Title: The Deep Author: Nick Cutter Age Group: ADULT Genre Type: Horror, Science Fiction, Suspense Publication Date: January 13th 2015 Publisher: Gallery Books

This author is quickly becoming one of my favourites. You may rememberNick Cutter, the reigning creepy gore-Wizard King of CanLit from last year’s revoltingly good biological-nightmare The Troop. Now, his second novel, The Deep, takes us underwater where an inexplicable plague, the supernatural, and some serious family drama, turns into a gnarly tale that’s custom fit for your next sci-fi binge read.

In a nutshell, Luke is a man who has nothing to lose after his family contracts a brutal new plague called the ‘Gets. He is summoned down to an underwater science base called The Trieste, located at the bottom of Mariana’s trench. A scientific breakthrough, supposedly holding a cure to the ‘Gets, is under way with the discovery of a mysterious new substance called ‘ambrosia”. Luke’s genius-bro Clayton is a lead scientist on the project, but they haven’t had any contact with the team in months. So Luke is sent down (because family) to see what’s going on and comes face-to-face with a whole whack of otherworldly madness.

LikeThe Troop, Cutter doesn’t really hold back in this one either, especially when it comes to skin-crawling descriptions. But he manages to delve much deeper into the psychology of the mind when it is suddenly faced with inexplicable things. Though scientific discovery, mystery, and extreme isolation play significant roles in the development of the story, it is really each character’s self-inflicted madness that take center stage. No matter how wild things get, Cutter stays true to the notion that we can often turn into our own worst enemy when shit goes down, making things much, much worse.

Speaking of mind games and making things worse, here is a list of things Nick Cutter ruined for me in his new novel The Deep:

• Bees.
• The word “ambrosia”.
• Hands.
• Deep water.
• Small spaces.
• Science.
• Dreaming.

When I say ruined, I mean it in the best way. Though I think I preferred the simplicity of the remote-island setting inThe Troop,The Deepbursts open a whole new world of terror that relies heavily on the tortured psychology of its characters. The jacket calls itThe Shining-meets-The Abyss, and they are absolutely correct. Cutter is truly amazing at using the mind as our most disturbed instigator. While the setting is pretty fear-inducing in itself, most of the action takes place in Luke’s mind, with elaborate dream sequences that escalate into full-on waking terrors, spurned by both the hostile environment of the Trieste and Luke’s own inner demons. Add in the threat of above (the ‘Gets) and the mystery below (Ambrosia), you’ve got a lot of pieces to pull together. Some of those pieces don’t get fully explored, which is a shame since every thread is so intriguing. Makes me wonder whether a sequel is in the works that will tackle the ‘Gets situation above the water (a wildly interesting premise that only really appears in the introduction). Either way, you’ve infected me, Cutter (sorry!). I am a lifelong fan.

via The Book Stylist

"As an adult you discover the world is not a fair place," says Cutter in his Q&A with us. "It takes the good and the bad and the deserving and not-so-deserving indiscriminately—and with that knowledge comes the sense that yes, you could die at any time for the silliest or most unfair reasons. But as kids that sense is not yet so keen. So it’s almost ignorance that keeps the boys [in the book] alive. And in a situation like that which unfolds in the book, inconceivable as it is, such ignorance—or most properly, belief—would be vital, don’t you think?"

Read their Q&A with Nick Cutter on The Troop

 “The past had a perfection that the future could never hold.”

- Nick Cutter, The Troop

• The Deep by Nick Cutter: Nick’s previous title, The Troop, “scared the hell” out of Stephen King. Part horror, part psychological nightmare, this one is sure to have you sleeping with the lights on.
• Blown Red by Susan Philpott: Loved The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo? You’ll love this.
• The Damned by Andrew Pyper: A dark thriller about a survivor of a near-death experience who is haunted by his beautiful, vindictive twin sister. Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn calls Pyper “smart, thrilling, utterly unnerving.”
• The Long Hello by Cathie Borrie: An incredibly touching memoir of a daughter caring for a mother with dementia. A beautiful and inspiring read.
• Neil Flambe and the Bard’s Banquet: Another hilarious masterpiece in the series by one of our favourite authors. 

"I've got the best Dad in the world. He supported my crazy, fantastical, often-times confusing decision to become a writer. He supported me unstintingly—as did my mother, thank goodness. And now that I'm a father myself, my lot will be to support my son Nicholas the way I was supported, even if he wants to follow in his old man's footsteps, the little fool!"

                                                                                                          - Nick Cutter, The Troop

The Troop: Something wicked this way comes

www.theglobeandmail.com

Something Wicked This Way Comes: The Globe and Mail reviews Nick Cutter's The Troop. "[Nick Cutter] shows his writing chops by amping up tension through pacing, character development and structure...Be warned that putting the horror genre in the hands of a gifted writer is bound to have grisly results.”

BODY HORROR: 13 Books That Will Seriously Mess You Up

www.buzzfeed.com

Body horror is a sub-genre of horror fiction that, uh, memorably explores the graphic and almost always painful destruction of the human body. 

Totally Disgusting: Nick Cutter (Craig Davidson!) on The Troop

49thshelf.com

The worst-kept secret in Canadian publishing is the identity of Nick Cutter, author of The Troop. Though Cutter won't confirm it himself (see below), his name ...