Into the Sunken City: Chapters 8–11

by Dinesh Thiru
In a future world, most cities are now deep underwater and inhabitants like Jin, her sister Thara, and their companions live sparingly by diving for treasure in these sunken cities. A ragtag team is assembled to find a massive stash of gold in the ruins of Vegas-Drowned, but many obstacles — corsairs, sea beasts, fear of diving — threaten their very lives.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Chapters 1–3, Chapters 4–7, Chapters 8–11, Chapters 12–17, Chapters 18–24
15 words 8 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. requisition
    demand and take for use or service
    From there we do two nights on Mojave Main, a littoral island eighty miles south of Vegas-Drowned, where Bhili picks up a third diving suit from a friend (she keeps insisting she has friends) and Taim requisitions a local Coast Guard patrol boat from an outpost called Castle Mountain.
  2. marina
    a fancy dock for small yachts and cabin cruisers
    Suong pulls our outboard up as we ease into the marina.
  3. corrugated
    shaped into alternating parallel grooves and ridges
    The smell of grilled seafood wafts over us, and twisting veins of smoke rise from corrugated metal stalls that line the island just beyond the wharf.
  4. quay
    wharf usually built parallel to the shoreline
    Saanvi and Taim are working the wharf, quay by quay, trying to find passage, but Bhili had the right idea here because the squid’s delicious and we’re lounging, sheltered from the rain, with our dry bags and the atmo suits broken down and piled in a pair of handbarrows we borrowed from the wharf.
  5. respite
    a pause for relaxation
    Twenty-five hands in total, they’re moored out on Tonto Island for a two-day respite.
  6. wheelhouse
    an enclosed compartment from which a vessel can be navigated
    There’s a whitewashed deck, a red-painted hull, a big silver gantry with two cranes, a long trawl deck, and a tidy-looking forward wheelhouse from which the officers set course.
  7. detritus
    the remains of something that has been destroyed or finished
    The whole deck is littered in fish blood, guts, scales, eyeballs, and the detritus of the thousands of sea creatures that this boat scrapes up from the sea floor on a daily basis.
  8. skiff
    a small boat propelled by oars or by sails or by a motor
    “Luz told me we can use the skiff that hangs off the poop deck. She’ll drop anchor and give us three hours below.”
  9. stifling
    causing one to feel inhibited or oppressed
    Bhili’s holding her hair, Saanvi’s at her side, Taim’s at the conn, and I’m doing nothing since I’m an awful, stifling sister-guardian.
  10. credentials
    a document attesting to the truth of certain stated facts
    That hits me, and I realize that of everyone on this crew, I’m the only one who isn’t needed.
    Coast Guard credentials, essential.
    Map, clearly critical.
    Mechanic, essential.
    Fourth diver?
    I’m superfluous. Redundant.
  11. superfluous
    more than is needed, desired, or required
    That hits me, and I realize that of everyone on this crew, I’m the only one who isn’t needed.
    Coast Guard credentials, essential.
    Map, clearly critical.
    Mechanic, essential.
    Fourth diver?
    I’m superfluous. Redundant.
  12. redundant
    more than is needed, desired, or required
    That hits me, and I realize that of everyone on this crew, I’m the only one who isn’t needed.
    Coast Guard credentials, essential.
    Map, clearly critical.
    Mechanic, essential.
    Fourth diver?
    I’m superfluous. Redundant.
  13. bioluminescent
    (of living organisms) emitting light
    There must be millions, maybe billions, of bioluminescent phytoplankton lining the roads, buildings, cars, streetlamps, every surface in sight.
  14. cadence
    a recurrent rhythmical series
    And yes, those footsteps could be Taim and Saanvi.
    But I know they’re not. I don’t need to see Taim to know the cadence of his walk, the lightness of his steps.
  15. amenable
    disposed or willing to comply
    “Final time I’m asking. Otherwise, I’ll direct my questions to your sister. We can go have a conversation in the wheelhouse there.” He nods behind him. “I’m sure she’ll be more amenable.”
Created on Mon Aug 17 20:46:10 EDT 2026 (updated Tue Sep 08 11:21:27 EDT 2026)

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