The Terror
A Novel
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4.4 • 542 Ratings
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
The "masterfully chilling" novel that inspired the hit AMC series (Entertainment Weekly).
The men on board the HMS Terror — part of the 1845 Franklin Expedition, the first steam-powered vessels ever to search for the legendary Northwest Passage — are entering a second summer in the Arctic Circle without a thaw, stranded in a nightmarish landscape of encroaching ice and darkness. Endlessly cold, they struggle to survive with poisonous rations, a dwindling coal supply, and ships buckling in the grip of crushing ice. But their real enemy is even more terrifying. There is something out there in the frigid darkness: an unseen predator stalking their ship, a monstrous terror clawing to get in.
“The best and most unusual historical novel I have read in years.” —Katherine A. Powers, Boston Globe
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Hugo-winner Simmons (Olympos) brings the horrific trials and tribulations of arctic exploration vividly to life in this beautifully written historical, which injects a note of supernatural horror into the 1840s Franklin expedition and its doomed search for the Northwest Passage. Sir John Franklin, the leader of the expedition and captain of the Erebus, is an aging fool. Francis Crozier, his second in command and captain of the Terror, is a competent sailor, but embittered after years of seeing lesser men with better connections given preferment over him. With their two ships quickly trapped in pack ice, their voyage is a disaster from start to finish. Some men perish from disease, others from the cold, still others from botulism traced to tinned food purchased from the lowest bidder. Madness, mutiny and cannibalism follow. And then there's the monstrous creature from the ice, the thing like a polar bear but many times larger, possessed of a dark and vicious intelligence. This complex tale should find many devoted readers and add significantly to Simmons's already considerable reputation.
Customer Reviews
Well conceived but too long
Excellent story based on fact and nicely developed. But so many superfluous aspects of this made it a long and tough read. Nevertheless, a good book.
Again and again
Dan Simmons writes stories that are compelling, smart and beautiful. The Terror does not disappoint. I'm thankful to live in a world with Dan Simmons. He is truly one of the greats.
A good thrill ride that limps to the finish
Simmons' Terror winds up well, using multiple perspectives and jumps in time to keep the pace moving. Character development is well done for Crozier and Goodsir, while the rest are underdeveloped or shallow. That said, it's a great ride for the first 80% of the story. Unfortunately, it peters out at the end, as the bridge between Native Arctic Forklore and the reality of how Sir Franklin's crew ends up leads to an unsatisfactory, unbelievable ending that attempts fictional closure in a still unresolved mystery.
In the end, you won't regret the read, but you might feel a little cheated given the investment in time and emotion needed to finish this book.
(note this is not an uplifting story; those looking for inspiration or redemption most likely will feel cheated.)