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Ari Augustine (10 KP) rated The Deep in Books

May 4, 2020

The Deep

Alma Katsu | 2020 | History & Politics, Horror, Thriller

9.5

(2 Ratings)

Book Rating

Historical Fiction with a supernatural twist, I was drawn to The Deep like a moth to a flame. It's been awhile since I've read anything compelling enough to read in a single sitting, but Katsu deliveries such a horrific, heartpounding, and mind-spinning twist to a tale we're already so familiar with, that the story grips us from page one.

Annie Hebley is a nurse who survived the sinking of Titanic and has since confined herself to an mental institution. However, at the start of The Deep, she is hired to work on the Britannica to help the wounded WW1 soldiers. What I love about this story is how well it blends actual history in between these moments of atmospheric supernatural events. We meet characters who were once very much alive on a ship that actually existed. There's something eerie about tethering such a story in a historical way that connects to the reader, and this element of the story certainly spoke to me. But what I loved MOST was how unreliable Annie was as a character. Her point of view jumped between 1912 and 1916, blurring the lines of reality even further. Although the pacing wasn't always consistent, I love, love, LOVED Katsu's writing.

Overall, I'd recommend The Deep to anyone with a dash of patience, a dangerous curiosity for the supernatural, and, well, anyone who lives creepy stories rooted in history.