The Deep By Nick Cutter

. . . unraveling the mystery . . .

The Deep
By Nick Cutter

“A strange plague called the ’Gets is decimating humanity on a global scale. It causes people to forget—small things at first, like where they left their keys…then the not-so-small things like how to drive, or the letters of the alphabet. Then their bodies forget how to function involuntarily…and there is no cure. But now, far below the surface of the Pacific Ocean, deep in the Mariana Trench, an heretofore unknown substance hailed as “ambrosia”’—a universal healer, from initial reports—has been discovered. It may just be the key to eradicating the ’Gets. In order to study this phenomenon, a special research lab, the Trieste, has been built eight miles under the sea’s surface. But when the station goes incommunicado, a brave few descend through the lightless fathoms in hopes of unraveling the mysteries lurking at those crushing depths…and perhaps to encounter an evil blacker than anything one could possibly imagine.”

From the back of the book.

Date Started: 12/31/2023 – – – – Date Finished: 1/1/2024

3 out of 5 stars

Quick Review – For Those who want a hurry up and tell me yes or no:

I would like to say that I would read this book again, though it is confusing at times. This book is filled with flashbacks galore, and questionable logic of the characters. The book is split into six parts. I do love the creepy setting that Mr. Cutter has set up, with an underwater base far removed from other people, its quietness when entering. I do appreciate his build up to the scenes BUT unfortunately I was quickly sucked out of those moments with constant FLASHBACKS. I understand that flashbacks have their place in many a story but there was quite a few, and it was very hard to keep focused on what was going on in the base and keep the “fear” going. I was being pushed and pulled like a current, I did not enjoy it. I am sure that there were a few flashbacks that could be omitted, or presented in an entirely different way. How I can not say, its not my story. I did enjoy it, but it is definitely one of those books that you have to PAY ATTENTION! Or you will lose your train of thought, think of it as if you get distracted you will have to re-read a couple of pages to get caught back up. (Rewinding the tape if you will) For an underwater thriller, it is more of a hidden unknown thriller. Its not the base that is the villain it is something else. The base just helps set up the solitude of the situation. Read the book at your own discretion, I will read again although my questions will remain forever unanswered.

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The Long Review – For people who like to have a lot of information and some spoilers.

The first book of the year!! Or at least the first finished of the year. Does that still count? Yes, I think it should. The Deep is a new book for me, at least a new book out of my comfort genre. (You will be seeing a lot of historical fiction books) I stumbled upon this book when I was searching for books regarding the theme of underwater horror. Thank you Reddit Folks for the recommendation!

Why was I looking up underwater horror? Well I am a sucker for punishment, and I love/hate the deep water. I like reading about it, and the myths and fantastic stories that are about it. BUT will I go swimming in it? HARD NO! Pretty sure I have a varying amount of fear of the deep (Thalassophobia) I would recommend looking up photos, or videos about it. Freaky.

Now to the book, THE GET’s – – A perfectly terrifying premise all on its own without any water added. Like the synopsis says you forget things, first small things then eventually you forget how to function as a person. You forget, or should I say that your body forgets how to function to keep itself alive. I would say 10/10 for this plague, I have a deep fear of being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or any sort of similar disease. I already tend to forget little things already so the fear is strong. BUT not only do you tend to forget, there are outwards signs of the disease, its not a silent killer, OH NO it needs to make its presence known with visible skin issues. Spots first, then pus filled nasties. Sounds pleasant doesn’t it?

Miracle Cure??
Sign me up! It sounds too good to be true, a discovery called “ambrosia” aka God food/nectar. But before everyone can use it, scientists need to study and test like everything else in the world, but hey why wait its a global pandemic that’s not showing any signs of slowing. Worse things have been pushed out to the people with less scientific testing, right? The Ambrosia is at the bottom of the ocean, our main character Luke, has a brother down there, a very detached sort of person, uncaring and all together unpleasant.

Down, Down, Down we go. To the Mariana Trench. To the Challenger Deep. Insta-Kill. (to reference what this would look like there’s alot of references online of what can happen but I do like the Mythbusters version.. https://youtu.be/LEY3fN4N3D8)

Now this is where it gets….freaky and also where I have a lot of questions about well a lot of things.  much like other reviews, this book HEAVILY reminded me of the wonderful, terrifying movie EVENT HORIZON. Starring my favorite Thomas Wolsey, the great Sam Neill. This movie is similar to the book as in the characters “imagination/memory” creates the terrors in real time.

I probably shouldn’t have watched it as young as I was but hey I wanted bonding time with my father. Did I regret it, only slightly. There’s one scene with Sam Neil all covered in blood and very Hellraiser-y that haunted me for a while. Check out the trailer –

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nlkEY-3CMI

The book does a great job in recreating the memories of the main character Luke and the other character Alice aka Al. But with all the twisted memories, again the constant flashbacks pulled me away from the main story. It was very VERY hard to care about any of the characters. Except LB (Little Bee) because she’s a dog. But it was even hard to care about what happened to her, an animal, which usually is one of the first things I care about in books, movies, and games. (I don’t like watching anything where someone kills a cat on purpose or accident. I can’t. No thanks. I am a cat owner by the way)

Now on to the questions!

(SPOILERS)

1. Why did they only have 3 scientists down there investigating the ambrosia? I know that there was some explanation of why they were all Americans but why only 3? If they really spend trillions on this endeavor, you would think they would want as many (functioning) minds on it as possible.
2. Why was Dr. Felz (Clayton’s partner) not going down with them? Why wasn’t he one of the people to go down and recoup the two “missing” scientists? Al could have made multiple trips no problem.
3. Why did Al lose all reason? She should have been just as strong mentally as Luke, even more so in the situation. She was military, they are trained for all sorts of situations and her “haunting” didn’t happen till later.
4. Why was Luke able to “resist” compared to Al? What made him special? Was it because they were watching him all along?
5. Why was there not like a master lock code/switch/whatever to get into the other scientists room, for cases like this and only people “up top” had like Al?

Up Next: The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer -My Life at Rose Red
By: Joyce Reardon, PH.D

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