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cvab's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, and Death
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Cancer, Gore, Mental illness, Blood, Excrement, and Grief
Minor: Incest, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual content, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Even the darkest themes add to the suspense and horror here.midnightcomets's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Incest, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Torture, Excrement, Medical content, Dementia, Cannibalism, Suicide attempt, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Bullying, Sexual content, and Suicide
jn0016's review against another edition
- 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
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
readerfromtheblacklagoon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Excrement, Medical content, and Dementia
cosmicpanda's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Mental illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Incest, Pedophilia, Excrement, Grief, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
papercrowns's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Well, I don't remember too many specifics about The Troop (my memory's fault, not the book's), but I do recall thinking it was awesome and gross, but not super disturbing per se. Well, The Deep was certainly disturbing. But, I understand why The Troop is the Nick Cutter book people talk about most, because while The Deep does what it says on the tin in terms of the horror, it's got its problems.
- An overuse of onomatopoeia to the point of distraction.
- The story touches on a lot of serious, uncomfortable topics, and they certainly gave me the ick but for the most part, these serve the story and felt intentional. However, there was some fatphobia that didn't quite feel necessary or serve the story that I could have done without. It was very like
"Ooh, she got fat, gross! We know she's gonna be a baddie!" - The general dialogue was fine, but when it came to banter, it felt a bit forced and unintentionally cringe, particularly between the main character and his brother.
- The 'Gets, the worldwide pandemic that instigates the whole narrative, was super interesting but is largely forgotten once we get to the underwater lab in the Challenger Deep. It was such an interesting concept that it would have been great to see it have more impact to the story rather than being a throwaway plot device.
These things brought it down to a 4-star read for me, but none of them derailed the story. It's a real wild ride and intensely unsettling; exactly what I want from a horror book. Nick Cutter excels in describing horrifying, uncomfortable, and balls-to-the-wall cuckoo-bananas situations.
His descriptions of the characters' psychological trauma as they grapple with desperate situations are so intense and unnerving; I often found myself wanting to put the book down to give myself a break but also being absolutely unable to tear my eyes from the page. There was one claustrophobic sequence in particular where Cutter describes
And frankly, that's some chef's-kiss horror writing if you ask me.
I can't wait to read more Nick Cutter, cuz I know it'll be a grand creep-fest that does exactly what it says on the tin. However, I will say that I'd love to see a bit more character diversity, particularly more women.
Worth checking the trigger warnings before reading if you have triggers. Definitely do not read if bad things happening to animals in your reading is a dealbreaker. 😬
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Self harm, Blood, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Incest, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Excrement, and Medical content
Minor: Sexual assault and Death of parent
graveyardreads's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
finleyfrogreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
reaja's review against another edition
- 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
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
amberinbookland's review against another edition
1.75
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis