The Terror by Dan Simmons –
This is my first read of aDan Simmons work. And at first I was skeptical. In the beginning The Terror seemed ponderous—potentially another too-detailed account of historical tragedy. Even the prose seemed cumbersome. Oh, how wrong could I be?!
Enraptured by The Terror
This is a truly masterful work—one most authors can only aspire to. It wasn’t long before I realized that the prose’s period style was an integral part of the story—a stroke of sheer genius.
Simmons immersed me in an unimaginable hell with such dexterity that it became all too real. Talk about Hell freezing over . . . Add an elusive and monstrous beast that preys on the stranded sailors and you have intertwining metaphors of epic proportions. And in spite of all the misery, Simmons artfully manages to glorify the human spirit in the face of insurmountable odds. Then in a soaring redemption he snatches you from the jaws of hell in a mystical triumph. Not your traditional mystery novel by your traditional mystery writer, to be sure. Still, it’s one of the best mystery stories ever written.
A truly magnificent accomplishment, not for the casual reader or faint of heart. I highly recommend it!
(Here it comes—the blatant self-promotion for my newest mystery book on Amazon.com.)
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