"In Great Waters" by Kit Whitfield (Del Rey, $15) The setting is England, the time not too long ago, but there is a major difference between this world and our own: Humans not only cover the land, but also inhabit the seas.

Interbred royal families control the nations of Europe, but these dynasties are at risk from illegitimate half-deepsman children, born illegally and raised secretly, in hiding.

Henry is one such child, a feral waif abandoned by his mother and almost immediately adopted as a pawn of power. Anne, on the other hand, is a born princess finding the role for which she's trained all her life falling apart around her.

It will fall to these two to change the fate of their country, and to find a new way of reconciling the deepsmen and the landsmen to one another.

This mermaid world is not about singing fish and dudes with tridents: It is savage, very close to the natural rhythms. Deepsmen lives are harsh, unsentimental and often brutally short, yet not without beauty.

Some of the book's best passages occur in the opening pages, describing Henry's transition from the sensual, immediate undersea world to a very different life on land.

Things as common as straight walls and corners are bizarre and frightening, and the simple act of moving around in an environment that doesn't catch him when he falls is a completely new and often painful experience. His adjustment is as much conceptual as physical.

Henry is not exactly a pleasant guy, but he still manages to be sympathetic, a child of two worlds, unwanted by either but determined to force his way in. Anne is easier to relate to, and watching her grow a backbone over the course of the book is highly satisfying.

Between the convincing characters and the wellbuilt world they inhabit, "In Great Waters" is an excellent choice for readers looking for a smart, engaging fantasy read.

(c) 2009 King Features Synd., Inc.