Promotional Information

13,000 copies sold of VGSF trade edition THE DESCENT is a high tech adventure that explains ancient myths and beliefs from around the world Optioned to Hollywood 100,000 hardback copy first print run in USA Stunning review coverage, top ten listings in 1999 readers favourites polls Stephen King meets Michael Crichton meets Jules Verne .

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SALES POINTS13,000 copies sold of VGSF trade editionTHE DESCENT is a high tech adventure that explains ancient myths and beliefs from around the worldOptioned to Hollywood100,000 hardback copy first print run in USAStunning reviewcoverage, top ten listings in 1999 readers favourites pollsStephen King meets

Reviews

The premise of this millennial thriller is as audacious as it is problematic: "if there can be a historical Christ," one character hypothesizes, "why not a historic Satan?" Demystification of the ultimate Bad Guy is no easy feat, but Long (Angels of Light) brings it off, if just barely, in a dizzying synthesis of supernatural horror, lost-race fantasy and military SF. From the experiences of a varied cast of charactersÄincluding Sister Ali, a Catholic nun serving in South Africa, and Elias Branch, a major with NATO forces in BosniaÄa 21st-century think tank calling itself the Beowulf Circle distills a startling theory: The biblical Satan and his devils in Hell are mythic renderings of Homo hadalis, grotesquely malformed offshoots of Homo sapiens who for centuries have surfaced from underground hideouts to prey on human beings. With the help of Ike Crockett, an escapee from 10 years of "hadal" captivity, Beowulf infiltrates the Helios Corporation's mission to explore caverns honeycombing Earth's interior. Once beneath the Mariana Trench, Beowulf discovers that Helios intends to forcefully annex the world inside the earth's crust to further its business ambitions. Meanwhile, topside, Beowulf's theologians and metaphysicians surmise that the elusive "Satan" has evolved a human form to pass secretly among mankind. Like the subterranean trail blazed by its adventurers, the narrative twists, turns, dead-ends and backtracks. Inventive scenes of underground wonders alternate with talky stretches of scientific discourse and mawkish moments of romance between Ike and Ali. Though its devils prove disappointingly to be made in the image of humans, Long's novel brims with energy, ideas and excitement. 150,000 first printing; major ad/promo; film rights sold to Warner Bros. (July) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

What if hell really existed? The premise of The Descent is just that. We first meet the protagonist of the story, Ike Crockett, as he guides a group of tourists on a Tibetan walkabout. Trapped on a mountain during a blizzard, Ike leads the group into a cave that just happens to be a gateway to hell. More hellish evidence soon emerges at sites as far-flung as Bosnia and the Kalahari Desert. Long, author of The Ascent (LJ 6/1/92), set on Mt. Everest, here chooses a subject that invites comparison to DanteÄbut his style is more reminiscent of early Stephen King, when characters still mattered. While some sex appears in the story, violence is a greater concern, though it does further the plot. The story is complex, with some surprising twists near the end. All in all, this is one of those compelling books that is difficult to finish but even more difficult to put down. Recommended for larger suspense/horror collections. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 3/1/99.]ÄAlicia Graybill, Polley Music Lib., Lincoln City Libs., NE Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.