The Descent

Jeff Long

Jul 1999 · Simon and Schuster · Narrated by Boyd Gaines

About this audiobook

In Tibet, while guiding trekkers to a holy mountain, Ike Crockett discovers a bottomless cave. When his lover disappears, Ike pursues her into the depths of the earth....In a leper colony bordering the Kalahari Desert, a nun named Ali von Schade unearths evidence of a proto-human species and a deity called Older-than-Old....In Bosnia, Major Elias Branch crash-lands his gunship near a mass grave and is swarmed by pale cannibals terrified of light....

So begins mankind's realization that the underworld is a vast geological labyrinth riddling the continents and seabeds, one inhabited by brutish creatures who resemble the devils and gargoyles of legend. With all of Hell's precious resources and territories to be won, a global race ensues. Nations, armies, religions, and industries rush to colonize and exploit the subterranean frontier.

Fathom by fathom, Ike guides an expedition -- and Ali -- deeper into the deadly wilderness. In the dark underground, as humanity falls away from them, the scientists and mercenaries find themselves prey not only to the savage creatures, but to their own treachery mutiny, and greed. Meanwhile, on the surface, a band of aged scholars scours for clues to Satan's existence. Is he lurking in wait for the expedition, or is he roaming the earth? One thing is certain: Miles inside the earth, evil is very much alive.

Ratings and reviews

WARNING!! This audio version is abridged even though it doesn’t say so anywhere. It is missing many scenes, including some of the most memorable from the original text. I wish I could get a refund for this purchase.

Best book I ever read. I definitely Recommend giving it a read. It's a book you can't put down once you get to the actual decent...

This is an abridged story. The reading was good, but I missed many of the parts of the book that was cut.

About the author

Jeff Long is the New York Times bestselling author whose novels include The Wall, The Reckoning (in development with Reese Witherspoon at Type A Productions), Year Zero, and The Descent. He is a veteran climber and traveler in the Himalayas and has worked as a stonemason, journalist, historian, screenwriter, and elections supervisor for Bosnia's first democratic election. His next novel, Deeper, is forthcoming in hardcover from Atria Books. He lives in Colorado.

Visit his website at www.jefflongbooks.com.