Although I have a lot of criticism about Dan Simmons’ new book, “Drood,” I have to say, first and foremost, that I enjoyed this book and I commend the author for his boldness and for his artistry. “Drood” is a well-researched book that boldly re-imagines and fictionalizes the final years in the lives of Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins, who are being preyed upon by an otherworldly creature that goes by the name of Drood. Simmons mixes history, biography, and fantasy to tell a fascinating and gripping tale of gothic horror.

Simmons’ Wilkie Collins is a complex character who struggles with an addiction to laudanum and an even greater addiction to his sometimes friend, sometimes collaborator Charles Dickens. Written as an autobiographical postscript, Simmons does a splendid job capturing Collins’ voice, style, and propensity toward sensationalism; the author also does a magnificent job illustrating Collins’ contentious, contradictory, and confounding feelings towards his more famous competitor/collaborator, Dickens. Simmons is a talented author whose strength lay in his ability to create spine-tingling suspense alongside well-rounded and complex characters. As I stated at the beginning of this review, though, despite the myriad strengths of this book, there are also some significant problems.

Now, I have to say that I read an uncorrected proof of the book, so many of the issues I have with the novel may have been ironed out in the proofreading process. The primary problem I had with the book is that it desperately needs editing. The novel is about 100 pages longer than it needs to be with many redundant passages and a couple of continuity issues. The “meat” of the story doesn’t begin until page 446 and, in my opinion, that is a lot of exposition and set-up to ask of a reader. Mind you, a lot of exciting and wonderful things happen in those first 450 pages; however, those “wonderful things” are in fits and starts with the real action of the narrative taking place only in the last half of the novel.

My other problem with the book is that while I’d love to recommend it to people, I feel that it will only appeal to people who have some level of experience with the novels of Charles Dickens. Many plot points revolve around Dickensian novels and the main trajectory, the underlying question throughout the book is how the mysterious creature Drood will be transformed into Dickens’ unfinished novel “The Mystery of Edwin Drood.” If one does not know about Dickens’ last, unfinished novel, much of the fun and suspense of Simmons’ Drood is somewhat lost.

All in all, this is a fantastic novel that needs some editorial guidance; it is a novel that I really enjoyed, but one that I fear will have limited appeal and, therefore, limited readership.