From the acclaimed and award-winning author of The Hunger comes an eerie, psychological twist on one of the world’s most renowned tragedies, the sinking of the Titanic and the ill-fated sail of its sister ship, the Britannic.Someone, or something, is haunting the ship. Between mysterious disappearances and sudden deaths, the guests of the Titanic have found themselves suspended in an eerie, … Titanic have found themselves suspended in an eerie, unsettling twilight zone from the moment they set sail. Several of them, including maid Annie Hebley, guest Mark Fletcher, and millionaires Madeleine Astor and Benjamin Guggenheim, are convinced there’s something sinister–almost otherwordly–afoot. But before they can locate the source of the danger, as the world knows, disaster strikes.
Years later, Annie, having survived that fateful night, has attempted to put her life back together. Working as a nurse on the sixth voyage of the Titanic’s sister ship, the Britannic, newly refitted as a hospital ship, she happens across an unconscious Mark, now a soldier fighting in World War I. At first, Annie is thrilled and relieved to learn that he too survived the sinking, but soon, Mark’s presence awakens deep-buried feelings and secrets, forcing her to reckon with the demons of her past–as they both discover that the terror may not yet be over.
Brilliantly combining the supernatural with the height of historical disaster, The Deep is an exploration of love and destiny, desire and innocence, and, above all, a quest to understand how our choices can lead us inexorably toward our doom.
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Hard book for me to struggle through
I hardly ever quit reading a book after I’ve started it but I came very close with this one. It took me forever to slog my way through it. I usually enjoy books about the Titanic but not this one. I think it was trying too hard to be two different things – a historical novel and a paranormal novel – and it should have focused on one or the other.
Annie Hebbley was a maid on the Titanic in 1912 and is now a nurse on the Britannic in 1916 (both doomed ships).
The story alternates between the two timelines and focuses mainly on Annie’s story.
There were some interesting details about both ships, which is why I rated this two stars instead of just one. Some people will probably like the book but I just couldn’t get into it.
I received this book from Putnam Books through Edelweiss in the hopes that I would read it and leave an unbiased review.
As someone who has found the story of the Titanic to be rather fascinating, and extremely sad, the moment I saw The Deep’s main character had survived the Titanic, I knew I had to read it.
We’re taken on a journey through Annie’s eyes. First in a somewhat present day (to her) and later we get glimpses of her time on the Titanic. I really enjoyed the paranormal spin Ms. Katsu added to the tale. With ghosts from the passengers’ pasts, sea witches, and everyone hiding secrets, the pages were filled with drama, love, friendship, and so much more. And later, when Annie is on the Britannic, the mystery begins to unravel… and you may be surprised at what you’ll discover.
I don’t like spoilers, so I won’t say much more, except… If you enjoy fiction based on historical events, like the sinking of the Titanic, and like paranormal horror, I highly recommend The Deep. It’s a book I plan to re-read many times.
Great book
Gorgeously atmospheric and unsettling. Alma Katsu’s supernatural take on The Titanic took me back in time and swept me away. Beautifully narrated by Jane Collingwood.
Annie Hebley is a good Irish girl who accepts a job working as a stewardess in the first-class rooms aboard the Titanic. When passengers begin boarding the ship in Southampton, she’s oddly drawn to the Fletcher family–Mark, Caroline, and baby Ondine. Strange things begin happening aboard ship and passengers begin to spread rumors of thieves stealing jewelry from state rooms as well as rumors of a spirit haunting the brand-new vessel.
Four years later, Annie leaves the mental institution where she’s been living ever since the sinking. She’s not exactly a patient and not exactly staff. She’s essentially a boarder. Her friend Violet, who also survived the Titanic, has written and begged her to come work as a World War I nurse aboard the Titanic’s sister ship, the Brittanic. The doctor at the asylum urges Annie to go live a normal life so she does. But memories start racing back to her as soon as she boards the Brittanic. What exactly happened all those years ago aboard the Titanic?
I liked this well enough. The juxtaposition of the Titanic and the paranormal elements was done well. I was never entirely sure what was going on, although I did have all the pieces pretty early in the story. It is refreshing when I can’t quite put everything together.
My biggest quibble is that the story could have been tightened up a lot. There are so many characters! Annie is the main character but there are also chapters written from the points of view of Madeleine Astor, Madeleine’s servant boy, Mark Fletcher, Caroline Fletcher, W. T. Stead, Lady Duff-Gordon, and Dai Bowen on the Titanic and Charlie Epping aboard the Brittanic. There may have been more. I do see how most of these contributed to the larger work, but I honestly don’t know what Madeleine, Dai, Lady Duff-Gordon, and Charlie added. They each had their own tiny story that didn’t contribute much of value to the main plot. It made the book feel a bit rambling to me.
I quickly realized that Annie is an unreliable narrator. I’m not quite sure how I feel about those. Done well, they lead to some huge, surprising plot twists. Otherwise, I think they irritate me. Annie was a bit more of the latter. She came across as one of those girls who falls in love with every male she meets. There are reasons, I’ll grant her that. But those girls have always annoyed me, whether in fiction or in real life. Other readers will tolerate that kind of thing better than I do.
The ending? It came across as bizarre and overly melodramatic. Annie’s unreliability did make it a bit surprising. I don’t want to say more. I can’t think of a better way to meld this story with actual history though.
Jane Collingwood did an excellent job with the narration; I’ll seek out other books she reads. She had a wide gamut of accents to tackle–from Irish to English and American to Welsh with first- and third-class variants as well–and she handled them admirably.
If you’re looking for a spooky, atmospheric read, I do recommend this despite some problems I personally had with the book. Readers who enjoy all things Titanic should especially like it.
The synopsis of The Deep by Alma Katsu intrigued me immediately. A retelling of the story of the Titanic and the Britannic with a supernatural/horror element? Sign me up! Unfortunately, it didn’t quite live up to my expectations. It is a very slow burn which I usually don’t mind, but despite the many viewpoints I just didn’t find myself really getting completely into the story. I listened to the audiobook, which is narrated by Jane Collingwood and while that helped, I literally fell asleep while listening to it. Granted it was 2AM but it was the very end of the book and apparently I was having a hard time finishing!
I did really love Katsu’s writing style, and The Deep was incredibly atmospheric while also having a gothic feel. I would have loved more of the supernatural and horror aspects though, and I think there was very little compared to what I thought I was getting which was a bit disappointing. Either that or I really wasn’t paying attention which is even worse. I think I just wanted it to be darker and creepier, but it still made for an appropriate October read.
Thank you to the publisher for my advance review copy via Edelweiss. All opinions and thoughts are my own.
The Deep is the second book I have read by this author and I didn’t enjoy this anywhere near as much as the first one.
Though well written I still found this tedious and overly wordy and I never actually connected with the characters or the situations on any deeper level.
The way this constantly switched POV’s was a huge contributor in my disconnect. There were just too many narrators trying to get there two pence in leaving me a bit lost.
Also, the constant back and forth between past and present also threw me for a loop further alienating and confusing me.
The sinking of the Titanic and the massive loss of life involved is a momentous historical tragedy.
This combines fact with fiction adds in some supernatural elements and suspenseful mystery and The Deep is the end result.
The main character here is Annie Hebbley and we get to experience the past and present through her jumbled memory’s.
We’re also introduced to some colourful individuals all with there own backstories.
These described passengers on this last fatal voyage were flawed, human and diverse.
unfortunately what looked intriguing on paper paled in reality and this for me sank very much like its tragic namesake.
The last few chapters being the only thing that slightly salvaged it.
They were overall the best bits and prior to this I found myself heavily skimming.
This one was a disappointment if I’m honest, Such a shame as I was looking forward to it.
The writing itself here is fine a bit pretentious but not actually bad, I just didn’t really like this one at all and I was mostly disinterested.
I voluntarily reviewed a copy of The Deep.
Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
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Alma Katsu has a potent and special talent for reimagining stories of historical significance—braiding historical fact with vividly-imagined characters and a lemon twist of the surreal. She nailed that perfect combo in The Hunger, and now she’s done it again The Deep. You cannot.put.it.down.
What Alma Katsu did with her fictional take on The Donner Party, she does again by doubling down on not just The Titanic, but also it’s sister ship, The Britannic. A beautifully written spooky tale of tragic lost love wrapped in an inevitable shroud of doom.
Beautifully written with gorgeous detail on every page. A story about class that will haunt you!