The Terror by Dan Simmons

Stephen King hailed Dan Simmons' bestselling novel as 'a brilliant, massive combination of history and supernatural horror' and it's now a chilling 10-part AMC Original TV series from Ridley Scott.The most advanced scientific enterprise ever mounted, Sir John Franklin?s 1845 expedition in search of the fabled North-West Passage had every expectation of triumph. But for almost two years his ships HMS Terror and Erebus have beentrapped in the Arctic ice. Supplies of fuel and food are running low. Scurvy, starvation and even madness beging to take their toll. And yet the real threat isn?t from the constantly shifting, alien landscape, the flesh-numbing temperatures or being crushed by the unyielding, frozen ocean. No, the real threat is far more terrifying. There is something out there in the frigid darkness. It stalks the ships and snatches men. It is a nameless thing. At once nowhere and everywhere, this terror has become the expedition?s nemesis . . .

Captivating book. I had already seen the show, but the book was quite different in a few ways. I devoured it. TBH the ending was a little disappointing??? And this dude is really into describing what tits and balls are doing.

oh, i love arctic exploration novels

The first 800 pages were fantastic, but the final 200 or so were a thing of beauty.

I doubt I've ever read (or listened to) a book this long, but I enjoyed the experience a lot. It kept my attention easily at every moment. I don't know if I really recommend it, though, because I did have some problems with it. I'll say 2 or 3 stars for the themes of the book and 5 for my enjoyment level.

I would like to write a longer review but I'm just not up for typing it on my phone. And it's not like this is some obscure book. It was odd for me to spend so much time with such a mainstream work. But I was reading it for the adventure, and on that front, it delivered exactly what I wanted.

My main problem, then, was with the book's human villain, Hickey. I don't know why he was so evil. He was also gay, and a sexual predator. It felt like his only motivation was just a general rejection of authority. I couldn't see things from his perspective, which I think is a major flaw in a story.

The plot with Crozier was very strange, and I don't really know how I feel about it. It was easy for me to identify with him, and I think he's a very well-drawn character. I'll have to put more thought into that.

I was afraid this book would be in omniscient third-person, which I dislike, but it isn't. It's limited third-person, like ASoIaF, and if you like those books, you'll probably like this. It's similar in that it's often brutally gory and just brutal in general, and it has a cast of fascinating characters. Unlike in those books, there is no on-page sexual violence. It also reminded me quite a bit of the show Lost, but The Terror actually tells a coherent story.

Overall, this got me excited to read more books set mostly on ships. I don't know if I'll read this author again, but it was a very entertaining book.