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zeroschatz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Animal cruelty, Gore, Animal death, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Incest, Pedophilia, and Sexual assault
keiraonyxraven's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
TW: Child abuse
The Deep really had promise. I enjoyed the general concept along with the claustrophobic atmosphere and unnerving events. I loved the eeriness of the setting and I canβt think of many other books that have had such a unique narrative. I found myself rooting for certain characters and despising others, so I also cannot fault Cutter for his ability to write complex and interesting characters. Unfortunately, there were just a few, not so small, aspects of The Deep that significantly lowered my overall enjoyment of the book.
Firstly, I found myself extremely disappointed with the ending. The suspense, build up and the first three quarters of the book had such promise, I was enthralled by the story and was desperate to find out how it concluded. However, I personally felt the ending bordered on laughable. Without including spoilers, I cannot fully explain my reasoning, however, the explanations given for certain events really fell flat for me.
However, the primary reason for my reduced star rating and what mostly quashed my enjoyment of The Deep was the unnecessarily graphic and incessant animal cruelty and suffering. I am painfully aware that The Deep is not alone in this graphic use of animals for nothing more than an easy shock factor, however, Cutter in-particular takes this to a distressing level, and not in a good way. This theme occurred so often that I took it upon myself to create a list of page numbers to avoid for readers who, like myself, are particularly sensitive to this sort of content but are still interested in reading this novel.
Please see below but beware of minor spoilers:
Key:
π Mentioned in passing and/or not overly upsetting
π Suffering/death described with more detail, somewhat upsetting
𧑠Detailed description of suffering/death, overtly upsetting
β€οΈ Extremely detailed description with very upsetting and disturbing content
Page 31-34 π§‘
Mouse experimentation, suffering & death
Detailed & upsetting
Page 44-46 π
Mouse experimentation & minor suffering
Page 127 π
Insect death
Page 145
Bee death π
Lizard death π
Page 168-172 π§‘
Guinea pig experimentation
Guinea pig suffering & harm
Page 179-181 π§‘
Guinea pig experimentation, suffering & death
Page 223 π
Raccoon suffering & death
Page 243 π
Squirrel corpse description
Page 248-249 & 251 π
Mention of bee deaths
Page 254 π
Bee killed
Page 260-261 π
Bee deaths
Page 262-264 & 266 π§‘
Bee suffering & death
Page 315-316 π§‘
Dog injury & cruelty
Page 322 π§‘
Guinea pig cruelty & death
Page 336 π
Detailed description of using maggots as fishing bait
Page 341-350 β€οΈ
Dog cruelty & experimentation
Dog on dog injury & suffering
Detailed description of the pain and sadness of euthanising stray dogs
Long and detailed description of a very upsetting and graphic dog death with suffering and extremely emotional descriptions
DO NOT READ IF YOUβRE AN ANIMAL LOVER: this destroyed me.
Page 353 & 356 π
Bee death
Page 375 π§‘
Description of dead dog & suffering
In conclusion, The Deep was by no means a bad read, and there were many things that I really liked about the story and the writing, but it certainly isnβt without its pitfalls. I advise proceeding with caution if animal cruelty/suffering and themes of child abuse are particularly triggering for you, but I also wouldnβt entirely steer others away from giving The Deep a chance, especially if you are an avid horror fan and love creepy and claustrophobic settings.
Graphic: Gore, Incest, Emotional abuse, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Child death, Confinement, Death, Child abuse, Death of parent, Pedophilia, Sexual harassment, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Kidnapping, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual assault
redtemptation's review against another edition
2.5
Graphic: Confinement, Body horror, Death, Gore, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Injury/Injury detail
awebster121's review against another edition
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Animal death, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Pandemic/Epidemic, Medical content, Medical trauma, Animal cruelty, Sexual assault, Self harm, Incest, and Abandonment
haleybre's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Grief, Blood, Body horror, Animal cruelty, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Violence, Child abuse, Confinement, Murder, Animal death, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual content
cosmicpanda's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gore, Body shaming, Torture, Toxic relationship, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Animal cruelty, Cursing, Death, Fatphobia, Body horror, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, and Violence
Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Excrement, Grief, Pedophilia, and Incest
jesssicawho's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Incest, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Fatphobia, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, and Child abuse
telliot's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Gore, Violence, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Death of parent, and Animal death
mand_al_orian's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Grief, Incest, Violence, Vomit, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Death, Fatphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Confinement, Kidnapping, Pandemic/Epidemic, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment
oliviavm8's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Violence, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Torture, Emotional abuse, Gore, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Grief, and Pedophilia