There is a group of authors that I would absolutely read anything they publish, and Ian Green is among these: not only I've been looking for an excuse to re-read the Rotstorm trilogy, and I found Extremophile to be a really clever novel with certain writing choices that elevated it; so after The Deep and the Drowned was announced, I was ready for a return to Morost, and what a better way than with a grimdark pirate story that not only allows this new part of the world to shine (and we will talk about worldbuilding later), but with an excellent character development.

At the center of our story we will find Killian Heroneye, a captain who has been sailing the seas for a decade, enough time to make debts, break some promises, and make enemies on every port; burdened by his debts and without many options, he will have to sail once again into the storm, carrying aboard a diplomatic from Cil-Marie and her guardian but with a destination that might help Killian reconnect with the past he once buried.

Killian is a divisive but compelling main character; he's flawed, and we can see how his previous bad decisions come back to bite him. He's mainly trying to survive in what's a hostile world, trying to deal with the trauma he's still dealing with as a result of his past and certain broken promises. However, even if he takes awful decisions, his actions also reflect somebody that is trying to do good, to protect and give the best possible life to those under his care. 
The rest of the cast pivots around the figure of Killian, bordering that grey morality that is so characteristic of grimdark books; said that, there's also a constant feeling of found family among the crew that I found amazing.

The worldbuilding is another of the highlights of this book: a rich and dangerous setting, a constant presence of gods, creatures, and conflicts waiting to arise. You are immediately introduced into its atmosphere, and slowly absorb details of the world that feel as if they were put before the characters, making this just a slice of a much more complex place.
The pacing is neck-breaking, as the author throws you in the middle of everything, trusting you to put together all the needed pieces to understand the story; there's no time to breathe, and if we pause the action for a moment, it's just in the sake of a better understanding of Killian's past.

The Deep and the Drowned fulfilled those promises of a high-octane, high-pacing story, delivering a grimdark plot that reveals an impressively rich and vast part of Morost and a multilayered main character who grows on you. A worthy first instalment of the Cutlass & Crow trilogy, and that only leaves me craving more!