Scan barcode
rereader33's review against another edition
2.0
October Spooky Reads Challenge
Prompt: Read a horror stand alone novel
This was a massive disappointment that made me hate read it in one day because I refused to let this waste anymore of my time.
Egregious sins this novel committed, in order from worst to least offensive:
1. Every single character is either unlikable or boring, pick your poison. I had no sympathy for any of them and could not have cared less if all of them died.
2. Going off of that, they are some of the dumbest, horniest, most irresponsible people I've seen in recent horror. The amount of times people got drunk and were left in compromising situations and/or made the dumbest fucking decisions made my head spin. And yes, everyone was horny and trying to get with other people or fawning over others and it felt like this ship was transporting a shipload of horny teenagers rather than adults.
3. Everyone being paranoid and distrusting others is lifted straight from The Hunger and it took me until over halfway through for me to realize that I was essentially reading another version of The Hunger, only taking place in the 1910's and on the Titanic/Britannic.
4. The repetitive writing was grating and any message/theme Katsu was trying to convey lost all meaning a third of the way through. Seriously, take a shot every time someone mentions drowning, being swallowed by the sea/waves, falling into dark water, etc. You will wasted before you hit the halfway mark.
I'm there's more that I could mention, but I straight up don't care enough to continue. Read if you want a historical retelling with a supernatural twist, but frankly you'd be better off with The Hunger than this.
Prompt: Read a horror stand alone novel
This was a massive disappointment that made me hate read it in one day because I refused to let this waste anymore of my time.
Egregious sins this novel committed, in order from worst to least offensive:
1. Every single character is either unlikable or boring, pick your poison. I had no sympathy for any of them and could not have cared less if all of them died.
2. Going off of that, they are some of the dumbest, horniest, most irresponsible people I've seen in recent horror. The amount of times people got drunk and were left in compromising situations and/or made the dumbest fucking decisions made my head spin. And yes, everyone was horny and trying to get with other people or fawning over others and it felt like this ship was transporting a shipload of horny teenagers rather than adults.
3. Everyone being paranoid and distrusting others is lifted straight from The Hunger and it took me until over halfway through for me to realize that I was essentially reading another version of The Hunger, only taking place in the 1910's and on the Titanic/Britannic.
4. The repetitive writing was grating and any message/theme Katsu was trying to convey lost all meaning a third of the way through. Seriously, take a shot every time someone mentions drowning, being swallowed by the sea/waves, falling into dark water, etc. You will wasted before you hit the halfway mark.
I'm there's more that I could mention, but I straight up don't care enough to continue. Read if you want a historical retelling with a supernatural twist, but frankly you'd be better off with The Hunger than this.
indogswetrust's review against another edition
5.0
The writing is beautiful and the story kept me guessing until the end.
erinbritt's review against another edition
1.0
Did not finish. Tried listening to the audiobook for a few chapters but couldn’t get interested in the story
linzthebookworm's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted to like this book; however, I couldn't fall in love with it. It was way too disconnected with several points of view that mostly felt like filler than content. The horror aspect felt predictable and understated. I didn't find it even remotely scary. Overall, it just seemed like too many ideas piled into one book with no real direction. Most of the characters felt flat, and in a rare circumstance for me, I ended up starting and finishing other books while reading this. It just did not grab my interest very well. There were a few good moments, but not anything that pulled me into the story.
For my full review, check out: https://linzthebookworm.blogspot.com/2021/07/book-review-deep-by-alma-katsu.html
For my full review, check out: https://linzthebookworm.blogspot.com/2021/07/book-review-deep-by-alma-katsu.html
shrayirene_fourhousesreview's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I can understand what Katsu was attempting to accomplish with this tale, but it definitely fell flat. The spooky elements (and calling them spooky is generous) felt very haphazard and unorganized - what was the point of half of them? I didn't connect with any of the characters, in part because of their inconsistencies and then unfinished arcs. The story was a ball of messy threads with a wide cast of characters and only two of those threads were pulled through to the end of the story, leaving the rest behind. Very disappointing.
sarahp85's review against another edition
4.0
I loved this. It is not spooky, which it may sound like but to my happy surprise (I don't do scary stuff) this was more about the passengers stories then anything else. And I LOVED the use of real names from people who were on the Titanic and the Brittania. I have a slight obsession with the history of the Titanic and this was probably the reason why I could see everything so vividly in my mind.
It makes me want to watch all my favourite titanic docus, movies, series again ❤
It makes me want to watch all my favourite titanic docus, movies, series again ❤
david44's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
oramayjutila's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
pam2375's review against another edition
5.0
This is a fantastic fictional story (or is it?) about events that could have happened on the real life tragedy of the Titanic. The story is written in dual timelines, 1912 on board the doomed ship and 1916 on board sister ship Britannic (which also sinks). How are these 2 ships connected other than their sinking? Read the book!
Ms Katsu weaves facts with fiction and coincidence with paranormal and it all works! I loved this book and I love the way the story is laid out!
Many thanks to Edleweiss and G.P. Putnam's Sons for this advanced readers copy. This book released March 10, 2020.
Ms Katsu weaves facts with fiction and coincidence with paranormal and it all works! I loved this book and I love the way the story is laid out!
Many thanks to Edleweiss and G.P. Putnam's Sons for this advanced readers copy. This book released March 10, 2020.