hippie13's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
awitham4077's review against another edition
3.0
Not nearly as good as the first but by the time I had finished, I was at least satisfied with the ending. I found myself struggling through some of the story and thought it was missing some of the qualities that made the first one so good. The enemy didn't feel nearly as threatening as they did in the first book.
Spoiler
At the very start, when all the children go missing, I thought that the hadal nation was going to make some great comeback. They didn't though. They just became some sort of pathetic underlings type race, easily defeated.504eigner's review against another edition
5.0
This and its predecessor are what airplane fiction should be.
popolopoi's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I absolutely LOVED this book. The descriptions of places and situations are incredibly rich, which is exactly what I like in a book. As a sequel of The Descent, I'm very happy with how this ended.
There's also some epistolary content that was a pleasing surprise. Very rich narrative, full of visual components.
There's also some epistolary content that was a pleasing surprise. Very rich narrative, full of visual components.
gentlemanjeff's review against another edition
4.0
This thrilling nightmare of an adventure carries the reader through many of the same conflicts familiar from the first book, while shedding light on a few mysteries. An ambitious dive into the mythology pushes the limits before being neutered by an ending that offers no clear resolution or even a satisfactory conclusion. Worth the read to complete the duology. Must-read for fans of Crichton's darker stories.
shelflife's review
3.0
I read the first book, The Descent and believe I liked it better. But this was a very good read, however very dark. I believe this is to be a trilogy. It will be interesting to see how it ends. Overall premise is that the mythology regarding "hell" actually exists with another race of people living beneath the earth. They have actually mostly died off but there is evidence of a civilization older-than-old. These creatures are human however they have horned heads and tails due to evolution with living inside the world instead of out. So if there really are so-called demons from all the stories we've heard about, is there a devil to go with them? REad the book and find out.
augustj's review
3.0
I was disappointed that Long deviated from his original novel, The Descent, which at its core attempted scientific reasoning to the easily misunderstood underworld, and allowed truly supernatural entities to enter his mythos.
hushedworld's review
4.0
(sequel to Descent) Deeper was still an amazing story. It veered off on a more spiritual exploration tangent that some reviewers did not appreciate. I enjoyed it but have to admit it was missing... something that the first book had in spades. Still a great story--still totally worth reading. Ends with an open road to another sequel, of course. I hope it does not take Mr. Long another ten years to write the next installment!!
simbareadss's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
dostojevskijs's review against another edition
4.0
Because your people have made me the name of evil." The Angel's voice is steely and at the sme time wounded. "But even with all my imaginations, with all my time, I could not dream up the cruelties that you and your kind inflict on one another every minute of every day. The worst evils are the ones you justify with your religions and laws and piety. But then there are evils so terrible you can't justify them, even with your most twisted logic, even with your most absurd religions, and those evils are the evils that you blame on me."
Oh, Lord. It was ridiculously exciting to find out there was a sequel to The Descent. In all honesty, the mix of archaeology and themes of mythology and religion as well as the amazing character that is Allie... I would've read it no matter how good or bad it was. But thankfully, Long did not disappoint. We dwell deeper into the lore, and I'm all for it.
But as interesting the story and its themes are, I felt there was so much more I wanted to know. Not just as "fun facts" but I also felt it lacked a satisfactory amount of answers, even as I feel like the lack of answers in other aspects are fitting. During the first book, I wanted more because it was so interesting and so good, but during this one, I wanted more mostly because this time it felt like another book was needed. Although, that might just be because I wouldn't mind another five books.
Oh, Lord. It was ridiculously exciting to find out there was a sequel to The Descent. In all honesty, the mix of archaeology and themes of mythology and religion as well as the amazing character that is Allie... I would've read it no matter how good or bad it was. But thankfully, Long did not disappoint. We dwell deeper into the lore, and I'm all for it.
But as interesting the story and its themes are, I felt there was so much more I wanted to know. Not just as "fun facts" but I also felt it lacked a satisfactory amount of answers, even as I feel like the lack of answers in other aspects are fitting. During the first book, I wanted more because it was so interesting and so good, but during this one, I wanted more mostly because this time it felt like another book was needed. Although, that might just be because I wouldn't mind another five books.