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The Dorians
On a remote island in the Canadian wilderness, five elderly volunteers from different walks of life are given a tantalizing offer: to stall their biological clocks or even reverse them, restoring their lost youth. The chance to put death on pause—forever, perhaps. The remarkable secret lies in the high-tech harnessing of an ancient and extraordinary biological agent…one with no conscience, yet possessed with a single-minded purpose that has helped it persist for eons: the will to survive. The dark heart of unbridled human ambition finds its apex in an unholy experiment that now tests the limits of both creator and subject, eclipsing all bounds of morality and sanity….
13 pages, Audiobook
First published May 19, 2026
About the author
Nick Cutter
16 books8,858 followersHello Everybody!
I figured this bio was looking a little cobwebby, so here to update it a bit (January 2026). What's changed in the decade since I wrote my initial bio? Mmmm, not a lot. I still enjoy bubblebaths, strong coffee and passionate conversations, moonlit walks on the beach, eldritch horrors and biological horrors run amuck.
Oh, and I have a new book: The Dorians!
I've been politely requested to be on Twitter and Instagram. You may find me here in the internet aether, if it pleases you:
Twitter: @ItsNickCutter
Instagram: nickcutter2026
website: www.craigdavidson.net
signed books website: www.nickcutter.com
Yrs,
Nick Cutter
(but not really)
I figured this bio was looking a little cobwebby, so here to update it a bit (January 2026). What's changed in the decade since I wrote my initial bio? Mmmm, not a lot. I still enjoy bubblebaths, strong coffee and passionate conversations, moonlit walks on the beach, eldritch horrors and biological horrors run amuck.
Oh, and I have a new book: The Dorians!
I've been politely requested to be on Twitter and Instagram. You may find me here in the internet aether, if it pleases you:
Twitter: @ItsNickCutter
Instagram: nickcutter2026
website: www.craigdavidson.net
signed books website: www.nickcutter.com
Yrs,
Nick Cutter
(but not really)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 212 reviews
April 16, 2026
Holy Hell! 😱 What did I just read? This book is WILD! What started as a slow burn horror story turned into an unnatural tale of bloody rage! Nick Cutter KILLED IT with The Dorians!
Picture this, you are 80 years old and dying from cancer. You decide you are ready to get help with assisted suicide. In Canada, it’s called MAID.
But then you are approached with an offer to receive a revolutionary treatment which holds the potential to reverse your biological age. Would you do it???
When these five volunteers take the offer on a secluded island, they have no idea what they’re getting into. It’s truly terrifying and I have to say that Cutter developed a pretty unique story. This isn’t some product you use ….. it’s an unnatural creature.
I loved this and hope all you horror fans will too! Add this to your TBR IMMEDIATELY!
BTW, these characters are highly unlikable BUT that’s the point!!! You’d be pissy too if you were 80 years old, miserable and dying. Just saying.
Pub date 5/19
4.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Huge thanks to Gallery Books for the gifted copy.
Picture this, you are 80 years old and dying from cancer. You decide you are ready to get help with assisted suicide. In Canada, it’s called MAID.
But then you are approached with an offer to receive a revolutionary treatment which holds the potential to reverse your biological age. Would you do it???
When these five volunteers take the offer on a secluded island, they have no idea what they’re getting into. It’s truly terrifying and I have to say that Cutter developed a pretty unique story. This isn’t some product you use ….. it’s an unnatural creature.
I loved this and hope all you horror fans will too! Add this to your TBR IMMEDIATELY!
BTW, these characters are highly unlikable BUT that’s the point!!! You’d be pissy too if you were 80 years old, miserable and dying. Just saying.
Pub date 5/19
4.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Huge thanks to Gallery Books for the gifted copy.
Want to Read
January 27, 2026Anything this creepy dude writes is an immediate TBR add. No need to read the description, I'm IN.
May 23, 2026
“Teddy embraced this as an unassailable fact. The sun is hot. Water is wet. Hugo isn’t human anymore.”
And Nick Cutter writes at another level.
And Nick Cutter writes at another level.
Did Not Finish
May 27, 2026DNF 44%
I’m finding this boring. And Astrid is awful.
I’m finding this boring. And Astrid is awful.
May 20, 2026
I’m ASHAMED this was my first read by Nick Cutter 😬🤣 because WOW. This may be the first sci-fi horror book I’ve absolutely loved.
I LOVED these chaotic senior citizen characters 🤣 they were making straight-up teen decisions and it made the story so entertaining while also being surprisingly emotional. Because honestly… who wouldn’t want to be young again? To rewind time, escape aging and death? But of course, nothing comes without a cost — and this story takes that idea and runs absolutely wild with it.
A group of elderly volunteers travel to a remote island with the promise of reversing aging and cheating death… but the experiment quickly turns into something horrifying and deeply twisted.
The atmosphere was creepy, the body horror was disgusting in the best way, and the whole story really makes you think about mortality, survival, and how far humans will go to escape death. Such a wild ride.
I LOVED these chaotic senior citizen characters 🤣 they were making straight-up teen decisions and it made the story so entertaining while also being surprisingly emotional. Because honestly… who wouldn’t want to be young again? To rewind time, escape aging and death? But of course, nothing comes without a cost — and this story takes that idea and runs absolutely wild with it.
A group of elderly volunteers travel to a remote island with the promise of reversing aging and cheating death… but the experiment quickly turns into something horrifying and deeply twisted.
The atmosphere was creepy, the body horror was disgusting in the best way, and the whole story really makes you think about mortality, survival, and how far humans will go to escape death. Such a wild ride.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Nick Cutter delivers again. Absolutely one of my favorite horror authors and I have loved every book I’ve read by him, this was no exception.
My head is still reeling finishing this book, it has everything I look for in a horror novel. The rapidly increasing sense of dread, the balanced and not gratuitous gore, a mix of character and plot, and twists that smack you in the face.
From the moment our characters set foot on Spindrift to get a second shot at life from the mysterious and mad scientist Dr. Marsh, the sense of impending doom reading this book which grows suffocating with every passing chapter.
I would describe it as a slow burn, but not the type of slow burn that slogs on. It’s the type of slow burn that gets under your skin and makes you not want to put this book down. I honestly went into this book kind of blind, not really reading the synopsis, because I know I really enjoy Nick Cutter’s work. Not that knowing much would change my thoughts on the book but I’m kind of glad I did.
This is a horror story, not a thriller, and it’s a novel that doesn’t sugar coat being a raw, in your face, what goes bump in the night horror. This book is a mishmash of Frankenstein, Dorian Gray with a little bit of Jurassic Park (minus the dinosaurs) thrown in for good measure. And you know what? It works, it all works.
I devoured this book in less than a day, the story was riveting, horrifying and I couldn’t get enough. If you are a horror fan, this book should be added to your tbr immediately.
My head is still reeling finishing this book, it has everything I look for in a horror novel. The rapidly increasing sense of dread, the balanced and not gratuitous gore, a mix of character and plot, and twists that smack you in the face.
From the moment our characters set foot on Spindrift to get a second shot at life from the mysterious and mad scientist Dr. Marsh, the sense of impending doom reading this book which grows suffocating with every passing chapter.
I would describe it as a slow burn, but not the type of slow burn that slogs on. It’s the type of slow burn that gets under your skin and makes you not want to put this book down. I honestly went into this book kind of blind, not really reading the synopsis, because I know I really enjoy Nick Cutter’s work. Not that knowing much would change my thoughts on the book but I’m kind of glad I did.
This is a horror story, not a thriller, and it’s a novel that doesn’t sugar coat being a raw, in your face, what goes bump in the night horror. This book is a mishmash of Frankenstein, Dorian Gray with a little bit of Jurassic Park (minus the dinosaurs) thrown in for good measure. And you know what? It works, it all works.
I devoured this book in less than a day, the story was riveting, horrifying and I couldn’t get enough. If you are a horror fan, this book should be added to your tbr immediately.
May 26, 2026
Now this is a buzz book I can get behind.
Five elderly people, all on the brink of medically assisted suicide, are approached by a young girl and a bioethicist who claim they can reverse the aging process — maybe even cheat death entirely.
Quarantined on a remote Canadian island and cut off from the world, the volunteers place their trust in Astrid and her mad‑scientist methods, clinging to the hope that the risk will be worth the reward.
But if you’ve read Nick Cutter before, you already know better. There are no happy endings here. This slow‑burn sci-fi body horror digs into the terrifying resilience of living organisms — how they adapt, mutate, and fight to survive under any circumstances, no matter the cost.
A solid 4 stars... and a perfect reminder of what you get when you mess with mother nature.
Five elderly people, all on the brink of medically assisted suicide, are approached by a young girl and a bioethicist who claim they can reverse the aging process — maybe even cheat death entirely.
Quarantined on a remote Canadian island and cut off from the world, the volunteers place their trust in Astrid and her mad‑scientist methods, clinging to the hope that the risk will be worth the reward.
But if you’ve read Nick Cutter before, you already know better. There are no happy endings here. This slow‑burn sci-fi body horror digs into the terrifying resilience of living organisms — how they adapt, mutate, and fight to survive under any circumstances, no matter the cost.
A solid 4 stars... and a perfect reminder of what you get when you mess with mother nature.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Review in the May 2026 issue of Booklist and on the blog: https://raforall.blogspot.com/2026/05...
Three Words That Describe This Book: Frankenstein retelling, gripping, immersive. existential terror
When you read this book, there is some pun intended with the
Most horror, is at is core, about coming to terms with the fact that we will all die. Think about it. All of the undead creatures, ghosts, trying to defeat the supernatural monster in order to live and make better choices in your own life.
All of that is here in this novel. This one is on the nose about all of that. The wonder, the fear, the horror of coming to terms with your own death and making the choice to have a chance to live forever instead. All of the horror of not being able to die but also what does that mean if no one can die. And also, we are not meant to live together so what does that do to our bodies and our humanity?
What is even more terrifying here is that our protagonists are choosing to be part of a scientific experiment to reverse their own aging. Literally moneys from doing assisted suicide, they instead take an offer to go to a remote island in far northern Lake Huron (Canada) and be part of an experiment, knowing full well it could go "hinky" but figuring they have nothing to lose.
Dr Marsh-- the prodigy scientist in charge is 19 (Mary Shelley's age when she wrote Frankenstein), she makes more than one mention about reading the Shelley novel and how she will make different choices than Dr. Frankenstein with her monsters. But there is more in this book that makes allusions to the classic.
Readers will be hard pressed not to think about Michael Crichton in general and Jurassic Park in particular here. But also while Dr Marsh and her subjects are undergoing a well described experiment (involving jellyfish-- which was a cool addition to the horror monster world).
The title also refers to The Picture of Dorian Gray-- the subjects call themselves the Dorian Grays. And Algernon (from Flowers for Algernon) is also mentioned.
All of these allusions are on purpose in a good way-- to prepare readers for what is coming, to serve as a short hand to give Cutter the space to tell HIS original and unique take on this type of story. A cautionary tale about playing god, a scientific advancement can go too far, the mad scientist out for power over life itself, etc.... As a reader, Cutter brings you under the umbrella and says-- hey, you've seen this before-- but then he also says-- watch me bring my own take on it. That was fun.
In terms of storytelling, it is all done with an omniscient narrator that gets into the heads of all of the characters at some point. The "subjects"-- our 5 seniors who go through with the experiment-- and the 2 scientists (Marsh and a bio ethicist), 2 indigenous workers, and a few more to come when you read-- all of them are fleshed out well. We get to see how they appear
Cutter is a great storyteller. This is a gripping story. You will want to keep reading. Most reminded me of a mixture of The Troop and The Queen by him, but decidedly less gory than most of his books.
Thought provoking and heartbreaking. It will make you angry in a bunch of ways, but also it will terrify everyone who reads it because (and I do think Cutter wants readers to make this connection even though it is not there explicitly) your thoughts will go to AI right away. There is no AI here, but the story-- a scientist working on a technology that has a mind of its own that could do a lot of good, but also a lot of harm. I recently finished Dead But Dreaming of Electric Sheep by Paul Tremblay and there is a lot of similarity here in appeal even though the plots are VERY different on the surface.
Horror that reaches its tendrils out to grab hold of the reader.-- These words are important.
Another great readalike is a title that I think deserves more attention-- Unwieldy Creatures by Addie Tsai. It was a finalist for the 2022 Shirley Jackson Award.
Three Words That Describe This Book: Frankenstein retelling, gripping, immersive. existential terror
When you read this book, there is some pun intended with the
Most horror, is at is core, about coming to terms with the fact that we will all die. Think about it. All of the undead creatures, ghosts, trying to defeat the supernatural monster in order to live and make better choices in your own life.
All of that is here in this novel. This one is on the nose about all of that. The wonder, the fear, the horror of coming to terms with your own death and making the choice to have a chance to live forever instead. All of the horror of not being able to die but also what does that mean if no one can die. And also, we are not meant to live together so what does that do to our bodies and our humanity?
What is even more terrifying here is that our protagonists are choosing to be part of a scientific experiment to reverse their own aging. Literally moneys from doing assisted suicide, they instead take an offer to go to a remote island in far northern Lake Huron (Canada) and be part of an experiment, knowing full well it could go "hinky" but figuring they have nothing to lose.
Dr Marsh-- the prodigy scientist in charge is 19 (Mary Shelley's age when she wrote Frankenstein), she makes more than one mention about reading the Shelley novel and how she will make different choices than Dr. Frankenstein with her monsters. But there is more in this book that makes allusions to the classic.
Readers will be hard pressed not to think about Michael Crichton in general and Jurassic Park in particular here. But also while Dr Marsh and her subjects are undergoing a well described experiment (involving jellyfish-- which was a cool addition to the horror monster world).
The title also refers to The Picture of Dorian Gray-- the subjects call themselves the Dorian Grays. And Algernon (from Flowers for Algernon) is also mentioned.
All of these allusions are on purpose in a good way-- to prepare readers for what is coming, to serve as a short hand to give Cutter the space to tell HIS original and unique take on this type of story. A cautionary tale about playing god, a scientific advancement can go too far, the mad scientist out for power over life itself, etc.... As a reader, Cutter brings you under the umbrella and says-- hey, you've seen this before-- but then he also says-- watch me bring my own take on it. That was fun.
In terms of storytelling, it is all done with an omniscient narrator that gets into the heads of all of the characters at some point. The "subjects"-- our 5 seniors who go through with the experiment-- and the 2 scientists (Marsh and a bio ethicist), 2 indigenous workers, and a few more to come when you read-- all of them are fleshed out well. We get to see how they appear
Cutter is a great storyteller. This is a gripping story. You will want to keep reading. Most reminded me of a mixture of The Troop and The Queen by him, but decidedly less gory than most of his books.
Thought provoking and heartbreaking. It will make you angry in a bunch of ways, but also it will terrify everyone who reads it because (and I do think Cutter wants readers to make this connection even though it is not there explicitly) your thoughts will go to AI right away. There is no AI here, but the story-- a scientist working on a technology that has a mind of its own that could do a lot of good, but also a lot of harm. I recently finished Dead But Dreaming of Electric Sheep by Paul Tremblay and there is a lot of similarity here in appeal even though the plots are VERY different on the surface.
Horror that reaches its tendrils out to grab hold of the reader.-- These words are important.
Another great readalike is a title that I think deserves more attention-- Unwieldy Creatures by Addie Tsai. It was a finalist for the 2022 Shirley Jackson Award.
May 21, 2026
This has to be the first sci-fi horror book I've read that has so many cringe moments, all of them perfectly integrated to the plot, and absolutely necessary to drive the story forward! And what a story this is: medical horror combined with the very real horror of old age, packed into a deliciously creepy tale of body horror. The premise adopts what made the 1985 movie Cocoon so special: the terrific implementation of the "fountain of youth" idea, as experienced by a bunch of interesting characters in their seventies and eighties - adjusted, however, to the current scientific market, and without the aliens. Instead, we get a teenage girl, a child prodigy in medicine, who has devised her own version of The Thing, ready to deliver immortality and rejuvenation to a select group of elderly people. But, as the book's title suggests, these people are conceptually closer to Dorian Gray than, let's say, Highlander or Wolverine - hence, the Dorians!
The book has great build-up, razor-sharp, realistic dialogue, and a very strong sense of what counted as humor or fun a couple of generations back (therefore, watch out for some slight sexism and racism). It develops quickly and satisfyingly into a sort of Greek tragedy, where the hubris of scientists (their manifest arrogance and overconfidence), their violation of the so-called "natural order", gets punished in the most unpredictable of ways!
Characterization, setting, pacing, and atmosphere are all flawless. If anything, I'd complain that the book's ending made me want more - all the characters (even the cynical ones) felt extremely relatable, with the spectres of Frankenstein and Cronenberg haunting the developments in the book almost throughout. It's an easy recommendation, though it should be made clear that it's neither an adventure type of tale nor a mystery thriller; it's closer to a meditation on old age and an exploration of ethics in science, with an engaging (and utterly gruesome) narrative backing the concepts and the questioning every step of the way.
The book has great build-up, razor-sharp, realistic dialogue, and a very strong sense of what counted as humor or fun a couple of generations back (therefore, watch out for some slight sexism and racism). It develops quickly and satisfyingly into a sort of Greek tragedy, where the hubris of scientists (their manifest arrogance and overconfidence), their violation of the so-called "natural order", gets punished in the most unpredictable of ways!
Characterization, setting, pacing, and atmosphere are all flawless. If anything, I'd complain that the book's ending made me want more - all the characters (even the cynical ones) felt extremely relatable, with the spectres of Frankenstein and Cronenberg haunting the developments in the book almost throughout. It's an easy recommendation, though it should be made clear that it's neither an adventure type of tale nor a mystery thriller; it's closer to a meditation on old age and an exploration of ethics in science, with an engaging (and utterly gruesome) narrative backing the concepts and the questioning every step of the way.
May 26, 2026
A fantastic horror book needs three things for me to love it. Interesting characters, plot and a good sense of writing atmosphere and dread. This book really hit all three of those for me, and the other Nick Cutter novel I gave five stars to Little Heaven was exactly the same way.
I think if you even slightly enjoy horror stories you should look into this one, I for one am now terrifed of jellyfish. Ok... even MORE terrified of jellyfish. *shivers*
I think if you even slightly enjoy horror stories you should look into this one, I for one am now terrifed of jellyfish. Ok... even MORE terrified of jellyfish. *shivers*
May 28, 2026
3.5 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum https://bibliosanctum.com/2026/05/24/...
A few years ago, I read about Canada’s expansion of its MAiD program, which stands for Medical Assistance in Dying, allowing eligible patients with grievous medical conditions to legally seek physician-assisted death. What struck me most though, is that its framework is considered one of the most permissive in the world. While many countries strictly limit this option for terminally ill adults, Canada does not. And ever since learning about it, I had a feeling authors would eventually begin writing stories related to the emotional and ethical implications, and I was right. The Dorians is probably the second or third book I’ve read recently that explores themes surrounding right to die, bodily autonomy, fear of decline, and how far people are willing to go in order to end their personal suffering. Nick Cutter, the pseudonym for critically acclaimed Canadian author Craig Davidson, takes those themes and pushes them into full-blown horror science fiction territory.
The story follows a group of elderly characters nearing the end of their lives for different reasons, who have all independently sought out MAiD. Each of them is approached by a mysterious doctor named Astrid Marsh, who offers them the chance to participate in a highly experimental but life-altering treatment at her secluded research facility on a remote island. Some of these individuals are terminally ill and out of medical options, while others are simply exhausted by old age and feeling like they have become a burden to society. What they all share, however, is regret. That lingering hope of a chance at a do-over is what drives a lot of them to at least hear Dr. Marsh out, even for those who have already made peace with the idea of assisted death.
And indeed, it turns out what the brilliant doctor has planned is nothing short of revolutionary. In her research, she has discovered a way to not only stop aging, but to reverse the biological clock completely, restoring youth to those willing to participate in her study. Of course, the treatment comes with enormous risks, and it is definitely not for the squeamish. The experiment centers on the hydra, a primitive multicellular organism known for its apparent biological immortality as they do not age due to their stem cells existing in a constant state of renewal. And now, Dr. Marsh and her team have found a way to harness those regenerative properties and integrate them into human hosts. Despite the uncertainty and hideousness behind the process, it’s not hard to see why many of the participants would take her up on the offer.
After his last few novels, Nick Cutter feels fully back in his element with The Dorians. As much as I admire some of his weirder, more ambitious work, I truly think he’s at his strongest when he’s tackling straightforward body horror with a tightly managed cast of characters and a more focused premise. After all, what’s more anxiety-inducing than the idea of aging? Losing control of your body is terrifying enough, but losing your mind right alongside might be even worse. That fear sits at the center of this novel, and the author digs into it with all the grotesque detail he’s become known for.
And yes, the body horror absolutely delivers. I simply love it when horror novels incorporate a biological component, and if you’ve read Nick Cutter before, you already know he has a talent for making certain biological processes feel disturbing in the most skin-crawling ways possible. But what really makes the novel effective, and also what I think is its greatest strength, is that the horror here isn’t necessarily of the “jump scare” variety, nor would I say it is scary in the traditional sense. Instead, it’s unsettling on an idea level, paired with vivid and sometimes nauseating imagery that becomes harder and harder to look away from.
But while Cutter clearly had a lot of fun exploring the nightmarish possibilities of Dr. Marsh’s hydra experiment, we still have a strong emotional thread running beneath all the biological ick and gore. For one, the elderly participants all came to the island thinking they were staring down the final stretch of their lives. Many of them carry deep loneliness, resentment, or fear about what’s coming next. In some ways, I wish the story had spent more time unpacking these ideas related to the characters’ anxieties and regret about aging, which might have helped flesh them out more as individuals. Instead, the plot spends a lot of time delving into the backstory and psychology of the main antagonist. While important and interesting in its own right, it also pulled the focus away from the others, and by the end, the villain was honestly the only character who really stuck with me.
Ultimately, The Dorians was for me a really entertaining return to form for Nick Cutter. It’s gross and packed with the kind of body horror that gets under your skin, but it’s also thoughtful and emotionally messy. The novel does have some issues, but I still feel like it’s one of his stronger works and well worth checking out if the premise speaks to you.
A few years ago, I read about Canada’s expansion of its MAiD program, which stands for Medical Assistance in Dying, allowing eligible patients with grievous medical conditions to legally seek physician-assisted death. What struck me most though, is that its framework is considered one of the most permissive in the world. While many countries strictly limit this option for terminally ill adults, Canada does not. And ever since learning about it, I had a feeling authors would eventually begin writing stories related to the emotional and ethical implications, and I was right. The Dorians is probably the second or third book I’ve read recently that explores themes surrounding right to die, bodily autonomy, fear of decline, and how far people are willing to go in order to end their personal suffering. Nick Cutter, the pseudonym for critically acclaimed Canadian author Craig Davidson, takes those themes and pushes them into full-blown horror science fiction territory.
The story follows a group of elderly characters nearing the end of their lives for different reasons, who have all independently sought out MAiD. Each of them is approached by a mysterious doctor named Astrid Marsh, who offers them the chance to participate in a highly experimental but life-altering treatment at her secluded research facility on a remote island. Some of these individuals are terminally ill and out of medical options, while others are simply exhausted by old age and feeling like they have become a burden to society. What they all share, however, is regret. That lingering hope of a chance at a do-over is what drives a lot of them to at least hear Dr. Marsh out, even for those who have already made peace with the idea of assisted death.
And indeed, it turns out what the brilliant doctor has planned is nothing short of revolutionary. In her research, she has discovered a way to not only stop aging, but to reverse the biological clock completely, restoring youth to those willing to participate in her study. Of course, the treatment comes with enormous risks, and it is definitely not for the squeamish. The experiment centers on the hydra, a primitive multicellular organism known for its apparent biological immortality as they do not age due to their stem cells existing in a constant state of renewal. And now, Dr. Marsh and her team have found a way to harness those regenerative properties and integrate them into human hosts. Despite the uncertainty and hideousness behind the process, it’s not hard to see why many of the participants would take her up on the offer.
After his last few novels, Nick Cutter feels fully back in his element with The Dorians. As much as I admire some of his weirder, more ambitious work, I truly think he’s at his strongest when he’s tackling straightforward body horror with a tightly managed cast of characters and a more focused premise. After all, what’s more anxiety-inducing than the idea of aging? Losing control of your body is terrifying enough, but losing your mind right alongside might be even worse. That fear sits at the center of this novel, and the author digs into it with all the grotesque detail he’s become known for.
And yes, the body horror absolutely delivers. I simply love it when horror novels incorporate a biological component, and if you’ve read Nick Cutter before, you already know he has a talent for making certain biological processes feel disturbing in the most skin-crawling ways possible. But what really makes the novel effective, and also what I think is its greatest strength, is that the horror here isn’t necessarily of the “jump scare” variety, nor would I say it is scary in the traditional sense. Instead, it’s unsettling on an idea level, paired with vivid and sometimes nauseating imagery that becomes harder and harder to look away from.
But while Cutter clearly had a lot of fun exploring the nightmarish possibilities of Dr. Marsh’s hydra experiment, we still have a strong emotional thread running beneath all the biological ick and gore. For one, the elderly participants all came to the island thinking they were staring down the final stretch of their lives. Many of them carry deep loneliness, resentment, or fear about what’s coming next. In some ways, I wish the story had spent more time unpacking these ideas related to the characters’ anxieties and regret about aging, which might have helped flesh them out more as individuals. Instead, the plot spends a lot of time delving into the backstory and psychology of the main antagonist. While important and interesting in its own right, it also pulled the focus away from the others, and by the end, the villain was honestly the only character who really stuck with me.
Ultimately, The Dorians was for me a really entertaining return to form for Nick Cutter. It’s gross and packed with the kind of body horror that gets under your skin, but it’s also thoughtful and emotionally messy. The novel does have some issues, but I still feel like it’s one of his stronger works and well worth checking out if the premise speaks to you.
May 17, 2026
#ad much love for my finished copy @gallerybooks #partner
The Darians
Two old farts and the sea…
Oh the dreaded prospect of aging..
Okay - besides all the 🤮 🤮 smex scenes I loved this book.
Frank has decided to die today. He’s old, he’s suffering, and his wife passed several years ago. Assisted suicide sounds like the perfect plan for him. Only, when he’s minutes away from starting the process that will end his life, he is offered something else.
Teddy finds himself in an almost identical life crisis when he’s offered this same opportunity. They both decide to jump at this offer and soon become the best of friends. But they have no idea what it is this opportunity is exactly. Of course, they’re about to find out.
I loved how the story unfolded through the different characters. It’s not told from just their perspective or individual PoV but moves as a whole through the characters eye. So if you’re like me and don’t really enjoy multiple PoV’s you’ll enjoy this format.
Loved the private island and the medical experiments. Top shelf horror right here! This is - so far - my favorite book of Cutter’s.
Memorable:
Skinny Urethra
The pen*s pumppppp 😂😂😂😩 “can still p*ss straight mostly”
“Speak to me, oh toothless one”
The Ball Song 😩🫣😂
Lots of giggles with this one. 5 subjects on a secluded island undergo a medical experiment to stop their aging. Not just stop their aging but to reverse their aging. They’re feeling things they haven’t been able to feel in many years and things seem to be going quite well. Until they’re not…
Can’t wait for the next Cutter book!
The Darians
Two old farts and the sea…
Oh the dreaded prospect of aging..
Okay - besides all the 🤮 🤮 smex scenes I loved this book.
Frank has decided to die today. He’s old, he’s suffering, and his wife passed several years ago. Assisted suicide sounds like the perfect plan for him. Only, when he’s minutes away from starting the process that will end his life, he is offered something else.
Teddy finds himself in an almost identical life crisis when he’s offered this same opportunity. They both decide to jump at this offer and soon become the best of friends. But they have no idea what it is this opportunity is exactly. Of course, they’re about to find out.
I loved how the story unfolded through the different characters. It’s not told from just their perspective or individual PoV but moves as a whole through the characters eye. So if you’re like me and don’t really enjoy multiple PoV’s you’ll enjoy this format.
Loved the private island and the medical experiments. Top shelf horror right here! This is - so far - my favorite book of Cutter’s.
Memorable:
Skinny Urethra
The pen*s pumppppp 😂😂😂😩 “can still p*ss straight mostly”
“Speak to me, oh toothless one”
The Ball Song 😩🫣😂
Lots of giggles with this one. 5 subjects on a secluded island undergo a medical experiment to stop their aging. Not just stop their aging but to reverse their aging. They’re feeling things they haven’t been able to feel in many years and things seem to be going quite well. Until they’re not…
Can’t wait for the next Cutter book!
Read
April 20, 2026*Huge thank you to Edelweiss, the publisher and the author for a digital ARC of this one!*
Back in 2015, I discovered Nick’s massive novel ‘The Troop’ at the same time I found Andrew Pyper’s ‘The Demonologist.’ The two books are very far apart in terms of content, but both launched each author into another realm of popularity and in the following decade, until Andrew’s passing away, the two developed a great friendship.
Through Andrew, I connected with Nick (and for the few who still don’t know, his real name is Craig Davidson, and yes you should go read his books as Craig, but also his books as Patrick Lestewka if you can find those) and we’ve developed a burgeoning relationship.
When ‘The Dorians’ was announced, I was very excited. The synopsis alluded to a mix between ‘The Troop’ and a little bit like his book ‘The Preserve’ as Lestewka, which was released in 2004.
Knowing Nick’s penchant to start the journey in one direction only to pivot and go in a very different direction, I was keen to see just where this one went.
What I liked: The novel follows a group of senior citizens, all at the end of their lives, all choosing MAID to wrap things up. Only, each of the people are given a life-line at the last minute. A phone call from a young female doctor. One offering them the potential of immortality.
Each accept and each finds themselves heading to a remote compound in the Canadian north, where a research laboratory has been created with a seemingly blank cheque. Here, they meet Astrid, a hyper-driven woman who has figured out not only how to halt death in its tracks, but how to also de-age those who join her program and have something implanted into them.
What could go wrong, right?!
From here, Nick introduces us to two Indigenous jack-of-all-trades who are keeping the facility running smoothly, but also watching what’s happening with the wolves who’ve also been implanted.
As things progress, we see the toll that eternal youth takes on each of the elderly who’ve accepted the implant, but also the physical weight on those around them and those running the program.
Cutter does a wonderful job of asking a lot of very pointed hypothetical questions. Questions that we’ve all asked ourselves at some time and as somebody who is soon turning forty-five, they’re not questions that often stray far from my mind.
This novel felt like a mix between the literary beauty of the writing within the Davidson books and the brutally harsh Splatterpunk writing within the Lestewka and early Cutter novels.
The ending is bleak, harsh, definitive (to a degree) and though it is expected, it still is startling.
What I didn’t like: Oddly, I didn’t feel a single connection to any of the characters. With the setup and the descriptions and the way the book begins, it’s written with the expectation that each reader will connect and hold onto at least one, if not multiple, characters so that when the shit hits the fan, we get that emotional reaction, but in this case, I just didn’t have that. Not sure why, but because of that, I think I missed a lot of the emotional weight and depth Nick was trying to create.
Why you should buy this: While reading this, I got the sense it was a spiritual sequel to ‘The Troop’ and in the afterword, Nick even mentions that writing it, it felt like that. We have similar settings, similar groups with the various dynamics and we get a really gross, ever-evolving parasite wrecking havoc. The difference here is that ‘The Troop’ was teens and ‘The Dorians’ was elderly people. It felt like the time had passed and we were getting a look at how things would’ve played out in ‘The Troop’ in a different scenario.
Nick has really delivered a thoughtful look at aging and what it means to different people with different backgrounds while also giving us a novel that’s full of bleak, awful decisions and moments. Paired together it works perfectly to unnerve and unsettle the reader while also causing you to squirm all over again.
At least this time there’s no turtles.
Back in 2015, I discovered Nick’s massive novel ‘The Troop’ at the same time I found Andrew Pyper’s ‘The Demonologist.’ The two books are very far apart in terms of content, but both launched each author into another realm of popularity and in the following decade, until Andrew’s passing away, the two developed a great friendship.
Through Andrew, I connected with Nick (and for the few who still don’t know, his real name is Craig Davidson, and yes you should go read his books as Craig, but also his books as Patrick Lestewka if you can find those) and we’ve developed a burgeoning relationship.
When ‘The Dorians’ was announced, I was very excited. The synopsis alluded to a mix between ‘The Troop’ and a little bit like his book ‘The Preserve’ as Lestewka, which was released in 2004.
Knowing Nick’s penchant to start the journey in one direction only to pivot and go in a very different direction, I was keen to see just where this one went.
What I liked: The novel follows a group of senior citizens, all at the end of their lives, all choosing MAID to wrap things up. Only, each of the people are given a life-line at the last minute. A phone call from a young female doctor. One offering them the potential of immortality.
Each accept and each finds themselves heading to a remote compound in the Canadian north, where a research laboratory has been created with a seemingly blank cheque. Here, they meet Astrid, a hyper-driven woman who has figured out not only how to halt death in its tracks, but how to also de-age those who join her program and have something implanted into them.
What could go wrong, right?!
From here, Nick introduces us to two Indigenous jack-of-all-trades who are keeping the facility running smoothly, but also watching what’s happening with the wolves who’ve also been implanted.
As things progress, we see the toll that eternal youth takes on each of the elderly who’ve accepted the implant, but also the physical weight on those around them and those running the program.
Cutter does a wonderful job of asking a lot of very pointed hypothetical questions. Questions that we’ve all asked ourselves at some time and as somebody who is soon turning forty-five, they’re not questions that often stray far from my mind.
This novel felt like a mix between the literary beauty of the writing within the Davidson books and the brutally harsh Splatterpunk writing within the Lestewka and early Cutter novels.
The ending is bleak, harsh, definitive (to a degree) and though it is expected, it still is startling.
What I didn’t like: Oddly, I didn’t feel a single connection to any of the characters. With the setup and the descriptions and the way the book begins, it’s written with the expectation that each reader will connect and hold onto at least one, if not multiple, characters so that when the shit hits the fan, we get that emotional reaction, but in this case, I just didn’t have that. Not sure why, but because of that, I think I missed a lot of the emotional weight and depth Nick was trying to create.
Why you should buy this: While reading this, I got the sense it was a spiritual sequel to ‘The Troop’ and in the afterword, Nick even mentions that writing it, it felt like that. We have similar settings, similar groups with the various dynamics and we get a really gross, ever-evolving parasite wrecking havoc. The difference here is that ‘The Troop’ was teens and ‘The Dorians’ was elderly people. It felt like the time had passed and we were getting a look at how things would’ve played out in ‘The Troop’ in a different scenario.
Nick has really delivered a thoughtful look at aging and what it means to different people with different backgrounds while also giving us a novel that’s full of bleak, awful decisions and moments. Paired together it works perfectly to unnerve and unsettle the reader while also causing you to squirm all over again.
At least this time there’s no turtles.
May 19, 2026
Thank you Gallery Books for my gifted copy
A remote island, a secret experiment, and a chance to restore youth. The premise hooked me and kept me turning pages. We spend a lot of time with the group and get to know them. Even though they are pretty unlikeable, I needed to know what would become of them! There’s a building sense of doom as the horror slowly creeps up on you.
What kept this from being a 5 star read for me was the pacing in the middle and some of the inner thoughts of the old men. I’m still really glad I picked it up. It’s a slow-burn horror that gets harder to put down as the story goes on and completely got under my skin by the end.
3.5/5
A remote island, a secret experiment, and a chance to restore youth. The premise hooked me and kept me turning pages. We spend a lot of time with the group and get to know them. Even though they are pretty unlikeable, I needed to know what would become of them! There’s a building sense of doom as the horror slowly creeps up on you.
What kept this from being a 5 star read for me was the pacing in the middle and some of the inner thoughts of the old men. I’m still really glad I picked it up. It’s a slow-burn horror that gets harder to put down as the story goes on and completely got under my skin by the end.
3.5/5
May 23, 2026
The characters are cliche—in the extreme. The author keeps hammering the reader with dismal dialogue as evidence of each character’s loathsomeness. Shallow, bitter, sarcastic… The reading becomes a reflection on the writers inability to encapsulate the individual players.
A controversial research treatment led by a child genius reverses the aging process in a cherry-picked control group of terminal patients.
A promising storyline that’s falls flat.
Cannot recommend.
A controversial research treatment led by a child genius reverses the aging process in a cherry-picked control group of terminal patients.
A promising storyline that’s falls flat.
Cannot recommend.
May 26, 2026
A slow burn horror until it slaps you in the face and makes you see blue. I don’t think I’ll ever not read something this man puts out. “Humans were part of that chain, too. But at their worst, humans were the rot in the chain that made everything fall to pieces.”
May 19, 2026
The Dorians ⏰ Audiobook Review 🎧📖 thank you @Simon.audio @gallerybooks for the gifted audiobook!
✨ and a special thanks to the friend who gave me their ARC ✨
The Dorians
by Nick Cutter
Narrated by Corey Brill
out now!
On a remote island in the Canadian wilderness, five elderly volunteers from different walks of life are given a tantalizing offer: to stall their biological clocks or even reverse them, restoring their lost youth. The chance to put death on pause—forever, perhaps. The remarkable secret lies in the high-tech harnessing of an ancient and extraordinary biological agent…one with no conscience, yet possessed with a single-minded purpose that has helped it persist for eons: the will to survive. The dark heart of unbridled human ambition finds its apex in an unholy experiment that now tests the limits of both creator and subject, eclipsing all bounds of morality and sanity….
💭 My thoughts:
Disturbing, grotesque, and completely unforgettable, this absolutely lived up to the hype for me! Oh my goodness… this was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and it 1,000,000% delivered. Every single book I’ve read by Nick Cutter has left me deeply unsettled and this one was no exception. I listened to this on audiobook and never wanted to stop. The narrator was phenomenal and captured the horror and sheer grotesqueness of the story perfectly. Some scenes made my skin crawl, but I could not stop listening. What really made this stand out for me though was the question at the center of it all… how far would people go to avoid aging and death? This book digs into immortality, bodily decay, and the mental toll of trying to outrun nature in a horrifying way. Personally, I’ve never understood the obsession with living forever, and this story absolutely reinforced that feeling for me. It’s brutal, unsettling, thought provoking, the list goes on… and exactly the kind of horror I love reading. Whether you consider it sci fi horror, wellness horror, or body horror, it exceeded my expectations! I already know I’ll be recommending it forever.
What to expect👇🏽
🧬Sci-fi horror
🫀Wellness/body horror
🩸Grotesque imagery
🪼Immortality themes
🎧Incredible audiobook narration
Happy reading 📖🎧🧬⏰
✨ and a special thanks to the friend who gave me their ARC ✨
The Dorians
by Nick Cutter
Narrated by Corey Brill
out now!
On a remote island in the Canadian wilderness, five elderly volunteers from different walks of life are given a tantalizing offer: to stall their biological clocks or even reverse them, restoring their lost youth. The chance to put death on pause—forever, perhaps. The remarkable secret lies in the high-tech harnessing of an ancient and extraordinary biological agent…one with no conscience, yet possessed with a single-minded purpose that has helped it persist for eons: the will to survive. The dark heart of unbridled human ambition finds its apex in an unholy experiment that now tests the limits of both creator and subject, eclipsing all bounds of morality and sanity….
💭 My thoughts:
Disturbing, grotesque, and completely unforgettable, this absolutely lived up to the hype for me! Oh my goodness… this was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and it 1,000,000% delivered. Every single book I’ve read by Nick Cutter has left me deeply unsettled and this one was no exception. I listened to this on audiobook and never wanted to stop. The narrator was phenomenal and captured the horror and sheer grotesqueness of the story perfectly. Some scenes made my skin crawl, but I could not stop listening. What really made this stand out for me though was the question at the center of it all… how far would people go to avoid aging and death? This book digs into immortality, bodily decay, and the mental toll of trying to outrun nature in a horrifying way. Personally, I’ve never understood the obsession with living forever, and this story absolutely reinforced that feeling for me. It’s brutal, unsettling, thought provoking, the list goes on… and exactly the kind of horror I love reading. Whether you consider it sci fi horror, wellness horror, or body horror, it exceeded my expectations! I already know I’ll be recommending it forever.
What to expect👇🏽
🧬Sci-fi horror
🫀Wellness/body horror
🩸Grotesque imagery
🪼Immortality themes
🎧Incredible audiobook narration
Happy reading 📖🎧🧬⏰
May 30, 2026
Thank you to Gallery Books for this free book. All opinions expressed are solely my own.
As someone who has passed the ‘middle-aged” milestone, a horror story involving the scientific potential for regressing the aging process, coupled with the moral, ethical and physical consequences of meddling with mortality captured my interest.
The Dorians features a group of ailing elderly characters who postpone their sanctioned care to end their lives to take a risk with an experimental treatment to give them a second chance at life by returning their youth. But the cure for aging is not quite the miracle they were anticipating and the isolated island laboratory soon becomes far more dangerous than expected.
The Dorians is a slow-burn novel featuring multiple unlikeable characters, a creative utilization of scientific theory and a commentary pertaining to personal agency, ethical experimentation and the shared difficulties and dehumanization that those with chronic illnesses and elderly bodies may contend with. Divided into three parts and depicting multiple perspectives, the last part of the novel is where the tension and dread that permeated the atmosphere finally reaches its zenith.
Although there were some characters who weren’t wholly unpleasant: Moses, John, Ingrid, Vanessa and Frank-to a degree-Astrid and the other members of the group: Maddy, Teddy, Claire and Hugo were provided with detailed-and sometimes sympathetic-histories and distinct personalities and yet failed to engender an emotional connection nonetheless.
Astrid was especially frustrating due to her potential as the young genius who presumed that she would not to turn away from her creations and yet whose emotional instability made her come across as volatile and inconsistent.
The science behind the Hydra was interesting, yet its effects upon each character wasn’t consistent. While not intentionally nefarious, its penchant for gruesome body horror due to its need to fulfill its function despite different obstacles, was depicted in a wonderfully unsettling fashion.
Nevertheless, I wish more time had been spent developing the experimental aspects, especially when the situation started to go awry. My enjoyment of the novel increased as it reached its conclusion, only for it to plummet once again upon reading the epilogue.
The Dorians was my first time reading Nick Cutter’s writing and unfortunately it was not the book that I was anticipating.
As someone who has passed the ‘middle-aged” milestone, a horror story involving the scientific potential for regressing the aging process, coupled with the moral, ethical and physical consequences of meddling with mortality captured my interest.
The Dorians features a group of ailing elderly characters who postpone their sanctioned care to end their lives to take a risk with an experimental treatment to give them a second chance at life by returning their youth. But the cure for aging is not quite the miracle they were anticipating and the isolated island laboratory soon becomes far more dangerous than expected.
The Dorians is a slow-burn novel featuring multiple unlikeable characters, a creative utilization of scientific theory and a commentary pertaining to personal agency, ethical experimentation and the shared difficulties and dehumanization that those with chronic illnesses and elderly bodies may contend with. Divided into three parts and depicting multiple perspectives, the last part of the novel is where the tension and dread that permeated the atmosphere finally reaches its zenith.
Although there were some characters who weren’t wholly unpleasant: Moses, John, Ingrid, Vanessa and Frank-to a degree-Astrid and the other members of the group: Maddy, Teddy, Claire and Hugo were provided with detailed-and sometimes sympathetic-histories and distinct personalities and yet failed to engender an emotional connection nonetheless.
Astrid was especially frustrating due to her potential as the young genius who presumed that she would not to turn away from her creations and yet whose emotional instability made her come across as volatile and inconsistent.
The science behind the Hydra was interesting, yet its effects upon each character wasn’t consistent. While not intentionally nefarious, its penchant for gruesome body horror due to its need to fulfill its function despite different obstacles, was depicted in a wonderfully unsettling fashion.
Nevertheless, I wish more time had been spent developing the experimental aspects, especially when the situation started to go awry. My enjoyment of the novel increased as it reached its conclusion, only for it to plummet once again upon reading the epilogue.
The Dorians was my first time reading Nick Cutter’s writing and unfortunately it was not the book that I was anticipating.
May 25, 2026
tt: @theaarontodd | ig: @aarontoddreads
📖 Aaron Reads | Book Review
The Dorians x Nick Cutter
Do I Recommend? Yes, especially for readers who like body horror, survival thrillers, and corrupt science experiments.
⭐ Star Rating: 4/5
🔪 AT Intensity Rating: 3.5/5
Quick Plot Points:
🧬 Anti-aging experiment
🏝️ Remote island setting
🧪 Ancient biological threat
😵💫 Human ambition gone feral
🩸 Body horror + science horror
One-Sentence Take:
A nasty little “what if science could outrun death?” horror story that gets more disturbing the further it pushes human ambition past the point of morality.
Review:
A reimagining of the classic “fountain of youth” trope. This was a compelling, gross, tense, science-gone-wrong horror from Nick Cutter. The remote sci-fi lab/ island setup is giving “experimental pressure-cooker” and it did, in fact, cook 👨🏼🍳! The concept of a bunch of 70+ participants being offered a chance to reverse their aging is a strong hook.
The book plays with fear of death, vanity, survival, and the absolute chaos that happens when people convince themselves progress is worth any cost. It’s disturbing, bleak, and very Cutter in the way the body horror is tied to something bigger than just shock and gore.
The characters do the heavy lifting in this story. They are rich and complex and you will absolutely be invested in their outcomes. That being said, I found myself becoming fatigued with the character exploration throughout the middle-end of the novel. I love Cutter’s ability to develop a well-rounded character, and his cast in The Dorians is no exception.
If you like horror that mixes biology, isolation, and “humans are the real problem” energy, this is worth picking up.
📖 Aaron Reads | Book Review
The Dorians x Nick Cutter
Do I Recommend? Yes, especially for readers who like body horror, survival thrillers, and corrupt science experiments.
⭐ Star Rating: 4/5
🔪 AT Intensity Rating: 3.5/5
Quick Plot Points:
🧬 Anti-aging experiment
🏝️ Remote island setting
🧪 Ancient biological threat
😵💫 Human ambition gone feral
🩸 Body horror + science horror
One-Sentence Take:
A nasty little “what if science could outrun death?” horror story that gets more disturbing the further it pushes human ambition past the point of morality.
Review:
A reimagining of the classic “fountain of youth” trope. This was a compelling, gross, tense, science-gone-wrong horror from Nick Cutter. The remote sci-fi lab/ island setup is giving “experimental pressure-cooker” and it did, in fact, cook 👨🏼🍳! The concept of a bunch of 70+ participants being offered a chance to reverse their aging is a strong hook.
The book plays with fear of death, vanity, survival, and the absolute chaos that happens when people convince themselves progress is worth any cost. It’s disturbing, bleak, and very Cutter in the way the body horror is tied to something bigger than just shock and gore.
The characters do the heavy lifting in this story. They are rich and complex and you will absolutely be invested in their outcomes. That being said, I found myself becoming fatigued with the character exploration throughout the middle-end of the novel. I love Cutter’s ability to develop a well-rounded character, and his cast in The Dorians is no exception.
If you like horror that mixes biology, isolation, and “humans are the real problem” energy, this is worth picking up.
May 24, 2026
going against the natural order of things never goes well,
but people don’t seem to learn even when history repeats itself…
very mad scientist, very frankenstein’s monster
scott smith and nick cutter should collaborate on a novel some day, it’d be gruesome in the best ways
——
When the chorus hit, they found themselves in a circle with their arms slung round their neighbors. They were there in the moment-that pure, joyful moment-together.
As they circled, crossing foot over foot, Teddy said: "Huddle up!"
They all bent their heads to hear him over the music.
"I love you guys," he said, and meant it. Right then, they all meant it.
Later, they would see these as the best minutes of their second lives. As with all the greatest times in a human lifespan, they passed in a flicker-and they passed with those who experienced them believing it would only get better from there.
When the horror finally touched down on the island, they would think of these moments... how close they may have come to grace, and how far they ultimately fell from it.
but people don’t seem to learn even when history repeats itself…
very mad scientist, very frankenstein’s monster
scott smith and nick cutter should collaborate on a novel some day, it’d be gruesome in the best ways
——
When the chorus hit, they found themselves in a circle with their arms slung round their neighbors. They were there in the moment-that pure, joyful moment-together.
As they circled, crossing foot over foot, Teddy said: "Huddle up!"
They all bent their heads to hear him over the music.
"I love you guys," he said, and meant it. Right then, they all meant it.
Later, they would see these as the best minutes of their second lives. As with all the greatest times in a human lifespan, they passed in a flicker-and they passed with those who experienced them believing it would only get better from there.
When the horror finally touched down on the island, they would think of these moments... how close they may have come to grace, and how far they ultimately fell from it.
May 17, 2026
3.5/5
Nick Cutter is something of a cult writer in the horror genre. His fantastic work The Troop is so visceral, so scary, and so squelchy that he deserves that love, while The Deep is also a banger. So, it was little surprise that I jumped at the chance to get an early look at his latest offering, and I had a good time with it.
The Dorians lean into things that Cutter has done well before: a small cast of, frankly, mainly unlikeable characters in an isolated setting for a random, secret thing. It’s survival horror mixed with monsters and fake science that is well-researched and well-articulated enough to be believable.
The hook here is strong on two counts: first, the idea of plucking some old folk who were about to have a medically assisted death and instead offer them the chance to de-age was compelling, while second the fact that this was achieved by them having a weird jellyfish creation implanted into their bodies was all kinds of delicious grossness.
When the horror is good here, it’s really good. It’s nasty and uncompromising and violent - a lot like the horror in the novel of Jurassic Park, which was obviously a huge influence.
I did find the middle to feel a bit padded, and while I liked the wolves they also could have been removed from the story with no real impact. While this novel is certainly good and enjoyable, there’s a really punchy and thrilling version hidden in the middle that could have had more cut through.
The cast of characters were a well-drawn bunch with interesting backstories, although Astrid massively grated on me as simply being too much of a cartoon character. But I like Frank, Maddy and Moses enough to compensate for that.
This was definitely plenty of fun, but I think I was left wanting something with a bit more teeth. Particularly the ending, which felt like a bit of a shrug. Still, this one will likely end up in plenty of ‘best of’ lists at the end of the year, and I would be fine with that.
Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the review copy.
Nick Cutter is something of a cult writer in the horror genre. His fantastic work The Troop is so visceral, so scary, and so squelchy that he deserves that love, while The Deep is also a banger. So, it was little surprise that I jumped at the chance to get an early look at his latest offering, and I had a good time with it.
The Dorians lean into things that Cutter has done well before: a small cast of, frankly, mainly unlikeable characters in an isolated setting for a random, secret thing. It’s survival horror mixed with monsters and fake science that is well-researched and well-articulated enough to be believable.
The hook here is strong on two counts: first, the idea of plucking some old folk who were about to have a medically assisted death and instead offer them the chance to de-age was compelling, while second the fact that this was achieved by them having a weird jellyfish creation implanted into their bodies was all kinds of delicious grossness.
When the horror is good here, it’s really good. It’s nasty and uncompromising and violent - a lot like the horror in the novel of Jurassic Park, which was obviously a huge influence.
I did find the middle to feel a bit padded, and while I liked the wolves they also could have been removed from the story with no real impact. While this novel is certainly good and enjoyable, there’s a really punchy and thrilling version hidden in the middle that could have had more cut through.
The cast of characters were a well-drawn bunch with interesting backstories, although Astrid massively grated on me as simply being too much of a cartoon character. But I like Frank, Maddy and Moses enough to compensate for that.
This was definitely plenty of fun, but I think I was left wanting something with a bit more teeth. Particularly the ending, which felt like a bit of a shrug. Still, this one will likely end up in plenty of ‘best of’ lists at the end of the year, and I would be fine with that.
Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the review copy.
May 18, 2026
On a remote island in the Canadian wilderness, five elderly volunteers from vastly different backgrounds are offered an impossible chance: to halt, or even reverse, their aging, restoring the youth they thought was gone forever. The breakthrough is powered by a high-tech application of an ancient biological agent, a force of nature driven by nothing but survival and utterly devoid of conscience. But as the experiment accelerates beyond control, human ambition spirals into horror, pushing creator and subject past the edge of morality, sanity, and what it means to defy death.
Cutter mentions that he drew inspiration from Jurassic Park, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and The Island of Doctor Moreau, but to me, this felt much more like a mash-up of Cocoon and The Thing. I could see hints of Dorian Gray in the narrative (I mean, it’s in the title! Duh!) and the author’s intention is clearly centred around the idea of chasing youth, I actually found myself questioning that theme throughout. One character could be seen as the “Dorian Gray” of the group, but I felt the others weren’t seeking youthfulness so much as they were searching for more time to live. As someone who thrives on grief-horror, I was hoping the story would lean harder into that emotional weight.
The creature itself was an interesting concept, but I found myself feeling strangely disconnected. I didn’t fully understand why it affected some characters more intensely than others and found some of the dialogue a bit inconsistent. Also, while I understand the narrative purpose, I really wasn’t comfortable with the experimentation on the dogs (definitely check trigger warnings for this!).
Overall, I still think this was a compelling premise - I’m always advocating for older characters in stories, and I can see what Cutter was aiming for but it didn’t gel with me as much as I hoped. It is slow paced, but I think if you enjoy The Thing, this would be a good one for you! 3/5.
Thanks to Quercus Books and the author for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Available on the 19th May 2026.
Cutter mentions that he drew inspiration from Jurassic Park, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and The Island of Doctor Moreau, but to me, this felt much more like a mash-up of Cocoon and The Thing. I could see hints of Dorian Gray in the narrative (I mean, it’s in the title! Duh!) and the author’s intention is clearly centred around the idea of chasing youth, I actually found myself questioning that theme throughout. One character could be seen as the “Dorian Gray” of the group, but I felt the others weren’t seeking youthfulness so much as they were searching for more time to live. As someone who thrives on grief-horror, I was hoping the story would lean harder into that emotional weight.
The creature itself was an interesting concept, but I found myself feeling strangely disconnected. I didn’t fully understand why it affected some characters more intensely than others and found some of the dialogue a bit inconsistent. Also, while I understand the narrative purpose, I really wasn’t comfortable with the experimentation on the dogs (definitely check trigger warnings for this!).
Overall, I still think this was a compelling premise - I’m always advocating for older characters in stories, and I can see what Cutter was aiming for but it didn’t gel with me as much as I hoped. It is slow paced, but I think if you enjoy The Thing, this would be a good one for you! 3/5.
Thanks to Quercus Books and the author for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Available on the 19th May 2026.
May 30, 2026
3.5 stars rounded up because I thought the ending was good.
This is my first by Cutter. Picked it up because of course, Picture of Dorian Gray is one of my favorite classic horror novels, and the premise sounded so interesting.
I think my main critique was that I felt like I was just constantly waiting for it to really get going. And it does, I’m being unfair. But I guess I’ve heard so much about Cutter’s horror that maybe I was expecting too much.
I think there’s also a surreal / dream like quality to a lot of this, where I wasn’t always sure what was happening. I’d read something and go huh? And have to read it back to parse out what had happened. For a book that sure took its time getting there some things felt so sudden and abrupt, just like a door slammed in my face.
There were some wonderfully weird and eerie parts that I really loved. While I think it sort of fails on the call backs to Dorian Gray, there is some absolutely astounding Frankenstein imagery here. I think these were my favorite parts. He did Frankenstein so well.
There are also a lot of nightmare sequences, and as a general rule they really aren’t my favorite. I know right away it’s a nightmare. It’s hard to be scared by a nightmare unless you’re like, stuck in a Freddy Kreuger movie, ya know. I read them kind of just waiting for them to be over and don’t really understand the point. Because the characters not in any real danger… I don’t know, I don’t get them.
I liked the character work. It was easy to sympathize with our main cast. It has fun moments watching them get younger. And then as I said before, I thought the ending really delivered.
So, I’d recommend this if you like Frankenstein and other mad scientist type stories. It’s way more Frankenstein than Dorian Gray. If you’re worried about the gross out /gore factor Cutter is known for, I wouldn’t stress it too much. This is more SciFi Horror than that sort of gruesome/gory type of horror.
This is my first by Cutter. Picked it up because of course, Picture of Dorian Gray is one of my favorite classic horror novels, and the premise sounded so interesting.
I think my main critique was that I felt like I was just constantly waiting for it to really get going. And it does, I’m being unfair. But I guess I’ve heard so much about Cutter’s horror that maybe I was expecting too much.
I think there’s also a surreal / dream like quality to a lot of this, where I wasn’t always sure what was happening. I’d read something and go huh? And have to read it back to parse out what had happened. For a book that sure took its time getting there some things felt so sudden and abrupt, just like a door slammed in my face.
There were some wonderfully weird and eerie parts that I really loved. While I think it sort of fails on the call backs to Dorian Gray, there is some absolutely astounding Frankenstein imagery here. I think these were my favorite parts. He did Frankenstein so well.
There are also a lot of nightmare sequences, and as a general rule they really aren’t my favorite. I know right away it’s a nightmare. It’s hard to be scared by a nightmare unless you’re like, stuck in a Freddy Kreuger movie, ya know. I read them kind of just waiting for them to be over and don’t really understand the point. Because the characters not in any real danger… I don’t know, I don’t get them.
I liked the character work. It was easy to sympathize with our main cast. It has fun moments watching them get younger. And then as I said before, I thought the ending really delivered.
So, I’d recommend this if you like Frankenstein and other mad scientist type stories. It’s way more Frankenstein than Dorian Gray. If you’re worried about the gross out /gore factor Cutter is known for, I wouldn’t stress it too much. This is more SciFi Horror than that sort of gruesome/gory type of horror.
May 7, 2026
3.5⭐️
5 elderly patients on the brink of assisted suicide are offered the chance to reverse the clock with a new experimental treatment. But when things start to go terribly wrong, they grapple with the consequences of meddling with mortality.
This was such a unique storyline. I really enjoyed the plot, and getting those inner-thoughts and perspectives from each character as their ages continued to reverse.
I thought the science fiction aspects with the Hydra combined with the body horror was a great addition.
The last quarter of this book was absolutely wild (in the best way). I would definitely say this was a slow burn, but once it picked up…it was a roller coaster of a ride. The pacing of the book was just off for me…I feel like I needed a little something more throughout, instead of all the action being packed into the very end.
Thank you to Gallery Books for sending me an advanced copy ❤️
5 elderly patients on the brink of assisted suicide are offered the chance to reverse the clock with a new experimental treatment. But when things start to go terribly wrong, they grapple with the consequences of meddling with mortality.
This was such a unique storyline. I really enjoyed the plot, and getting those inner-thoughts and perspectives from each character as their ages continued to reverse.
I thought the science fiction aspects with the Hydra combined with the body horror was a great addition.
The last quarter of this book was absolutely wild (in the best way). I would definitely say this was a slow burn, but once it picked up…it was a roller coaster of a ride. The pacing of the book was just off for me…I feel like I needed a little something more throughout, instead of all the action being packed into the very end.
Thank you to Gallery Books for sending me an advanced copy ❤️
May 20, 2026
Nick Cutter has written my favorite book of 2026 so far. This is his best novel since Little Heaven and I'm so glad he found his form again. To Cutter's credit, after coming off a dud in "The Queen", he once again finds himself in lofty heavyweight territory, weaving a story of humanity (or, the ease of inhumanity) through a story of lab made immortality. His cast of near a dozen characters are fully formed. Any cliches are forgiven by moments of bonding and new friendships, and each character have a satisfying arc. My only complaint is the 388 page count, I'd love to see Cutter let loose and stretch his madness over 600 pages.
Also to note of Cutter fans -
Also to note of Cutter fans -
May 21, 2026
Solid 3 stars
I haven't read nick cutter in years and was very excited for this book. Maybe thats where I went wrong was having such high hopes for this one. It started out great, with potential and kind of like the movie "old" to me. But as the book got closer to the end things happened that you thought would and the very end was just boring.
A group of people who were going to do MAID get offered a second chance to live with a new experimental treatment. As you'd think playing God would go, with medical discs, this book is pretty much that.
I haven't read nick cutter in years and was very excited for this book. Maybe thats where I went wrong was having such high hopes for this one. It started out great, with potential and kind of like the movie "old" to me. But as the book got closer to the end things happened that you thought would and the very end was just boring.
A group of people who were going to do MAID get offered a second chance to live with a new experimental treatment. As you'd think playing God would go, with medical discs, this book is pretty much that.
May 26, 2026
I'm glad we're finally letting senior citizens have sex scenes in books. I think this is progress that everybody can get behind.
Anyway, this book was definitely freaky, but it wasn't quite as gross as some of his others. That said, I'll never be able to bleach away my memories of the horrible things that happened with Boots and Dora and Diego.
Anyway, this book was definitely freaky, but it wasn't quite as gross as some of his others. That said, I'll never be able to bleach away my memories of the horrible things that happened with Boots and Dora and Diego.
Did Not Finish
May 28, 2026DNF @ 14%
May 19, 2026
Oof. This book. Just when I’m starting to think about my mortality after turning 55 earlier in the year, Nick Cutter comes out with this dandy. What would you do if someone gave you the opportunity to be young again when you were at the end of your life? Would you take it? Five people who are in their 70’s and 80’s are asked this very question and they find out that maybe it’s better to just be old. With all of the Botox, fillers and weight loss happening in folks my age and older this is a massive concern for me. Why do we want to be young so badly when without all of our life experiences good and bad we wouldn’t be who we are. Yes, it would be nice to be in a younger body again, but at what cost? This book lets you know the cost, and my god the gore and the intensity that comes with that cost! Cutter knows how to gross us out when it’s important to get the point across. This was one hell of a ride with characters that I just fell in love with. Such sweet souls that were absolutely hilarious with some of the funniest folksy sayings. This book was incredibly fast paced, but leaving plenty of room to delve deeply into the characters, brilliantly done! Also, after reading this, my answer to that doctor would be a resounding NO!! Thank you so much to Gallery Books and Libro.fm for the audio. The audio of these is incredible!!
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