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A review by bookwormjazz
The Deep by Nick Cutter
dark
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? It's complicated
5.0
Now, I love walking along sun-soaked beaches, relishing the cool kiss of the ocean as small, foam-capped waves wash onto the shore and over my bare feet. But that’s about as deep into the ocean as I like to go. Like a lot of people, I have thalassophobia, which is a fear of deep, dark bodies of water, such as oceans. Hell, there’s a canal running behind my neighbourhood and there’s a very specific stretch of it that I despise walking past, simply because the shadow of the overhead bridge makes the water an inky, ominous black. When I walk under that bridge, I literally break out in gooseflesh if I so much as glance at the water. I start imagining all the things that might be lurking beneath its surface and what would happen if I slipped and fell in and felt a cold, dead hand wrap around my ankle, dragging m- Ahem. Sorry. Back to the ocean. The deepest depths of the ocean are mostly unexplored and the creatures that live there can often seem as alien as anything we might find elsewhere in the universe.
In summary, I find the ocean terrifying, so when everyone in a horror group I’m a member of on Facebook was talking about Nick Cutter’s The Troop, I found myself more intrigued by his book The Deep. It’s not very often I find a horror book centred around something that I’m truly scared of, but The Deep is a rare exception.
I’ll preface this review (yep, I’m finally getting to it) by saying that this isn’t a book for those who have an aversion to body horror. There’s a fair bit in The Deep, but despite my own aversion to it, I absolutely loved this book. As well as having thalassophobia, I also have claustrophobia, so a book set on a cramped research station eight miles under the ocean sounded like my own personal horror novel heaven. Moreover, The Deep‘s protagonist Luke finds himself trapped in the research station. Horror novels and movies that are set in a single, small location from which the characters can’t escape are some of the best in my opinion. It’s fascinating seeing how a book or movie’s cast of characters react to such a situation. The Deep‘s characters are on either ends of the spectrum in terms of how they react to the horror gradually working its way into the research station and, ultimately, their minds. Luke desperately tries to escape, his cold, apathetic brother Clayton remains entirely consumed by his research and other characters just seemingly give in, letting the entity tear them apart mind, body and soul. While reading The Deep, I often found myself wondering how I would act if I found myself in such a hopeless situation. Would I fight tooth and nail to see the sunlight again, or would I just quietly accept my fate? I like to imagine that it’d be the former, but I honestly don’t know. How much can a person endure until they crumble under the weight of the horror and pain that they’re being subjected to? I guess that’s a question a lot of horror writers ask themselves when penning their latest story.
My only quibble with The Deep was the ‘Gets. I felt it could have been expanded upon more. It was very much just a plot device to get people to the bottom of the ocean. That’s just my personal opinion, though. It didn’t in anyway diminish my enjoyment of the book. The book ended on something of cliff-hanger, so I’m hoping there might one day be a sequel. Saying that, though, sometimes it’s good to let readers decide for themselves what happens after they turn that final page. For me, it’s a way of making sure that a book stays with its readers for a long time to come.
In summary, I find the ocean terrifying, so when everyone in a horror group I’m a member of on Facebook was talking about Nick Cutter’s The Troop, I found myself more intrigued by his book The Deep. It’s not very often I find a horror book centred around something that I’m truly scared of, but The Deep is a rare exception.
I’ll preface this review (yep, I’m finally getting to it) by saying that this isn’t a book for those who have an aversion to body horror. There’s a fair bit in The Deep, but despite my own aversion to it, I absolutely loved this book. As well as having thalassophobia, I also have claustrophobia, so a book set on a cramped research station eight miles under the ocean sounded like my own personal horror novel heaven. Moreover, The Deep‘s protagonist Luke finds himself trapped in the research station. Horror novels and movies that are set in a single, small location from which the characters can’t escape are some of the best in my opinion. It’s fascinating seeing how a book or movie’s cast of characters react to such a situation. The Deep‘s characters are on either ends of the spectrum in terms of how they react to the horror gradually working its way into the research station and, ultimately, their minds. Luke desperately tries to escape, his cold, apathetic brother Clayton remains entirely consumed by his research and other characters just seemingly give in, letting the entity tear them apart mind, body and soul. While reading The Deep, I often found myself wondering how I would act if I found myself in such a hopeless situation. Would I fight tooth and nail to see the sunlight again, or would I just quietly accept my fate? I like to imagine that it’d be the former, but I honestly don’t know. How much can a person endure until they crumble under the weight of the horror and pain that they’re being subjected to? I guess that’s a question a lot of horror writers ask themselves when penning their latest story.
My only quibble with The Deep was the ‘Gets. I felt it could have been expanded upon more. It was very much just a plot device to get people to the bottom of the ocean. That’s just my personal opinion, though. It didn’t in anyway diminish my enjoyment of the book. The book ended on something of cliff-hanger, so I’m hoping there might one day be a sequel. Saying that, though, sometimes it’s good to let readers decide for themselves what happens after they turn that final page. For me, it’s a way of making sure that a book stays with its readers for a long time to come.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Kidnapping and Child abuse