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The Descent

3.96 of 5 stars 3.96 · rating details · 2,669 ratings · 328 reviews

We are not alone…In a cave in the Himalayas, a guide discovers a self-mutilated body with the warning--Satan exists. In the Kalahari Desert, a nun unearths evidence of a proto-human species and a deity called Older-than-Old. In Bosnia, something has been feeding upon the dead in a mass grave. So begins mankind’s most shocking realization: that the underworld is a vast geol...more

Paperback, 572 pages

Published November 1st 2001 by Jove (first published 1999)

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Feb 06, 2008 Melynda Yesenia rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: anyone who recommends the da vinci code

This is the second book I had to put in the microwave in order to get to sleep. Because we all know that if you leave a scary book, a pants-shittingly scary book by your bedside, as you sleep the monsters inside will ooze from between the pages and come into full being beside you and eat your face while you dream. It's just a fact.

Throughout the novel there are terrible things, unthinkable torture, mass graves, thoughtless destruction and an actual descent into hell. It's huge and all over the p...more

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Apr 10, 2013 Michael rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: people who can switch off their brains

Shelves: opinion-doth-differ

In the preface to Long's _The Descent_, the author expresses his regret that although his friends gave him a lot of scientific advice, the science in the book would probably not please them.

I should have taken this as a sign.

I can't remember having read a book so deliberately bad. The dialogue is embarrassing, the science atrocious (none of it gathered, sadly, from actual scientists, just random articles and a whole lot of conjecture and handwaving). Long had a hundred ideas and shoved EVERY ONE...more

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Sep 13, 2007 Jake rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: horror

I wanted to enjoy this book, and Long gave a lot of early indications that the book was going to be a fun ride the whole way through.

Unfortunately the promise the book has early on goes nowhere and the end of the book is so disappointing and anti-climactic that I had to check if my copy was missing pages.

Long does some neat things, particularly his tying the story into the the study of proto-languages and the struggles in the Balkans. However by the time the Shroud of Turin comes in he's demon...more

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Sep 12, 2008 Tressa rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: history buffs, geologists, mountaineers, horror fans

Shelves: horror

I had higher hopes for this book that was recommended by a co-worker. He set the premise up so promising, with the scene of Ike and the climbers taking shelter in the cave, and being led by candy wrappers that gave way to coins from thousands of years ago.

But the book went in such unsuspecting directions that kept my interest but I couldn't help but think that the story wasn't as good as it could have been.

A PP mentioned the confusing science in the book. I agree; there were times I had to read...more

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Apr 03, 2013 Mercedes rated it 3 of 5 stars

3 stars for me mean I really did enjoy it. I feel like 4 and 5 stars need to be reserved for Mark Twain and Hemmingway. So, 3 stars is good. I don't usually read books like these. I would say it is similar to the Da Vinci Code or maybe Timeline/Outbreak. Not the topic, but the style. I just need more of a chanllenge. But I LOVE horror movies- even the bad ones- and I couldn't resist. So I downloaded the preview to my ipad...and stayed up until about 1 AM reading. Books rarely scare me. RARELY. I...more

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Mar 26, 2012 Patti rated it 1 of 5 stars

I cannot read this anymore. I just don't like sci-fi. The first chapter was great, I was scared shitless. But then the other chapters went on and while Long has a great writing style his plot was horrible. I don't need seemingly random characters thrown at me to advance a crash and burn plot. To be honest I got as far as page 200 and had to stop.

It just got stupid. Really stupid. The description on the back flap and the summary on GR are misleading. I wasn't expecting a time frame of over 10 ye...more

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Feb 06, 2012 Donovan rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: thriller

This is a great read. It is easy to get in to and you'll find it hard to put down. The claustrophobic feeling you get while reading (especially in the dark on a cold night with the blankets pulled up around your neck with only a single small globed reading light) will have you fully immersed in the novel.

Plot ***Spoilers***
A group of new-age trekkers in Nepal are trapped in a cave by a snowstorm and stumble across a mutilated, mummified corpse, covered with cryptic tattoos in both English and un...more This is a great read. It is easy to get in to and you'll find it hard to put down. The claustrophobic feeling you get while reading (especially in the dark on a cold night with the blankets pulled up around your neck with only a single small globed reading light) will have you fully immersed in the novel.

Plot ***Spoilers***
A group of new-age trekkers in Nepal are trapped in a cave by a snowstorm and stumble across a mutilated, mummified corpse, covered with cryptic tattoos in both English and undecipherable symbols; the party interprets the former to mean that the body was that of a RAF pilot who had crashed on the other side of the Himalayas in the 1940s. How the pilot had made it across the mountains is a mystery, but a diagram among the tattoos suggests that the cave the party is trapped may be part of a larger network, one that might have an outlet elsewhere. As the blizzard shows no signs of letting up, the party pushes deeper into the network, discovering the remains of a slaughtered ancient army, displayed almost trophy-like, and a trail of gold coins. Becoming separated, the members are relentlessly killed by an unseen enemy, until only the mountain guides, Ike and Kora, remain.

Several years later, at a UN military base in Bosnia, multinational soldiers are guarding a forensic team excavating a huge mass grave, which satellite imagery shows being disturbed every night. The soldiers first assume that Serb soldiers are trying to destroy the evidence of their atrocities; a US Army Aviation officer named Elias Branch leads a reconnaissance-helicopter flight to gather evidence. After a crash, he finds his navigator brutally assaulted, is menaced by an unseen enemy, and is himself badly injured by his unit's supporting fire. Found scarred and half-mad, he raves about being attacked by "demons;" during his recuperation, he begins to exhibit dramatic physical changes, and begins taking an interest in local cave systems.

Near the edge of the Kalahari, a young nun Ali van Schade is about to leave a leper encampment at which she had been working. To her horror, she discovers that the lepers had saved her life by trading one of their own to be (in her place) mutilated and enslaved by an unknown presence, servants of a god they call "Older-Than-Old."

A few years later, Branch, monstrously deformed, is leading the world's armies in exploring a vast network of caves that he has been instrumental in discovering, underlying the whole of the Earth's surface. Referred to as the "sub-planet," the labyrinth contains an entire separately-evolved ecosystem, and offers rare fleeting glimpses of elusive albino humanoids. Scarce archaeological evidence suggests the beings have occasionally emerged through human history, and had apparently given rise to the human concepts of Hell and demons. Scientists theorize the "demons" are trogloxenic hominids descended from Homo erectus; classified as Homo hadalis (as in Hades), they are commonly referred to as "hadals," or, pejoratively, "Haddie."

After melting invisibly away from human encroachment for several months, the hadals spring a trap: a massive, coordinated worldwide ambush of the armies exploring and occupying the sub-planet. The attack is enormously successful; world casualties number a full quarter-million. Though an enormous initial shock, the dismay wears off quickly and humanity is essentially undeterred; the Descent recommences, in even greater force. Cities are built in the upper crust, three miles deep, while social instability grows and interest in space exploration diminishes.

Meanwhile, a mysterious Jesuit priest, Father Thomas, is assembling the Beowulf Circle, an informal group of scholars dedicated to the study of the sub-planet, with the eventual aim of discovering whether "Satan" (by which they do not necessarily mean a literal person, but some kind of long-term unified authority directing the activities of the hadal race) might actually exist. A member of the Circle persuades Ali to join the group; she is attached to an expedition funded by the Helios corporation, an unprecedentedly deep trek through a newly-discovered fissure which traverses the floor of the entire Pacific Ocean basin.

During their increasingly bloody journey through the cave system, the expedition scientists are guarded by untrustworthy Helios mercenaries and guided by Ike, the Himalayan tour guide from the first chapter, who had spent a decade as a slave of the hadals before being recovered by Branch's soldiers. On the way, the expedition uncovers the decaying evidence of a once-great hadal civilization, which may correspond to lost civilizations from human folklore, such as Atlantis or Mu.

Meanwhile, on the surface, a plot emerges within Helios to sterilize the sub-planet with a potent bioweapon and thereby open it to human settlement and exploitation. At the same time, the Jesuit's scholarly organization discovers that the hadals may have a biological method of transferring human consciousness from body to body, allowing for effective immortality for a select few; after the members of the Beowulf Circle begin to be brutally murdered one-by-one, the two storylines gradually converge.(less)

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Aug 02, 2011 Mattias rated it 5 of 5 stars

It is one of the best books I have ever read - period. I learned about this book through some recos other authors had made so I gave it a try. And I am really glad I did.

Sure the main premise of the books sounds very corny when you try to explain it to someone; some people have found tunnels under the earth and some strange creatures inside - they have found Hell. It sounds like a B-movie but Mr Long makes it a great epic story about who we are, what we maybe came from and what we may be in the...more

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Aug 02, 2010 honestly mem rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: speculative-fiction, personal-bookshelf, horror-thriller, fiction

I'm not sure what the etiquette is for dropping f bombs in a review, so I'm just going to phrase it as gently as I know how: fuck this book.

1: Holy racism, Batman. Enough of the Italian stallions, the (ever unsympathetic, mind) gangster stereotypes, the brutish non-white others, and oh my God, that second chapter, what was that even. Oh, those poor, uncivilized Africans and their violent superstitions and their helpless childish minds and cultures, but at least they have given the nice, white, U...more

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Jul 15, 2009 Sir Runcible Spoon is currently reading it

My son, Mike, bought this book for me and highly recommended it. I've started it and have gotten, very quickly, to page 70 or so and know I'm in trouble: I've started a book whose subject matter I DON'T LIKE and yet have been hooked by an author's skillful presentation of this world I DON'T LIKE.

What's not to like? Well, we're dealing with a presentation of evil manifested as gruesome and unreasoning cruelty. Right off, I'm on guard. What makes this book simultaneously off-putting and intriguin...more My son, Mike, bought this book for me and highly recommended it. I've started it and have gotten, very quickly, to page 70 or so and know I'm in trouble: I've started a book whose subject matter I DON'T LIKE and yet have been hooked by an author's skillful presentation of this world I DON'T LIKE.

What's not to like? Well, we're dealing with a presentation of evil manifested as gruesome and unreasoning cruelty. Right off, I'm on guard. What makes this book simultaneously off-putting and intriguing is Long's central concept: Hell, Satan and hordes of demons exist not as spiritual entities seeking to influence our lives but as physical realities whose activities over the ages have been recast as myth in human worship. Interesting concept, not one that shocks or even surprises but an interesting concept for a skillful author to play with. For me, Long's powerful presentation begs the larger question of what essence motivates the unrelenting and savage cruelty which alone seems to dominate the underworld's limited behavioral and emotional palette.

Book starts off with the likes of Ike and Ali and Branch separately encountering the underworld and its limited behavioral palette's short selection of social interactions (read: mayhem, gore and cruelty). Later in the book, I take it that these three (and others not yet encountered) GO LOOKING FOR THIS UNDERWORLD!!!! No! Don't go looking! Run! Hide! Join Rotary and attend luncheons! Maybe these guys will stay DOWN THERE!

This book seriously creeps me out and does so with skill and power. The scenes of slaughter do not overwhelm the senses with gratuitous and lurid language but with terse wording and phrasing that lets the eye linger just a moment on a grim scene and sets the imagination to building its own impression on its own, all unbidden–and unwelcomed–by this reader. The resulting impact hits powerfully and directly and again begs the question: what could motivate this stuff??

The notion that our concept of evil is myth drawn from physical reality threatens to weaken evil's essentials. Such weak manifestations NEED unimaginable cruelty and violent hatred to make up for the lack. And that's what leads me to wonder, ok, what lies at the heart of our book's Satan and at the core of his army of troglodytes?

Parallels between Long's world and mine exist. In both spheres, human curiosity wedded to a sense of entitlement to answers to all our questions undoes Ike and Ali and etc even as it undid Adam and Eve. In both universes, evil's raw strength manifests itself in increments that overmatch our own. Beyond these parallels, everything is a contrast. In Long's world, evil exists as an outside physical presence and humans face it on their own. In our world, evil inhabits our frame and we battle to limit its effect on our selfishness and pride. Various religious traditions offer aid, advise, relief and comfort in that struggle. Mine offers me a Savior, but that's another matter.

I'll finish this book. Indeed, I put it down with difficulty, a tribute to its power and realistically drawn characters and gripping situations. I read to see how true to evil Long makes his Satan: can he manifest evil with mere physical cruelty or will his depictions cut closer to the spiritual realities of real evil?

(less)

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Jun 23, 2009 Avid added it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Apr 15, 2013 Annie Shay rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: worth-a-quick-read-want-to-read-mo

I stopped horror books when I was 16. 30 years ago. I've read some with my daughter who loves them. I must state that you need to be in a fully lite HOUSE with a pillow to hug close as you read the first chapter. Horror like I've never- experienced. Its in the placid language and the coins. Just little flavors of terror coming- gradually building up to pools of blood.

In the rest of the book limbs are shorn and gnawed on, but nothing matches Long's opening. I was not scared, and just realized blo...more

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Mar 02, 2011 Renee Rearden rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: keepers

Holy Wow what a book!!!

Dwight Crockett, a Himalayan guide known as Ike, discovers a cave containing a mutilated body...a warning that "Satan exists" carved into its skin. A nun, searching for the first language in her quest to be closer to God, unearths evidence another human species exists. A military expedition encounters something feeding upon the dead in a mass grave.

Each of these separate events lead to the most shocking revelation: Mankind is not alone. The Underworld is real. A geological...more

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Jul 22, 2009 Becca rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: horror, mystery-thriller

this could have been an economical little horror / adventure story but the author couldn't seem to decide what kind of story he wanted to write. cave monsters, deep sea adventure, satan and hell, the lawless frontier, reincarnation, demon possession, political intrigue, a debate about what makes us human - it's all in there and more. Unfortunately there's not much in the way of character development or plot pacing. There was at least one character that was introduced and then disappeared for 100...more this could have been an economical little horror / adventure story but the author couldn't seem to decide what kind of story he wanted to write. cave monsters, deep sea adventure, satan and hell, the lawless frontier, reincarnation, demon possession, political intrigue, a debate about what makes us human - it's all in there and more. Unfortunately there's not much in the way of character development or plot pacing. There was at least one character that was introduced and then disappeared for 100 pages or so.
A world wide system of tunnels and caves is discovered deep within the earth along with an aggressive and violent human-like race of people living in them. Much of the first 100 pages goes to introducing the 4 or 5 main characters. Then the author often skips ahead years at a time, devoting only 2 or 3 pages to establishing an alternate future where government and corporations are struggling to find a place for the new hadals, as the new underground race is called. There are some good scares in these establishing shots but things don't really get going until an exploratory expedition composed of scientists and militia is sent down into a tunnel system thought to extend across the pacific. Here there is only a tease of what could have been a really interesting story. Ali, a nun struggling with her calling and Ike, a human captive of the hadals who escaped and works for the US military as a scout and interpreter, form a strong bond and come to rely on each other to survive when (no big surprise here) the expedition starts to fall to pieces when food supplies run low and personalities clash with deadly results. Ike who lived as a slave with the hadals for several years chafes at an identity that has become not entirely human and not entirely hadal. Ali, a linguist and anthropologist is obsessed with finding the root of human language, the very first words thinking this may be the vehicle that brings her closer to God and possibly Satan-incarnate. This is where the author seems to take a glancing shot off some interesting themes about what it means to be human and how faith can bring us together and tear us apart but unfortunately nothing ever gets the attention it deserves.
In the end this is an old-fashioned adventure story cluttered with a whole lot of half-baked ideas. I say read Journey to the Center of the Earth instead. (less)

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Dec 10, 2010 Peregrine 12 rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: No one.

Recommended to Peregrine 12 by: Kristian in Canada - but only the first chapter.

Shelves: avoid-at-all-costs

Too many words, not enough story.

After one of the BEST opening chapters I've ever read, I *wanted* to suspend my disbelief for the sake of an exciting novel but I just couldn't do it. The Descent took things way past the point of suspended disbelief into plain silliness (the military guy grows horns and scales and still gets invited to lead seminars? And then he spontaneously recovers - for no apparent reason - and they put him in charge of a crack unit of soldiers to go hunt the bad guys? Huh!...more

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Jul 06, 2010 Myles rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: horror

Why do movies get it wrong? I just don't know Virginia.

I believe they based the movie off of this...or one of the several dozen movies released in the past few years dealing with an intrepid group of explorers getting stuck underground with subhuman cannibal mutants anyway.

OK, twist ending aside, the movie wasn't so terrible - all it lacked was the grand scope. This is not one little tribe of cannibal monsters we're dealing with: all over the globe the simultaneous discovery is made that deep, d...more

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Jan 02, 2010 Brian Steele rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: horror

I finally got around to rereading and finally finishing "The Descent" by Jeff Long. You may have seen the horror film of the same name. It was a spectacular film, but please understand this; the movie was based on perhaps ONE chapter from the entire book. Playing out more like a deranged Michael Crichton novel, it's filled with scientific data and theories that revolve around vicious underground humanoids, a complete sub-planetary exploration, and the possible discovery of a creature that may li...more

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Dec 01, 2012 Claire rated it 5 of 5 stars

I'm torn between 4 and 5 stars, and may well change this. I just finished this book, and wow! I've gone on a journey myself just reading it! I started off absolutely loving it - it's one of the most gripping and terrifying first chapters I've ever read. Then after that it slows and got confusing for me. I was assuming the book was similar to the movie of the same name, which led to my confusion when the book took a completely different turn. Despite this though, I was still hooked. It took until...more

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Mar 06, 2013 Algernon rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013

[5/10]
I was looking forward to my first Jeff Long book, but it was largely a disappointment. To be honest, I would probably have rated The Descent a five star, had i only read it when I was 14 and eager for over the top adventures with scariest monsters and extensive bloodshed. This is the kind of modern high-octane thriller that I was craving for after growing a bit too old for the classic tales of Jules Verne or Alexandre Dumas. Alas, I can no longer ignore the poorly drawn characters, the w...more [5/10]
I was looking forward to my first Jeff Long book, but it was largely a disappointment. To be honest, I would probably have rated The Descent a five star, had i only read it when I was 14 and eager for over the top adventures with scariest monsters and extensive bloodshed. This is the kind of modern high-octane thriller that I was craving for after growing a bit too old for the classic tales of Jules Verne or Alexandre Dumas. Alas, I can no longer ignore the poorly drawn characters, the whooping plot holes that accumulate toward the end of the journey, the bloated side quests that add nothing to the main plot, and especially the glaring inconsistencies in physics, chemistry and biology that masquerade as scientific facts. Jules Verne had an excuse when he wrote Journey to The Center of the Earth , as the sum of human knowledge about our planet at the time he wrote his novel was much more sketchy and speculative than what we have now. In the hollow world of The Descent, not only do the pressures and temperatures remain stubbornly temperate as we go down for miles into the earth's crust, but the air remains breathable, the walls glow with bioluminescence penetrating hundreds of meters of cavesapce, and microbes and fungi can support a fully functional ecosystem; standard batteries for lanterns and laptops can last for weeks of intensive use ((view spoiler))

For the good parts, the multiple POV storytelling, the epic scale and the apocalyptic disaster setting reminded me positively of some of Arthur Hailey or Michael Crichton thrillers. Horror afficionados should enjoy the scary scenes right from the opening chapter, the grotesque creatures of the dark, the extremely high bodycount and the explicit descriptions of torn limbs and scattered entrails. The high altitude rock climber (Ike) and the Catholic nun (Ali) are actually interesting lead characters, the religious connotations of the journey were well integrated into the story. But, frankly, when I came across the quote:

Lasciate ogni speranza, voi ch'entrate ...

I felt like translating it into :

Check your brains out before you enter, and enjoy the popcorn!

What to read instead? I recommend F Paul Wilson and Robert R McCammon.(less)

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Jan 12, 2011 Renate rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-own, horror, read-in-2011

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. So, this book has been on my wishlist for a while, and I got it for Christmas. So now, I am finally reading it. I'm finding it so pleasant to read, and so.. not my usual thing, that I'm making a review for it. See, usually.. I stick to fantasy, science-fiction and classics. I joined a book forum this last year, and they've dared me to read what I would have never before. This is one of the books I previously would have never read. See, I love horror. But horror books tend to be, well not the bes...more So, this book has been on my wishlist for a while, and I got it for Christmas. So now, I am finally reading it. I'm finding it so pleasant to read, and so.. not my usual thing, that I'm making a review for it. See, usually.. I stick to fantasy, science-fiction and classics. I joined a book forum this last year, and they've dared me to read what I would have never before. This is one of the books I previously would have never read. See, I love horror. But horror books tend to be, well not the best books in the bunch. I am often disappointed.
This book has proven a surprise to me. I didn't have any expectations really.. like I mentioned, I had a wishlist.. a long one. Brother picked this book as one of the ones to give me. I am so far, happy he has. The beginning is a little, well not tough, but not very interesting. You get introduced to different storylines, that eventually might come together.
I don't have anything with caves, deep beneath the Earth.. I am quite claustrophobic. But this doesn't center on it. It's fascinating.. the "hadals" as they call the lifeforms they find deep beneath the earth, are fascinating. Have you seen the film, "the Descent"? Even though it's got nothing to do with this book (of course humanoid lifeforms developing beneath the surface will have something in common no matter who comes up with it) the crawlers in that film remind me of these creatures. Especially the feeling they invoke. There's the fear of the dark, of being eaten, of torture, pain and death. This is no book for the very faint of heart, the torture and things the hadal do to their prey/slaves (the most treasures slaves they take often have to undergo the most painful procedures, flaying, scarring, then rubbing sacred ochre into the wounds, applying metal, sometimes gold, rings to the noses, or the vertebra of the spine to be able to control them better) are not for ones easily creaped out. But for me, I find myself fascinated with these creatures. But that's very personal.

The rest.. I have read some of Jules Verne's Journey to the center of the Earth. It was a book I read partly, then put away because something else came along. I'll finish it. But it reminded me of this, in a modern version. It's intriguing, fascinating, and the story draws me much more than the lead characters, while usually it's the other way around.

I recommend this to anyone with an open, not too squeamish mind. Those who like exploration, hardship, a little darkness, who aren't repelled by horror. This bookis a fascinating read.. the ending, though somewhat being a happy one, does not really satisfy, but otherwise it's a great book. I will most definitely be reading it again (being a firm believer in that good books even become better with multiple times reading).. and recommend it.

I read also, that there's a second part (or something like it) following this one.. called "Deeper". I am happy there's another book in this universe, and I will be reading this one.

So in the end, what I say to you all, READ this book. :)(less)

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Jun 29, 2010 Phillip rated it 4 of 5 stars

A great book that had a few frustrating choices. Characters were developed well, but with so many characters and plot points (all handled extremely well) you don't get the focus of the book until the second half.

The ending is a little to convenient with one or two unresolved questions, but the lead up is perfect. The society and culture of the underground race (the hadals) was explored and laid out in great detail, but with more and more variations revealed at the end, I wanted to know even more...more

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May 03, 2012 Mya rated it 4 of 5 stars

I just finished this book about five minutes ago and am still recovering. A thrilling semi-horror, archeological thriller with bio-terror and high tech mechanics throughout, this book about life beneath the surface of the earth and the origin of the idea of Hell and Satan both was deceptively overwhelming. What amazed me most was not how the author choose to illustrate his version of the underworld, but how he focused on humans' greed and dominance in the plundering and conquering of it. As the...more

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Oct 26, 2010 Lisa (Harmonybites) rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: No One

Recommended to Lisa (Harmonybites) by: The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Ultimate Reading List

Shelves: contemporary, fantasy, horror, science-fiction, ultimate-reading-list, novels, fiction

I wasn't twenty pages in before I suspected I had a stinker on my hands: The dialogue, the characterizations, the plotline was of trainwreck dimensions. We open with too-stupid-to-live mountaineers in Tibet, led by Ike Crockett, following a gold coin trail to hell--literally. Next we turn to the Kalahari and from central casting, a "beautiful" nun working among lepers, leaving no B movie cliche unused. The book is reminiscent of Journey Into the Center of the Earth as it posits there's an underw...more

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Oct 17, 2012 Lee rated it 3 of 5 stars

This was a bit of a strange book, yeah I enjoyed it but it was pretty hard going at times. Jeff Long paints a good picture of the underworld but at times I think he almost tried to hard and went into too much detail that wasn't actually needed.

I also thought that a few of the characters were almost too fleshed out and then there is the part where there is a character who is introduced yet literally only appears in one chapter, that was one of the highlights of the book but looking back I cant he...more

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Mar 20, 2011 Martin Mulcahey rated it 4 of 5 stars

Jules Verne meets Stephen King. Great concept with little moralization when you consider 'The Devil' becomes a more and more central character as the the book climaxes. A very fast start to the book, and it only slows down in the last five chapters before picking back up for a dramatic ending which like a great movie leaves openings for a sequel. Well rounded treatment of all characters, including the Hadals, and a worldly scope that goes beyond our surface earth including geopolitics. Obvious d...more

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Oct 18, 2010 Joseph Edward rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Apr 16, 2013 Barac Wiley rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Descent was originally pitched to me as a horror novel. And it certainly seems to originate from that heritage, with numerous descriptions of savage underground dwelling hominids torturing, enslaving and brutally murdering people who stray into their domain. But it doesn't stop there, or even spend all that much time there, really. Instead, it becomes a science fictional exploration of what it would mean to find "hell", a massive underground world of caves and tunnels and weird fauna and flo...more

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Sep 20, 2011 Mick rated it 3 of 5 stars

In theory, I really liked this book. The plot was fast-paced and fun, the scares had my heart racing, and the characters were primarily likable. (It definitely helped that I pictured Jason Momoa as Ike. Helloooooo, nurse.)

While I liked the story, lots of the writing seemed kind of sloppy. Long didn't seem to have a handle on his timeline. Over twenty or so years, one of the characters doesn't seem to age. At all. I had to keep flipping back and forth to figure out what year it was. It just seeme...more

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Dec 13, 2008 Jim rated it 4 of 5 stars

ah... what a curious book. It did take me some time to determine if this book was in any way related to the movie of the same name. There are a number of similarities but I do not believe they are related.

What I appreciated most about this book was the number of themes, the main theme was the obvious theme of the sub-world below earth and its inhabitants. Similar to the inhabitants of Lovecraft's "Into the Mountains of Madness," the creatures we are encountering are merely the dying descendants...more

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Feb 22, 2012 Tracey rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: libraryread-tcpl, to-buy

Humankind discovers that the planet's crust is populated by another race of beings ... who have preyed on man for centuries with a select few surviving to tell the story. The military is rallied to fight the foe, and an entrepreneur attempts to take advantage of the new frontier.

I'm not quite sure how to classify it: part horror and part thriller comes closest, I guess. There's several elements that I wish Long had followed up on, but leaving them a mystery adds to the atmosphere of the story,...more

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One of the best reads ever..	13	70	Mar 02, 2013 06:34pm

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Trivia About The Descent

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Quotes from The Descent

“Every time he moved, with every breath he took, it seemed the man was carried along by iridescent orange and black wings.

She tried to convey how it was like travelling through the inside of a living body at times, the joints and folds of the earth, the liver-smooth flowstone, the helictites threading upward like synapses in search of a connection. She found it beautiful. Surely God would not have invented such a place as His spiritual gulag.

It took Ali’s breath away. Sometimes, once men found out she was a nun, they would dare her in some way. What made Ike different was his abandon. He had a carelessness in his manner that was not reckless, but was full of risk. Winged. He was pursuing her, but not faster than she was pursuing him, and it made them like two ghosts circling.

She ran her fingers along his back, and the bone and the muscle and hadal ink and scar tissue and the callouses from his pack straps astonished her. This was the body of a slave.

Down from the Egypt, eye of the sun, in front of the Sinai, away from their skies like a sea inside out, their stars and planets spearing your soul, their cities like insects, all shell and mechanism, their blindness with eyes, their vertiginous plains and mind-crushing mountains. Down from the billions who had made the world in their own image. Their signature could be a thing of beauty. But it was a thing of death.

Ali got one good look, then closed her eyes to the heat. In her mind, she imagined Ike sitting in the raft across from her wearing a vast grin while the pyre reflected off the lenses of his glacier glasses. That put a smile on her face. In death, he had become the light.

There comes a time on every big mountain when you descend the snows and cross a border back to life. It is a first patch of green grass by the trail, or a waft of the forests far below, or the trickle of snowmelt braiding into a stream. Always before, whether he had been gone an hour or a week or much longer – and no matter how many mountains he had left behind – it was, for Ike, an instant that registered in his whole being. Ike was swept with a sense not of departure, but of advent. Not of survival. But of grace.” — 2 people liked it

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The Descent

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