and so there will be nine parts featuring every seven chapters sequentially. There will be other parts too for other points to discuss. Anyway, first I read the first seven chapters and write what I think, and then do it for each other seven chapters.

For the record, I used “Bonjour” since it is ‘Hello’ in French which is the original language of Jules Verne’s books. So, it’s my kind of paying homage with this (though it would’ve been better if the whole article is in French which I am not good at!) and another one thing. For those who want to know what another thing is, read the bonus section at the end.

Now, without further ado let’s move on…

Update info: This article was revised and updated on 2nd January 2021.

Section A: The Cover

The covers are definitely great. Both the US and the UK covers feature a ship, probably the ‘Nautilus’ which was the main focus in both 20, 000 Leagues Under the Sea and The Mysterious Island of Jules Verne of which the former was paid homage in Daughter of the Deep, surrounded by a big Octopus (some animals with tentacles) which might be indicating the incident from the first book featuring the ‘Nautilus’. I think this one is bigger than the ones in Jules Verne since its size must be almost the whole submarine.

Part 1: Ana and Gemini

Both covers feature Ana Dakkar and Gemini Twain. In the case of the UK, it’s that the suits are little expanded than that of the US. The helmets have a purple glow in the case of the UK but not in the US one. In the case of the UK one, it seems as though Ana and Gem (short for Gemini) are looking at the incident with a panicky expression; while in the case of the US Ana seems to be looking at something upwards and Gem had a serious expression, while the Octopus-thingy is approaching the sub.

I know of the side-flaps of the UK cover which features Gemini and Ana. It’s a more closure look to their features than the cover. There is also Socrates on the back cover.

Part 2: Submarine

For the ‘Nautilus’ it also has some visible differences. In the case of the ship’s texture, its edges are protruding in the case of the UK which fills like it is poking the Octopus, and in the case of the US, the ship doesn’t have such a spiky surface. There is a similarity which the pointy arrow (maybe called forepeak or break) for both the submarines, but the UK one is longer than the US. The lights of the sub in the US are brighter than in the UK though it might be visible there if not for the giant sea-beast.

Part 4: Happening

The covers seem to be different in the fact that the US is before and the UK is at the incident. It is like Ana and Gem have got out of the sub for something then when they turn they see that the giant Octopus is clutching the ‘Nautilus’. It suggests that the ‘Nautilus’ might go near or to South America and then get engaged with this animal. I think these guys will have a long-term rivalry with the ship after what happened to them when they attacked the intimidating ship. I suppose there the size is because of evolution, but I don’t why instead of being small it turned larger which is not what happens in most cases. Anyway, I hope there are not a lot of these ones or just one of them was passing by while the others are far away.

Section B: Introductions

Daughter of the Deep is introduced by Roshani Chokshi and Rick Riordan.

Part 1: Cinnamon Rolls

Roshani’s books are always funny and fantastic to read, and her comparisons and stories are always cool. This introduction is also great concerning her old memory which you can find funny. I won’t spoil the introduction by it, so you’ve to read it before starting to read the story.

FYI, Roshani Chokshi is the first writer for the Rick Riordan Presents imprint which is established with the help of Rick and many other Disney members. The first four books of Pandava pentalogy are out, and the fifth and final will come out next year.

Part 2: Captain of the Pool

Rick Riordan also wrote a great introduction including two important questions (“Who is Captain Nemo?” and “Why does Captain Nemo still matter?”) answered with it. Like his writings, he also included humor but with deep insights on various points of his discussion. He also brings old memories from his childhood which you’ll great to read. Anyway, just don’t skip the introductions thinking that they’re boring like other books’ introductions.

FYI, if you don’t even know him you missed a lot of the world of books. He wrote a lot of bestselling books and helped a lot of kids in their world of imagination. He is also a fan of the ocean which contributed to Percy Jackson and the Olympians and a lot of sequels set in the same universe. I will also mention some names from/of his books, if you get them you’ll know exactly what I am trying to say.

Section C: The Story

Part 1: Tragedy and revelations

The first seven chapters feature a big tragedy (which I can spoil since it was already spoiled by a sneak-peek from Nerdist) which is the destruction of Harding-Pencroft Academy. This was a big tragedy for not only the freshmen who were going for their “trials” (remember The Trials of Apollo? Or The Trials of Uncle Rick? Well, let’s go for ‘The Trials of the freshmen’ – which is the whole book!), but also for the readers. The sugar-cubes-like buildings were home to many bright minds and also children.

Among the revelations are that Harding Pencroft Academy was destroyed by three-ways Torpedo or some other things (which was also spoiled earlier), which was entire because of the super-super-high-tech facility the academy uses not only guarding the border but also the underwater border and air space. There are other revelations too which can be shocking to get after the whole tragedy. And in the seventh chapter, it’s the first time we get near to the revelation of Ana’s heritage with some impressive technologies being introduced. I am waiting to see what the next chapters hold and how their journey in ‘Varuna’ to the disclosed-by-Hewett location goes.

Part 2: Actions, and much more revelations

What can I say? I mean chapters eight to fourteen completely blew my mind. These chapters were great to read. The first three chapters were full of actions including the readers with Ana nearing a bit to the revelation of Ana’s heritage. I also know a lot about the Land Institute’s course of action.

The most exciting chapters are mostly from chapter eleven. There aren’t any actions (i.e. fighting), but they are filled with big revelations of Ana’s heritage, the information the readers had wanted to know for a long time. Rick Riordan already said and we’ve already guessed that Ana Dakkar is a descendant from Prince Dakkar aka Captain Nemo. But the basis of this claim which was imagined by Rick was great to read. I’ve now known what he thought would be the basis of this whole plot. And it was also a great experience to see how Ana reacts.

And in chapter fourteen we finally see our hero get into the part of leadership. Remember when Percy led the whole army against Kronos’s force in The Last Olympian; this one has the same vibe but now with the touch of modern technologies. Finally Captain Ana Dakkar!

Part 3: Living in a sub

Chapter fifteen to twenty-one is full of many revelations about Ana’s heritage. I guess almost half or almost more than half is full of Captain Nemo-related stuff. But in these chapters, we get to know a lot from Ester Harding after a long time. I imagine Ester as Mini from the Pandava series by Roshani Chokshi, except here Ester is quieter and doesn’t end most of her sentences with a death sentence which makes up for the no-sugar-coating statements of her.

We also get to know why there is a bad or just not-tolerating relationship between Nelinha and Gemini Twain. Ana also gets her first look at the ‘Aronnax’ and also what happened to the Academy after the dangerous incident. Dr. Hewett’s situation isn’t so good too. There are some good things here which mostly include Socrates and some with Nelinha. Rick Riordan has somehow added humor in intense moments which somehow lighten the mood whether for the characters or the readers.

I am just hyped up about some pretty hard discoveries. I know Ana has gotten through some hard discoveries that are too heavy to bear. But there are some discoveries, like the answer to the last conversation between Gemini and Ana from Chapter five, that are continuously swirling inside my head. I don’t want that to be Nelinha (she is one of her best friends), Ester (she is one of her best friends, and also has gone through a lot), or Hewett (he is like Mr. Brunner from Percy Jackson and the Olympians though here he is more complicated). I don’t think Gemini counts since he must have quite a role for being featured on the side-flaps of the cover, and he doesn’t sound like it.

Ana is nearing the end of her journey to the location aboard the submarine ‘Varuna’. She is the Captain, the “acting captain” as she calls it, of the sub. The hard punches (not literally) she has gotten over the days from all the thing she has known is just too much for her. But I hope she stays safe and keeps her friends safe.

Part 4: Unknowns

While the last chapters were filled with mostly Ana’s genetic history, chapter twenty-two to twenty-eight is full of revealing other secrets that were buzzing in the air: the unknown location of Dr. Hewett and other related ones. This is the first time we get to go to a particular place mentioned and imagined by Jules Verne.

These chapters were exciting too. We get shots of how espionage works and how fun is code-breaking (especially for me since I love codes and stuff). While Ana’s ancestral line makes her an important person, we also get to know a unique skill of her that other freshmen in the submarine don’t have. We also find a new similarly named character from Jules Verne’s books: Jup!

I love fictional but realistic technologies. We get another glimpse of Nemo’s alt-techs in these chapters. And some pretty big revelations for Ana are also here. I am quite excited about her visit the next day as we were informed in chapter twenty-eight. I hope it doesn’t get her to the same fate as her ancestors.

I have noticed one thing: most of the chapters end with a cliffhanger moment and start from the next one. I hope I don’t get stranded in one of them again and have to write my review for the last seven chapters I’ve read.

Part 5: Aboard

Chapters twenty-eight to thirty-five are just too much exciting to be back in reality. With the new events unfolding it feels like we’re being introduced to an impressive feat of humanity. It was just more impressive than revealing of the Sanctum in Doctor Strange, or the introduction of a new world like in Thor movies (which weren’t great, but I liked the large golden buildings), or the introduction of the Elves, Dwarves, and other kinds in The Lord of the Rings movies (I don’t think Aru will agree at first, but she definitely would when she read Daughter of the Deep); what I mean to say is that it is very exciting to be aboard.

It wasn’t exactly like the chorus in the background with lights glinting, but it was just revisiting the place after I read Verne’s book now in a new way with more details and skillfully imagined sci-fi features added. The slow progress is totally great for the story to be satisfying since rushing things aren’t very good to read. It was also great to know Ana’s feelings along the way for every major to small detail, which establishes a complete character.

I am just feeling like Ana shouldn’t give the tours to all the freshmen. The chapter five thing I told you was in my mind and I was waiting to see if something would spawn from that. But nothing did, so I am in bliss, for now. I am just reassuring myself that at least Nemo’s extraordinary prototype would help if any danger is sensed, though if the core is intruded then the hope rests on Ana.

I am “dying to open” the next chapters of the book and see what is waiting. I suspect that after some mostly happy (which means not-getting-attacked) chapters the flow will be more hard for Ana. I just wish that nothing like Meg did to Apollo in The Trials of Apollo: The Hidden Oracle happens to Ana.

Part 6: Moles

Well, I am starting to hate moles. They’re just too much to take. I watched a movie recently and then read these chapters, both with moles whom you can’t think could do such a thing. I thought it would be Selena-level or definitely Meg-level, but it turns out this book was more than that. I don’t know what I am going to do if I am in Ana’s situation. Reality is harsh.

As I’ve suspected after some happy chapters now we’re in some hard-blowing chapters of the book. Ana only doesn’t get the blow of being helpless herself and cannot be able to help the base, she’s also in the situation of a dangerous trauma after her trust and the truth she knew shattered before her. It’s very bad to bear after what the readers have gone through.

Reading from chapter thirty-six, I felt like Rick is filling us with so much good in Ana that he wants us to forget about the thing I pointed out from chapter five, and then he blew the reality right at us. I was suspecting it might be Nelinha or if not then maybe Ester, but it turns out more complicated than that. Sorry Nelinha and Ester fans, I think I got really obsessed with friends as being in the act.

There are some interesting points I’ve found now. Do you remember ‘Argo II’ from The Heroes of Olympus by Rick Riordan, the sequel series to Percy Jackson and the Olympians? Well, I think you can find another ‘Argo II’ alike here though this one could be a bit dangerous sometimes. Another point I found is that I think Rick likes to assign several groups with each master in different skills to contribute in the sector that demands their skills. This is because you find the similarity between the four Houses of Harding-Pencroft Academy in the Percy Jackson universe’s Cabins. It feels great to get familiar with these things again although in a new way.

Okay, I think I should get back to reading. I am even impatient for the time to save the document and then open the book. And for the record, I’ve covered chapters thirty-six to forty-two here – still far away to go.

Part 7: Romeo and …

These chapters (chapters forty-three to forty-nine) started slowly lightening the mood, then moving on to normal stuff, and finally to some humor. Ana and her friends are now dealing with the trauma, but they also decide to strike back which is very inspiring. Ana also steadies herself to fight back and I hope she can stand the trauma then.

I think now that the cover artists and the ones who gave the scene for the cover are very brilliant. I mean yes, there was a similar scene except with more Octopuses in 20, 000 Leagues Under the Sea. But, Rick wrote this scene very differently and realistically with a scientific base which I never thought that way. I mean covers are total illusions most of the time. Still, I am really glad that I was wrong and I became surprised when I read the whole of chapter forty-nine.

I wouldn’t explain the name of Part 7. You may try to compare it with a play by William Shakespeare, or try to think of a name you heard somewhere, or try to remember a twentieth or ninetieth-century old car – whatever that is, I spoil it for you: you’ll get more surprised and really laugh when you read chapter forty-nine after maybe getting freaked out at the end of chapter forty-eight (when I thought, haven’t they got through enough?!).

And also I hope Ana doesn’t do the thing she did at the beginning of chapter forty-nine. It’s funny to read but I don’t think it was fun for her at that time. And please don’t bully that intimidating but loving animal when you read at first, it just got a bit excited and loving.

Okay, let’s continue reading and hope that we can get HIM on our, I mean Ana’s, side!

Part 8: Action time!

The heroes are now back! Yes, I am very excited. For sometimes Ana and her team were helpless, but I think they’re on their way to win. It is a hard fight and I hope they don’t have many injuries. It is really hard not to spill out the exciting moments without spoiling the moments for you. But I tell you, I am just very very impatient now to get started for the next chapters.

In these chapters, I’ve totally understood that while Rick has to use guns and other modern weapons, he has turned them into nonlethal. Maybe the enemy side has lethal weapons but Rick has skillfully averted anyone being dead by lethal weapons. Even the normally lethal ones aren’t actually very lethal to kill anyone. It’s just perfect for children.

It just seems very hard and helpless for the good guys to win. I mean Rick shows us and the good guys that they’re really very helpless and at the edge, and right at that moment, something miraculous happens. I hope it happens in the coming chapters which can help them to win this “cold war” at last.

The fun part was the initial chapters from chapter fifty which featured the highlight of the last chapter. It seems great to know that really whether with a monster-like body or not, NO ANIMALS ARE HARMED IN THE MAKING OF THIS BOOK, though the opposite was done in the book by Jules Verne. Still, it wasn’t intended as such. I wasn’t into these types of textured animals which looks kind of creepy (I think now I am being a bully, sorry), but this one was great!

Okay, I can’t say anything more. It’s hard to even write this line. And anyway, we’ve come to the last part of this section which will feature chapters fifty-seven to sixty-three (this one had chapters fifty to fifty-six).

Part 9: The End (of the book)

At first, it was an intense action scene with the main adversaries. I just won’t describe them for the sake of not spoiling the book. I will just tell you that Ana’s courage but also the determination she has got, is something that she achieved very hardly not with training but with experiences and seeing the reality. The wound on her heart is something that she can never recover from but I think she will try to at least stay strong to help others. I know she’ll succeed with her strong will of goodliness.

The next thing is the rebuilding which we’ve found at the end of each series of Rick Riordan. In Percy Jackson and the Olympian, the good guys had to rebuild the Camp Half-Blood and also help in the rebuilding of Mount Olympus. In The Heroes of Olympus, it was rebuilding a lot including the two camps. In The Trials of Apollo, it was also rebuilding all the things that have been demolished in the way. But these weren’t only rebuilding structures but repairing themselves for what to come and facing the future with determination and pride. This is similar to Daughter of the Deep where we find the freshmen come to the conclusion that they want to make a better world.

The third thing I will say is the last two chapters. It was facing something that Ana is emotionally distressed about. It was harder for her more than she can say, but I think she tried to do some rebuilding of her own. Let’s just say that things will never be the same for anyone, but things will be better if all of them can make it better. And those who will help are the ones from “HARDING PANCROF!” with the help of “CAPTAIN NEMO!” to make the world a better place not with violence but with real and better reason than LI.

In brief, the last seven chapters gave me mixed feelings. Anger, Sadness, and Happiness.

Section D: Previously

In this section of the article, I try to explain what happened before and how it contributes to Daughter of the Deep book. The origins of this book are 20, 000 Leagues Under the Sea and The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne. We are first introduced to Captain Nemo via the former one, and then we find him again years after in the later book.

This section contains spoilers for those who haven’t read the mentioned books. I suggest you read them and get to know what happened before, but if you don’t want you won’t have to. Rick Riordan’s book I think can quite solve your problems.

Part 1: 20, 000 Leagues Under the Sea

In 20, 000 Leagues Under the Sea we get to explore the ‘Nautilus’, the impressive submarine, and see how it works. We also see the development of Nemo's character. Prof. Pierre Aronnax is from France, Ned Land from Canada, and Conseil is Arronax’s manservant. These three outsiders somehow find themselves inside the impressive submarine after the ship Abraham Lincoln is destroyed.

At first, all three of them weren’t happy with the service they’re getting and the situation they’re in. Then Prof. Arronax agrees with Nemo’s conditions which lets him explore the sub. This surprises Arronax. While Ned Land is surprised we don’t see him actually agreeing on being “stuck” in the sub. We’re not sure about Conseil, but he is devoted to Arronax.

Later after some incidents, Arronax decides to flee the submarine with the fear of Captain Nemo in his mind. He seems to be terrified of Nemo’s fight against the colonial rule or European power. They fear that Nemo and the ‘Nautilus’ will bring the world down to its knees.

In this book, we’re introduced to a Nemo who likes art, books, exploring, and the ocean, but we also discover the Nemo who induces fear in the enemy with his power which can destroy any ship. His stature seems to change at times; and in these types of situations, he seems to be a very terrifying person who likes only carnage.

Part 2: The Mysterious Island

After I’ve read 20, 000 Leagues Under the Sea, I was excited to read Daughter of the Deep and so went to the introduction. But in Rick’s introduction, I found out that there was another book where Jules Verne mentioned the ‘Nautilus’ and Captain Nemo, and that is The Mysterious Island. I decided to read it from a book that contained a big collection of Jules’s writings. When I scaled the number of pages there was, I was totally in a problem. The Mysterious Island novel was very big but I had to read it since while flipping through the pages I got glimpses of the words Harding and Pencroft which together is the name of the academy Ana studies in.

So, I did one thing that I think would help me. I got a graphic novel edition of The Mysterious Island from the library and started reading it. I convinced myself that while I’d have to read the details of the scene in the book, it is already drawn in the graphic novel. I knew that Jules’s books are very lengthy and he likes to describe things in detail with science. It’d have been good, but the idea of waiting to read Daughter of the Deep for more time wasn’t very tempting. So, I decided I’d have to be satisfied reading the gist and other details from the graphical adaptation.

Anyway, the reason I told you is I won’t have that much knowledge of The Mysterious Island as the 20, 000 Leagues Under the Sea book (though I think I forgot almost all the details, oops!). Still, the whole story was very great. I became an instant fan of Cyrus Harding after seeing what he’s capable of. The whole set of friends is great to read about too.

We also get to know more about Nemo than we did in 20, 000 Leagues Under the Sea. He just surprises everyone even though he isn’t sailing the submarine or isn’t in his intimidating physique. I think the information here helped a lot of readers know another side of Nemo and also his purpose. He is really a complicated person.

Part 3: Interpretations

Rick interpreted the whole two stories for us in a different way. He just had to go through every sort of detail from the book to make his book foolproof. I am trying to imagine what situation he was in while reading the extremely long written book.

I am happy that Rick has taken the good side of Nemo’s story to build his sequel. He also merged the two books together in a way that if still they’re termed as two different times’ story the whole thing sounds very satisfactory. His interpretation of all of Jules Verne’s resources in his story is totally fantastic.

Though 20, 000 Leagues Under the Sea and The Mysterious Island are the prequels to Daughter of the Deep, there might be more stories before that. And don’t tell me about it afterward.

I was just awed by how Rick explained the secret base’s existence, how he made the technology alive, how he turned a dangerous animal into an affectionate playing animal, and more. Rick himself kept a way to make a sequel to Daughter of the Deep, and from his wide range of works we've got the proof that he's capable of making great series. And I hope it comes soon!

Section E: Footnotes

Writing the parts above wasn’t very easy. Rick Riordan is a legendary writer and trying to explain my experience of his book is totally hard. I felt impulses to spill all and then add the Spoiler Alert label to full level, but I know that that’s not what reviewing means. Telling the summary wouldn’t be a very good thing to read and review of.

Still, I had to trickily sidetrack in revealing every major or minor plot point in the way I wrote this article. I had predictions and feelings about some points that I wanted to share very much, but I had to restrain myself. I did mention some but those are poised only for the readers who’ve read Rick’s other books. Again, I didn’t pinpoint the exact point I am telling, rather I just kept it a bit vague.

I let myself out a lot when I wrote the last part; still, you will only find the important points being marked but now less vaguely. Maybe Jules Verne’s novels don’t fall in copyright now, but still, there are maybe some readers who haven’t yet read Jules’s books and so I thought of not spoiling the book for them. Some plot points are revealed but if you’ve followed spoiler alert for that part you’d be safe.

It was really hard to write a review of seven chapters after reading them and then to get ready to read the next seven chapters. The problem was that reading the twists and turns without pausing is just so tempting and good than reading seven chapters with breaks for writing reviews. But I knew that if I write a whole book’s review only then I may lose some points I’d like very much to bring up.

Another thing is except first one or two parts, I have reviewed the seven chapters though I have read some more of the next chapter. The thing was I just thought of the idea at that time and so after that, I had to stop myself from reading the next chapters after reading seven chapters. So, for that reason, I didn’t know about the next chapters while writing the review for almost all the parts.

If you read the parts carefully you’ll notice that I’ve somehow kept the plot points very vague. I’ve said action time, emotional time, or other feelings-based words, but I didn’t say why I said that. My most breakdown part where I just had to spill a little more than I did in the other parts was in ‘Part 6: Moles’. The second one could be ‘Part 5: Aboard’ and the third one could be ‘Part 7: Romeo and …’ if I am forced to rank.

I hope I haven’t made you bored with all the behind-the-scenes talks. But I had to say them to prove that how much stuff I wrote is really genuine and how much I already knew. Thanks to those who’ve read this part patiently.

BONUS Section: More for YOU

This is the thing I’ve been dying to say to you about. I’ve designed wallpaper with the ‘Nautilus’ in silhouette. The design of the submarine is similar to the official art from Read Riordan. You can see that in the background of the article-art.

This background is the “Daughter of the Deep edition” of ‘Nautilus’, so you understand that I hope to design some ‘Nautilus’es of my own. I am not that good at this kind of drawing on the computer, but I will try.

The shade of color is inspired by a real scene under the ocean. The water is mostly light blue, then turns darker, and then reaches green. At the left is the ‘Nautilus’ with its lights coming. I’ve put the main source of lights at exactly the places you have seen in the art. There are also other small lights. The design isn’t defined; just it means a submarine deep under the ocean. There are also other small details added, see if you can find them.

This wallpaper is available for download for free HERE in the similar resolution I designed it (I think). There is a desktop version and a phone version of this wallpaper. In both cases, the ‘Nautilus’ is kept in view. While it may seem further for you on the desktop, it may seem very close in the case of the phone.

This is maybe my second Iman Awakens full original work. A lot of people get confused with the word ‘Iman Awakens Original’, but it means that there are no traces of other’s work(s) in these contents. I hope you like it.

Here’re the links:

Portrait version ║ Desktop version ║ Flickr page ║ Originals page

[Problems are found in downloading for Mobile Phone users. The above two versions' links are updated for the direct download links. You'll get to choose how much resolution you want.]

Epilogue: Acknowledgements and credits

Author’s note: It’s been a great time writing this overwhelming review of how great an experience it was to read Daughter of the Deep. Maybe I’ve missed some points that should be brought up or did some mistake; for that reason, I say sorry to you. And I hope you liked ‘The Nautilus: Daughter of the Deep edition’ background.

Copyright information: Daughter of the Deep work is copyright owned by © Rick Riordan, 2021.║ Daughter of the Deep 3D art from Read Riordan with the cover art by © Lavanya Naidu, 2021; and design by Joann Hill. ║ Ana Dakkar art extract from Read Riordan © Read Riordan, 2021. ║ The background art and “Bonjour from the Oceans” are illustrated by Md. Iman Anwar, © Iman Awakens, 2021. For using the art please ask permission via e-mail: imanawakens@gmail.com. Send a message for the background to the same address, or get the background from

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