Customer Reviews

A Lower Deep

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

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.

This is by far not the worst book I had ever read, but it just didn't do anything for me. No entertainment. No life. No soul.

It is the story of an unnamed protagonist who is called the "Master Summoner", or the "Necromancer" and a little demon type companion called Self who are lured back to the grounds of his old coven by Jebediah DeLancre. Nercromancer has not been back since his love, Danielle was killed, and has been told that if he helps Jebediah out, the old coven master will raise the young woman from the dead.

So the Necromancer travels around with Self; encountering Death, the Angel Uriel, the Angel Michael, and a host of other vaguely described demons on a quest that I personally felt was not well plotted out. Because of its lack of direction, I found it to be rather boring.

Even with this, it could have been muddled through if Piccirilli's writing style wasn't so flat and one-dimensional. Short sentences that do not flow together, and a "monotone" you can actually hear while you are reading is what caused me to loose interest very quickly. None of the characters ever fleshed out or came alive, the description and dialogue were extremely unanimated, causing me to neither love nor hate any character in the book. The dialogue is stilted except for the Necromancer's conversations in his head with Self, those turned out to be pretty decent and believable, adding a humorous twist.

And lastly, the entire length of the novel felt like a sermon on practicing Witchcraft. Piccirilli goes into great detail on which square fits which circle during what type of moon causing this particular hex to shape into a widget. Yawn. On top of that is the tone implying that these are details that we should already know; so the result is like sitting through a lecture in college with a hangover and Ben Stein as the lecturer.

Want to visit hell for awhile? Pick up Edward Lee's "City Infernal" instead. Want something with a subtle demon? Pick up Robert R. McCammon's "Swan Song" instead. Jack Ketchum, Brian Lumley, John Shirley, Edward Lee; all are far better writers and more worthy of your money.

I did give this book two stars instead of one simply because I liked Self. It seemed Piccirilli focused most of his better description on the little demon, and Self captures all of the good dialogue, like a good demon should.

Tom Piccirilli proves once again that how truly unique he is. There are painters that you can instantly notice even if you were to only see a portion of the picture. The same with brilliant filmmakers. You see thirty seconds of a Martin Scorsese film and you know it's his. Well, the same goes for Tom Piccirilli. I had permanent smile on my face for the entire book, completely engrossed and fascinated with his authentic world of the occult. A was confused a few time with what was going on, but even still, it is near perfect. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED if you want something different.

Tom Piccirilli is one of horror's true treasures. A highly imaginative, poetic, and daring writer who goes to great length's in order to provide the genre with the kind of writing that is true literature. A LOWER DEEP packs so many fantastical situations and creatures into it that you know right off that you're in for a unique experience.

The plot line concerns a modern day warlock and his demonic sidekick named "Self" as they struggle with one another as much as with their old coven master who has started a series of supernatural events that will bring about Armageddon and raise the messiah before God wills it. The nameless Necromancer must battle members of the new coven, fight a gigantic half-angelic mutant child hidden deep within a mountain beneath a haunted monestary, and travel the Middle East trying to stop biblical prophecies from being fulfilled.

Along the way you'll find yourself enticed by other devils, demons, djinn, evil monks, ghosts, possessed beings, witches and their familiars, and a reanimated harlequin. Piccirilli's writing is enticing and engaging, and his imagination apparently knows no boundaries. Highly recommended.

This book was a disappointment. I read the premise of the book and thought it would be great. Instead the book is confusing and plotless. I found myself being quite bored reading this piece of fluff. The horror sequences seem to be written for pure shock value instead of serving the story (in those rare times when you can figure out what is going on).

Don't waste your time. Read something by Stephen King, Douglas Clegg, Clive Barker, or Robert Mccammon instead. They are worth your time.

A terrific novel of magic and the supernatural where a modern day warlock battles his former coven and tries to stop the end of the world. Piccirilli's research makes this one of the most interesting books I've ever read in my life. He brings to life history, mythology, and folklore in ways I've never seen before. A masterpiece!

What is 'self'? Are we supose to read all books by Rice/Barker or other authors? Are we suppose to know religion? Are we suppose to know occult? What else are requirement? Pro at reading confuing books? If this is the case then I would rather pass on this book. If not then why all the references I dont understand? I read and enjoy 'Shadowland'by Straub. I like Ramsey Campbell. They are not confusing, needs more attention but worth it.

A Lower Deep? YES! My favorite book of 2002 along with 'Night of the Beast' by harry shannon. Tom Piccirille has an amazing imagination and a cool and dark sense of what is funny and or ironic and makes up real and deep people.

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.

A narrator known only as the Necromancer and his demonic sidekick, "Self," wander through the book all across America and eventually to the Middle East, where they attempt to stop a misled coven in Jerusalem. The Necromancer struggles with the ghosts of his dead comrades and battles the leader of his former coven, Jebediah DeLancre, who is intending to resurrect Christ before God wills it so. This novel is heavy with a crackling atmosphere and filled with an amalgam of Judeo-Christian history, other myths, and well-researched facts about the Old City of Jerusalem and other Biblical settings. This is a powerful tale told by an ingenious writer.