The Deep by Nick Cutter

The Deep by Nick Cutter
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 5 days

Publisher - Headline

Pages - 394

Blurb from Goodreads

A plague is destroying the world's population. The 'Gets makes people forget. First it's the small things, like where you left your keys ... then the not-so-small things, like how to drive. And finally your body forgets how to live.

But now an unknown substance with extraordinary power to heal has been discovered in the depths of the Pacific Ocean. Nicknamed ambrosia, it might just be the miracle cure the world has been praying for.

A research lab has been established eight miles below the sea's surface, but all contact with the team has been lost. Dr Luke Nelson's brother is down there and as desperation for a cure outweighs common sense, he agrees to descend through the lightless fathoms ... perhaps to face an evil blacker than anything he could have imagined.


My Review

We start with The 'Gets - people are dying and the plague is cruel, people forgetting simple things at first until your body forgets how to function. Luke Nelson knows how it feels to lose someone to it and wants a cure, everyone does. His brother Clayton, a mad scientist, is part of a team working 8 miles under the sea surface on a cure. If anyone can crack this it will be Clayton, but contact with the team has been lost and Luke must descend to find his brother, to face his family demons and hopefully establish if there is a cure. Why lies waiting beneath may be worse than that which Luke has left above.

This is really a sci-FY style story. We have a horrible plague robbing humans of who their are before they eventually die. Then we have a research lab, 8 miles under the surface where Clayton is experimenting trying to find a cure. When Luke finally agrees to head down, memories of his past surface and Luke has to try and deal with that, as well as some of the impossible sights in front of him.

Wonders of the earth, death, madness and destruction are waiting below. This book is quite eerie in the way the atmosphere is build up when Luke descends. The writer has you feeling claustrophobic as the walls close in and the tension builds. However, I felt initially the story was going to be about The 'Gets plague, this was really a precursor for everything that comes when Luke gets below the sea. That is the main focus of the story, that and his childhood and his abusive mother. There is also animal experimentation and cruelty which I found quite hard to read although it was within context for the story. I think this will be a huge hit with many people, for me though I just didn't enjoy it. A lot of jumping around, the animal thing and I would have liked more on The 'Gets, 2/5 for me this time. Thanks so much to BookBridgr for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review. I would read this author again, I just didn't love this particular story.

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The Girl With All The Gifts by M R Carey

The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 4 days

Publisher - Orbit

Pages - 460

Blurb from Goodreads

Melanie is a very special girl. Dr. Caldwell calls her "our little genius."

Every morning, Melanie waits in her cell to be collected for class. When they come for her, Sergeant Parks keeps his gun pointing at her while two of his people strap her into the wheelchair. She thinks they don't like her. She jokes that she won't bite, but they don't laugh.

Melanie loves school. She loves learning about spelling and sums and the world outside the classroom and the children's cells. She tells her favorite teacher all the things she'll do when she grows up. Melanie doesn't know why this makes Miss Justineau look sad.



My Review

We open with Melanie, what her name means and what "life" is like for her and her routine. Her cell is where she lives when she isn't in the classroom, when she goes to the classroom she is confined to a chair. The soldiers, the children she spends her class time with and the teachers. Melanie is different, she is smart and notices things, that some of her classmates go missing and never come back. Soon Melanie will find out first hand what is happening to her friends, why her favourite teacher is looking so sad & what she really is.

For the first we while I wasn't too sure where the story was going and was a bit confused. However, eventually you find out, along with Melanie why she is strapped down, why her classmates disappear and what the lessons where all about. For me the story is a cross between invasions of the body snatchers with a bit of post apocalyptic theme with cannibalism, cruelty, murder and gore.

It isn't just about Melanie's self discovery, she is ten years old by the way but very intelligent and advanced for her age. It is also about relationships, survival and acceptance. It is different from a lot of what I normally read but reminded me a lot of the old movies I loved as a kid, 3/5 for me. This is my first time reading this author and I would read more by them.

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