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A review by entazis
The Deep by Nick Cutter
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