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benjpalmer's review against another edition
4.0
The more I'm reading the books Craig Davidson has written under his Nick Cutter pseudonym, the more I'm really liking him.
The Troop was fantastic, that was my introduction. I thought it was a really well-written, Stephen King-like horror story that contained so many jaw-dropping moments.
The Deep is similar. Davidson couldn't have chosen a better setting for this story - a research station eight miles under the water. The whole book makes you feel so claustrophobic, and as it goes on, you're constantly questioning your own sanity, just as the characters are. It's like reading through a nightmare or something.
And of course, similar to The Troop, there are plenty of jaw-dropping "jesus christ what the hell" moments in this book. It can get graphic, but not gratuitously graphic, nor graphic just for the purposes of grossing you out, but graphic to really emphasize the absolute terror going on deep under the ocean.
There are a couple parts here and there that drag a slight bit (though they're pretty few and far between), and I personally felt like the development of a new disease, the 'Gets, felt underutilized and felt like an unnecessary creation as a result. It's a terrifying disease, I'll give Davidson that, and I think it's a super cool tool, but it's one that wasn't really used much and I would've liked to have seen more of it.
All in all though, another great horror book from Davidson. He's quickly becoming an author I'm going to read no matter what he writes, especially under the Nick Cutter moniker.
4.25/5
The Troop was fantastic, that was my introduction. I thought it was a really well-written, Stephen King-like horror story that contained so many jaw-dropping moments.
The Deep is similar. Davidson couldn't have chosen a better setting for this story - a research station eight miles under the water. The whole book makes you feel so claustrophobic, and as it goes on, you're constantly questioning your own sanity, just as the characters are. It's like reading through a nightmare or something.
And of course, similar to The Troop, there are plenty of jaw-dropping "jesus christ what the hell" moments in this book. It can get graphic, but not gratuitously graphic, nor graphic just for the purposes of grossing you out, but graphic to really emphasize the absolute terror going on deep under the ocean.
There are a couple parts here and there that drag a slight bit (though they're pretty few and far between), and I personally felt like the development of a new disease, the 'Gets, felt underutilized and felt like an unnecessary creation as a result. It's a terrifying disease, I'll give Davidson that, and I think it's a super cool tool, but it's one that wasn't really used much and I would've liked to have seen more of it.
All in all though, another great horror book from Davidson. He's quickly becoming an author I'm going to read no matter what he writes, especially under the Nick Cutter moniker.
4.25/5
onegoodorangutang's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
4.5
alicemaryblanks14's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
strawberrry's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.0
snook2b's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
nhazen69's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
burningupasun's review against another edition
Yeah, that's a nope from me. I don't read books by male authors very often, but I recently read a good one and then saw this recommended on a list of horror books and decided to give it a try. I regret it. The overall premise could have had promise but I just could not handle the rest of it.
My main issue began early on, with flashbacks to the main characters mother. She is portrayed as abusive and aggressive and horrifying. But the author seemed to think her behavior wasn't enough to make clear how disgusting she was, so of course he decided to make her fat. There are frequent depictions of how fat she is, how much she eats, how her body looked, all written very descriptively, making it clear how disgusting all these things are. The fat phobia was genuinely just ridiculous. She was a horrible woman on her own. The fat phobia wasn't needed.
On top of that there's some weird sexual stuff and other vaguely uncomfortable scenes. The MC looks down a female characters shirt while they are stuck together in a tiny submarine (that she is piloting down to dangerous depths, and they almost die a few times) and she "looks back at him as if to say 'like what you see?'" Yes I'm sure that is what she was thinking at that moment and not "why is this man looking down my shirt while I'm trying to keep us alive" but okay. There's also a dream scene where he remembers getting a BJ from his wife and being uncomfortable with how skilled she is at it. (Wondering how she got so skilled etc, blech.)
I DNFed when a zombie hamster bit off another hamsters privates. Weirdly, this is the 2nd horror book this year I've DNFed after a scene where a monster goes for the groin. Just gross and not for me. Counting it towards my read count for my suffering but not rating bc I only got to like 45%. (I'd give it maybe 2 stars at best currently.)
My main issue began early on, with flashbacks to the main characters mother. She is portrayed as abusive and aggressive and horrifying. But the author seemed to think her behavior wasn't enough to make clear how disgusting she was, so of course he decided to make her fat. There are frequent depictions of how fat she is, how much she eats, how her body looked, all written very descriptively, making it clear how disgusting all these things are. The fat phobia was genuinely just ridiculous. She was a horrible woman on her own. The fat phobia wasn't needed.
On top of that there's some weird sexual stuff and other vaguely uncomfortable scenes. The MC looks down a female characters shirt while they are stuck together in a tiny submarine (that she is piloting down to dangerous depths, and they almost die a few times) and she "looks back at him as if to say 'like what you see?'" Yes I'm sure that is what she was thinking at that moment and not "why is this man looking down my shirt while I'm trying to keep us alive" but okay. There's also a dream scene where he remembers getting a BJ from his wife and being uncomfortable with how skilled she is at it. (Wondering how she got so skilled etc, blech.)
I DNFed when a zombie hamster bit off another hamsters privates. Weirdly, this is the 2nd horror book this year I've DNFed after a scene where a monster goes for the groin. Just gross and not for me. Counting it towards my read count for my suffering but not rating bc I only got to like 45%. (I'd give it maybe 2 stars at best currently.)
whitegore's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes