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zeroschatz's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- 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
Very well written, but terribly hard to get through some parts.
Content Warnings
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
m0onb3am's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
1.75
body horror (n when animals are subjected to it) <<<<
this is good for someone who liked the troop, but definitely not for someone who didn't. better premise for me but same execution.
there was a scene that felt like a cheap attempt at stirring emotion in the reader. though successful, it cost probably a star n a half sooo
this is good for someone who liked the troop, but definitely not for someone who didn't. better premise for me but same execution.
there was a scene that felt like a cheap attempt at stirring emotion in the reader. though successful, it cost probably a star n a half sooo
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Body horror, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Self harm, Animal death, and Fatphobia
Minor: Murder and Animal cruelty
keiraonyxraven's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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: Extreme animal cruelty, suffering and death
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 can’t 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:
💚 Mentioned in passing and/or not overly upsetting
💛 Suffering/death described with more detail, somewhat upsetting
🧡 Detailed description of suffering/death, overtly upsetting
❤️ Extremely detailed description with very upsetting and disturbing content
Page 31-34 🧡
Mouse experimentation, suffering & death
Detailed & upsetting
Page 44-46 💛
Mouse experimentation & minor suffering
Page 127 💚
Insect death
Page 145
Bee death 💛
Lizard death 💚
Page 168-172 🧡
Guinea pig experimentation
Guinea pig suffering & harm
Page 179-181 🧡
Guinea pig experimentation, suffering & death
Page 223 💛
Raccoon suffering & death
Page 243 💛
Squirrel corpse description
Page 248-249 & 251 💚
Mention of bee deaths
Page 254 💛
Bee killed
Page 260-261 💛
Bee deaths
Page 262-264 & 266 🧡
Bee suffering & death
Page 315-316 🧡
Dog injury & cruelty
Page 322 🧡
Guinea pig cruelty & death
Page 336 💛
Detailed description of using maggots as fishing bait
Page 341-350 ❤️
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 YOU’RE AN ANIMAL LOVER: this destroyed me.
Page 353 & 356 💛
Bee death
Page 375 🧡
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 isn’t 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 wouldn’t entirely steer others away from giving The Deep a chance, especially if you are an avid horror fan and love creepy and claustrophobic settings.
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 can’t 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:
💚 Mentioned in passing and/or not overly upsetting
💛 Suffering/death described with more detail, somewhat upsetting
🧡 Detailed description of suffering/death, overtly upsetting
❤️ Extremely detailed description with very upsetting and disturbing content
Page 31-34 🧡
Mouse experimentation, suffering & death
Detailed & upsetting
Page 44-46 💛
Mouse experimentation & minor suffering
Page 127 💚
Insect death
Page 145
Bee death 💛
Lizard death 💚
Page 168-172 🧡
Guinea pig experimentation
Guinea pig suffering & harm
Page 179-181 🧡
Guinea pig experimentation, suffering & death
Page 223 💛
Raccoon suffering & death
Page 243 💛
Squirrel corpse description
Page 248-249 & 251 💚
Mention of bee deaths
Page 254 💛
Bee killed
Page 260-261 💛
Bee deaths
Page 262-264 & 266 🧡
Bee suffering & death
Page 315-316 🧡
Dog injury & cruelty
Page 322 🧡
Guinea pig cruelty & death
Page 336 💛
Detailed description of using maggots as fishing bait
Page 341-350 ❤️
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 YOU’RE AN ANIMAL LOVER: this destroyed me.
Page 353 & 356 💛
Bee death
Page 375 🧡
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 isn’t 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 wouldn’t entirely steer others away from giving The Deep a chance, especially if you are an avid horror fan and love creepy and claustrophobic settings.
Content Warnings
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
mialeyden's review against another edition
3.5
OK, I have to be very specific with this book. The story itself is a 4 stars. It was not perfect, but it kept interested and I enjoyed it.
However, I give it a 3.5 stars because the few scenes either with animal experimentation or bad circumstances related to animals were difficult to read and I most definitely didn't like those. If that's a trigger for you, just skip this one.
However, I give it a 3.5 stars because the few scenes either with animal experimentation or bad circumstances related to animals were difficult to read and I most definitely didn't like those. If that's a trigger for you, just skip this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Animal cruelty
electronaut6's review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Body horror
Minor: Child abuse
Horrifying. Terrifying. Gut wrenching. Definitely for fans of Clive Barker, as well as fans of the family and relationship horror of Ari Aster (Midsommar, Hereditary), with hints of sci-fi. Impossible to put down. Hits you like a freight train in every way imaginable.redtemptation's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Body horror, Death, Gore, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Injury/Injury detail
roach_okay's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Gore, Self harm, Animal cruelty, and Child abuse
Moderate: Rape and Sexual content
winlei's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
This was so……. odd? I can’t tell if I actually enjoyed this experience. It never veered fully into scary, except maybe at the beginning, with the explanation of the ‘Gets - but mainly because any dementia-related illness is inherently horrific. Definitely more psychological horror than anything else. I’m not sure if it really reached the heights it could have - but I do love an underwater/outer space location as a setting for a horror story, so it got points with me solely based off of that. Unfortunately, the setting had no impact on the story whatsoever so that was extremely disappointing.
If you like Stephen King’s ramblings to expand on a character’s extremely tragic backstory, intermixed with your horror elements, you may particularly enjoy this.
The 3-phrase vibe review:
If you like Stephen King’s ramblings to expand on a character’s extremely tragic backstory, intermixed with your horror elements, you may particularly enjoy this.
The 3-phrase vibe review:
- Isolation
- Mind games
- Parasitology
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death
wizardteeth's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Self harm, Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Animal death, Death, Murder, and Gore
amycapleitch's review against another edition
Too slow and way too much child and animal harm
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, and Animal cruelty