Descent - Jeff Long Book Review

Enter a review
of your own!

Other books by
author Jeff Long

"Descent"
Message Board

Jeff Long Resident Scholar Profiles

TOP SCHOLAR: Roger Perry

SCHOLARS: Harriet Klausner

Would you like to be a scholar and make five dollars per review? Click here to submit a review!

Click here for free online dating advice!

Review Summary

In the Himilayians, climbers taking refuge in a mountain cave are lethally assaulted. Army Rangers in Bosnia are attacked during a nightly patrol. Ali, a nun, witnesses a strange relationship between villagers in South Africa and neighbors from the "beneath." A vast underground tunnel system is discovered, and a contemporary Earth learns it has violent, distant relatives living in it. After a costly war rages with the "Hadels" nations from the USA to Russia to China manage to push the inhabitants deep into the planet.

After several years, man begins to inhabit and industrialize the enormous "upper" caves and tunnels. Countries and corporations scramble to stake-out the planet's subterranean regions. Ike, a human taken captive by the tunnel-dwelling Hadels, escapes to the surface to become an army ranger scout. He is worshipped by the soldiers with whom he operates, having morphed into a near-Hadel, but is shunned by a society that finds him repulsive.

Both Ali and Ike are recruited by a powerful corporation to join a large team of scientist and soldiers on a expedition to explore the tunnel system that reaches far below the pacific. Unknown circumstances are forcing some Hadles to surface, causing horror, and tragedy. Humans must quickly grasp the secrets of these long-lived humanoids, and the expedition is the key.

Roger Perry, Resident Scholar

Detailed literary breakdown of Descent

Our unique search engine breaks down books and movies into dozens of literary elements, all of which are searchable.
New movie search (click here) New book search (click here)

Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
Descript. of chases or violence - 20%
planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20%
Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 20%

Tone of book - depressing/sad
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - science fiction story
Explore/1st contact/ enviro story Yes
Plotlets: - exploring deep underground caves
War or Invasion Yes
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book

Main Character
Identity: - Female
Age: - 20's-30's
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - very athletic

Main Adversary
Identity: - an entire race
Age: - long-lived adults
Profession/status: - infantry soldier
Eccentric: Yes
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - an above average amount
How sensitive is this character? - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Average intelligence
Physique - bulging muscles

Setting
Terrain - Domed/Underground City
Takes place on Earth? Yes

Style
Person? - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - explicit references to deaths
scientific jargon? (SF only) - none/very little science jargon needed
Sex in book? Yes
How much dialogue? - significantly more descript than dialog

Most similar books to Descent
Final Blackout by L. Ron Hubbard
March to the Stars by David Weber and John Ringo
The Myriad by R.M. Meluch
The High Crusade by Poul Anderson
Ashes, ashes by René Barjavel

Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).

Try our new Star Wars & Star Trek puzzle pictures! Click here

Advertise with us
Feedback
Star Wars Revenge of the Sith plot spoilers
Hobbits
The politics game
The lawyer game

3 Movie search options!
1) Simple lookup
(title or author)

or
2) Detailed movie search
(click here) or

3) One-click plot searches! Simply click on a plot below!

Animal Story

Clones

Coming of age

Cultural problems, alien culture

Explore/1st contact/ enviro story

Family relations

GIANT monster(s)

Horror story?

Inner Struggle

Lifeform altered?

Mental/magical powers focus

Parody

Political power play

Religious overtones?

Repressive society story

Robots, Computers, VR

Romance

Spying & Investigations

Tech./$$$/Info hunt

Time Travel story?

Training/Apprent.

War or Invasion

Games:
Trivia Masters!

Rescue your favorite
scifi characters from
slavery!

Talk to your favorite
scifi characters!

Eating New Yorkers
Computer Game

Pomeranians

Most recent TV & Movie discussions:

A Boy and His Dog: A Boy and His Dog 7/17/2008 5:17:27 PM

Blade Runner: Blade Runner 7/16/2008 3:22:19 PM

Charmed: If Piper Halliwell gets pregnant, can Leo give her an abortion? 7/11/2008 11:16:14 AM

Charmed: What's wrong with Rose McGowan's chin? 7/8/2008 9:56:13 PM

Battlestar Galactica: What's with the ladders in Cylon base ships? 7/8/2008 5:43:06 PM

Star Wars: Why AT-AT's are retarded 7/8/2008 2:58:31 PM

Charmed: Is Piper really a Halliwell? 7/5/2008 11:48:59 AM

Doctor Who: Who was the best Doctor? 7/5/2008 4:23:13 AM

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire 7/5/2008 2:40:59 AM

Doctor Who: Who was the best companion? 6/30/2008 7:37:52 AM

Newest slaves:
Willow (Alyson Hannigan) 2:29:58 AM
Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) 2:25:55 AM
Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) 2:08:17 AM
Hillary Rodham Clinton 1:56:07 AM
Luke Skywalker 1:51:55 AM
Heather Graham 1:48:55 AM
Michael Samuelle 1:47:10 AM
Nikita (Peta Wilson) 1:43:47 AM
Major Samantha Carter (Butchie) 1:39:08 AM
Prue Halliwell (Shannen Doherty) 1:36:26 AM
All slaves
(click here)

Celebrity interviews:
President George W. Bush 6:32:00 PM
Jan-Michael Vincent 2:16:51 PM
Captain Kathryn Janeway 3:47:46 PM
Jack ONeill (Richard Dean Anderson) 1:39:22 PM
Jennifer Aniston (Friends) 5:01:07 PM
All celebrities
(click here)