Scan barcode
thebigemmt505's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
“It’s as strong as it needs to be. It exists- it, and everything in it- at the benevolence of something far greater and more terrible than itself.”
The Deep is a a book that encapsulates the horror and mystery of the deep blue sea. We follow Luke, a veterinarian with a troubled past, as he’s called to see his brother in a base built at the bottom of the Mariana Trench.
I really, really loved the atmosphere in this book. It’s consistently eerie and unforgivingly grimy and gory, which, is not for everyone. I’m personally a fan of the body horror in this book as it served a purpose to the main plot, (it showed how disgusting and powerful the ambrosia is). It was not meant to be just for shock value. The world building was really unique. I loved the description of a semi-post apocalyptic world, with a population whose collective head is barely above water against an incurable illness. Everything in The Deep kills slowly; everything is driven to madness then stamped to a pulp. The descriptions are written well and the tension is sustained well throughout the book. We feel the pressure build with those eight miles of water above. There were parts that meandered, and certain flashbacks that felt unnecessary, but overall the pacing was fine. I liked Luke as a character; he was be no means extremely profound or deeply relatable, but likeable and easy to root for. He was perfect for this plot. The plot, speaking of, is really want drew me back to this book over and over. I absolutely love horror that tackles themes of trauma and this struck a great balance for me… well… until… the end.
I was planning to give this four stars until the last part. Admittedly, the full last 50-75 pages or so I found to be a bit messy, but not so bad it impacted my enjoyment. It felt as though it couldn’t wrap up all of its themes, drive them home, so they were left scattered in a pile of gore at the bottom of the Trieste like everyone else in this book. The last part of this book, The Fig Men, was so, so bad. It read like a shitty villain speech, dumping unnecessary and cliché exposition to wrap up all of the parts of this story that were best left to the imagination. I mean come on man, two alien creatures calling the character my child, ancient beings that control parts of the human experience, oOoOoOohhhhh we want to be fReE, fReE so Luke accept our GIIFFTT, everything just… … listen I finished this book moments ago so my thoughts aren’t fully collected, but GOD that really pulled down the rating for me. I legitimately thought that whole section would be revealed as a dream, or at least a mix of dream and Luke’s mind succumbing to grief and madness. When it wasn’t, I let out such a disappointed sigh, my first breath at the surface of this ocean and I was so annoyed I couldn’t even inhale. After reading other reviews, it seems I’m not alone in that thought, at the very least.
Anyways, ending aside, I want to offer my opinion on a part of the book that is quite divisive. There’s lots of talk about the gore in this novel too, notably, the death of LB. Usually, I would have a huge issue with this, not even because of the concept, but because dogs are so often killed off unnecessarily in horror stories purely to shock the viewer. In the case though, I can actually make a pass. LB’s death scene was written with so much care and emotion, much more so than the human deaths. It was gross, it was awful, I did shed tears, but Luke’s love for that creature was evident. I hated her death but I ended up really liking the scene. In addition, everyone else died too, so her death felt less like a sacrifice to the plot and more like a part of it. That’s just my take, though. It was still upsetting to read.
I want to recommend this book, especially if you love aquatic horror but god the ending… you choose on this one. Maybe you’ll love it. The read was still worth it for me, but boy am I let down. Oh well! I would still recommend it more than Our Wives Under The Sea.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Adult/minor relationship, Gore, Grief, Incest, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Violence, and Pedophilia
Moderate: Cursing, Confinement, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Fatphobia
Minor: Murder
vyralvyris's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.25
Cutter has such a captivating writing style, but the story feels disjointed and tacked together in a rush, especially at the end. With such a fascinating concept, I can't believe I was bored through the first 7 hours of the audiobook.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Murder, Self harm, Abandonment, Gore, Incest, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Animal cruelty, Blood, Animal death, Death, Grief, Rape, Sexual harassment, and Violence
Moderate: Cursing, Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Mental illness, and Cancer
aemesserlie's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-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? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Blood, Animal death, and Animal cruelty
Moderate: Incest, Child abuse, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Child death
mmc_librarian's review against another edition
challenging
dark
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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Body horror, Child death, Blood, Animal death, Gore, Grief, and Animal cruelty
kier__'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Blood, Grief, Confinement, Child death, Gore, Cursing, Murder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Body horror, Drug use, Chronic illness, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Dementia, Excrement, and Medical content
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
esharemet's review against another edition
The description of gore and body horror got to be too much for me, especially in audiobook format.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Dementia, Child abuse, Blood, and Animal cruelty
haleybre's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
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
the_bitextual's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
1.5
There's two, maybe three good story's hiding in this. I'll tell you right now a spoiler, the Get's the big bad disease you read about in the blurbs, has NOTHING to do with the story. It's useless and could be excised, but that's the first good, wasted story idea. If this had been a character driven tale about the Gets, boy would I have given it five stars. The second good story is the Ambrosia, but it devolves into a mishmash of horror tropes. Together, it fails to land.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Body horror, Child death, Animal death, and Blood
jesssicawho's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
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