The Terror

I had previously picked up and almost as quickly, put down a Dan Simmons novel, so I wasn't expecting to be entertained, enthralled, frightened and delighted by Simmons' 769-page fictionalized account of the disastrous Arctic expedition of the HMS Terror.
This is one hell of a good read.
In Simmons account, the Terror fell victim to arrogance, poor planning, weak leadership, some corruption, really bad luck and weather, and a mysterious white creature that begins slaughtering the crew.
The characters are rich and practically breath on the page. Despite the characters being stuck in ice for months, the plot steams forward at a powerful pace.
What lifts this novel from merely very good to excellent is the imaginative and moving final twist at the end.