Reviews

Helvetin sydän by Jeff Long

mangocult's review against another edition

4.0

This was weird. And not quite as good as The Descent. But damn, I had forgotten how much I love Long's prose and writing style, and how funky some of this world can get. As always, the dichotomy of monster (man) vs monster (hadal) is deliciously blurry, and I enjoyed getting to go back down into the tunnels with some new voices to lead me through the dark and damp and dubiously cannibalistic. I appreciate the way that Long doesn't try too hard to science away things that are better left to suspending one's disbelief; Deeper retains that same element of empirical mysticism that makes it fun while still feeling like there's a bit of nutritional value remaining.

The philosophical stuff was ehhhhhhhh, and the plot resolution wasn't exactly stellar, but I enjoyed turning my brain off for a few hours and sipping on an ice-cold Sprite while watching monsters duke it out, y'know?

whaabzreads's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Definitely felt like a different genre to The Descent but was a very enjoyable read regardless

richiew3's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-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? Yes

4.0

horror_n_history's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

glitterkitter's review against another edition

4.0

This is one of the times I am extremely grateful that I finish read the rest of series/sequels when the first novel isn't too brilliant.
Deeper is a continuation of The Descent. Both novels explore a newly discovered underground world, with a previously unknown intelligent species. They explore the questions of what hell could really be like and whether the Devil really exists.
I found The Descent to be a pretty average thriller. It dealt more with how all the underground realm worked scientifically and if it had just been transformed into a mythological explanation.
Deeper takes a more supernatural/spiritual approach in that it explores whether or not there really is a supernatural being controlling parts of the world, and what happens to people after they die to some extent. I found this approach to be much more intriguing than the one taken in the first novel.
Seeing as some storylines where left in a possibly not-entirely-completed way, I'm hoping there will be a third novel, and look forward to reading it if there is.

sumomus's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A good sequel to The Descent, if not quite up to par with the first book in the series. If you liked The Descent I would recommend reading this. 

hoffworld's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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. 

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.