The Descent

Rating:
Summary: The only way to get there, is to go straight to down
Review: Ever thought of the possiblity that there might actually be a race of hominids living beneath our feet, totally unknown by us, presently, but seen and dealt with by out early ancestors, and that this is where our perception of Satan has come from, the horns, the tail, living in the center of the Earth, being sadistic. Well I hadn't either, but that's OK cause Jack Long thought of it for us. One very interesting read, if your into the Chricton science meets adventure genre. I've read plenty of those, but this book stands out. Its an exceptional read full of humanity and depravity. Its a lot like a frontier story, with man coming in pushing the savages back out of their territory using his superior technology and quest for adventure and riches as his catalyst and justification for ruining yet another another part of our planet. After all he's just taming Hell.
Maybe we're not alone. Just instead of looking up we should be looking down. And maybe we should be a little more respectable. Because you just never know who's watching.

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely great book!!!
Review: Jeff Long's masterpiece. Another race, possibly belonging to satan is found underneath all of us. Basically, an around the earth subterreanean system is found with creatures. A war begins between us and them, war deep below the earth and the oceans. The characters are great, the writing first class, the action good. This is a book not easily forgotten.

Rating:
Summary: Great Story
Review: I bought this book to take on vacation when it first came out, and have read it several times since. I don't care what the other reviewers have said, it is a great story, leaves you with a haunted feeling. It is one of my favorites and I highly recommend it to anyone who loves sci-fi horror.

Rating:
Summary: Too bad ...
Review: Great idea about invaders fm below but they just don't invade anything and then get shy after killing hundreds of thousands of soldiers; where is my action ? Too bad because the idea is new ( as far as I know) on that scale and Long can write.

Rating:
Summary: So much promise, but gets lost
Review: Sigh...Okay, I think I agree with at least some of the other reviewers on this page. I would say that I am a fan of sci-fi and horror, but Long makes a mistake that I feel is very common to the genre.
The opening chapters of this book scared the hell out of me, and I was utterly fascinated, but by the time the "colonization" of Hell began my interest began to wane, as I thought "here we go again".
It seems to me that a large number of science fiction writers love to make the point that humanity (ie. Capitalists, the military or organized religion) are the "real monsters". I'm sure this was a revolutionary idea at one time, but I've heard it a million times. Isn't a race of underground demons scary enough? Is it really necessary to make thme "just misunderstood" and introduce a new, human villain?
The Hadals were damn scary monsters, but as soon as he began to potray them as helpless and exploited and mentioned an "evil" corporate agenda I was rolling my eyes. Yes, let's pity the man-eating, subteranean hellbeasts. Give me a freakin break.
Not every good horror story needs a to be a heavy handed moral lesson in human tolerance and understanding.

Rating:
Summary: I had bad dreams, mission accomplished
Review: What a twist in reality. Simply loved this book. Did give me some scary nightmares. Very vivid, very real, well done.

Rating:
Summary: Scariest and most well written I've seen in decades
Review: I had never heard of Jeff Long but I will never forget him now. He had me from the first page and that is very unusual. The language, the way he wrote it had me by the throat and would not let go. It's been years since anyone wrote a book that I really could not put down, could not finish in one night. I kept going back over passages asking, did he say that? I had to re-read paragraphs because they were so pleasing to my eye and my brain. And how well he said it. Oh, I was stunned, beautifully written. The man has suffered physical pain. I had just had surgery and no one has ever told how pain really is until him. I didn't think anyone could tell another what pain really felt like until I read this book.
I hated knowing it was coming to an end. I saw the end of the book coming at me like the final cliff, screaming "please don't let it end." In actuality I re-read it several times because I kept going back just to enjoy his wording. He is a classic born. Stephen King cannot be compared and I know Steve was in awe as I was. I'm searching Amazon for ever book I can find of his. The book just shines as you read it.

Of the thousands of books of fiction I've read this is the top one. It will terrify you, delight you, impress you beyond expression. The way he uses language is stunning. By the way, I'm well over 13, I'm 62 and it scared the hell out of me. I loved it.

Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: I rarely re-read books; it kind of takes the fun out of it if you already know what's going to happen. When I finished this book, I flipped back to the front immediately and started again. The characters feel like real people (one of my favorite characters is the 'Butterfly Man.' He's awesome.) The story seems almost probable. Especially the way the "topside" reacts to what is found underground. At any rate, if you like a good thriller, this is definately worth picking up.

Rating:
Summary: Loved it
Review: I really don't have much to add, that the other reviewers did not cover. I could not put this book down for three days, and was really hoping (it begs for it) for part 2, but I guess not yet anyway. Did anyone else notice that in 572 pages there was not a single semicolon? Very well writen, wonderful prose. Just found that a bit odd is all.