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The Terror

Dan Simmons

4.03 · Rating details · 47,037 ratings · 4,742 reviews

The men on board HMS Terror have every expectation of triumph. As part of the 1845 Franklin Expedition, the first steam-powered vessels ever to search for the legendary Northwest Passage, they are as scientifically supported an enterprise as has ever set forth. As they enter a second summer in the Arctic Circle without a thaw, though, they are stranded in a nightmarish lan ...more

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Hardcover, 769 pages

Published January 8th 2007 by Little, Brown and Company

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Oct 20, 2011 mark monday rated it it was amazing

Shelves: horror-modern, into-the-past, rain-man-reviews, mnemonic-devices, alpha-team, these-fragile-lives

To: Mr. Dan Simmons
From: Associated Publishing Industries Unlimited, Ltd.
Subject: Your Recent Submission The Terror

Thank you for your recent submission. Unfortunately, at this time, we do not see a fit between your product and our company's goals.

Although our senior staff appreciated your technical ability, we noted several serious issues with your submission that need to be resolved prior to your product finding placement. These include, but are not limited to:

1. Extensive and Excessive Length ...more

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Mar 06, 2010 karen rated it really liked it

Shelves: tastes-like-people, it-is-for-class

**lo! i have made a readalike list for this book over on riffle!**

http://www.rifflebooks.com/list/25427...

oh my god, let me never get scurvy.

i am glad i am such a grad-school overachiever. for both the horror/sci-fi and mystery portions of my readers' advisory class, i have read one extra title from the selection list, and both times, i have liked the extra title best. (i did not choose to read an extra romance title, so we will never know how that would have turned out, alas)

this book is a rar ...more

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Sep 09, 2009 Amanda rated it did not like it

Shelves: blog, crap, book-club-made-me-do-it

September 7, 2010: I don't want to talk about it right now. It's too soon and the pain is still too fresh. I shall review on another day.

September 17, 2010: It's been well over a week since my encounter with The Terror and the thought of writing a review still exhausts me, but here it goes.

I have read many glowing reviews of The Terror. That is, in fact, why I bought it. I mean, check out this kick ass plot:

Two British ships, the Terror and the Erebus, are frozen in the polar sea for years, wa ...more

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Jul 02, 2016 Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: own, horror-etc

UPDATE: $2.99 on kindle US 7-27-17

People, just turn around and go home!

I probably shouldn't have went and read some facts about the history of this book because I might mess this review up. It's just so freaking interesting and I want to read about it. The author left a lot of resources for books at the end and there is one I'm going to try to get for sure.

The fact that Dan Simmons added an horror element to a historic novel is pretty awesome. And there are so many characters that I liked in th ...more

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Oct 12, 2014 Lisa rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I guess I've read this book at least 5 times.
It's the only book that I've ever finished and then turned back to page one, and started again.
This story is the one that sent me on my year's long search for what I never knew I was missing. I read all sorts of Arctic explorers now. I wish I'd never known. ...more

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Mar 04, 2018 Ginger rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2018, buddy-read

Whew! I finished it. Wowza!
This is such a long book!!!!!!!

Don’t go into this one unless you enjoy big books, having the patience to let the story evolve and knowing that the pace can be slow at times.

I stuck in there from the beginning and the ending was well worth it! I was struggling in the beginning because the first 10 or so chapters in this book alternate between the present and the past when the Franklin expedition was started.
It also has different POV chapters with characters so also know ...more

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Nov 10, 2019 Debra rated it really liked it

This is so good!!!!!!!! What took me so long to read this?????

The men aboard the HHS Terror believe they will be the ones to successfully search for the Northwest Passage. The year is 1845 and the Franklin Expedition is steam-powered and after spending another a second summer in the arctic circle, their rations begin to dwindle, men's spirits begin to plummet and there is no end to the ice, cold and darkness. As the men begin to show signs of scurvy, they also are confronted by poisonous food, c ...more

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Aug 22, 2012 Michael Fierce rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommends it for: fans of historical fiction and oldschool books by Poe, Kipling, Algernon Blackwood & Ambrose Bierce

Shelves: adventure, creature, historical-fiction, favorite-books, horror

The Terror is a fictional tale based on the real life experience of the notoriously doomed John Franklin Expedition.

These brave men journeyed hundreds of miles by sea voyage in the HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, part of the British Naval fleet sent to the Arctic to force the Northwest Passage in 1845–1848, and then travelled the rest on foot into the desolate, below-freezing temperatures of the Arctic wasteland.

All died or were never seen or heard from ever again.

description

Dan Simmons imaginative story ex description

All died or were never seen or heard from ever again.

description

Dan Simmons imaginative story explains how and why.

The Terror is a book drawn from a historical background so deep and so thoroughly well-researched that I'm quite sure I've never heard of any other writer of fiction attempting to do so at this level ever before.

For those that like to pick apart every bit of a story with a goal in mind to repute the validity of the facts given, you won't find much to work with here.

Set in the harshest conditions, with handfuls of men that may be hard to discern not only which side of the fence they're on, but just who is who for a ways, these characters aren't so much as enjoyable as they are absorbing. As their living conditions become more severe and their hardships grow more intense, good decision-making is made less and less often. Way below freezing temperatures, sparse food supplies, sickness, soreness, etc., would be tragic for even the most stalwart of men.

description

The Terror, providentially, is more than all this. What is it exactly? ~ This is a horror book, right? Yes. Even though it didn't have to be. Dan Simmons could have left out all the fantastical elements in his historical tale and it would've been enough to cringe to and have nightmares about and be fascinated by all the same. But, he didn't stop there, thankfully.

description

So what is The Terror exactly? Is it a man? Is it natural, man-made, myth or legend? The word Tuunbaq comes up. Is it a living creature, a guardian spirit, or an evil elder monster from eons past, or maybe something from another world?

description

   ~ Is it the Wendigo? Or possibly a Yeti? ~

   ~ A Polar Bear gone mad with frenzy? ~

   ~ Is it the mythical Tuunbaq, maybe? ~

I can't say.

The story itself is very long, a bit heavy, hopeless, and as can only be expected, if you don't stay on it you will probably confuse a few of the officers with eachother which could result in you wanting to forget the whole thing altogether.

This book cannot be compared to Simmons previous novels in any shape or form. This book is not science-fiction nor does it have the framework or set-up of a traditional horror tale either.

For anyone fascinated with historical adventures and cryptid horror and for readers who crave oldschool antiquated storytelling.

It takes an investment of time and patience beyond the norm that should be very rewarding if you stay with it until the end. I thought it was truly great and really enjoyed all the finer details that breached to the surface.

description

If you are a modern reader and you only like *page-turners*, this is certainly not for you. If you have a million and one things going on at once, just say no for now. If you are into comic book type action of super-heroic proportions, not for you. If you like quick answers and are impatient in any way I suggest reading something else. If you are somebody who needs happy American-style endings to your movie, where you finally get the girl and there's a big smooch in the end with sunlight or fireworks streaming in the background, don't even touch this book for fear you might be infected by the dreadful truth of reality.

There are many reasons why you should want to read this though. In this book you will share and feel the experience the crew are feeling: the cold, the despair, the loneliness, the dread and terror of the unknown, unstoppable creature, and the tragic understanding of, what inevitably feels to be, a hopeless outcome. You might feel the need to put on layers and layers of clothing, and stand so close to a fire you may be tempted to put your hands and feet right into it. You will feel like you are living this book.

description

I believe it is Dan Simmons magnum opus. I give it 5 stars not because I'm necesarily going to return and re-read it again anytime soon but because, other than being a tad too long, it is flawless. It doesn't fall into modern traps or pitfalls of always trying to please the reader nor does it have the feeling of a Hollywood movie where you know your main characters are going to survive to the end, regardless of any other surprises.

This is the real deal. Live it. Experience it. Draw from it.

Then pick up some fluffy fun read you can rollercoaster through for 2 days straight to a walloping climax so you can recuperate and recover.

* For fans of the book, you will be glad to know AMC is bringing it to television in the form of a tv series and if that news isn't good enough, Ridley Scott is purportedly producing it and my guess is he may even direct an episode or two.

** There have been several releases of this book, even a few just recently. I prefer the standard-sized 2009 paperback release. It has a little better cover art than some of the others, having distinct yellow and white embossed lettering, and inside and on the back, a lot of cool quotes and kudo's by reviewers and other notable authors.

Kind of fun to read what others have to say about this extraordinary novel.

Highly recommended!!!!!

description

...more

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Oct 10, 2017 Michael rated it really liked it

Why am I reading so many books about the cold? Maybe because it's freezing here in Chicago!

This is a buddy read with Cristina, and I'll review as I go.

The first couple of hundred pages were surprisingly slow-going. There was very little propulsion about the plot--just occasional glimpses of the "terror" along with long passages of backstory that I didn't really find compelling. I don't know why I reacted like that. Maybe it was because I'd just read Crime and Punishment, another (and very differ Why am I reading so many books about the cold? Maybe because it's freezing here in Chicago!

This is a buddy read with Cristina, and I'll review as I go.

The first couple of hundred pages were surprisingly slow-going. There was very little propulsion about the plot--just occasional glimpses of the "terror" along with long passages of backstory that I didn't really find compelling. I don't know why I reacted like that. Maybe it was because I'd just read Crime and Punishment, another (and very different) tome that managed to be fascinating throughout. Or maybe it was the prose, which isn't terribly stylish. I'm always a sucker for great prose, and I miss it when it isn't there. At that point, I would have given the book two or maybe three stars.

Then, at some point, things brightened up--the plot started shifting into gear, with all the various elements (the terror, the ice, scurvy, boredom, and inter-character conflict) starting to come together. I still think it took too long for that to happen, but boy, I'm glad it did!

[Some spoilers follow]

***

I love the scene of the Carnival, no doubt because it self-consciously replicates Poe's The Masque of the Red Death. You just knew, given that setup, that the creature would strike, but it was quite well-done all the same. And the scene where Irving watches the creature and Lady Silence together was just magical. It deepened the sense of the creature as not merely being a source of terror, but also perhaps something more.

Of course, against the backdrop of the creature striking, we have the "ticking clock" in the form of scurvy and running out of food. The sailors need to do something to escape, and their ice-bound ships will not suffice. What can they do? It's a terrific source of tension.

***

In the end they make an ill-fated attempt to cross the ice by foot, and here is where the interpersonal tensions come to a head. It's also where we see, in shocking terms, just what the cold does to a human body. The creature recedes somewhat into the background as the elements take over. I may have wished for more of a confrontation with the creature, as it seems to emerge at times conveniently, only to fade away when its presence is inconvenient, but this is a minor quibble.

In the end, the group splinters, and a new source of evil in the form of Cornelius Hickey comes to the front of the stage. The pages here are quite gripping, even as the moral valence isn't terribly complicated.

What does become complicated, and what ultimately elevates this book, is the relationship between Captain Crozier and "Lady Silence" that emerges after Crozier is left for dead by Hickey and his band. What's interesting is how Crozier changes and becomes like an Eskimo himself--how he becomes a different person. The climax is when the creature emerges and cuts out his tongue just as it had Lady Silence's, and while this is never really explained, I took it as a metaphor for the limits of language itself--how they had to free themselves from language to see beyond its obscuring haze of words. In the end, much of the final part of the book is interwoven with songs and language taken from the Eskimo, and while I couldn't understand it, it nonetheless had a certain power. Like a Latin Mass, the sounds themselves conveyed a certain meaning beyond the rational, which may have been part of the point--that all that British rationalism only got the men killed, while the liturgical melding of Crozier and Lady Silence and the landscape itself was what saved him. ...more

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Apr 06, 2018 Bentley ★ Bookbastion.net rated it it was amazing

See this review and more like it at www.bookbastion.net!
_______

I'm late to the party with this read, I know, but The Terror just came onto my radar when I realized that AMC was turning it into a television show. I'm a book-over-movie/tv adaptation purist. So many details end up falling to the wayside in an adaptation - for example, I've watched one episode of the show, and already spotted a major difference from the book. I knew I'd want to experience this story as Dan Simmons originally told it ...more

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Dec 16, 2018 Bradley rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2018-shelf, history, horror

Dan Simmons is an author's author.

Every time I read something by him that is either A: not quite in my interest zone, or B: reads workmanlike but nothing particularly brilliant, he SQUASHES my expectations.

HMS Terror and Erebus are out to find the Northwest Passage. In the meantime, I am tricked into caring about every one of the men on the ships. This is not a Darwin Award I'm reading, even though a few characters WERE on the Beagle.

This is a harrowing and perfectly period descent into an icy ...more

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Jan 18, 2017 Rachel Bea rated it it was amazing

Shelves: ontd-2017, books-of-2017, cold-weather-chilly-tales, horror-i-read-in-2017, sfrc-winter-2017, wishlist, horror

Wow...

I absolutely loved this book.

Don't let the page length stop you from reading it! Despite its length, the story moves quickly and there's incredible tension throughout. There are a ton of characters to keep you interested (but not too many that you lose track) and who you'll want to scream at for doing the wrong thing or an incredibly awful thing. Some parts were breathtakingly tense and some parts were frightening. Don't think of this as a horror book with a monster... This is so much mo ...more

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May 20, 2009 Wil Wheaton rated it it was amazing

Shelves: horror, 2010-project

Without getting into any spoilers: this is a fictionalized account of the doomed Franklin expedition to find the Northwest Passage in 1845. It is about hubris, greed, strength during unspeakable adversity, and possibly redemption.

Oh, there's also a terrifying monster that they call The Thing on The Ice which is slowly killing everyone aboard the two ships.

It's Dan Simmons, so he takes his time getting into the meat of the story (my dad said that he was telling three stories when he could have to ...more

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May 30, 2013 Carol rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, horror, read-2014

WOW! This historic tale of a doomed arctic expedition set in 1845 aboard the HMS TERROR is based on true events and one horrific adventure complete with unbelievably brutal sub-zero temperatures, and a terrifying monster from hell. Loaded with great characters including the mysterious 'Lady Silence' and a unique and surprising ending to say the least. While sometimes descriptively gruesome, an engaging story and thrilling read! ...more

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Oct 16, 2014 Edward Lorn rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I started out 2016 with a plan in mind. I wanted to read more doorstops and more books by non-American authors. I spent the majority of 2015 rereading Stephen King's entire catalogue and wanted this year to open new doors. So far in 2016, (ignore all those Koontz rereads, please and thank you) I've spent a considerable amount of time seeking out and reading authors who were not born or do not live in America and snowshoeing my way through massive tomes the likes of which Dan Simmons is known to I started out 2016 with a plan in mind. I wanted to read more doorstops and more books by non-American authors. I spent the majority of 2015 rereading Stephen King's entire catalogue and wanted this year to open new doors. So far in 2016, (ignore all those Koontz rereads, please and thank you) I've spent a considerable amount of time seeking out and reading authors who were not born or do not live in America and snowshoeing my way through massive tomes the likes of which Dan Simmons is known to write. This is my fourth Simmons novel this year and most certainly my favorite of the bunch. I think that, after this one, I will sample some of Simmons's sci fi/fantasy offerings, like Hyperion.

While Simmons is an American author, he's at his best (at least he has been so far during my trek through his offerings) when writing about places and cultures outside of America. I've read two books by him that took place in the States. I liked one and hated the other, but I've enjoyed most his jaunts across the pond.

One of the things I appreciate most about Simmons is that he balances research and fiction well. I knew the story behind the ill-fated Franklin Expedition of which he writes in this book and I had a blast trying to separate fact from fiction. What I also appreciated was Simmons's effort to make the book unpredictable even to those of us who recognized the story he was piggy-backing. The monster was awesome, the tension continually ramps up throughout the entire novel, and not once did I feel my interest waning. Had I read this one by myself, I would have likely finished in half the time. I don't regret buddy reading it with my friend Thomas, but this is one of those books I never wanted to put down and that I constantly rushed back to whenever I had a free moment. There are not many 700+ page novels I can say that about.

Everything else I want to talk about can be found in the Spoiler Discussion. If you've read this book, I'll see you there.

In summation: The Terror is one of the best books I've read. Easily in my top twenty. Even the sections that felt like filler ended up being integral to the plot later on. This book is a stunning accomplishment and I'm thrilled I finally had a chance to read it.

Final Judgment: A modern classic.

Spoiler Discussion: In which I spoil The Terror, by Dan Simmons. You have been warned.(view spoiler)

...more

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Apr 04, 2020 Johann (jobis89) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

“We are all eaters of souls.”

You know those books that you absolutely love, yet wouldn’t blindly recommend them to everyone? That’s me with The Terror. Absolutely LOVED it, but I don’t think it’s suited to every reader.

Incase you didn’t know, The Terror is based on the Franklin Expedition, when two steam-powered vessels set out in 1845 on a mission to traverse the Northwest Passage. So think big ships and lots of snow and ice. But of course, Simmons puts his own spin on it and also throws in ano ...more

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Aug 01, 2018 Stephen Robert Collins rated it it was amazing

A perfect book for the hot weather as it's -50 set in Antarctica circle near Baffin Island & on King William Land in 1845-1848 in locked ships The Terror & The Erebus this has been made into AMC TV series From Sir Ridley Scott of Alien fame .
Set in between 1843-48 this book about two ships locked in the ice & it's also about man's fight with the cold but worse still there is something in the dark hunting them, something from old times pure evil.
What makes this so good is the descriptions 'His pa A perfect book for the hot weather as it's -50 set in Antarctica circle near Baffin Island & on King William Land in 1845-1848 in locked ships The Terror & The Erebus this has been made into AMC TV series From Sir Ridley Scott of Alien fame .
Set in between 1843-48 this book about two ships locked in the ice & it's also about man's fight with the cold but worse still there is something in the dark hunting them, something from old times pure evil.
What makes this so good is the descriptions 'His pale , lumpy face & stubbled jowls remind Crozier of a rotten white peeled potato stuffed under a Welsh wig' p57 if that doesn't sum up fantastic image I don't know what does .He has all craft of Dickens.
Made into a Ten part TV series
This book is difficult to explain it has the haunting atmosphere of John Carpenter's The Fog with its unexpected ghostly eeriness & The Monkey's Paw twists it is really Bloody horrible in parts .The things people will eat when you are starving .Even Polar bears but not as book says their liver as it's deadly; I have heard that before .But even eating shoes or boiled Leather but worst of all each other.
If want book that give the willies this it. The most interesting person is Lady Silence the Eskimo with no tongue she is classed by the crew as a witch & a Johan because the all the trouble starts is the day she arrives she is young erotic sexual haunting & mystic .She gives the story an extra twist.
This the paperback version with TV cover & is more pages 936 & really good print .Also the map at front of this book helps to make it easier to read because see where they are.
I had relies that the ordinary Sailor of low ranks are £60 a year,the Carpenter's £70 & Skilled Blacksmiths & the engineers at £80 over per years over 3-4 that's huge amount & it's puree profit as it's full board & lodgings as they are on the ships. Wow ! in 1840s is hell of a wage no wonder they went & then all the huge amounts of food, coal & ships were hell did get all that money they must been very very rich into it would. be like Richard Branson doing a Virgin tour.
An erotic love flashback also to brake up the ice .This what makes this book so good it's not just the The Leviathan but it also has other thinks in it like the disgusting Opium Wars in China which lot of people may not know was not about stopping Opium been sold but selling it. The British wanted Chinese Tea but to buy tea we need something to Trade with but the Chinese had Gunpowder, silks,spices & lot more but only thing we had to Trade was Opium but when The Emperor saw what did to his people he tried to ban it so we went to war over Tea & selling Opium to make people into druggies .We won
.At same time the green tea plants were rare & explores classed as spy's under pain of Death if caught got the rare Tea plants out to India & they created the Black tea thus the East India Tea company was founded. A cup PG tea is founded with the blood of the Chinese Opium druggies. Bet did not know that sad is not that that's what Britain great in the early Victorian times Opium .
This book also talks about Naughty naked swimming & it gives a glims of sex in 1840s .It also talks about religion but most of its the Terror make you wet your self as cold shivers creep down as read & more erotica. An extra even a juice murder
The biggest thing about this book is that it is like Melmoth The Wander, Moby Dick, Poe it has both Lovecraft & other classical fiction influence but is a modern horror like It by. Stephen King, Savage or UK authors such as Shaun Hutson or Kim Newman this the sort of book 20years from now you will remember it its like Lord of the Ring or as said Moby Dick because they are sort of books that stand out also because of it been a historical book it never date even 1000 years from now.
Some books are to good to forget this one of them.
WINNER OF THE TOP LIBRARY BOOK
2018.WINNER OF TOP HISTORICAL BOOK 2018.
THE MOBY. DICK AWARD 2018
TOP HORROR MALE BOOK 2018 TOP BOOK 2018✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳✳ ...more

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Apr 14, 2018 Dianne rated it it was amazing

Shelves: best-of-2019, best-of-2018

Just re-read this deeply atmospheric gem of a novel and loved it just as much as the first time I read it! Probably even more since I have been thinking about this book for more than a year and couldn’t wait to get my hands on it again. I am absolutely gobsmacked by this riveting blend of historical fiction, adventure, horror and the folklore/myths of the Inuit people of the arctic circle. This was especially interesting to me since the long lost Northwest Passage expedition ship The Terror was ...more

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Aug 21, 2008 Brad rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: Deborah Wills

Shelves: doing-the-dishes, philosophical, in-the-shower, serial-killer, horror, to-read-again, exceeded-my-expectations, historical, nautical, fascinating

Is the Terror a mythical beast in the Arctic? The Tuunbaq?
Is the Terror Her Majesty’s Ship of the same name?
Is the Terror nights that never end?
Is the Terror a Ripper style murderer and his penchant for mutilation?
Is the Terror knowledge?
Is the Terror sodomy?
Is the Terror a silent Esqimaux?
Is the Terror scurvy?
Is the Terror unrelenting ice floes?
Is the Terror belief?
Is the Terror remembrance?
Is the Terror dreams?
Is the Terror the past?
Is the Terror cannibalism?
Is the Terror doubt?
Is the Terror h ...more

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Feb 12, 2012 aPriL does feral sometimes rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: cheap-thrills-but-i-loved-it, omg-so-exciting-couldnt-stop-readin, awesomely-horrifying-loved-it, adventure, historical-fiction, horror, metafiction, paranormal, roller-coaster-ride, twisted-my-synapses-peculiar

‘The Terror’can be shelved under several genres: historical fiction, horror, adventure. Wherever it is shelved, it is a fantastic read. However, it is long, with horrifying and graphic descriptions of illnesses, injuries and violent attacks. Since it is a fictionalized story about people who really existed (it is based on a real English explorer, Captain Franklin, and his last voyage to the Arctic), it has a lot of interesting details about what it was like to be a ship-based explorer in the mid ‘The Terror’can be shelved under several genres: historical fiction, horror, adventure. Wherever it is shelved, it is a fantastic read. However, it is long, with horrifying and graphic descriptions of illnesses, injuries and violent attacks. Since it is a fictionalized story about people who really existed (it is based on a real English explorer, Captain Franklin, and his last voyage to the Arctic), it has a lot of interesting details about what it was like to be a ship-based explorer in the mid-1800's from actual diaries and stories.

‘The Terror' never falls apart in its story of relentless frights, but you as the reader might if you tend to empathize with its likable characters.

I loved the book. I think it was very meta, so most things in it were both symbolic as well as describing actual physical objects and scenes. (view spoiler)

A book this relentlessly awful and depressing HAD to have a Hollywood ending for me, otherwise I would have felt too horrified by it to like it. I'm glad for my sake it wasn't more sad than it is. I realize that the real life explorers very likely died horribly of starvation, and accident, and scurvy, but 900+ pages of fictional death death death death would have been too much for me eventually to finish. There is some closure (I know that word is overused, but it fits) at the end.

(view spoiler)

Since the subject of cannibalism is explored in the novel, I thought about what I'd do. If I'm in my full senses, I could NEVER keep such meat down. But if I was feverish and half insane with scurvy and food poisoning and exhaustion? Walking for ten hours hauling fully loaded sleds in -60 F temperatures and doing it on two moldy biscuits and a slice of salted beef a day, with my skin and body rotting while I lived? I don't know. Perhaps, gentle reader, you must never test me...

Sounds of arctic ice: https://youtu.be/vjtX4GJPFRc

Youtube link to a history about the real Franklin expedition: https://youtu.be/7-c2EFFGBww

Youtube link to an AMC series trailer about a series based on this book: https://youtu.be/OPuYei9cbaw ...more

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Aug 21, 2020 ~Bookishly~ rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: to-throw-from-a-high-building

The words that immediately come to mind in regards to Dan Simmons' The Terror are "Horrendously overrated" and "Incredibly repetitive". Unfortunately, this book for me is the equivalent to how I feel about aubergines, and for the majority of this reading experience, I was willing for it to come to an end, and as a prior warning fellow readers, I'm definitely not going to hold back here.

After reading SO many positive reviews about this, I was expecting to be completely bowled over. (That doesn't The words that immediately come to mind in regards to Dan Simmons' The Terror are "Horrendously overrated" and "Incredibly repetitive". Unfortunately, this book for me is the equivalent to how I feel about aubergines, and for the majority of this reading experience, I was willing for it to come to an end, and as a prior warning fellow readers, I'm definitely not going to hold back here.

After reading SO many positive reviews about this, I was expecting to be completely bowled over. (That doesn't happen to me often around here) and before buying this, I did my adequate research. I already knew that this book was based on the fascinating "John Franklin Arctic expedition" which personally interests me, and that is probably the primary reason for me purchasing this. I wanted history, and plenty of it, but instead, I was met with the unrealistic theme of the supernatural. I was obviously aware of this, but I found it completely swallowed any enjoyment that could be had from the historic side of things.

That was one of the prominent issues with this book; the two themes that never really gelled together. For a couple of chapters there was a monster out there to devour the men on the ice, then we abruptly jump back years to another scene, that has no real impact on the plot. It caused a detached feeling, and really, it knackered up my mind. I like to think I have patience, but this, this was abysmal.

I quickly discovered that scurvy is one of the main culprits for a long, painful death in "The Terror" and fair enough, I appreciated the detailed description of this, but when it is repeated constantly throughout the book, it becomes painstakingly tiring. Dan Simmons likes his scurvy, I guess.

I can't say I liked any of the characters, as all of them were kind of lifeless beings, and sometimes it was difficult to differentiate who Simmons was referring to.

I think the only notable scene which brought a smirk and and swift eye roll to me, was the sex scene that occurred in the water. The fact that the male in question had no idea that his sexual partner was able to orgasm (due to being female, obviously) humoured me somewhat. We're just in it for the male pleasure, you see.

This book might have been better if say, 400 pages were knocked off, which means I would have finished it quicker, and therefore, that would have enabled me to get on with my life at haste. ...more

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Aug 07, 2007 Christy rated it really liked it

Shelves: arctic-and-antarctic, watery, maps-travel-geography, 21st-century-american-lit

Dan Simmons' The Terror may be one of the few novels I've read that makes me grateful to live in Texas. This imaginative re-telling of the doomed Franklin expedition of 1845 to find the Northwest Passage is overwhelming in its details of life and death in the Arctic north. The cold is constant, the dark is depressing, and the wind, snow, ice, fog, and (when it appears) water are life-threatening. These are things Texans don't have to worry about. I must remember this book when I want to complain Dan Simmons' The Terror may be one of the few novels I've read that makes me grateful to live in Texas. This imaginative re-telling of the doomed Franklin expedition of 1845 to find the Northwest Passage is overwhelming in its details of life and death in the Arctic north. The cold is constant, the dark is depressing, and the wind, snow, ice, fog, and (when it appears) water are life-threatening. These are things Texans don't have to worry about. I must remember this book when I want to complain about 110 degree temperature in August. I must remember temperatures of 70 below zero with wind and wet and blindness on top of that.

The two ships of the expedition, the HMS Erebus and the HMS Terror, sail from England in 1845 and explore the area around Beechey Island and Cornwallis Island before attempting to sail south between Prince of Wales Island and Boothia Peninsula to find the Northwest Passage through the Arctic Circle to the Pacific Ocean. However, they press on southward along this path in the face of glaciers, oncoming winter, and dwindling supplies, only to become stuck, frozen in the ice for two years along the west coast of King William Island. They press on at the insistence of the expedition leader, Sir John Franklin, and against the advice of other seasoned explorers and naval officers, including Francis Crozier, the book's central character. Eventually, the men have to abandon ship and take off on foot across King William Island to try to find a passage south and, hopefully, rescue.

The men die slowly from disease, starvation, and exposure as time wears on, and sometimes they also die suddenly as the land or its inhabitants betray them and their expectations. The Terror is a long novel at 766 pages, and it is long for this very reason. The slow death of over a hundred men cannot be represented quickly. It is also a surprisingly suspenseful novel, given the facts of the case. We know, with the assistance of some quick internet research, that there were no survivors, there was no rescue. To this day, no one really knows exactly what happened to this expedition. Yet we read on, willing the men to survive, to find a way out of this awful mess.

There are fanciful (less than strictly factual) elements to the story, too, including a large creature that stalks the ships and kills men easily, a creature that is not merely physical, but spirit. And the final chapters of the book turn from realist representations of attempts at survival in the fatal north to mythic representations of Inuit culture and finally to a synthesis between the two.

I haven't fully decided yet how to feel about these inclusions. Do they weaken the very vivid realism of the novel and diminish the terror of the terrain itself as well as the terror of the evil that grows in some men in such situations? Or do they reinforce these elements, standing in as metaphors for the dangers of the north and the dangers of some humans?

One thing these inclusions certainly do is reveal the stark contrast between the European expedition's goals and methods (and the madness of these goals and methods) with the knowledge and skill the native people have in this land. The Englishmen carried with them, from England and then from their ships, cutlery, books, jewelry, trinkets. They did not know how to survive and yet they thought they would conquer this frozen world. Franklin's very insistence on pushing forward, his insistence that any day now the pack ice would melt away from the ships and reveal the Northwest Passage is, in this context, nothing short of insanity. The things that are described in the Inuit culture (communion with spirits, communion between humans that requires no speech, etc.) may seem like insanity to outsiders, but no more so than the European methods of exploration and survival seem like insanity when seen from the perspective of those who survive the severity of the Arctic circle.

The Terror is about the terror of the Other, the terror borne of a lack of understanding. The Terror is also about how we deal with that terror. Do we flail against it, try to beat it into submission, as did the Englishmen? Or do we learn to live with it, learn to appease it and live alongside it, as did the Inuit? ...more

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Nov 29, 2019 Erin *Proud Book Hoarder* rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: s-king-recommends, audiobook, horror, teamtowers2019, reviewed, favorite-horror, ghosts, monsters, movie-havent-seen, unusual-creatures

“Why does our species always have to take our full measure of God-given misery and terror and mortality and then make it worse?”

The Terror. What to say about it?

It's long. It's well-researched. It's inventive. It's creepy. It's brutal. It makes you feel the cold.

If it weren't for the end, I may have gone with 4. It's not easy to rate. So much of it is worth 5 star, a few pushes it back, I'll be uncertain again and settle with 4.5

Embarrassingly, I had no idea this was based on a true story unti ...more

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Dec 15, 2018 Trish rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Since this book tells of an Arctic expedition and ships trapped in the ice, it was the perfect read for a frosty December. Sadly, it hasn't gotten frosty here yet. But the book made me feel the cold these sailors had to endure, that's for sure.

The author takes the story of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, two British polar exploration ships that actually sailed into the Arctic to find the Northwest Passage in 1845, and gives it a little twist.
HMS Terror used to be a specialized bomb ship that saw a nu ...more

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Dec 24, 2013 Joe Valdez rated it really liked it

Shelves: paranormal-general

Dan Simmons has a multitude of strengths -- undeniable attention to detail, dialogue that sings with clarity, set pieces that can haunt for days -- but most notable might be restraint from barreling down any one genre: ghost story, alien story, survival story. The Terror has elements of each but trusts the reader's imagination to give the novel shape and texture.

This epic is a fictionalized account of the final voyage of Captain John Franklin, who set off for the Arctic Ocean in 1845 to locate t Dan Simmons has a multitude of strengths -- undeniable attention to detail, dialogue that sings with clarity, set pieces that can haunt for days -- but most notable might be restraint from barreling down any one genre: ghost story, alien story, survival story. The Terror has elements of each but trusts the reader's imagination to give the novel shape and texture.

This epic is a fictionalized account of the final voyage of Captain John Franklin, who set off for the Arctic Ocean in 1845 to locate the Northwest Passage and never returned. In Simmons' novel, Franklin's ship HMS Erebus becomes trapped in the ice along with the HMS Terror, whose skipper Francis Crozier proves a far steadier command presence as starvation and scurvy set in among the men. Hunting expeditions are unable to shoot much in the way of game on the ice and Caulker’s Mate Cornelius Hickey makes matters worse by slaughtering a party of Eskimos that the crew briefly make contact with.

The sole survivor is an Eskimo girl whose communication skills are null; her tongue has been torn out. Lady Silence, as Crozier dubs her, is seen as a bad omen as shortly after her arrival on the Terror, giant footprints are found in the ice and a creature begins to prey on the crew. Assumed to be a polar bear, bullets prove no deterrent against the beast. The thing seems to come and go with the omnipresence of a ghost, but its teeth and claws are very real. It reduces the number of the crew even further, giving Hickey the fuel to divide the survivors into a mutiny.

The book is long in the tooth, with the creature's rampage extended without adding significant clues as to what it might be. Simmons had a great novel focusing on starvation, malnutrition and mutiny at the end of the world without the addition of a creature. Fantastic but credible, grisly but elegant, the storytelling is ingenious, particularly the way Simmons identifies members of the crew when their bodies are covered in coats and hoods and blankets to ward off the freezing cold.

...more

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Apr 21, 2008 J.D. rated it it was ok

Recommends it for: hardcore Simmons fans only

I'm a big Dan Simmons fan, but at several points during this book, I found myself thinking, "will someone get this man an editor?"

There's a great horror tale in here. Unfortunately it's buried under layers of fat. Ironic, since lengthy descriptions of starvation and scurvy take up so much space in the book.

...more

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Oct 13, 2016 Agnieszka rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: beyond-the-horizon, reviewed, ebook, 2016

On May 1845 two ships, HMS Terror led by captain Crozier and flagship HMS Erebus commanded by captain Fitzjames, set sail on the expedition to find legendary Northwest Passage. Leader of the enterprise which was to get England fame and glory but also establish it primacy on the field of Arctic exploration was sir John Franklin. The whole expedition counted 129 people in total. And no one of them ever returned from the voyage. Both people and ships get lost in the vastness of ice.

The whole undert
On May 1845 two ships, HMS Terror led by captain Crozier and flagship HMS Erebus commanded by captain Fitzjames, set sail on the expedition to find legendary Northwest Passage. Leader of the enterprise which was to get England fame and glory but also establish it primacy on the field of Arctic exploration was sir John Franklin. The whole expedition counted 129 people in total. And no one of them ever returned from the voyage. Both people and ships get lost in the vastness of ice.

The whole undertaking, despite obvious risk, seemed to be doomed to success. Two well-equipped vessels, food stores for at least three, or in the need even five to seven years, experienced in previous polar expeditions commanders. We can only guess what went wrong. Some fatal factors : severe this year, even for the Arctic weather, misjudged chances, false pride, bad decisions, incompetency and greed in choice of the supplier of the food (most of it just rot or appeared poisoned with lead). Freezing cold, hunger and scurvy effected debility, decline of health and strength and slowly decimated the crew. Some of them arguably died on the ships, others had a try to escape ice trap and abandoned ships to find death in ice desert, probably in the end resorting to cannibalism. These are historical facts but also back story for Dan Simmons' novel The Terror .

HMS Erebus and Terror. (John Wilson Carmichael/National Maritime Museum)

I love reading about discovering new lands, brave travellers and adventurers of all descriptions, this mixture of courage, daring and curiosity which pushes people to go into unknown, to find their limits, to experience joy of success but sometimes meet inconceivable disaster. And amongst these readings polar expeditions are my favourites. The Terror is a work of fiction of course since virtually almost no evidence from ill-fated voyage remained but it feels, at least to some extent, very probable. Novel is very well-researched, Simmons from available sources, reliable reports from later rescue expeditions, from recent researches and discoveries wove a vivid and colorful story, creating a thrilling picture of courage and audacity, suffering and struggle to survive in harsh climate.

But, hey, since Simmons wrapped this story up in horror costume so we have here also an unearthly creature, half – bear, half-bloodthirsty thing from hell. Well, from Inuit myths and legends actually. And no, I didn’t mind it at all though I thought it was unnecessary. I rather like being scared by something unknown and inenarrable than graphic and literal description. It really does nothing to me. For people tormented by extreme weather and hostile environment, plagued by starvation and hallucinations, prisoned in the sea of ice for years there was no need for any mythical monsters. The Arctic itself was scary enough. Besides, I’ve always thought that real monsters live only in people’s minds.

It is a good and gripping reading though sometimes pace leaves a lot to be desired. It doesn’t definitely explain demise of the expedition, doesn't clear any doubts away but for sure brings to life wretched voyagers and leaves to our imagination their ghostly odyssey through ice landscape. And since in 2014 and 2016 shipwrecks of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror were located , though much further south than scientists assumed, there is a chance one day we get close to solve that mystery too.

3.5/5 ...more

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Nov 04, 2014 Metodi Markov rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: with-english-review, sci-fi, linz, adventure, must-read-books, historical-fiction, 2014, usa, favorites

Review on English, followed by the Bulgarian one. Ревюто на английски е първо, следва това на български.

I don't know if you will ever read this but anyway - thank you for the great book Mr. Simmons!!!

What a novel -simply epic!

With a smooth, almost somnolent start, a surprise rise of the tension to the finish that far exceeded my expectations!

Simmons is familiar to us mainly with his science fiction books, but this is pure adventurous novel with unheard-of scope, at least for me.

The atmosphere an ...more

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Apr 20, 2019 Dustin rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: Holly Torres

Recommended to Dustin by: Bondama

Shelves: favorites, challenging-literature, mythology-folflore, s-king-recommends, historical-fiction

"A brilliant, massive combination of history and supernatural horror. Being marooned in arctic ice with nothing to eat but your shoes (or — gulp — a helping of shipmate stew) is bad enough; the unseen white monster stalking the nights is worse. Put a log — or, better yet, two — on the fire while you read this one."

Long before I became aware of Stephen King's high regard for Dan Simmons' The Terror, (as evidenced in the above blurb,) I'd come to love his work, via Carrion Comfort, a few ye ...more

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Sep 08, 2018 Bill Lynas rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Having thoroughly enjoyed the 2018 TV series The Terror I wondered what the 2007 novel it was based on might be like. I checked out some reviews from trusted friends on Goodreads (thanks, Richard!) & off I set.
The novel is based on the true story of Sir John Franklin's 1845 expedition to find the North-West Passage. It's an epic journey for the ships Erebus & Terror, & at over 900 pages it's an equally epic journey for the reader too!
Simmons has a fairly simple style of writing, which flows easi ...more

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About Dan Simmons

Dan Simmons

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Dan Simmons grew up in various cities and small towns in the Midwest, including Brimfield, Illinois, which was the source of his fictional "Elm Haven" in 1991's SUMMER OF NIGHT and 2002's A WINTER HAUNTING. Dan received a B.A. in English from Wabash College in 1970, winning a national Phi Beta Kappa Award during his senior year for excellence in fiction, journalism and art.

Dan received his Master Dan Simmons grew up in various cities and small towns in the Midwest, including Brimfield, Illinois, which was the source of his fictional "Elm Haven" in 1991's SUMMER OF NIGHT and 2002's A WINTER HAUNTING. Dan received a B.A. in English from Wabash College in 1970, winning a national Phi Beta Kappa Award during his senior year for excellence in fiction, journalism and art.

Dan received his Masters in Education from Washington University in St. Louis in 1971. He then worked in elementary education for 18 years—2 years in Missouri, 2 years in Buffalo, New York—one year as a specially trained BOCES "resource teacher" and another as a sixth-grade teacher—and 14 years in Colorado.

ABOUT DAN
Biographic Sketch

His last four years in teaching were spent creating, coordinating, and teaching in APEX, an extensive gifted/talented program serving 19 elementary schools and some 15,000 potential students. During his years of teaching, he won awards from the Colorado Education Association and was a finalist for the Colorado Teacher of the Year. He also worked as a national language-arts consultant, sharing his own "Writing Well" curriculum which he had created for his own classroom. Eleven and twelve-year-old students in Simmons' regular 6th-grade class averaged junior-year in high school writing ability according to annual standardized and holistic writing assessments. Whenever someone says "writing can't be taught," Dan begs to differ and has the track record to prove it. Since becoming a full-time writer, Dan likes to visit college writing classes, has taught in New Hampshire's Odyssey writing program for adults, and is considering hosting his own Windwalker Writers' Workshop.

Dan's first published story appeared on Feb. 15, 1982, the day his daughter, Jane Kathryn, was born. He's always attributed that coincidence to "helping in keeping things in perspective when it comes to the relative importance of writing and life."

Dan has been a full-time writer since 1987 and lives along the Front Range of Colorado—in the same town where he taught for 14 years—with his wife, Karen, his daughter, Jane, (when she's home from Hamilton College) and their Pembroke Welsh Corgi, Fergie. He does much of his writing at Windwalker—their mountain property and cabin at 8,400 feet of altitude at the base of the Continental Divide, just south of Rocky Mountain National Park. An 8-ft.-tall sculpture of the Shrike—a thorned and frightening character from the four Hyperion/Endymion novels—was sculpted by an ex-student and friend, Clee Richeson, and the sculpture now stands guard near the isolated cabin. ...more

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“Luckily, even as a young man not yet become himself, John Bridgens had two things besides indecision that kept him from self-destruction - books and a sense of irony.” — 39 likes

“We are all eaters of souls.” — 34 likes

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