The Deep

By: Nick Cutter

Narrated by: Corey Brill

Length: 12 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

From the acclaimed author of The Troop - which Stephen King raved "scared the hell out of me and I couldn't put it down.... old-school horror at its best" - comes this utterly terrifying novel where The Abyss meets The Shining.

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 Marianas Trench, an heretofore unknown substance hailed as "ambrosia" has been discovered - a universal healer, from initial reports. It may just be the key to a universal cure. In order to study this phenomenon, a special research lab, the Trieste, has been built eight miles under the sea's surface. But now the station is incommunicado, and it's up to a brave few to 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.

Part horror, part psychological nightmare, The Deep is a novel that fans of Stephen King and Clive Barker won't want to miss - especially if you're afraid of the dark.

©2015 Craig Davidson. All rights reserved. (P)2015 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

Upper Level Horror at the Bottom of the Ocean

While a brain degenerating plague called the “Gets” is wiping out the human population a possible cure, “Ambrosia” is discovered eight miles beneath the ocean in the Mariana’s Trench. The Trieste, an ocean floor lab housing a small crew of scientists to to study the “Ambrosia” goes quiet for several days. Luke (the brother of one of the scientists) and Alison (the submersible pilot) descend to to the Trieste to check out what’s happened.

Utter, brain-leaking madness.

The Deep is a tale of such gut-wrenching horror that I can only think of a couple of literary comparisons. There is a kind of invasive, psychological terror in The Deep that brings to mind the feelings I experienced while reading Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House. Also, the type of dribble-cup hallucinations the characters experience can only be matched in Stephen King’s 1408.

Nick Cutter’s prose are descriptive, emotional, and have the visceral texture of a rotten catfish run through an Insinkerator. The story, much like the “Ambrosia” is a living breathing thing that takes on a life life of its own. This is not your “fill-in-the-blanks” cookie-cutter yarn too often found in today’s horror fiction. No “Dick and Jane” prose or eighties kitsch here. This is upper level horror fiction in the same class as Peter Straub and Sarah Langon.

Thank You Nick Cutter!

Five Freaking Stars *****

Stephen King worthy!

One critic noted this is reminiscent of The Shining meeting the Abyss which is SPOT ON! One of the freakiest stories I have enjoyed in a long time. I have never read a Cutter novel before but he will be on the forefront along with Stephen King now. Brill was a fabulous narrator. Outstanding listen.

Creepy and Disturbing.

I enjoyed The Deep. It has elements of Stephen King's "The Shining" and "It", Clive Barker's "The Hellbound Heart", and John Carpenter's movie "The Thing" (1982).

Scary and Gross

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Absolutely, This book conjures up the most disgusting images I have ever experienced. It's a nightmarish fever dream.

What does Corey Brill bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Excellent reading. His slow and purposeful shakiness adds to the experience. He sounds like he's terrified and sickened. Perfect reader for this book.

If you could take any character from The Deep out to dinner, who would it be and why?

None. I'd probably throw up on them.

Any additional comments?

Seriously sick and twisted story from the mind of Nick Cutter. His descriptive power meant to nauseate you is brilliant. This book plays on many angles from childhood fears to scenes of alien transformations of the human body. I am sickened and disgusted by his mind and I couldn't be happier. This book gave me a nightmare about a filamentous chord growing from my tongue like a rope that I kept pulling on like a clown with his trusted handkerchief trick, in a never ending movement of choking and gagging and pulling. This book will do that to you too. I promise.

build to nothing. sorry I stayed fot it all

Started off intriguing and kept a steady pace only to fall in the depths of a crappie ending chasm

Awesome.

Cutter's visceral imagery and Brill's narration make this story edge of your seat terror as what lies in The Deep unfolds. Wasn't bored a single second.

It’s ok

Good until the final hour, then it gets out there and weird. I’m not even sure how this book ended, to be honest. The narrator is excellent though.

modern cosmic horror

I was hesitant to give this book a chance as some of the previous reviews put a lot of emphasis on the treatment of animals, however I am glad I took the plunge in The Deep. it does get graphic with some gorey details. A second complaint I saw was ppl saying the author fat shamed. this I found was not true. minor spoiler: the character supposedly being fat shamed is abusive so it feels more like the terms the author chooses are meant more to describe an almost visible personality, all the horriblness and grotesque traits being visible.
over all this novel is rooted deep in cosmic horror and shows our humanity next to this cosmic horror through flashbacks/memories and current time. it does go back and forth with these two settings quite often and sometimes mingles them, but does an excellent job of not confusing the reader. if you like cosmic horror mixed with sci-fi and a tiny bit of drama you may enjoy this one. it is probably one of the most original modern cosmic horror I've read in a long time.

Fever Dream

Consistently veers onto another path just when things are starting to feel predictable. Reminiscent of a fever-dream.

meh

Some parts inside a feeling of claustrophobia, but the beginning is really rough, the ending as well.