I loved ‘The Troop’ by Nick Cutter, and the ocean depths have always awed me, so my heart was racing as I dove into ‘The Deep’.
The book follows Luke Nelson during a plague of forgetfulness. People walk into walls, forgetting what they’re doing. Eventually, they forget to breathe. But there’s hope: a substance discovered on the seabed may be a cure. Luke’s genius brother is at the bottom of the ocean researching it. When contact between the surface and the deep is lost, the last message asks Luke to join them, despite this not being his field. Things soon take a turn for the weird and horrific.
Some have described this as ‘The Shining’ meets ‘The Abyss’. That’s an excellent comparison. It’s claustrophobic and packed with psychological terror, with the crushing pressure of miles of ocean bearing down. Once I started, I raced through it. I had to know what the mystery was and how it would end.
This is not an easy read. It’s bleak and deeply disturbing, and several scenes made me squirm. The story carries a heavy sadness that lingers. I finished it feeling hollow, but in the best possible way. I read to feel the way Stephen King’s books made me feel as a teenager. Few things hit me as hard as a frightening, heartbreaking novel.
If that’s your kind of horror, don’t sleep on ‘The Deep’.
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