Book Review: The Descent – A novel by Jeff Long
The Descent (2001)
Book Release Date: April 30, 2010
Publisher: Jove
Written By: Jeff Long
Review By: Kayley Viteo
A general rule of thumb by which I can tell if I’m really into a book is how long it takes for me to read it. In the case of The Descent, I read it in one day and one night, even finding myself reading at stoplights and on the ten second walk to my house from where my car was parked. To put it mildly, The Descent is utterly enthralling and manages to blend military science-fiction, horror, fantasy, and the supernatural into a dizzyingly creative read.
The Descent chillingly portrays the discovery of an actual Hell. A civilization known as hadals that are savage, vicious ancestors of humans have been living at the center of the Earth and when they, and their penchant for taking human slaves, are found out … well, let’s just say the results are explosively violent. Although there are a number of subplots, including a search for a real Satan, the chief plot is that of a scientific exploration into the abyss led by Ali, a nun linguist (no kidding) and an ex-hadal prisoner named Ike who guides them underground.
What I consider the best aspect of The Descent is the rich and complicated society that Long creates in the hadal civilization. The interactions with humanity are frustratingly complex, but scarily realistic – you really feel like if one day, humanoid creatures were discovered underground, these complications and questions would arise exactly as they do in the book – for instance, the issue of colonialism. The book is a challenging read on a multitude of levels – not only is there a deep and complicated plot to follow, but there are philosophical, moral and political questions that this book presents that force you to wonder what you would do and think in the same situation.
Of course, The Descent has its flaws – the flow and pacing of the novel is at times too complicated. I found myself having to read back a few chapters at least twice to reacquaint myself with a character or to check on timing or other issues. At times, if anything, I felt like the novel was overburdened with people and subplots. Still, there are only two aspects of the novel that I really had problems with: first, the romance between Ali and Ike is stilted and more than a bit clunky, seemingly going from crush to “save the damsel in distress” in ten pages or less; second, the search for the “historic Satan” is a wonderful idea, but in practice isn’t given enough chapters to develop properly. I found myself wishing to get back to the main action.
The Descent is one of those rare books that – even as complicated as the subject matter is and as many plot twists and turns there are – you will still find yourself turning the page, slightly breathless to see what happens next. It had been on my reading list for at least a year before I finally came around to reading it – I urge anyone to do the opposite of what I did and read this as soon as they get the chance.
