BOOK REVIEW: DEEPER THAN HELL BY JOSHUA MILLICAN

13/9/2022

Joshua Millican’s debut novel, Deeper Than Hell is the trashpunk conspiracy nut take on Dante’s Inferno you didn’t know you needed!

Deeper Than Hell
Joshua Millican (Author), Adam Blanford (Narrator),
Encyclopocalypse Publications

A review by Zachary Ashford

Joshua Millican is certainly no stranger to the world of horror, having been involved in the scene in a journalistic capacity since 2011. He even spent a stint working as editor-in-chief of Dread Central, so he knows his stuff. With that in mind, it’s no surprise his debut novel is a wild ride through the bowels of Vegas that hits enough references to keep the most stalwart horror fan happy.

Deeper Than Hell is, first and foremost, one hell of a story. Essentially the story of a down and out heroin user on a quest to find the meaning of life, this horrific adventure into the sewers and catacombs beneath Las Vegas sees Millican take readers on a journey that’s as creative as it is reminiscent of Dante’s Inferno and Journey to the Centre of the Earth.

Where the canonical classic sees the poet writing himself into a journey through the nine layers of hell with Virgil, though, Deeper Than Hell sees its heroin addict protagonist Sonny travelling into the darkest recesses beneath Las Vegas with his dead conspiracy theorist buddy Drew. And make no mistake, Drew spits ‘truths’ like a character from the Illuminatus Trilogy.

Yeah, there’s a lot to unpack there, but if that little summary doesn’t get you going, then this isn’t the book for you. Of course, this relationship is fraught with tension as Millican does a fine job planting enough questions to leave the reader wondering whether Drew’s intentions are noble. That, in turn adds to the conflicts that run through the foundations of this vivid tale.

The journey begins after disgruntled dealers come for Drew and Sonny, and as the pair descends into the sublevels of humanity, their quest is akin to what you might get if Clive Barker wrote Journey to the Centre of the Earth. As Sonny goes deeper and deeper into the cavernous expanses below Vegas and Drew fades in and out of the story, he faces trash-monsters, human horrors, and spiritual challenges. Ultimately, Sonny is forced to look deep into himself if he wishes to survive the journey, and it’s the human heart beating in this quest that makes it so engaging.

Throughout the narrative, Drew’s penchant for sharing stories about the dangers the two confront, the sub-human groups they discover, and the prospect of finding greater treasures if they just go deeper into the sewers – and themselves – add character to a tale that’s a welcome addition to the genre.

Of course, it would be remiss of me not to point out that I experienced this story on Audible. Produced by Encyclopocalypse, the audiobook is of terrific quality. The first-person prose provides the perfect leap-pad for Adam Blanford to characterise Sonny – and everyone else – with a range of voices that immerse the reader into the labyrinthine tunnels that Sonny and Drew travel through.

As a result, the Deeper Than Hell audiobook makes for a thrilling way to consume Millican’s debut novel.

Highly recommended.

Deeper Than Hell
Joshua Millican (Author), Adam Blanford (Narrator)

Drugs. Delirium. Damnation.

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!

Zachary Ashford

Zachary Ashford is an Australian educator, a freelance writer, and the Aurealis Award-nominated author of When the Cicadas Stop Singing from Horrific Tales. He spends long periods of time surrounded by horror merch, listening to metal and conjuring Australian horror stories that represent our themes of isolation and conflict with a hostile environment.