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lydiahebert 's review for:
The Deep
by Nick Cutter
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
SPOILER FREE REVIEW
This book is disgusting and I loved it. After reading The Troop by Cutter, I obviously had to read his whole entire library starting with The Deep. A horror novel that takes place in a research station on the ocean floor while a perilous disease rampages the land above? YES PLEASE. This book was as haunting and gross as I expected.
The setting makes the world super claustrophobic. You can't run. You can't hide. You can't even see the sun or breathe fresh air. All of these elements create a perfect storm of paranoia and madness. It's a harrowing journey watching our main characters wrestle and walk the line of madness and reality. Cutters prose is dark and haunting and atmospheric inside the confined space. And the gory moments in this book made my skin crawl. There were several times where I had to walk away from the novel because I felt so gross after reading it. Nasty, nasty, nasty. What surprised me was the thread of brotherhood and fatherhood throughout the novel. While it wasn't front and center, there were many insightful moments where two brothers that seem estranged, have more in common than they think. It's a sad, bittersweet revelation.
My only qualm with The Deep was the ending. As I approached the last few chapters I found myself asking... how is this really going to end? The answer was an info dump, unfortunately. While interesting, I lost the mystery and fear surrounding who or what was pulling the strings. Sure, it tied up loose ends and answered questions, but didn't feel as satisfying as I'd hoped. That last line though? "What shambled forth was unspeakable."
Chills.
All in all, I love Nick Cutter.
This book is disgusting and I loved it. After reading The Troop by Cutter, I obviously had to read his whole entire library starting with The Deep. A horror novel that takes place in a research station on the ocean floor while a perilous disease rampages the land above? YES PLEASE. This book was as haunting and gross as I expected.
The setting makes the world super claustrophobic. You can't run. You can't hide. You can't even see the sun or breathe fresh air. All of these elements create a perfect storm of paranoia and madness. It's a harrowing journey watching our main characters wrestle and walk the line of madness and reality. Cutters prose is dark and haunting and atmospheric inside the confined space. And the gory moments in this book made my skin crawl. There were several times where I had to walk away from the novel because I felt so gross after reading it. Nasty, nasty, nasty. What surprised me was the thread of brotherhood and fatherhood throughout the novel. While it wasn't front and center, there were many insightful moments where two brothers that seem estranged, have more in common than they think. It's a sad, bittersweet revelation.
My only qualm with The Deep was the ending. As I approached the last few chapters I found myself asking... how is this really going to end? The answer was an info dump, unfortunately. While interesting, I lost the mystery and fear surrounding who or what was pulling the strings. Sure, it tied up loose ends and answered questions, but didn't feel as satisfying as I'd hoped. That last line though? "What shambled forth was unspeakable."
Chills.
All in all, I love Nick Cutter.