A review by justagirlwithabook
The Deep by Nick Cutter

dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • 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? No

5.0

What a trip.

I’ll not include a summary in this review as you can read the blurb for yourself. But to put it simply, I might never look at the deep sea or gooish, viscous-like substances the same way ever again. But did I expect anything less?

I read The Troop a few years ago and it left me forever seeing vines and worms in a different light. It was squeamish, grotesque, and horrifying, and The Deep delivers in the same ways. 

Nick Cutter is a master in writing this specific style of horror — a bit psychological, a lot grotesque, and leaving you with a fair amount of a desire to have a good brain scrub when it’s almost over. His voice is ever present in the way he shows, rather than tells, vividly horrific and grotesque scenes — the smells, the tastes, the sounds. There are moments when you want to look away and put the book down entirely — you couldn’t possibly stand to read any more. But then you just can’t stop; it’s compulsive. You have to know what happens, even if it all turns out entirely horrible in the end.

Nick Cutter will forever be a go-to author when I have the desire to be truly horrified and disgusted. No one else writes horror quite like he does.