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vyralvyris's review
- 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
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
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
_marjolaine_'s review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Gore, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Child abuse
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Pedophilia, Grief, Suicide, Self harm, Fatphobia, Eating disorder, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Incest and Rape
stardustvein'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Torture, Mental illness, Murder, Animal cruelty, Blood, Child death, Child abuse, Animal death, Body horror, Grief, Confinement, Physical abuse, and Gore
Moderate: Rape, Pedophilia, Kidnapping, Incest, Domestic abuse, Body shaming, Cursing, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Pandemic/Epidemic, Fatphobia, Sexual assault, and Panic attacks/disorders
trippyotter's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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
Also, while reading the book, I felt it could have easily been 50-100 pages shorter, but come to find out all the excessive trips down memory road and the journey entries was actually critical to the ending.
After several memory flashbacks, I was about ready to close the book when Luke was reading the journal. It just went on forever. Then what happened to LB angered me so much that I was basically emotionally numb (maybe that was the intent?) that I just finished the book.
I'm not sure if I'd truly recommend this to anyone, but if you decide to take the plug, beware of the various triggers.
Triggers: missing child, child abuse, child sexual assault, emotional abuse, toxic relationships, death, gore, grief, animal abuse, animal testing, animal death
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Child death, Death, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Death of parent
berninator94's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This was an anxiety attack in a book, and I couldn't be happier. I loved the crazy tense atmosphere, the seriously visceral gore, and the absolute fear for the characters' lives.
It was intense, and I was never bored. I guess for some, the first half of the book might be a little slow, but it is a wild ride, and if you love John Carpenter's The Thing or Stephen King in general, you will adore this novel.
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Violence, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, and Sexual assault
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: Emotional abuse, Animal death, Blood, Animal cruelty, Gore, Grief, Self harm, Body horror, Confinement, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Medical content, Excrement, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Incest, Child abuse, Fatphobia, and Eating disorder
Minor: Death of parent and Sexual assault
gssll_lpz's review
- 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: Medical content, Animal cruelty, Gore, Animal death, Body horror, and Grief
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Incest, Child abuse, and Injury/Injury detail
lithoerary_atria'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? It's complicated
2.5
lemme break it down for ya:
parts 1, 2 & 3? utterly boring and mind-numbing and the whole writing down the sounds made didn't help. also i DIDN'T appreciate the numerous flashbacks that went on for pages. they could've been done away with.
parts 4 & 5? HELL YEAH, that's my stuff!! horrors beyond human comprehension & feeling helpless? fuck yes!! the writing was still meh tho especially with those internal voices inside luke's mind. it was silly & brought you out of the story lol.
part 6? i- we don't speak about it lol.
Graphic: Grief, Murder, Child death, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death, Medical content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Gore, and Suicide
Moderate: Sexual assault, Fatphobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Incest, Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, and Sexual content
sunnyjreads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Graphic: Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Torture, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Pedophilia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Toxic relationship