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Deeper Than Hell
When Rock-Bottom is just the beginning, you’re bound to end up DEEPER THAN HELL. Fever dreams and conspiracy theories collide in an epic nightmare inspired by William S. Burroughs and Clive Barker. Follow a modern-day Dante and Virgil on a vision quest from the streets of Las Vegas, past subterranean cults and feral colonies, past the military facilities at Wonderland, past any semblance of sanity. There’s life underground! “A richly imagined mashup of transgressive horror and visionary world-building.” - Peter Atkins, author of Morningstar and screenwriter of Hellbound - Hellraiser II “A phantasmagoria of beautifully rendered madness.” - Mick Garris, creator of Masters of Horror and director of Stephen King’s Sleepwalkers
- GenresHorror
162 pages, Paperback
First published June 14, 2022
18 people are currently reading
275 people want to read
About the author
Joshua Millican
9 books56 followersJoshua Millican's debut novel, DEEPER THAN HELL, was released by Encyclopocalypse Publications in 2022. He is also the author of SEPTUM (Encyclopocalypse), TELEPORTASM (Shortwave), and DOPEFOOT (Mad Axe Media).
Joshua has written film novelizations for FORBIDDEN ZONE, ALL THROUGH THE HOUSE, CIRCUS OF THE DEAD, and CHOPPING MALL. THE DREADFUL YEARS (Encyclopocalypse), is a collection of interviews he conducted during his tenure as Editor-in-Chief at Dread Central.
Joshua has written film novelizations for FORBIDDEN ZONE, ALL THROUGH THE HOUSE, CIRCUS OF THE DEAD, and CHOPPING MALL. THE DREADFUL YEARS (Encyclopocalypse), is a collection of interviews he conducted during his tenure as Editor-in-Chief at Dread Central.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews
April 20, 2023
Wow, when I read a book from Joshua Millican, I feel as though I’ve been on a drug fuelled bender, and have woken up in Alice’s Wonderland, and can’t wrap my head around anything for the next few days.
This book was one, crazy, trippy ride through the underbelly of the Las Vegas underground, and in this book we find heroin addict Sonny, trawling through the sewers, ‘deeper than hell’, with his friend Drew. All through the story I was questioning whether it’s all real or was it just a long, drug induced ‘trip’ to the different realms of madness in Sonny’s head. But what a journey it was.
This is the second book by Joshua Millican which I’ve read, the first one was Septum, though I didn’t realise I should have read this one before Septum, not that it makes any difference, though there are some characters who appear in both books.
This book is beautiful, crazy, mind bending, and full of madness, and I’m so glad to have found this author, and am excited to see what he gives us in the future.
Highly recommend that everyone reads everything by Joshua Millican.
A crazy 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Many thanks to BookSirens, and Encyclopocalypse Publishing for sending me a free copy, for which I’m only too happy to give a voluntary review.
This book was one, crazy, trippy ride through the underbelly of the Las Vegas underground, and in this book we find heroin addict Sonny, trawling through the sewers, ‘deeper than hell’, with his friend Drew. All through the story I was questioning whether it’s all real or was it just a long, drug induced ‘trip’ to the different realms of madness in Sonny’s head. But what a journey it was.
This is the second book by Joshua Millican which I’ve read, the first one was Septum, though I didn’t realise I should have read this one before Septum, not that it makes any difference, though there are some characters who appear in both books.
This book is beautiful, crazy, mind bending, and full of madness, and I’m so glad to have found this author, and am excited to see what he gives us in the future.
Highly recommend that everyone reads everything by Joshua Millican.
A crazy 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Many thanks to BookSirens, and Encyclopocalypse Publishing for sending me a free copy, for which I’m only too happy to give a voluntary review.
January 20, 2024
For the psychonauts and the intraterrestrials everywhere, ad infinitum.
June 21, 2022
A wonderfully bizarre journey to Hell by way of Alice In Wonderland meets Dante's Inferno. A vibrant downward spiral into insanity, Millican brings us into an unforgettable narrative experience.
July 25, 2022
“Deeper Than Hell”, by Joshua Milican, is a wild ride into Hell.
A homeless heroin addict lives in tunnels under Los Angeles. He finds himself in a strange underworld. “Deeper Than Hell” gave me Alice in Wonderland vibes. Only Milllican does not take us to Wonderland; He takes us to Hell.
Whoa! I enjoy hardcore horror. I was completely unprepared for the visceral writing in this book. The story is gruesome. There are scenes in this novel that make it hard to keep your eyes on your head and your jaw closed. If you look past the extremeness, there is a rather complex narrative.
Millican pulls the reader in several directions with twists and turns that are unexpected. The book kept me on my feet. I was riding this fever dream until the end. The conclusion of the book puts the entire book in perspective.
Hardcore horror fans should check out this book.
A homeless heroin addict lives in tunnels under Los Angeles. He finds himself in a strange underworld. “Deeper Than Hell” gave me Alice in Wonderland vibes. Only Milllican does not take us to Wonderland; He takes us to Hell.
Whoa! I enjoy hardcore horror. I was completely unprepared for the visceral writing in this book. The story is gruesome. There are scenes in this novel that make it hard to keep your eyes on your head and your jaw closed. If you look past the extremeness, there is a rather complex narrative.
Millican pulls the reader in several directions with twists and turns that are unexpected. The book kept me on my feet. I was riding this fever dream until the end. The conclusion of the book puts the entire book in perspective.
Hardcore horror fans should check out this book.
April 15, 2022
It was somewhere around page ten when I realized that Deeper Than Hell by Joshua Millican was a novel that could be annotated to death. I remember feeling lightheaded, and was tempted to stop reading, but I had a sudden epiphany: the narrative was like an updated retelling of Dante's Inferno with just a dash of Lovecraft to help bring it kicking and screaming into the twenty-first century. Hip, but not obnoxiously so, dear reader, because unlike Thomas Pynchon (but very much like Dr. Hunter S. Thompson), Millican knows exactly when the joke stops being funny.
The mood that Millican establishes is grimdark, yes, but it is leavened somewhat by the humorous dynamic between Sonny (equal parts Dante and Morty) and Drew (the demented lovechild of Virgil and Rick). As Sonny and Drew get all Cronenberged up as the story progresses through the seedy underground of Las Vegas, Millican lays down markers to let the reader know that Sonny's hell is very much of his own making.
Jesus! Did I just write that? Regardless, while the reveal feels inevitable, it really doesn't matter, because it comes as something of a relief when Millican finally shows us what is hidden behind the curtain. Millican builds up to it slowly, of course: a breadcrumb here, a breadcrumb there, but when the reveal finally lands, it lands solidly and convincingly.
Enough of this talk. As your professional book critic, my first advice to you is to read a copy of this book. Don't skim it. Immerse yourself in it. How else are you going to enjoy a thing like this righteously? But most important of all, buckle up before you turn to the first page: you are about to enter bat country.
The mood that Millican establishes is grimdark, yes, but it is leavened somewhat by the humorous dynamic between Sonny (equal parts Dante and Morty) and Drew (the demented lovechild of Virgil and Rick). As Sonny and Drew get all Cronenberged up as the story progresses through the seedy underground of Las Vegas, Millican lays down markers to let the reader know that Sonny's hell is very much of his own making.
Jesus! Did I just write that? Regardless, while the reveal feels inevitable, it really doesn't matter, because it comes as something of a relief when Millican finally shows us what is hidden behind the curtain. Millican builds up to it slowly, of course: a breadcrumb here, a breadcrumb there, but when the reveal finally lands, it lands solidly and convincingly.
Enough of this talk. As your professional book critic, my first advice to you is to read a copy of this book. Don't skim it. Immerse yourself in it. How else are you going to enjoy a thing like this righteously? But most important of all, buckle up before you turn to the first page: you are about to enter bat country.
November 30, 2022
Well this was one hell of a read. This book was a cross between Dante's inferno, Alice In Wonderland, and a bad dream. This book was insane. Everything is intense you don't know what's real or drug induced and you just go on this downward spiral of madness, violence, and insanity that just drags you Deeper Than Hell. This book had a rawness to it that drew me in and just didn't let go till the end. I don't want to give to much away because you need to take this journey yourself. I highly recommend this one It's definitely a hell of a ride. I can't wait to read more from this author. Joshua Millican you have a new fan ...just awesome.
May 11, 2023
Sonny lived in the tunnels and storm drains in Vegas. Like many others, he was hooked on heroin. He enjoyed going to the Warm Oblivion. According to Sonny, life outside of Warm Oblivion was hell, so he used to keep a tidal wave of emotional agony at bay. His friend Drew would tell him stories as they drifted off to their drug-filled slumber. We follow both characters through the depths of the Las Vegas underground as they experience all the insanity.
I’ve never read anything quite like this. I had visions of Alice in Wonderland and Fear and Loathing vibes. This book was definitely an experience! You don’t know what’s real or what’s drug-induced. It’s as if the reader is also experiencing this insanely trippy world right along with the characters. As they go deeper into the underground, it gets even more strange. Millican has created a very interesting world here. It’s a story that you will want to immerse yourself in! Strap in and enjoy the ride!
I’ve never read anything quite like this. I had visions of Alice in Wonderland and Fear and Loathing vibes. This book was definitely an experience! You don’t know what’s real or what’s drug-induced. It’s as if the reader is also experiencing this insanely trippy world right along with the characters. As they go deeper into the underground, it gets even more strange. Millican has created a very interesting world here. It’s a story that you will want to immerse yourself in! Strap in and enjoy the ride!
April 20, 2023
Enjoy this rendition of Dante’s Inferno on street drugs! As two Pilgrim Pals make their way deeper below the earth, they find mutated ecosystems, conspiracy theorist’s wet dream worlds, and eventually … God?
“Even before I was a junkie, I always imagined I’d die young. Not because I want to. I’m terrified of dying to tell you the truth. It’s more like a premonition.”
There is so much happening in this book I would reread pages just to capture all the madness the author has created.
I’ve never been much of an urban explorer, and the underground places aren’t for me, but it makes you wonder what could actually be hidden below our feet!
I will say that after Sonny met “God” things got a little confusing for me, but overall loved the majority of this story.
Thank you so much to the author for a copy to read & review.
“Even before I was a junkie, I always imagined I’d die young. Not because I want to. I’m terrified of dying to tell you the truth. It’s more like a premonition.”
There is so much happening in this book I would reread pages just to capture all the madness the author has created.
I’ve never been much of an urban explorer, and the underground places aren’t for me, but it makes you wonder what could actually be hidden below our feet!
I will say that after Sonny met “God” things got a little confusing for me, but overall loved the majority of this story.
Thank you so much to the author for a copy to read & review.
October 24, 2022
Holy Mind-Melting Madness Johnny Quest!!!
Wow. NO book has so thoroughly grabbed my attention and held it in a bizarro surrealistic vise-like grip since Mannequin Man and the Plastic Bitch by Tim Lebbon. The intricate web of conspiracy theories threading through this story made me giddy like a kid at a carnival. It was crazy, unbelievable, grotesque, disturbing, magical, and yet somehow still possessed an undercurrent of credibility that tugs at the psyche. There’s no explaining this book. It’s something you must experience. Just know, it’s like a drug fueled mind melting Johnny Quest descent into an overdose of madness … or possibly revelation. Dive in and enjoy the ride!
Wow. NO book has so thoroughly grabbed my attention and held it in a bizarro surrealistic vise-like grip since Mannequin Man and the Plastic Bitch by Tim Lebbon. The intricate web of conspiracy theories threading through this story made me giddy like a kid at a carnival. It was crazy, unbelievable, grotesque, disturbing, magical, and yet somehow still possessed an undercurrent of credibility that tugs at the psyche. There’s no explaining this book. It’s something you must experience. Just know, it’s like a drug fueled mind melting Johnny Quest descent into an overdose of madness … or possibly revelation. Dive in and enjoy the ride!
June 18, 2022
Joshua Millican is no stranger to horror, and his stunning debut novel is a thrilling bullet train ride to “Deeper Than Hell” depravity!
Fueled by addiction, his unforgettable characters drag us into a nightmare world, full of mind and body horrors, sure to excite the most experienced genre-readers.
Seductively shocking and incredibly original, Millican’s visceral imagery and dialog weave a world full of insidious threats, literally injected with terrifying visions of creatures and surprising personalities. I’d love to see it fleshed out in a sequel or screenplay!
With a finale, you won’t see coming, this relentless and well-crafted landing into the bowels of hell, humanity, and mythology will soar to the top of the “best of 2022” lists everywhere!
Joshua Millican not only hits it out of the ballpark, but he also lands a place on the all-star team with this unforgettable story that’s in the same league as the works of Burroughs, Cronenberg, and Barker.
Fueled by addiction, his unforgettable characters drag us into a nightmare world, full of mind and body horrors, sure to excite the most experienced genre-readers.
Seductively shocking and incredibly original, Millican’s visceral imagery and dialog weave a world full of insidious threats, literally injected with terrifying visions of creatures and surprising personalities. I’d love to see it fleshed out in a sequel or screenplay!
With a finale, you won’t see coming, this relentless and well-crafted landing into the bowels of hell, humanity, and mythology will soar to the top of the “best of 2022” lists everywhere!
Joshua Millican not only hits it out of the ballpark, but he also lands a place on the all-star team with this unforgettable story that’s in the same league as the works of Burroughs, Cronenberg, and Barker.
June 4, 2022
I was fortunate enough to get an ARC of Deeper Than Hell by Joshua Millican, which releases on June 14th. The story starts straightforward and simple: a homeless man, also a heroin addict, living in the tunnels under Las Vegas, gets lost in an infernal Underworld. Then the whole situation derails and the horror increases exponentially. We end up with an incredible creation, the author having great fun blending YouTube conspiracy theories with the Backrooms, the SCP foundation and a slice of that Brazil film. Actually, the book reads like Terry Gilliam on speed: extraordinary, original, bizarre. The Kafkaesque atmosphere, at times, makes for a very complex sequence of events, which requires constant intepretation for full understanding. The pleasure of discovering hidden connections, Easter Eggs and aspects of Dante's Inferno keeps the reader going, making it easy to appreciate Millican's so much loving effort and sheer hard work that has obviously gone into this gem of a book. The culmination of the story is sheer brilliance: a down-to-earth yet deeply absurd twist, bringing so much ambiguity into the mix, that explaining it all away as a fever dream proves impossible; rather, a hell of our own making is revealed, a revelation utterly disorienting and ultimately disturbing. The uncovering of the grotesque underpinnings of the story rewards the reader's patience and makes this book a must-read for any serious horror fan. Highly recommended.
July 9, 2022
I preordered Joshua Millican's first novel and have been looking forward to it. For those who might not already be familiar with his name, Joshua kicked off his horror writing with a blog and, later, took on a multi-year stint as the editor-in-chief of all-things-horror site Dread Central. Surprisingly to me, Deeper Than Hell is his first novel.
Because every author is inspired and influenced by favorite authors before them, you can definitively see the mark of Clive Barker in Millican's tale of a homeless drug addict who literally travels through a portal to Hell. This book is chock-full of strange creatures, stranger landscapes, and even stranger dialogues between the main character and his ever-rotting traveling companion.
I thoroughly enjoyed this read. It's not overly long and does not dwell on the insignificant. The only reason I'm giving this one four stars instead of five is that there seems to be a number of typographical issues (at least in the edition I read). Unfortunately for me, more than one or two of those start to pull me out of the story.
Nevertheless, Deeper Than Hell is an entertaining tour of a complex and mysterious otherworld. Worth your time if you're a fan of Barker or Bizarro authors.
EDIT: I have updated my rating to five stars. The publisher of Deeper Than Hell discovered and fixed the typographical errors.
Because every author is inspired and influenced by favorite authors before them, you can definitively see the mark of Clive Barker in Millican's tale of a homeless drug addict who literally travels through a portal to Hell. This book is chock-full of strange creatures, stranger landscapes, and even stranger dialogues between the main character and his ever-rotting traveling companion.
I thoroughly enjoyed this read. It's not overly long and does not dwell on the insignificant. The only reason I'm giving this one four stars instead of five is that there seems to be a number of typographical issues (at least in the edition I read). Unfortunately for me, more than one or two of those start to pull me out of the story.
Nevertheless, Deeper Than Hell is an entertaining tour of a complex and mysterious otherworld. Worth your time if you're a fan of Barker or Bizarro authors.
EDIT: I have updated my rating to five stars. The publisher of Deeper Than Hell discovered and fixed the typographical errors.
February 25, 2023
Basically this book is what I’ve always wanted and somehow Joshua Millican knew that 🤣
April 25, 2022
A heartily fascinating and beautifully written novel.
Millican constructs a psychedelic journey centered around heroin addicts Sonny and Drew, living in the tunnels below Las Vegas, whose addiction, metaphorical and literal, takes them on a journey through subterranean nightmares and dreamscapes. This is a novel about addiction. About nightmare.
About the hells of our own making. Millican's background in horror shines through and he demonstrates an incredible breadth of knowledge that requires annotations on just about every page, with endless references, with twists and turns the whole way through.
The writing is subtle, revealing nightmarish visions and twists as we go. If there is any flaw, it is that the plot itself can be a touch thin and occasionally the prose can bog the story itself down, but Sonny and Drew are fully realized characters, with Sonny being one we can scorn even as we sympathize with him.
It's his hell. We're just along for the ride.
Millican constructs a psychedelic journey centered around heroin addicts Sonny and Drew, living in the tunnels below Las Vegas, whose addiction, metaphorical and literal, takes them on a journey through subterranean nightmares and dreamscapes. This is a novel about addiction. About nightmare.
About the hells of our own making. Millican's background in horror shines through and he demonstrates an incredible breadth of knowledge that requires annotations on just about every page, with endless references, with twists and turns the whole way through.
The writing is subtle, revealing nightmarish visions and twists as we go. If there is any flaw, it is that the plot itself can be a touch thin and occasionally the prose can bog the story itself down, but Sonny and Drew are fully realized characters, with Sonny being one we can scorn even as we sympathize with him.
It's his hell. We're just along for the ride.
August 10, 2022
An addict embarks on an epic journey into a subterranean netherworld in search of a mystical realm where he can find sanctuary and redemption.
With its no-frills narrative, Deeper Than Hell takes us on an existential journey, a free fall into a labyrinthine world littered with seedy undesirables, fantastical sadomasochists and cave-dwelling creatures, all with or without their own moral compass. Reality and drug-trip and fever dream forge to become a debauched patchwork of violent scenes and bizarre, decadent sequences that taunt the mind, ultimately leaving the reader questioning the fluidity of morality. Millican splices fast-paced storytelling with references to horror genre popular culture and this makes for an effective, frenetic narrative.
As with all worthwhile transgressive fiction, there is no absolute certainty that what is happening actually is happening at all, and the experiences of the unreliable narrator nothing more than a result of yet another narcotic binge. This may well put the book at odds with readers who prefer linear storytelling. However, if you are a fan of transgressive fiction, then there is a lot to applaud in Millican's debut offering.
Recommended reading.
With its no-frills narrative, Deeper Than Hell takes us on an existential journey, a free fall into a labyrinthine world littered with seedy undesirables, fantastical sadomasochists and cave-dwelling creatures, all with or without their own moral compass. Reality and drug-trip and fever dream forge to become a debauched patchwork of violent scenes and bizarre, decadent sequences that taunt the mind, ultimately leaving the reader questioning the fluidity of morality. Millican splices fast-paced storytelling with references to horror genre popular culture and this makes for an effective, frenetic narrative.
As with all worthwhile transgressive fiction, there is no absolute certainty that what is happening actually is happening at all, and the experiences of the unreliable narrator nothing more than a result of yet another narcotic binge. This may well put the book at odds with readers who prefer linear storytelling. However, if you are a fan of transgressive fiction, then there is a lot to applaud in Millican's debut offering.
Recommended reading.
June 15, 2022
Deeper Than Hell took me on a wild journey that I’m still trying to recover from!
This story follows Sonny and his friend Drew to the pits of darkness!
I went into this book totally blind. I didn’t read the blurb just dived in and well, WOW!! The journey and self discovery within the pages was mind blowing! I will admit I had a hard time keeping up with what was taking place but I was completely absorbed! I felt myself wondering what was reality and what was a crazy binge dream! As you continue to read you discover that all of this is truth.
Sony and Drew are two addicts who live in the underground of Vegas! Seedy dealings, crazy characters but they have each other. When an incident has them running for their lives Sonny learns that Drew had a plan all along and was taking Sonny with him because the world was about to change!
One of the things I truly liked about the book were Drew’s tangents! He went off in history facts and knew so much that I often found myself researching! I will say this story
Will have you wondering if you know anything at all!
This story follows Sonny and his friend Drew to the pits of darkness!
I went into this book totally blind. I didn’t read the blurb just dived in and well, WOW!! The journey and self discovery within the pages was mind blowing! I will admit I had a hard time keeping up with what was taking place but I was completely absorbed! I felt myself wondering what was reality and what was a crazy binge dream! As you continue to read you discover that all of this is truth.
Sony and Drew are two addicts who live in the underground of Vegas! Seedy dealings, crazy characters but they have each other. When an incident has them running for their lives Sonny learns that Drew had a plan all along and was taking Sonny with him because the world was about to change!
One of the things I truly liked about the book were Drew’s tangents! He went off in history facts and knew so much that I often found myself researching! I will say this story
Will have you wondering if you know anything at all!
June 17, 2022
First thing to say: this book is GROSS… and I mean that in the best way possible! Absurd, kinetic, excessively disgusting scenarios come out of every which way (sometimes in instant succession), guaranteed to make the reader go “ew” at least once. The amount of creativity that went into these moments raise them to be the highest peaks that crown this underground, garbage-filled, blood covered mountain range of hardcore splatterpunk chaos.
Beneath the gore, there’s an equally unhinged story that goes in so many directions, you’re at risk of getting lost in the very same madness plaguing the “intrepid explorer” that severs as the lead character. Throughout my read, I didn’t know where the plot was going to take me at any given moment, successfully throwing me through more loops than any other book I’ve read recently.
It’s also filled with Pop Culture Horror references that, while potentially distracting from the narrative at times, none-the-less reflects the absolute passion the author has for the genre.
I haven’t dwelled too deeply into the “hardcore horror” style of literature as of yet (mostly due to lack of free time than interest), but you can bet that I’ll be looking forward to whatever fever dream Joshua Millican conjures up next!
If grossness and extreme scenes of disturbing violence doesn’t cut it for you, maybe skip this one. But if you’re a fan of films like Street Trash, Evil Dead, Brain Damage, or just blood-&-guts flavored horror in general, I highly recommend checking this out!
Beneath the gore, there’s an equally unhinged story that goes in so many directions, you’re at risk of getting lost in the very same madness plaguing the “intrepid explorer” that severs as the lead character. Throughout my read, I didn’t know where the plot was going to take me at any given moment, successfully throwing me through more loops than any other book I’ve read recently.
It’s also filled with Pop Culture Horror references that, while potentially distracting from the narrative at times, none-the-less reflects the absolute passion the author has for the genre.
I haven’t dwelled too deeply into the “hardcore horror” style of literature as of yet (mostly due to lack of free time than interest), but you can bet that I’ll be looking forward to whatever fever dream Joshua Millican conjures up next!
If grossness and extreme scenes of disturbing violence doesn’t cut it for you, maybe skip this one. But if you’re a fan of films like Street Trash, Evil Dead, Brain Damage, or just blood-&-guts flavored horror in general, I highly recommend checking this out!
June 12, 2022
Deeper Than Hell is Joshua Millican’s debut novel, and wow does he deliver! The best way I can explain this book without giving any spoilers is Mad Max on acid. We follow Sonny, a Heroin addict who lives in the tunnels below Las Vegas. As if that’s not dangerous enough, he and his friend Drew (I loved Drew!) find themselves on the run going deeper and deeper into the depths below the surface. Each area we get to visit is it’s own unique world, and Joshua does an incredible job with the world building to make us feel like we are really there. Some of his inspirations bleed through onto the page, like Clive Barker’s cenobites, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and much more. What I loved most about this book was how well Millican made the reader wonder what was real and what wasn’t. Again, Sonny is an addict, and whether it’s Heroin or other drugs, he always tends to find himself high on something that makes the reader wonder how much of what he’s seeing is real or not.
I highly recommend this book to anyone that loves some elements of extreme horror, but also wants to really put their thinking cap on throughout. It’s hard to believe this is Millican’s first book, it’s so well written from a plot perspective as well as a prose perspective. I can’t wait to see what else he has in store for us!
I highly recommend this book to anyone that loves some elements of extreme horror, but also wants to really put their thinking cap on throughout. It’s hard to believe this is Millican’s first book, it’s so well written from a plot perspective as well as a prose perspective. I can’t wait to see what else he has in store for us!
April 18, 2022
This novel by Joshua Millican is like reading a story that was crafted by Lovecraft, Barker, and a little Fear and Loathing mixed in. Josh really does a great job in taking into this twisted tale and by 20 pages into it I couldn't put the thing down. I must read if you are a horror fan, and probably a re-read if you like the gentlemen I mentioned at the top of the review.
January 12, 2023
Wow, this book is crazy. It was like fear and loathing meets fight club meets journey to the center of the earth. But the center is hell, and there might be aliens? Most intriguing book I've read in a long time.
March 22, 2023
This was just wild. What do you get when you mix drugs, conspiracy theories, and horror? This. It’s an insane ride into the underground of Vegas! We deal with an unreliable narrator due to his drugs use, which makes everything more interesting.
I enjoyed the ride, even the wildest parts. I wish there had been some more explanation for certain conspiracies or events and I wasn’t a huge fan of the epilogue, but overall it was a great read! It definitely gives some Naked Lunch meets Alice in Wonderland vibes!
Thank you to Encyclopocalypse publications and Joshua Millican for the review copy!
I enjoyed the ride, even the wildest parts. I wish there had been some more explanation for certain conspiracies or events and I wasn’t a huge fan of the epilogue, but overall it was a great read! It definitely gives some Naked Lunch meets Alice in Wonderland vibes!
Thank you to Encyclopocalypse publications and Joshua Millican for the review copy!
August 8, 2022
This was a lot of fun with horror nods left and right to Clive Barker, William S. Burroughs, and David Cronenberg. This is transgressive fiction that is unrelenting and due to how it is written, it makes the reader feel just as disoriented as its characters. Also, while I enjoyed this work, it might not be for everyone as it is very grotesque.
July 30, 2022
A uniquely bizarre and horrifying, drug fueled ride beneath the streets of Las Vegas, each destination along the way more strange than the last. This book is fast paced, well written and well worth the trip. (Reading the book, I wouldn’t recommend the drug use). Give it a read if you enjoy some good extreme horror.
January 2, 2023
I recently discovered Joshua Millican and this is my first experience with his writing. And I don't have words for what I've just read! Deeper Than Hell is an insane journey with an unreliable narrator. Sonny isn't a particularly likeable character, but I found myself becoming quite attached to him as I followed him on his journey. Sonny is a homeless junkie living in the tunnels below Vegas when he begins his journey with fellow junkie Drew. Drew is a storyteller. Many of his stories are conspiracy stories. The few that I searched on the internet are actual conspiracy theories, so it looks like Millican did a great job researching. Many interesting people and places are encountered as Sonny gets further and further down into the earth, searching for Drew's Xanadu. There were some typos and grammar issues, but overall I enjoyed this book and look forward to checking out more by Joshua Millican.
February 25, 2023
3.5 stars
Deeper Than Hell was a trip, plain and simple. It was a modern retelling of Dante's Inferno if Dante had been on a wild bender. I enjoyed that it was such an insane, wild story and that every new place that Sonny and Drew went was so different to the last. This story was every conspiracy theorist's wet dream and was a fascinating look at humanity's will to survive.
There were a couple things, however, that I wasn't quite as into. While it's definitely a nod to Dante, I think at times the story tried too hard to make the reader understand that this was very similar to Inferno. There were a lot of mentions of something be "like our very own Virgil" or mentions of Dante specifically that I felt like I was having that connection shoved down my throat rather than letting me come to that conclusion on my own. As a reader, I wanted to be able to form my own thoughts without having it force fed to me.
I also noticed that when the author would describe something in a list format, he'd often list five or six (sometimes more) descriptors. By the time I'd reached the end, I'd forgotten what was being described in the first place because I got bogged down in all the listing. I love a detailed description as much as anyone, but too much description makes me lose a little interest since I'm constantly going back to refresh what's being described.
I did enjoy this story (even though sometimes there was a random scene inserted that didn't seem to go with what was happening)! I loved reading Sonny's transformation over the course of the book and the glimpse of the outside with his sister really brought everything together in the end. I'm looking forward to reading what Joshua will give us next!
Deeper Than Hell was a trip, plain and simple. It was a modern retelling of Dante's Inferno if Dante had been on a wild bender. I enjoyed that it was such an insane, wild story and that every new place that Sonny and Drew went was so different to the last. This story was every conspiracy theorist's wet dream and was a fascinating look at humanity's will to survive.
There were a couple things, however, that I wasn't quite as into. While it's definitely a nod to Dante, I think at times the story tried too hard to make the reader understand that this was very similar to Inferno. There were a lot of mentions of something be "like our very own Virgil" or mentions of Dante specifically that I felt like I was having that connection shoved down my throat rather than letting me come to that conclusion on my own. As a reader, I wanted to be able to form my own thoughts without having it force fed to me.
I also noticed that when the author would describe something in a list format, he'd often list five or six (sometimes more) descriptors. By the time I'd reached the end, I'd forgotten what was being described in the first place because I got bogged down in all the listing. I love a detailed description as much as anyone, but too much description makes me lose a little interest since I'm constantly going back to refresh what's being described.
I did enjoy this story (even though sometimes there was a random scene inserted that didn't seem to go with what was happening)! I loved reading Sonny's transformation over the course of the book and the glimpse of the outside with his sister really brought everything together in the end. I'm looking forward to reading what Joshua will give us next!
April 7, 2023
This was a veritable fever dream. A cacophonous journey of frenetic activity, brutal violence, trans-humanism, mutants, and a truck load of drugs. It'll take you places and if you have the slightest interest in going there I'd recommend it.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
August 9, 2024
I didn’t like the book from the start. And good thing it was 230 some pages, because that was one of the worst narrators for audiobook ever! The entire book (kindle & audiobook) was a bad journey.
June 11, 2022
This book was a fever dream that blended the madness of addiction and hellish horror in equal measures. There were notes of Clive Barker and Jason Pargin/David Wong mixed within but with a voice all it’s own. This novel is such a treat and stuck with me long after it’s end. I very much look forward to what horrors Joshua Millican creates next!!!
February 27, 2023
What a trip this book was. I have never read a book like this before. If I did acid, mushrooms,heroin or any other hardcore drug; I imagine this is what the world looks like everyday. Each experience Sonny seemed to go through was worse than the next. It’s no wonder he was constantly looking for the “warm oblivion”. Living under the city would make anyone go a little stir crazy and make up stories to pass the time.
October 27, 2023
This book wasn’t as disturbing or gory as it was sold to me as, but it was still a great read. It felt almost more like a fairy tale. The writing style was very dreamy and lyrical which felt right with it being essentially a heroin fuelled vision quest to the Center of the Earth.
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