The Deep by Nick Cutter

From Goodreads:
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. Their bodies forget how to function involuntarily. There is no cure.

But far below the surface of the Pacific Ocean, a universal healer hailed as “ambrosia” has been discovered. In order to study this phenomenon, a special research lab 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.

Nothing is scarier than the ocean.

This book can be described as harrowing, claustrophobic, and flat-out scary. Save for when I read Penpal, I don't know when I've been more scared while reading a book, which is a very good thing for a horror novel. Nick Cutter has created a world filled with realism and terror. The concept is something that could actually happen (the 'Gets part especially). While I was thinking that the illness would play a larger part in the overall story, and be more prevalent in the story, it was mainly the Macguffin for the plot and propelled the story forward. This book takes base fears that many people have and turns it on their heads; they don't go fast and furious right away, but it is not a slow burn either. I don't think I'll ever look at children's treasure chests in the same way.

The characters are well-developed. Two of the characters are estranged brothers, and you understand right away why there is an estrangement. What Nick Cutter has done so well in this book is make every character unreliable due to the nature of the underwater research lab, which ties in well to the horrors in the deep (pardon the pun). Despite this, the characters are easily-relatable and you sympathize with them, hoping they get out OK. I'm still planning on writing a book in which the dog lives.

Nick Cutter is a very skilled writer. He has written one of the most scariest novels I think I have ever read (and I have two other books by him on my TBR shelf). He moves from "slightly creepy" to "mindscrew" at the drop of the hat. He toys with every element of the genre in a suffocating way that plays well with both the grotesque and the abject. In addition, Nick Cutter has done his research for this book, and it works well. This book is really uncomfortable and haunting, and it makes you feel like you're really there. 

The Deep is by far one of the scariest books I've ever read in my life. This book gave me so many goosebumps and put my hair on edge. It's definitely a "sleep-with-the-lights-on" kind of book. It very easily portrays many base fears, especially fear of the bottom of the ocean. It's very well-written, with sympathetic characters. There were many instances of the grotesque and the abject, which added to the overall terror of this book. I'm definitely giving The Deep 5/5, and I can't wait to get into Nick Cutter's other books.