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sexyevilwizard's review against another edition
dark
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? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Sexual assault
avira's review against another edition
mysterious
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? It's complicated
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Sexual assault, and Injury/Injury detail
megamelfina's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Incest, and Pedophilia
entazis's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.75
This one was a mixed bag for me. The Deep by Nick Cutter starts with the world where a strange illness ravages humanity and the apparent salvation lies on the bottom of the ocean. In an underwater facility, a group of scientists experiment on a newly discovered marine life form that seems like a magical cure-all. But something went wrong, and now our main character needs to take a deep dive (sorry for the pun) to the facility and learn wtf happened to his brother (one of the scientists) and others.
There are some very interesting and disturbing scenes that I quite liked, especially since the bottom of the ocean is a great setting for isolation and claustrophobia. However, there were a lot that I just wasn't interested in. Mainly the backstory of the main character. There was too much going on, and at times, it seemed like two stories (the past, the child abuse and the mystery of the lost son; and the present, the strange, new life form and medical experimentations in an underwater facility) mashed together with a very flimsy connection. The mystery of life form was engaging until the resolution which I felt was lazy. Too many cliches a la King for my liking, sprinkled with fatphobia, which distracted from the more interesting story that was unfurling with the underwater research.
Also, if you are a dog owner, a dog lover, or someone who has issues with animal cruelty in the media, be careful. The book depicts gruesome tests on animals, and one of the scenes is very graphic and looong, it goes on and on (I personally have no problems with impossible stuff happening to dogs because a monster is never going to eat my dog, so I can handle this sort of things in horror. However, the main character is a veterinarian and during that particular scene he flashes back to his experience with euthanasia and that part was emotionally wrecking to me. So be wary.)
There are some very interesting and disturbing scenes that I quite liked, especially since the bottom of the ocean is a great setting for isolation and claustrophobia. However, there were a lot that I just wasn't interested in. Mainly the backstory of the main character. There was too much going on, and at times, it seemed like two stories (the past, the child abuse and the mystery of the lost son; and the present, the strange, new life form and medical experimentations in an underwater facility) mashed together with a very flimsy connection. The mystery of life form was engaging until the resolution which I felt was lazy. Too many cliches a la King for my liking, sprinkled with fatphobia, which distracted from the more interesting story that was unfurling with the underwater research.
Also, if you are a dog owner, a dog lover, or someone who has issues with animal cruelty in the media, be careful. The book depicts gruesome tests on animals, and one of the scenes is very graphic and looong, it goes on and on (I personally have no problems with impossible stuff happening to dogs because a monster is never going to eat my dog, so I can handle this sort of things in horror. However, the main character is a veterinarian and during that particular scene he flashes back to his experience with euthanasia and that part was emotionally wrecking to me. So be wary.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death
changelingreader_adrian's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
maddypat's review against another edition
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? No
3.0
I was really excited to jump into The Deep - the premise of the book sounded really promising and like it had a high potential for some spookiness. I would say that, generally, the book delivered -- but it was just kind of meh.
Some things I liked:
- The pacing was good. I was pulled in quickly and never felt like any piece of it was dragging.
- I enjoyed how a few seemingly unimportant flashbacks in Luke's life seemed to suddenly fit together like puzzle pieces at the end
- The atmosphere was set really well. I was always aware of where they were, and the intensity of that place.
- There were a handful of times where I felt really tense reading it, like when Al and Luke are worming their way through the extremely tight chute .
Some things I didn't like:
- The language describing sensations sometimes felt kind of jarring and killed the flow of some passages
- A lot of "messages" felt really forced, a lot of telling without much showing, like when we learn at the end that Clayton had killed his and Luke's mom. Her abuse of Luke had been discussed a fair amount, and it could be assumed she did the same with Clayton, but it still felt out of place. The way that Luke handled this information was also weird. It felt like he was more upset about Clayton killing their mom than about their mom sexually and emotionally abusing him and Clayton.
- I really didn't like how Luke suddenly saw Al as a possible sexual partner like halfway through. It was only brought up a couple of times, but it just felt so out of place and weird. If I was in his position, there isn't a universe where I'd be thinking about sex.
- In general, the book felt kind of... forced? That isn't really the best word for it, but it's what I've got. For example, some dialogue sounded like it was meant to be quotable quips instead of actual people talking. There was also an inner monologue Luke had that just felt like someone read a Stephen King book and tried to replicate that feeling, but instead it just fell flat.
Overall, this book was alright. I think my personal preferences and general pickiness just made it less enjoyable than it would be for others!
Some things I liked:
- The pacing was good. I was pulled in quickly and never felt like any piece of it was dragging.
- I enjoyed how a few seemingly unimportant flashbacks in Luke's life seemed to suddenly fit together like puzzle pieces at the end
- The atmosphere was set really well. I was always aware of where they were, and the intensity of that place.
- There were a handful of times where I felt really tense reading it, like
Some things I didn't like:
- The language describing sensations sometimes felt kind of jarring and killed the flow of some passages
- A lot of "messages" felt really forced, a lot of telling without much showing, like when
- I really didn't like how Luke suddenly saw Al as a possible sexual partner like halfway through. It was only brought up a couple of times, but it just felt so out of place and weird. If I was in his position, there isn't a universe where I'd be thinking about sex.
- In general, the book felt kind of... forced? That isn't really the best word for it, but it's what I've got. For example, some dialogue sounded like it was meant to be quotable quips instead of actual people talking. There was also an inner monologue Luke had that just felt like someone read a Stephen King book and tried to replicate that feeling, but instead it just fell flat.
Overall, this book was alright. I think my personal preferences and general pickiness just made it less enjoyable than it would be for others!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death
Minor: Child abuse
ghostoncamera's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Confinement
Moderate: Gore and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual assault
stardustvein's review against another edition
adventurous
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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Torture, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Body shaming, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Incest, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, and Pandemic/Epidemic
ravensalwaysreading's review against another edition
Graphic animal cruelty, like all his books it seems.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death
evelynritzi's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
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? It's complicated
2.0
This one didn’t capture my attention as much as The Troop. It did provide an unnerving sense of claustrophobia but because so much of it was more supernatural than realistic, it didn’t have the same horror effect on me. But some of the descriptions were pretty grotesque. I hate millipedes! Sometimes the writing style really made me cringe, too. I think I’m done with Nick Cutter for now 🫡
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal death and Child abuse