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thebigemmt505's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
“It’s as strong as it needs to be. It exists- it, and everything in it- at the benevolence of something far greater and more terrible than itself.”
The Deep is a a book that encapsulates the horror and mystery of the deep blue sea. We follow Luke, a veterinarian with a troubled past, as he’s called to see his brother in a base built at the bottom of the Mariana Trench.
I really, really loved the atmosphere in this book. It’s consistently eerie and unforgivingly grimy and gory, which, is not for everyone. I’m personally a fan of the body horror in this book as it served a purpose to the main plot, (it showed how disgusting and powerful the ambrosia is). It was not meant to be just for shock value. The world building was really unique. I loved the description of a semi-post apocalyptic world, with a population whose collective head is barely above water against an incurable illness. Everything in The Deep kills slowly; everything is driven to madness then stamped to a pulp. The descriptions are written well and the tension is sustained well throughout the book. We feel the pressure build with those eight miles of water above. There were parts that meandered, and certain flashbacks that felt unnecessary, but overall the pacing was fine. I liked Luke as a character; he was be no means extremely profound or deeply relatable, but likeable and easy to root for. He was perfect for this plot. The plot, speaking of, is really want drew me back to this book over and over. I absolutely love horror that tackles themes of trauma and this struck a great balance for me… well… until… the end.
I was planning to give this four stars until the last part. Admittedly, the full last 50-75 pages or so I found to be a bit messy, but not so bad it impacted my enjoyment. It felt as though it couldn’t wrap up all of its themes, drive them home, so they were left scattered in a pile of gore at the bottom of the Trieste like everyone else in this book. The last part of this book, The Fig Men, was so, so bad. It read like a shitty villain speech, dumping unnecessary and cliché exposition to wrap up all of the parts of this story that were best left to the imagination. I mean come on man, two alien creatures calling the character my child, ancient beings that control parts of the human experience, oOoOoOohhhhh we want to be fReE, fReE so Luke accept our GIIFFTT, everything just… … listen I finished this book moments ago so my thoughts aren’t fully collected, but GOD that really pulled down the rating for me. I legitimately thought that whole section would be revealed as a dream, or at least a mix of dream and Luke’s mind succumbing to grief and madness. When it wasn’t, I let out such a disappointed sigh, my first breath at the surface of this ocean and I was so annoyed I couldn’t even inhale. After reading other reviews, it seems I’m not alone in that thought, at the very least.
Anyways, ending aside, I want to offer my opinion on a part of the book that is quite divisive. There’s lots of talk about the gore in this novel too, notably, the death of LB. Usually, I would have a huge issue with this, not even because of the concept, but because dogs are so often killed off unnecessarily in horror stories purely to shock the viewer. In the case though, I can actually make a pass. LB’s death scene was written with so much care and emotion, much more so than the human deaths. It was gross, it was awful, I did shed tears, but Luke’s love for that creature was evident. I hated her death but I ended up really liking the scene. In addition, everyone else died too, so her death felt less like a sacrifice to the plot and more like a part of it. That’s just my take, though. It was still upsetting to read.
I want to recommend this book, especially if you love aquatic horror but god the ending… you choose on this one. Maybe you’ll love it. The read was still worth it for me, but boy am I let down. Oh well! I would still recommend it more than Our Wives Under The Sea.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Incest, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Fatphobia, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Murder
rknitss's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
Check your content warnings for this one, it's a rough one.
I want to start by saying the audiobook quality is excellent. The narrator did an excellent job of distinguishing characters from the narration and each other. The production was great and he was pleasant to listen to if nothing else.
Now the rating.
I'm not into audiobooks which made this an even more difficult go. Besides that I just wasn't scared. Grossed out, irritated, confused and upset but never creeped out or afraid.
This is my second attempt at a Nick Cutter book and like the first, this just doesn't pass the vibe check. Don't mistake me, the writing isn't bad and the man can set a mood and a scene but the overtly sexual way he chooses to describe things (soooo many comparisons to orgasms and early sexual experiences) doesn't suit me to the point that I couldn't justify the .25 of a star to make this a three.
That plus the parental abuse... Yeah. Wasn't for me.
I suspect that if you've liked other Nick Cutter books you would really enjoy this. Like I said, he can really describe things. If you just want a sort of sci-fi horror though, I can't recommend this as a particularly good example of one.
I want to start by saying the audiobook quality is excellent. The narrator did an excellent job of distinguishing characters from the narration and each other. The production was great and he was pleasant to listen to if nothing else.
Now the rating.
I'm not into audiobooks which made this an even more difficult go. Besides that I just wasn't scared. Grossed out, irritated, confused and upset but never creeped out or afraid.
This is my second attempt at a Nick Cutter book and like the first, this just doesn't pass the vibe check. Don't mistake me, the writing isn't bad and the man can set a mood and a scene but the overtly sexual way he chooses to describe things (soooo many comparisons to orgasms and early sexual experiences) doesn't suit me to the point that I couldn't justify the .25 of a star to make this a three.
That plus the parental abuse... Yeah. Wasn't for me.
I suspect that if you've liked other Nick Cutter books you would really enjoy this. Like I said, he can really describe things. If you just want a sort of sci-fi horror though, I can't recommend this as a particularly good example of one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Fatphobia, and Death of parent
Moderate: Incest
carlomartinez__'s review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Fatphobia
dragonstea's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Mental illness, Suicide, Torture, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Child abuse, Incest, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
amandank's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
3.0
like Michael Chriton meets Stephen King
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, and Fatphobia
gawdz0rz's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
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? Yes
3.75
the majority of the book was really good (if not weird, especially when the author referred to the hole caused by the ambrosia as things like ‘the hungry hungry hole,’ [why?]), but the ending was really disappointing. it just felt like the author didn’t know where to go with it, maybe.
then again,the book is definitely a “we’re all in hell, bear witness to my guilt and allow me to make a deal with the devil” trope, so maybe that was the only way it could go.
then again,
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Torture
Moderate: Fatphobia, Self harm, and Sexual assault
Minor: Incest, Sexual content, and Suicide
jn0016's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Death, Fatphobia, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, Excrement, Medical content, Dementia, Medical trauma, and Murder
snovella's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Fatphobia, and Sexual assault
m0onb3am's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
1.75
body horror (n when animals are subjected to it) <<<<
this is good for someone who liked the troop, but definitely not for someone who didn't. better premise for me but same execution.
there was a scene that felt like a cheap attempt at stirring emotion in the reader. though successful, it cost probably a star n a half sooo
this is good for someone who liked the troop, but definitely not for someone who didn't. better premise for me but same execution.
there was a scene that felt like a cheap attempt at stirring emotion in the reader. though successful, it cost probably a star n a half sooo
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Animal death, Fatphobia, and Self harm
Minor: Animal cruelty and Murder
joleneistryingtoread's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
fast-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
4.0
Grosssssss
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Fatphobia, Violence, and Pandemic/Epidemic