The Deep by Nick Cutter
If you have read The Troop, you will recognise the style of writing and the ease with which Cutter makes the every day and banal fearsome and terrifying. He has a talent that has infected me as I have no doubt there are several things on this world that will now be somewhat defined because of their appearance in one his books and my reaction to them. Orangutans, worms, even an innocent game of hide and seek, have all taken on a more dastardly and dark aspect thanks to Cutters imagery.
Despite being months from publication it’s already generating some serious buzz and is being touted as the The Abyss meets The Shining so I was going in wondering what deep fears were going to be manipulated by some unseen force. After finishing the book I can also say it has definite shades of John Carpenters The Thing, Nightmare on Elm Street and It.
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Setupski - A disease commonly referred to as the ‘Gets is ravaging the world at an alarming rate. Symptoms are skin discolorations, progressing to open infected wounds that ooze grey pus, and then finally what seems to be an incredibly fast paced onset of something akin to Alzheimer's disease. People forget how to tie their shoes, then what hot and cold is, then what to eat, then why to eat, then just about everything and one way or another end up dead. Not spread through known means the only hope is what appears to be a wonder cure found at the bottom of the ocean.
Clayton, one of the most brilliant scientists in the world, is underwater studying the possible cure but he has not been heard from in eight days so his brother Luke, our protagonist, is brought in to try and re-establish contact. Luke is like an everyman or empty vessel that is quickly filled up by the memories he recounts and the daydreams he experiences. Though we know nothing about him, much of what we learn is through these small sequences and you get this feeling that you are seeing what’s really in Luke psyche, as opposed to what he may tell someone else, so it feels intimate which really helps draw the reader into the characters world.
In the early pages we learn about Luke, his hauntingly evil mother and his fragile but seriously intelligent brother. His mother was an enormous shit of a woman who dominated everyone around her taking delight in breaking down each and every person in her life. His brother barely related to him at all being a savant/genius of sorts as he went about experimenting on mice for purely scientific and noble reasons and then denying his little brother access to toys in the sandbox purely for selfish reasons. The only time Clayton ever needed Luke for anything was when he used to suffer from night terrors during which time Luke would hold his brother until his fear evaporated. We get a real sense of the family in a very short time. It is a lovely set up and was done brilliantly as you start to make your own nightmares for Luke well before the book starts imposing them on him.
We discover a few things like the cure, known as Ambrosia, is a living organism, not a chemical compound. Discovered by accident, upon testing it is revealed that it can cure cancer in mice, completely and totally, but little else is known about this seemingly self-motivated organism other than the theory that it may be part of a mother organism – Cue the scary as fuck music please.
Luke heads down in a sub with Alice Sykes or Al, a tough as nails hard core Lieutenant Commander in the US Navy. Her description is brief but we get the feeling she is as much a solider as any person could ever hope to be.
“Ever since the ‘Gets, people were measured by their abilities rather than by the pieces of tin pinned to their chests”.
The more I liked her the more I started to worry about what her fears might be and that we care about these characters in a relatively short period of time is testament to Cutters skill.
There is some seriously horrific things going on and once again like The Troop it has an incredibly visceral feel to it. I was uncomfortable reading Luke’s first nightmare, as he witnesses himself doing unspeakable acts like eye-gouging his small child, from that familiar detached place in a dream we have all been. A dairy entry reveals the most unspeakable journey for one man from loving father and willing scientist to infected father of a bee colony that has a Wolverine healing factor that stops him from killing himself. A scene so claustrophobic I had to keep rolling around while reading it to reassure myself that I was not trapped. All this awaits you and more.
Every horror serves to further increase the next as it is their own minds doing much of the creating like when Luke enters the underwater station he says it has an Aliens feel to it and only seconds later he spies a large globule of a viscous liquid leaking through the grate. Anyone who is is an Aliens fan knows the early scene where Bien says “Looks like someone bagged one of the Ripley’s bad guys here”.
There is no way reading this book you cannot question your own fears and, as I like to scare myself, this is part of the fun. The Deep is a winner and I think confirms this Authors status as a major player in the world of Horror. Cutter gets in your brain the way you fear a parasite might. Relish it. 5 Stars.
I was sent an ARC by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
