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3.36 AVERAGE
3.36 AVERAGE
I can't help it. My third Nick Cutter book this year. What an unsettling and disturbing story. A claustrophobic nightmare at the bottom of the Mariana Trench. I will say I am not completely sold on the ending, but the journey to get there is absolutely terrifying. Great book!
dark
emotional
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:
No
A story with a lot of potential that at times gets a little lost in its uneven pace… that pace was what ultimately kept me from fully loving the book.
There are some very good horror passages and a very effective construction of a suffocating atmosphere. I was fascinated by the terror of being trapped under the ocean on the Triste; it all felt very real.
I found the characters interesting; I just feel like the way things unfolded in the end didn't leave me as satisfied.
Cutter is excellent at describing disgusting things in detail, and his wit is astonishing. Perhaps a scarier ending would have shaken me up a bit more.
There are some very good horror passages and a very effective construction of a suffocating atmosphere. I was fascinated by the terror of being trapped under the ocean on the Triste; it all felt very real.
I found the characters interesting; I just feel like the way things unfolded in the end didn't leave me as satisfied.
Cutter is excellent at describing disgusting things in detail, and his wit is astonishing. Perhaps a scarier ending would have shaken me up a bit more.
TW: animal abuse. Nick Cutter loves the stuff.
God was this bleak. As suffocating as it was unrelenting. Terrifying, with no reprieves. I wish it was shorter; I kept having to take breaks, and as someone who loves nothing more than finishing a book in one sitting, that was hard. But good Lord, was it necessary. The ending was a little uninspired, given the no shortage of detail on all of the other horrors, but that probably heightened the fear of what is coming to this universe. One thing's for certain though--I am NEVER getting on a submarine.
God was this bleak. As suffocating as it was unrelenting. Terrifying, with no reprieves. I wish it was shorter; I kept having to take breaks, and as someone who loves nothing more than finishing a book in one sitting, that was hard. But good Lord, was it necessary. The ending was a little uninspired, given the no shortage of detail on all of the other horrors, but that probably heightened the fear of what is coming to this universe. One thing's for certain though--I am NEVER getting on a submarine.
The Deep: A fever dream disguised as an underwater horror thriller written by a man with severe mommy issues. It could possibly even be described as The Ruins set underwater. This one was tough. When a book cover's selling point is Stephen King's comments about a DIFFERENT novel you know you should be weary going in.
Positives first: Cutter nailed the omniscient feeling of dread and "ick". There's really nothing happy whatsoever about this novel. It's creepy, dark, depressing, and just kind of makes you feel gross. Characters are somewhat generic (naïve protagonist, mad scientist, military sergeant, loyal companion), but the central crew of Luke, Al, Clayton, and LB are memorable. Visual and audible descriptions are vivid and can really pull you into a scene, but Cutter's constantuse of similes can become a bit distracting. The descent into the ocean was a fun journey that unfortunately wasn't really replicated later in the novel. I also felt like the ending was unexpected and satisfying even if it took a different turn from the rest of the novel.
For the rest... whew. The story's central premise of society failing due to a disease called "The Gets" is used only for a simple motivation to go underwater in search of ambrosia and never fully explored. The surface and normal society itself is quickly forgotten and never really talked about again beyond the first few chapters. Once we're under the ocean the setting is referenced a few times, but it's not utilized to its full potential at all. You could transcribe this book to take place in a cave, in space, or on a desert island and it wouldn't play out any differently. I really wish Cutter would have utilized the underwater setting more. The repeated flashbacks to various points in Luke's life hurt the overall flow of the novel and didn't add enough to the story to justify themselves. Pacing became a major issue especially when we start reading about Luke's mom (PLEASE don't make me read one more sentence about his mother).
In regards to the "horror" we're drug through gory descriptions of gross things. Gross people, gross animals, gross smells, gross sounds, gross walls, gross injuries/wounds, gross trinkets. Cutter even sprinkles in repeat instances of animal cruelty and incestual rape. It wasn't a story that scared me so much as it made me feel like I needed to walk away and take a shower. What we do get in terms of "scares" that you would naturally expect from a horror novel appear in the form of hallucinations. Were they really happening or is the entire novel a byproduct of contracting "The Gets"? What was real and what wasn't? All we know is that aliens are our true overlords and have been playing the long con on us this whole time.
The Deep is a comfortable 2.5/5 stars for me. It wasn't super enjoyable, but it did have its moments. If you're really into gross you'll like this, but if you're looking for a creepy underwater horror thriller steer more towards better works like Sphere, From Below, Anomaly, or the Derelict podcast. It's not a novel I plan to revisit nor would I recommend it.
Positives first: Cutter nailed the omniscient feeling of dread and "ick". There's really nothing happy whatsoever about this novel. It's creepy, dark, depressing, and just kind of makes you feel gross. Characters are somewhat generic (naïve protagonist, mad scientist, military sergeant, loyal companion), but the central crew of Luke, Al, Clayton, and LB are memorable. Visual and audible descriptions are vivid and can really pull you into a scene, but Cutter's constantuse of similes can become a bit distracting. The descent into the ocean was a fun journey that unfortunately wasn't really replicated later in the novel. I also felt like the ending was unexpected and satisfying even if it took a different turn from the rest of the novel.
For the rest... whew. The story's central premise of society failing due to a disease called "The Gets" is used only for a simple motivation to go underwater in search of ambrosia and never fully explored. The surface and normal society itself is quickly forgotten and never really talked about again beyond the first few chapters. Once we're under the ocean the setting is referenced a few times, but it's not utilized to its full potential at all. You could transcribe this book to take place in a cave, in space, or on a desert island and it wouldn't play out any differently. I really wish Cutter would have utilized the underwater setting more. The repeated flashbacks to various points in Luke's life hurt the overall flow of the novel and didn't add enough to the story to justify themselves. Pacing became a major issue especially when we start reading about Luke's mom (PLEASE don't make me read one more sentence about his mother).
In regards to the "horror" we're drug through gory descriptions of gross things. Gross people, gross animals, gross smells, gross sounds, gross walls, gross injuries/wounds, gross trinkets. Cutter even sprinkles in repeat instances of animal cruelty and incestual rape. It wasn't a story that scared me so much as it made me feel like I needed to walk away and take a shower. What we do get in terms of "scares" that you would naturally expect from a horror novel appear in the form of hallucinations. Were they really happening or is the entire novel a byproduct of contracting "The Gets"? What was real and what wasn't? All we know is that aliens are our true overlords and have been playing the long con on us this whole time.
The Deep is a comfortable 2.5/5 stars for me. It wasn't super enjoyable, but it did have its moments. If you're really into gross you'll like this, but if you're looking for a creepy underwater horror thriller steer more towards better works like Sphere, From Below, Anomaly, or the Derelict podcast. It's not a novel I plan to revisit nor would I recommend it.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
DNF. Based on reviews I’m sure it gets scary later but I couldn’t make past a) the overbearing mother whose fatness is supposed to disgust us, b) the dumb and over-explained science (I don’t ask for much but it was very silly) and c) the domes with inverted satellites described as like “two perfect breasts.”
challenging
dark
sad
tense
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief
dark
mysterious
tense
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:
Yes