Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

The Deep by Nick Cutter

14 reviews

reaja's review against another edition

dark tense slow-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? Yes

2.0

This book was brutally slow paced for the tension it was trying to build. Copious overlapping and unnecessary plots threads that never really paid off. It spends a good half of the pages in childhood flashbacks. The main character isn't particularly sympathetic despite the massive number of pages dedicated to his trauma. He's just sorta... there. The only sympathetic character in the whole novel is the dog. It still gets a full two stars because the way this author writes in-the-moment horror scenes is really, honestly, scary. I feel like this book needed a really talented editor who wasn't afraid to tell this guy to seriously pare down his manuscript. It should have been a short story or he should have leaned WAY harder into character development on the station. Alice and Clayton were especially flat when they both could have been great characters. Alas, very disappointing, but suitably spooky if you're willing to dump a ton of hours in for a few golden glimmers of damn good horror writing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Self harm, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Child death, and Grief

Minor: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Excrement, Medical content, Kidnapping, and Death of parent

dakotahrey's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book was one that was hard for me to put down and not read in one sitting. Right from the start, you get hooked into this little story of what you think the book will be about, but instead, almost immediately you're thrown into a story of trauma, body horror, and a confusing mess of a situation. It doesn't help that the entirety of the book takes place 8 miles below land with descriptions of hallways and rooms that make you physically feel tight and uncomfortable as you read. The characters infuriate you and have you questioning your own sanity and understanding along the way. I know I gave some pretty heavy tags, but I just wanted to cover all the bases of what is even mentioned in the book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual assault

Minor: Cursing

sunnyjreads's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

chemicalpink's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Blood, Dementia, and Grief

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Fatphobia, Incest, Pedophilia, and Grief