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wyabook234's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Kidnapping
g_xandra'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
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
shetland_pone'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? It's complicated
3.0
- Clayton's hand falling off like a lizard's tail and groping Luke.
- That moment when the scientist guy described his raging boner and mentioned how even his kinky ex couldn't make him that hard.
- The hand then sprouting another 7 hands and then spider scuttling over to a keypad and opening a door.
- Pretty much everything involving the bees.
- Clayton having an Einstein poster to cover up the hole.
- Luke dragging Clayton's unconscious body through a tunnel while being chased by a giant maggot with the heads of his mother, ex-wife, and missing son.
- Toy basically being flattened by the research station and 8 miles worth of water, except slowly.
- The two dogs being fused together and sucked through a supernatural sparkly goo hole while Luke cried his eyes out.
I literally just laughed at these moments.
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Gore, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
dezaraemd's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Gaslighting
Minor: Child abuse, Incest, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Kidnapping, and Abandonment
e_gracereads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Suicide, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
danimacuk's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail
jalecd's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Incest, and Pedophilia
jesshorn10's review against another edition
5.0
Check content warnings though!
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Incest, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
papercrowns'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? It's complicated
4.0
Well, I don't remember too many specifics about The Troop (my memory's fault, not the book's), but I do recall thinking it was awesome and gross, but not super disturbing per se. Well, The Deep was certainly disturbing. But, I understand why The Troop is the Nick Cutter book people talk about most, because while The Deep does what it says on the tin in terms of the horror, it's got its problems.
- An overuse of onomatopoeia to the point of distraction.
- The story touches on a lot of serious, uncomfortable topics, and they certainly gave me the ick but for the most part, these serve the story and felt intentional. However, there was some fatphobia that didn't quite feel necessary or serve the story that I could have done without. It was very like
"Ooh, she got fat, gross! We know she's gonna be a baddie!" - The general dialogue was fine, but when it came to banter, it felt a bit forced and unintentionally cringe, particularly between the main character and his brother.
- The 'Gets, the worldwide pandemic that instigates the whole narrative, was super interesting but is largely forgotten once we get to the underwater lab in the Challenger Deep. It was such an interesting concept that it would have been great to see it have more impact to the story rather than being a throwaway plot device.
These things brought it down to a 4-star read for me, but none of them derailed the story. It's a real wild ride and intensely unsettling; exactly what I want from a horror book. Nick Cutter excels in describing horrifying, uncomfortable, and balls-to-the-wall cuckoo-bananas situations.
His descriptions of the characters' psychological trauma as they grapple with desperate situations are so intense and unnerving; I often found myself wanting to put the book down to give myself a break but also being absolutely unable to tear my eyes from the page. There was one claustrophobic sequence in particular where Cutter describes
And frankly, that's some chef's-kiss horror writing if you ask me.
I can't wait to read more Nick Cutter, cuz I know it'll be a grand creep-fest that does exactly what it says on the tin. However, I will say that I'd love to see a bit more character diversity, particularly more women.
Worth checking the trigger warnings before reading if you have triggers. Definitely do not read if bad things happening to animals in your reading is a dealbreaker. 😬
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Self harm, Blood, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Incest, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Excrement, and Medical content
Minor: Sexual assault and Death of parent
gssll_lpz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Gore, Medical content, and Grief
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, and Injury/Injury detail