Customer Reviews

A Lower Deep

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This is one of those rare books you will find that has the ability to completely immerse you in the world the writer has created. Its the story of a necromancer and his familiar Self who are trying to prevent the Apocalypse. It takes you through the wild and frightening world of the occult in a way few novels have been able to accomplish. Its frightening but fun as well. A rare writer can balance humour with horror but this writer does it excellently. Images in this book stay with you long after as you begin to become involved in the necromancers's battle against the evil coven leader, Jebediah. This book covers everything from Christianity to satanism and there are all manner of evil beings from demons to zombies dressed like jester's to disembodied souls. The last line in this book is hilarious yet very sad too.

You will travel from Montana all the way to the Middle East in this powder keg of a horror novel. Its got plenty of gore, plenty of laughs and images so powerful you will not forget it. Mr. Piccirilli can write unique horror that is rather poetic and interesting on each and every page.

If you like good horror that will always entertain, this is the book for you. I sure hope there will be more books written about these characters. A fantastic read!

For years Tom Piccirilli has been publishing short stories featuring an unnamed "Necromancer" and his demonic familiar "Self," who wander America and find supernatural evils just about wherever they go. Their history is long, complex, and entwined--the Necromancer tries to overcome his more impulsive "Self" and fight for the side of good, although, as we learn, sometimes Heaven is just as fouled up as Hell. Now Piccirilli's brought us the first novel featuring this duo and it's been well-worth the wait. In A LOWER DEEP the two are forced to confront their old coven leader, Jebediah DeLancre, who wishes to force the premature return of Christ. Though the Necromancer is opposed to this, Jebediah dangles an offer that can't be refused: the resurrection of the Necromancer's one true love, Danielle. The original coven was destroyed during a horrifying ritual gone wrong, and now the ghosts of those members plus new witches from a second order either aid or attack the Necromancer along his path. Eventually he finds himself at Mount Armon, a monestary where even more creepy events occur, as a little boy harbors occult forces and an infant may be sacrificed to bring life to a Nephilim, an abominable creature devoid of soul that is half angel and half human. The abbot and monks of Armon must take sides as unfolding circumstance seem to signal Armageddon. This leaves the Necromancer and Self no choice but to head to Jerusalem, where they attempt to fight against the end of the world. But is "Self" actually there to help or is he truly in league with Hell? Piccirilli keeps us guessing as he unveils a well-researched and sprawling tapestry of black rituals, mythology, paganism, witchcraft, Judeo-Christian beliefs, and a multitude of characters who are confused, terrified, and trapped by their own intentions as the apocalypse approaches. Piccirilli writes with a fluid, punchy, gripping narrative voice, but despite all the horrific events occurring there's often an edge of humor as "Self" sarcastically quips along. Highly recommended.

A LOWER DEEP is a wonderful occult horror novel where research into mythology, religion, the black arts and history has paid off in a fine way. This book reads with a particular sense of realism no matter how bizarre the situation. We follow a nameless man known only as the Necromancer as he and his demonic and sarcastic companion "Self" travel across the world battling evil abroad and the evil within themselves. From an unholy mansion where a witches' coven attempts the premature resurrection of the messiah, to a haunted monestary where insane monks roam, to the city of Jerusalem itself where the protagonist must fight the ghosts of his past as Armageddon approaches. This is top-notch horror fantasy that brings the concepts of belief, sacrifice, faith and antiquity to a unique life. Highly recommended.

Reminiscent of Manly Wade Wellman's John the Balladeer, Piccirilli's Necromancer wanders along the backroads of civilization, only pausing for occasional skirmishes with the forces of evil that lurk behind the surface of even the most innocent of facades. Accompanied by his wise-cracking familiar, the demonic Self, the Necromancer seeks out danger as a means of distracting himself from the memory of his deceased lover Danielle, who died ten years earlier in a mystic right gone badly wrong.

In this, his first novel length adventure (see Piccirilli's excellent collection, Deep Into That Darkness Peering for previous tales), the Necromancer finds himself caught up in the macabre activities of his former coven, led by his nemesis Jebediah DeLancre. DeLancre has an interesting proposition for the troubled mage-if the Necromancer assists the coven in forcing Christ's return to Earth, DeLancre will resurrect Danielle, whole and undamaged. Thus, he's forced to choose between the love of his life and triggering Armageddon.

Almost overwhelming in its vision and scope, A Lower Deep is a difficult, often exhausting, read. Bursting with incident, exposition, and myriad characters (living, dead, and living dead), it's a book that sometimes feels as if it was forcibly compressed into too small a package. Whether this was a conscious decision on Piccirilli's part, or whether an editor forced it on him, the book could benefit from a little "seam letting," allowing the author a little more latitude to tell his expansive tale.

One senses that Piccirilli was shooting for a literary version of Wagnerian opera. Instead, the novel resembles nothing so much as a James Bond movie. All the elements are there-a flashy opening sequence, the inevitable witty banter with a villain intent on wreaking global chaos (although the villain turns the tables on the Necromancer by telling him "You're insane."), a globe hopping hero, and a final confrontation between enemies with nothing less than the fate of the world at stake-the Necromancer even drives a Jaguar! As is often the case with a Bond film, its parts are more interesting than the whole, a shame because Piccirilli was obviously reaching for something more. Although he creates some unique and disturbing set pieces along the way (the finale is spectacular), their power is diminished by the sheer amount of work readers must do to keep up. In the end, Piccirrilli gets an "A" for effort, but a "B" for execution.

I first read Piccirrilli's "Self" stories back when they appeared in small press magazines in the horror genre. I was always enthralled with how he managed to blend so many elements together and yet still offer up a remarkably smooth story. In A Lower Deep, the author takes three novellas with one overall arcing story line and gives a rip-snorting dark fantasy tale of a modern day warlock driven by a vague morality to try to save the world. The warlock (or "Necromancer", as he's known here) is trapped between a world of black magic, his own demonic "Self's" constant urgings for him to give in to lust and murder, his love for his dead girlfriend, and his struggle with understanding God's greater plan. A wonderfully ambitious, unsettling, and moving book.

There is nothing else like this book. I've read a lot of horror in my life but this one is something pretty damn fresh. Humorous, inventive, witty but filled with plenty of chills. The author's imagination goes all out to mix-up fantasy and horror based on the bible, witchcraft, and other religions. The last third of the book takes place in Jerusalem, a place I know little baout, but he put me there until I could see the Garden of Gathsemane and Church of the Holy Sepulchre where Christ was presumably crucified. The details are very visual and the images unforgettable.

Some people might think this one is more "dark fantasy" than pure outright "horror" do to all the magical and occult elements to the story, but this story is truly a chilling one. A Lower Deep is broken into three sections and each one tells a separate story of how the nameless narrator and his demon companion Self get into big trouble with both the forces of good and evil. Like religion itself, all of the characters in this novel are conflicted over exactly what is right and wrong, and which "evils" might be a part of hell's greater plan or God's. The ending is an outright stunner involving the Archangel Michael, the possible resurrection of Christ, and the prophecies of Revelation (including the Red Dragon). An exceptional novel.

Tom Piccirilli, A Lower Deep (Leisure, 2001)

Tom Piccirilli may be one of the most overlooked writers of the last decade. His books, which have appeared in almost every genre there is in which to write, have the rare distinction of being character-driven novels that have the pacing and readability of plot-driven novels, as well as being intricately detailed without the introductions of those details getting in the way of Piccirilli telling a good story. While writing short stories seems to have made up the bulk of the first decade of Piccirilli's published career-- from 1990 through 1999, he published only four novels, according to fantasticfiction's bibliography-- he has more than made up for it since, having already published twice that many since the dawn of the new century. I haven't yet read any of his previous-to-2000 output, but the new stuff is good-- really, really good.

A Lower Deep, published in 2001, was the book that set Piccirilli on the path to where he is today; it was the transition between "guy only hardcore horror lovers have ever heard of" (Greg Gifune is a current example) and "guy with enough of a following and enough talent to get signed by a mid-tier press" (Charlee Jacob is a current example). (It was not too long a time before Piccirilli hit stage three, "released by a major publisher;" his inarguably brilliant A Choir of Ill Children began his still-standing relationship with Bantam. He is long overdue to reach the terminal stage, "household name.") I've read the novel that came just before this, and while that one's good, there's a long, long way between "good" and A Lower Deep.

The focuses of A Lower Deep is a character we know only as Necromancer (he does have another name, but we are never told it) and his demon familiar Self. Necromancer was part of a coven of witches headed by Jebediah DeLancre, dabbler in the occult and descendant of a family known for having sired some of the most vicious witch-burners in Medieval Europe. Ten years before our story opens, Jebediah and Necromancer were the only two survivors of something horrible (while Piccirilli does give us some details later on, we never see the full picture) which destroyed their coven. Necromancer, who lost the woman he loved in the disaster, has been wandering aimlessly for the ensuing decade. Now, however, a chance encounter with a beautiful woman in a dive bar sets him back on the path to Jebediah, who with growing age and insanity has come up with a plan which requires Necromancer's help, but one so much more dangerous than the last disaster that even the immortal Self is wary.

The plot, however, is secondary. It could have been left out altogether, and this would still be excellent writing. There is so much to ponder in Piccirilli's character development and interaction, not to mention the hints we get of the history of those characters, that Jebediah's latest scheme is more icing on the cake then anything else. It does give Piccirilli chances to throw a couple of fun twists into the tale towards the end, however.

I was going to give this book four stars right up until the last few pages. I, however, have a decided weakness for books that end... well, the way this one does. I'm not going to give it away. You'll have to read it to find out. **** ½

Rarely have I read a novel so packed with bizarre characters and situations. The story follows a modern day warlock and his demon sidekick named "Self" (what a trip) as they struggle with their old coven master who has started a series of supernatural events that will culminate in Armageddon. Our hero must battle a new coven, fight a half-angelic mutant being in the bowels of a haunted abbey, and hunt through Jerusalem where the God's power seems to be boiling over. There are also demons, djinn, evil monks, ghosts, and the walking dead along for the ride. Piccirilli uses and comments on faith, history, theology, folklore, prophecy and other so-called "large spiritual matters" but does it in such a way that the story rolls along at a rip-roaring pace. The writing is solid, poetic, and completely gripping. The author's imagination is fiery and wild, but his skills as a writer hold everything in balance. There's humor here, relationships, love, vengeance and heartbreak. One of the best horror novels I've ever read. More Self!

I think this book got a few negative reviews, and I understand why. It's written in a very fractured style with focus just on the action. It's kind of like a comic book. The real appeal to this, and the Pentacle collection, is the gripping poetic language. There are many archaic words that just sound cool. And, no, I didn't understand all of the occult references, but they aren't totally obscure. Most of the biblical references are pretty well known, too. It's just an interesting read, and it moves at such a fast pace that it really kept my short attention span. I'm sure there were times when I was completely clueless as to how the necromancer had gotten where he was, but I didn't really care. I've never read a book in which I cared so little about the plot yet could not put it down.