The Deep

Fans of Nick Cutter’s breakout gorefest The Troop won’t be disappointed by The Deep. Combine the possessed building of House of Leaves with the emotional apparitions of Solaris, then add the childhood nightmares of It, and you can begin to imagine the horror of The Deep.

The ’get is a nasty new virus, first wiping the memories of, then killing off, a huge chunk of humanity. Luke is called to assist his mad scientist brother in the search for a cure. But there’s a catch—this new cure lies in a research lab eight miles straight down in a trench below the Pacific Ocean.

Despite the claustrophobia of the deep-sea laboratory setup, don’t expect scientific thrills, as this is a classic horror novel. Cutter’s writing style pays homage to classic horror hit-man Stephen King. And Cutter, like King before him, is a master of imagery. As the novel progresses, it warps into a barrage of gruesome scenes. From a queen bee the size of “rump roast or large puppy” to hands possessed, hands repetitively smashed, and hands pulled off arms of their own accord, your dreams won’t be the same for weeks after reading this.