“The Descent” by Jeff Long (in no way related to the 2006 horror film of the same name) presents the reader a world in which the Hell of legend is discovered to actually exist in the form of millions of miles of subterranean tunnels that criss-cross the earth. These tunnels are fiercely guarded by a primitive, humanoid race dubbed Homo Hadalis, or “Hadals,” by the intrepid surface-dwelling scientists, soldiers and settlers who flock to the tunnels upon their discovery.

The story largely focuses on a group of corporate-sponsored explorers selected to take an unprecedented year-long journey through the tunnels, which in many cases descend as far as seven or eight miles beneath the ocean floor. Notable among the travelers is an Army Ranger turned mercenary who was once a slave of the cannibalistic Hadals, and a young nun placed in the party by a mysterious group of academics known as “The Beowulf Scholars.”

Sounds cool, huh? I thought so. Read on.

The Beowulf Scholars, you see, hold the belief that if there was a historical Jesus, and there is an actual Hell of sorts, then there must be a historical Satan. As weird of a leap in logic as this is, it gets weirder from there, because – much like real-life Fundamentalist doomsayer Hal Lindsey - these scholars also believe that this historical Satan is still alive and well…and must be orchestrating his hideous machinations somewhere deep within the earth.

How’s that? Feeling disappointed? Wait, there’s more!

Things from here get really murky or murkier as the case may be. The author introduces a subplot concerning the (naturally enough) evil corporation’s use of the expedition to secretly plant bio-weapons throughout the Hadal kingdom. Then there’s some weird stuff about reincarnation that’s never especially explained anywhere in the story, and somewhere in there Satan shows up, is defeated, and offers an offers a very much unwelcome opportunity for a sequel.

The book read like the author couldn’t decide whether he wanted to be Michael Crichton or Dean Koontz, and just shot for a mediocre combination of the two. “The Descent” has way too much supernatural mumbo-jumbo for the good techno-thriller it wants desperately to be. It’s like “Jurassic Park” with mummies, or “The Sphere” versus Jesus. The inclusion of an extraneous supernatural element ruins the scientific whiz-bang that forms the armature upon which the plot is structured, and in the end it collapses upon itself.

I know this review is almost 3 years old now... but I just got done reading this piece of crap about a month ago and I'm still annoyed about it. I think the only reason I managed to finish it is because I was looking forward to trashing it online.

Really, this was the WORST book I've read in quite a long time... since 2000 at least (I did read an even WORSE piece of garbage back about that time).
The frustrating thing about The Descent is it's not consistently bad... it's got these passages here and there, that kind of trick you into thinking that the bad parts you just read are over and the book's gonna improve... and it does, for a few pages... then there is some new batshit thing that comes along to re-inform you that you are reading a very bad book.
If it had just outright sucked from the start I'd have been able to put it down and return it to the library.
Unfortunately the first chapter is pretty decent... in fact reading a preview of it online was what made me seek out this book.
 
It's almost like it was written by two different people...
 
One of them is a hyperactive teenager who tosses in all sorts of bad logic... overblown set pieces... cliched dialogue... and one of the motherfucking worst 'Mary Sue' characters I've ever seen (the heroic nun)!!!
The 'teenager' didn't bother to do a lick of research about the military or geology or... anything.

The other some is older guy with a LOT more self control who is trying to tell a genuinely scary adventure story. He researched lots of stuff about survival skills, mountain climbing, anthropology.

I wish that older guy had locked the hyperactive kid in the closet and written the whole book by himself... but since the kid is hyperactive he also types faster... so his spastic portions of the book are far larger.

There is a sequel to this mess that's since come out... and by all accounts, including those of fans of the first book, it's far worse.

Oh, and this book has NOTHING to do with the genuinely creepy movie that came out a few years ago... despite both featuring a race of subterranean cannibals.

I've read it thrice and liked it more each time.

I don't know what Simlasa's talking about, but it's not "The Descent" by Jeff Long.

It's certainly a longer book than it needs to be, but it's an excellent portrayal of a modern Underdark.  I only wish Long had eschewed the above-ground stuff for more dungeon-crawling minigun action.

And the temple with the 3D crystal map is awesome.

Quote from: Hairfoot;331533I don't know what Simlasa's talking about, but it's not "The Descent" by Jeff Long.

Nope, that's the putrid twaddle I'm talking about alright...
It's got it's moments of 'oooh, that's cool/creepy/nasty' but those are buried deep under the steaming pile of adolescent Hadal poo that makes up the rest of the book.

There ain't nothing 'excellent' about it... I did have hopes it would be that 'Underdark' experience you speak of but nope... he swaps it for a stinky hole full of dumb.

What makes you think the nun is a Mary Sue, and what's wrong with the geology and military stuff?

My experience is that the book has islands of awesome separated by large stretches of boring scene-setting.  On subsequent readings I also found that the scattered stories of the non-protagonists actually help to put the story in context.

Hairfoot,
I was headed out to the library to check the book out again, make a list, site references...
But that would be dumb.
We're probably the only two on this site who give a crap about it.
You liked the book, enough to read it 3 times.
I mostly hated it.
Just a matter of taste and even if I could I've got no good reason to try to convince you your taste is wrong... I don't wanna shit in your milkshake. It's good that you enjoyed it... I wish I had.

That's cool, but I do think the specific criticisms you made don't stand up much to scrutiny.

On a related note, what books would you recommend that are similar in style?

Similar in style?
Actually, the first book that came to mind when you asked that was Stephen King's 'The Stand'... it's got a big cast of characters, who go on a long journey... it's got a 'supervillain' who reaches out to destroy certain important characters.  
It lacks the more scientific/anthropological/military elements... but it's a similar sort of tale.

While I was reading it though The Descent seemed like a wannabe Michael Crichton thriller... though I haven't read all his stuff... my favorite is probably Eaters Of The Dead and The Andromeda Strain.
It also has some elements of a Dan Brown type 'global conspiracy' thriller... what with all the stuff about scholars tracking down secret references to Satan.
I'm not a Dan Brown fan but I like that sort of thing when it's done well.

Another book on a similar subject that I also didn't care for was 'Subterranean' by James Rollins:
http://www.amazon.com/Subterranean-James-Rollins/dp/0380792648/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1253213925&sr=1-1

I read this last weekend.
It's not the worst book I've ever read, not even close really
(The current champion in that category is Dave Wolverton's Serpent Catch)
I enjoyed some of the underdark stuff- but it never really came alive for me. I just couldn't visualize it. The science team is pretty forgettable. You know right from the start they're all going to die
Why don't Ike and the nun die from the super plague?
Why doesn't the army arrest the evil mogul guy after his secret is exposed?
Why does the scientist girl die after she shags the evil subterranean English guy?
what is the point of all the "incident stories," like the guy that gets turned into a human butterfly?
In general, it started out pretty interesting, but once it turned into a full scale global war it went south. I think it would have been better if the whole underworld thing wasn't common knowledge, just some kind of crazy top secret thing- that way you could half convince yourself it was true whilst reading it...

Quote from: Aos;333829In general, it started out pretty interesting, but once it turned into a full scale global war it went south. I think it would have been better if the whole underworld thing wasn't common knowledge, just some kind of crazy top secret thing- that way you could half convince yourself it was true whilst reading it...

I agree with that... the first chapter is the best. It sets up something scary and unknown.
All the stuff that comes later... the stuff that puffs it up into a huge global conspiracy... the bad science and boring characters... could have been cut out in favor of just telling Ike's story, and maybe meshing it with some of those isolated side stories like 'butterfly man'.

In a lot of ways it feels like the 'real' book is the smaller-scale elements... the first couple chapters, the side stories... and all the wacky crap with the military and corporations and the plague are tacked on in hopes of selling it to Hollywood.
It might have worked much better as a book of loosely connected short stories... but there's no money in that sort of thing.

I've noted that, in reading reviews of it online, a LOT of folks have mentioned how the book seems to have been written by two people... I had the same, independent, impression and suspect there might be something to that...

Quote from: Simlasa;334881It might have worked much better as a book of loosely connected short stories.

I agree with that.  It comes across as a good idea which the author couldn't quite spin into a full novel.

Regarding the aliveness of the setting, I had to read it a couple of times to really get that.  The poor characters and plotting worsen the signal-to-noise ratio, but I still dig the modern underworld vibe.

I guess my stance is that The Descent isn't a great book, but it's the best I've seen at what it's trying to be.  If the Wii doesn't exist, an N64 is still fun.

Bumping this because I just recommended it to someone in a gaming thread.

Quote from: Aos;333829Why don't Ike and the nun die from the super plague?

Because they're not genetically hadal.

Quote from: Aos;333829Why doesn't the army arrest the evil mogul guy after his secret is exposed?

Why doesn't the army arrest Eric Prince?

Quote from: Aos;333829What is the point of all the "incident stories," like the guy that gets turned into a human butterfly?

To demonstrate that the hadals aren't barbaric, culturally-blank orcs waiting to be slaughtered.

Quote from: Aos;333829In general, it started out pretty interesting, but once it turned into a full scale global war it went south. I think it would have been better if the whole underworld thing wasn't common knowledge, just some kind of crazy top secret thing- that way you could half convince yourself it was true whilst reading it...

OTOH, I really like that it didn't follow the formulaic plot of "OMG!  Something huge and world-changing is going on!  Let's not tell anyone and keep it a secret!".

Is this a role playing book? :hmm:

Quote from: Benoist;385176Is this a role playing book? :hmm:

No... it's regular fiction... and not at all related to the movie 'The Descent', though it has similarities.

Quote from: Hairfoot

Quote from: AosWhy don't Ike and the nun die from the super plague?

Because they're not genetically hadal.

Didn't read that way for me, but I don't have the book handy ATM... as I recall the implication was that it would kill EVERYTHING down there... and that the protagonists got out before it reached them (unlikely but... well... considering the rest of the book...).