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sjj169's review
4.0
Ummm no! But I'll read all I can about it. Because stoopid.
Off the coast of Mauritius, something is going on with the gorgeous area that looks like an underground waterfall.
Something is taking over, turning the ocean very dark, cold, and the animal life is either leaving or disappearing.
World-champion free diver and marine biologist Carrie Anderson joins in the mix working to find out what is going on in the deep. The ocean floor is starting to collapse and a big bio-technical company is hiring her to go in to see if she can figure out why.
Frick that! I hate deep water. I'm okay just looking at it but like I heard on a video.."That's the shark's table." You can get your arse eaten or worse.
Now it didn't matter to me whether this book was completely believable or not, I gave no cares. It was perfect summer reading (to keep me away from the beach)..I ate this stuff up. It sent chills up my spine and reinforced my belief that unless you can see wear your foot is going..you just keep that sucker out of the water.
I think this was my first Brian Keene book and it looks like my friends like some of his other books better so I'm completely sold on him if this is one of his worst.
Booksource: Netgalley in exchange for review.
My fellow Netgalley junkie Michael is getting the blame for my nightmares on this one.
courtneyking713's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
david_agranoff's review
3.0
Brian Keene is a giant in our field, perhaps the well know writer of our gneration of horror writers who grew up reading Stephen King, Robert McCammon and Joe R Lansdale. Keene wears the influences on his sleeves like a crowded arm of tats but the reality is he would not hav become one of the youngest Grand Masters of horror at the 2014 World Horror Convention if he didn't have a excellent ability to tell a story with his own spin. Keene as an artist is pretty wide open through his popular Horror Show podcast and blogs. The author made clear he was approached to write this book.
Pressure is not his masterpiece but it is a fun read. If you are looking for something more you might want to read something else. The story follows a famous diver named Carrie Anderson who is hired to investigate the collapse of the sea shelf in the Indian Ocean. This alone seemed a interesting set up for a end of the world novel but it is just the Maguffin that gets Carrie down to the bottom where we find a a big surprise.
As for the claim that it was Alien meets Jaws made by the publisher seems fair for the first 100 pages or so that would have made a stronger novella that the resulting novel. It is hard to talk about the strengths or weaknesses of this book with spoiling the book a little. Consider yourself warned...
The second half of the book takes on a completely style of story and loses the monster aspect as well as the interesting setting of the deep seas dives. while I enjoyed the first half and found my self turning pages quickly the second was less interesting to me. To Keene's credit in the hands of an author with less skill I would have lost all interest.
I respect Brian Keene as a writer and think his skill saves this book although I wish the story had stayed out at sea, or maybe the monster could have came ashore looking for it's egg. If I sound negative it is only because of the high bar Brian Keene has set for himself with a catalog of effective horror novels. This is a fun monster novel that just needed a little more focus on the monster.
Pressure is not his masterpiece but it is a fun read. If you are looking for something more you might want to read something else. The story follows a famous diver named Carrie Anderson who is hired to investigate the collapse of the sea shelf in the Indian Ocean. This alone seemed a interesting set up for a end of the world novel but it is just the Maguffin that gets Carrie down to the bottom where we find a a big surprise.
As for the claim that it was Alien meets Jaws made by the publisher seems fair for the first 100 pages or so that would have made a stronger novella that the resulting novel. It is hard to talk about the strengths or weaknesses of this book with spoiling the book a little. Consider yourself warned...
The second half of the book takes on a completely style of story and loses the monster aspect as well as the interesting setting of the deep seas dives. while I enjoyed the first half and found my self turning pages quickly the second was less interesting to me. To Keene's credit in the hands of an author with less skill I would have lost all interest.
I respect Brian Keene as a writer and think his skill saves this book although I wish the story had stayed out at sea, or maybe the monster could have came ashore looking for it's egg. If I sound negative it is only because of the high bar Brian Keene has set for himself with a catalog of effective horror novels. This is a fun monster novel that just needed a little more focus on the monster.
raforall's review
4.0
Review posted:
http://raforall.blogspot.com/2016/06/summer-reading-suggestion-what-im.html
http://raforall.blogspot.com/2016/06/summer-reading-suggestion-what-im.html
thaydra's review
3.0
Not my favorite of his books. I did not feel any connection with any of the characters. The whole book felt like it was written, well, "under pressure". It felt like his editors gave him a rush deadline that he was forced to comply with, and while it was an okay story, I've definitely read much stronger from him, and the reveal of the origins of the monster was a disappointment for me.
I will say that I'm guessing there was a fair amount of research, or already-there knowledge that was put into it. Some of it was almost too much jargon for me, but it felt thorough.
I will say that I'm guessing there was a fair amount of research, or already-there knowledge that was put into it. Some of it was almost too much jargon for me, but it felt thorough.
abigailbat's review
2.0
The pacing was off for me on this one - it started way too slow and the monster, while occasionally intense, was not scary enough to make it worth slogging through the rest of it. Skip this one and read Beast by Peter Benchley AND/OR The Prey by Michael Crichton instead.
suneaters's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
I was really intrigued by the description and the idea of unknown sea creatures. To be honest, while the ending made sense, it felt like an anticlimactic let down that her ex and this shady company screwed around with nanotechnology and created a monster. I guess I was looking more for a more organic life form. I liked Carrie, but I felt like there’s a first book featuring her that I missed or something.
beckylej's review
2.0
A fairly disappointing latest from Keene.
When the underwater falls of Mauritius begin growing rapidly, Carrie Anderson and her team are sent in to investigate. An experienced free diver and marine biologist, Carrie should be the best person for the job but then an accident leaves her diving partner dead. Carrie barely escapes, making it to a depressurization chamber in the nick of time.
It's an accident that should never have happened. One Carrie still struggles to explain. And now she's determined to return to the site and get answers. But those answers aren't what she expects.
Thin plot and no character development make this one rather ho hum. It's very B-movie, actually. And yes, while cheesy is fun, I expect more from Keene.
When the underwater falls of Mauritius begin growing rapidly, Carrie Anderson and her team are sent in to investigate. An experienced free diver and marine biologist, Carrie should be the best person for the job but then an accident leaves her diving partner dead. Carrie barely escapes, making it to a depressurization chamber in the nick of time.
It's an accident that should never have happened. One Carrie still struggles to explain. And now she's determined to return to the site and get answers. But those answers aren't what she expects.
Thin plot and no character development make this one rather ho hum. It's very B-movie, actually. And yes, while cheesy is fun, I expect more from Keene.
the_original_shelf_monkey's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25