Book: Scorpion Deep by Cg Drews
Reviewed by Halliday in the Books
Rating: 5/5
Readers will face all the allure and terror the ocean has to offer in Scorpion Deep , the latest Young Adult horror by CG Drews.
Jonathan’s home has never been a happy one. His mother is mentally absent, dreaming of the ocean home she was stolen from. His grandfather is aging and deluded, in constant need of care. Worst of all, Jonathan’s father keeps them all beneath his thumb with unbridled violence, though he shows another face to those outside the family. When he can, Jonathan escapes with his only two friends in the world, the only kids his age on the island, Rae and Ellis. Their friendship may not always be perfect, but he loves them and doesn’t want to imagine life without them. But this time, he can’t escape with them. He didn’t get into college like they did. He’ll be stuck behind alone in his house while they venture out into the world together.
So, when the three of them drunkenly perform a ritual to request a wish from the ocean god Scorpion Deep, Jonathan goes the extra mile to make sure it takes. He is desperate to hold on to his friends and the sliver of joy they bring into his life. There is no sacrifice he isn’t willing to make in order to keep them. Or at least, so he believes when he swears to the bargain.
While the setting has changed from the forest to the sea, those who enjoyed Don’t Let the Forest In or Hazelthorn will love this one too. It has the same poetic narration I’ve come to expect from Drews’ writing, rife with unexpected yet visceral metaphors. It also has the beautifully tragic characters and an all-consuming questionable romance, though the twists this time take it into a whole new direction.
This one really kept me on the edge of my seat. Between the body horror, the sea monsters, and suffocating claustrophobia, it is a deeply unsettling work of horror. Readers get to experience panic attacks along with the protagonist, but it becomes impossible to look away even from the most revolting scenes. I love the ambiguity of a narrator who is unsure of their own reliability, as Jonathan often is. When done well like in Scorpion Deep , it intensifies the impact of each reveal. The ones I’d guessed became more satisfying, and those I didn’t caught me even more off guard, although the clues were there. I certainly didn’t expect the final chapter to go the way it did, but I thought it was perfect (and I’ll say no more about the end until you’ve read it).
As is true for many horror authors, Drews’ work is not for everyone. I always recommend checking the content warnings on books they’ve written. Characters hurt one another in ways they don’t always regret and the morality of even main characters becomes murky, to put it mildly. The depictions of panic attacks and autistic meltdowns are as gripping and distressing as the body horror is. Readers who have experienced these in real life will find that an accurate depiction. Personally, I found it oddly validating.
CG Drews continues to be an auto-buy author for me. I read a digital copy, but still ordered myself a special edition shelf trophy because I loved it so much.