Well, this was disappointing. It's saving grace was the writing, which was very good. But the story was a weirdly religious perversion of fantasy and horror with a veneer of science fiction. A thin veneer. That got thinner the further you read. What looked like an interesting premise degenerated into pseudo-scientific idiocy by the end. Allegedly this is a series - I'll end my reading here. ( )

Creepy and deeply unsettling book. Love it! ( )

Grim. Casual descriptions of rape and torture. ( )

"Here it was at last– all their childhood legends of desperate fights waged against biblical mutants–before their eyes, unintended, where fate had given it. This was not a TV report that could be turned off. This was not a poet's inferno in a book that could be put back on the shelf. Here was the world they lived in now."

While we discuss and furiously debate over the possible existence of life on other worlds, an entire civilization has thrived under our feet, far below in the dark hollows of the Earth. There's legends and tales of the people and the one called Older-than-Old but after centuries - no, thousands of years - of living in the dark, they are reaching for the surface. And with them, so is hell.

Just... wow. It's been some time since I finished this book but I'm still very much blown away. As an archaeology student, one of the subfields I'm most interested in is specifically religion and mythology; as well as the similarities and links between different cultures and their myths. So, I'm probably a bit biased because this book more or less gave me exactly what I've been looking for. That said, it also did it so damn fucking well.

Long paints a rich and colourful world - the characters are not just complex but distinct and he uses his knowledge of history and military experience in a way that makes The Da Vinci Code pale in comparison (its real saving grace is Ian McKellen). It isn't your typical scifi horror as its quite slow at times, but that's also part of what truly engaged me; it is rich and truly takes the time to flesh out its characters and the world they inhabit. Long even manages to make the heavy military themes engaging and complex; something that science fiction books with military themes often struggle to do. If anything, it made me even more sure what aspects of archaeology and history I want to focus on. ( )

I am reading this for the second time, because I recently purchased the sequel, [b:Deeper: A Thriller|239075|Deeper A Thriller|Jeff Long|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1266503409s/239075.jpg|231588]. I wanted to reread it to pick up on anything I may have forgotten. I loved this book and can't stop thinking about it. Every time I see it sitting on my shelf, I want to pick it up and read it all over again.

During my second read through, I felt like I got so much more out of the story. I was able to keep track of all the political intrigue, and follow each character's point of view. The first time I read this, I was so enthralled with the setting that I missed some of the other stuff. I still think this is an exceptional book and a great read.

First review: The opening chapters read like inter-related short stories. Then we get down to the main action. Sending an expedition down into the earth, to see what the race of humans is like down there. I loved the descriptions, it made the place come alive for me. I thought the story was interesting, and presented a unique point of view. This is one of my all time favorite books. ( )