I have a real soft-spot for all things Peter Benchley. This was the man that kicked off the massive JAWS hit and his ending – unlike the film – is still one of the most brilliant that I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading… Clever man!I had high hopes for The Deep. I’d started it a few times since I ‘struck gold’ with it in a charity shop. But I kept feeling… bored. Jaws/Creature/Beast were all of a very different ilk, and the lack of ‘monster’ – I don’t think Percy the Eel quite counts – made me a shade sad and nostalgic for the above-mentioned novels.Well, thank god for long and tedious train journeys! Since reading railway safety pamphlets for what culminated to about 11 hours was a non-starter, I stuck with it.I didn’t feel particularly involved with the characters until about half-way through. Gail feels a little token until she finally finds some balls in the latter half of the novel, but she’s still somehow been passed over by Benchley’s usual flare for rich multi-dimensional characters.Sanders wasn’t my cup of tea personality-wise, doing things right off the bat that made me think he was a bit of an idiot. He takes loads of unnecessary risks; what kind of a person shimmies up a pole, over a cliff, during his honeymoon, unsure if he’d be able to do it or if he’d fall to his death?! If he was that blasé with regards to the possibility of making Gail a widow, why did he see fit to marry her? He’d just got through the divorce papers from wife no. 1, why the urge to share this apparently-suicidal midlife crisis? Sanders also has children and not once during all the danger do they even factor into his thought process. Thankfully, this ‘action man’ syndrome is tackled, and he becomes bearable in the latter half of the book… Just about.And finally, of the big three, is Treece. I actually liked Treece. He lives in a lighthouse and he has a dog. He clearly adores said little dog as she’s always being taken out on the Boat – called the Corsair, very cool – and gets to sleep up on the foot of his bed. Quirky and secretly-affectionate covered; he also knows how to cook. I’m fairly sure this was not Benchley’s intention in this diving, sailing, first-aid-performing, history-loving, old-OLD-Spanish-reading character… However, you can colour me impressed. And begrudging smitten. Oh yes.Yet, he’s that flavour of slightly-broken that, whilst you feel deeply for him, you fear getting too attached... Benchley has never been shy of killing off main characters – although there do appear to be some karma rules at play, as also apparent in Jaws – and the blurb promised that a ‘friend’ would prove traitor. Plus, in this kind of fiction, there’s rarely a happy future for those with such sad pasts… But go, go read it yourself. I won’t say how my pessimistic predictions fared, because then you can argue with yourself over the various degrees of possible tragedy waiting to befall the trio.So, this latter half of the book to which I keep referring to. Two hours on a train disappeared in the blink of an eye finishing this off. Finally all three of the characters could engage me, rather than irritate (view spoiler)[ - although Treece’s character took a bit of a dive over the whole homicidal arc that suddenly develops - (hide spoiler)]
The DeepBy Peter BenchleyA Honeymooning couple is diving off the coast of Bermuda when they come across a shipwreck and a small glass vial that will forever change their lives. When they return to their hotel room with the glass vial a strange man approaches them trying to buy it from them claiming the glass is rare they refuse, proclaiming they must find out what is in the vial before they are willing to sell it to anyone. From there a man who doesn’t even exist officially tries to hire them to find more of the vials and soon the couple discovers what is so valuable, the small vials actually contain pure morphine. This is only the beginning of their adventure as they work with the local light house keeper to find as many of the vials they can before they fall into the wrong hands. The man who wrote this also wrote Jaws so I was excited to be able to write a review, it turns out I wasn’t disappointed. Though not quite as scary as Jaws was this book certainly holds up with its action and adventure until the very last moment. I will say I hated the ending and it will definitely leave you wanting to know more, otherwise it was a fun and quick read. For More Reviews be sure to visit my blogs at:http://reflectionsofabookworm.wordpre...http://bookwormrflects8.blogspot.com/
What do You think about The Deep (1977)?
While researching a crossword answer, up popped your review. When I saw the movie it was quite chauvinistic and rather daring back in 1977, but now it's just standard fare. Feel sorry for the kids nowadays; they are constantly assaulted with sexual scenes no matter where they turn.The story was good though.
—Lobstergirl
A ship goes down in 1943. A married couple on vacation dive on the sunken ship to find glass ampules. Their affectionate, gendered relationship travels through the story providing a consistent reality against a criminal and violent adventure. Sanders the husband starts an unraveling mystery by approaching a survivor of the ship on a backward island. After the ampules, Treece the survivor finds coins, too. Sanders' wife's life is threatened. The couple moves to the lighthouse where Treece lives, and the three of them do a lot of scuba diving. Gold lies on the sea floor, and deadly conflict stands in the way. The vacation becomes a crisis of the will, and the adventure ends with the couple going as they arrived.
—Jasmine McAlpine
It's the fortieth anniversary of Jaws. It's Summer, right around when Jwas came out and also around the time when the shark attacks off the coast of New Jersey happened in 1916 which Benchley loosely based Jaws upon. So, it's the perfect time to pick up some Peter Benchley. This was a quick read and the plot carried me along. He managed to make me care about the characters, even get annoyed at them at times when they did something stupid, but not to the point where I thought it was too stupid for them to do. The only thing I didn't like was the ending, and that, only the last few lines. There were a lot of dead bodies at the end and we don't find out if anyone faces any consequences. We also don't find out what happens to the treasure. Was he leaving an opening for a sequel? I kind of doubt it. Benchley pretty much took the place of Michael Crichton for me a few years ago when I ran out of Chrichton's books to read and I wanted a slam bang quick read. I'm also reading Twelve Days of Terror: A Definitive Investigation of the 1916 New Jersey Shark Attacks about the Jersey shore shark attacks I mentioned above. It has been an interesting read because I vacationed with my family on Long a Beach Island where the first attack occurred and my grandmother and grandfather lived in Matawan where the third attack occurred. I had no idea I would have such connections with the locations described.
—David Merrill
