"The Terror" First Impressions *no spoilers*

[[deleted user]]

You know the drill.

No spoilers, please.

And if anyone wants to lead the discussion on this, let us know :)

[Michelle]

just started it today, and wow, I had no idea this book was this huge (most all books are the exact same size lately...the dimensions of my ipad).

the first few chapters are amazingly creepy, then Simmons settles back to catch you up on the story leading up to the creepy parts. I'm really hoping we get back to the dread, and yet, I know I better be careful what I wish for.

FYI, though it's based on real events, don't wikipedia this tale unless you don't mind unavoidable spoilers such as:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia...

[Zulfiya]

The forbidden fruit of Wikipedia:-) I have read a tad more that the first hundred pages (well, because I started the book in late January); so far the book is very atmospheric and definitely well-researched. The cold is tangible:-)

[11811 (Eleven)]

I checked Wikipedia too for a little background on this and don't think I came across any spoilers here -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin...

This is a disturbingly creepy story even without the supernatural aspect.

[Megan]

I think it would have been creepier without the supernatural aspect. And I agree with Zulfiya 100% about the "tangible cold."

[Paul]

Really annoyed - I can'r find my copy!!! Will have to check if the library has it.

[whimsicalmeerkat]

I started listening to this yesterday during my commute. I am sincerely hoping it does not snow or anything during the next few weeks, because I already feel cold listening to it. I think listening to it largely while driving through the dark is contributing to that.

[[deleted user]]

I've heard that about this book. Read it somewhere warm :P

[Katy]

Found my copy. Yes this is a big book. Bought it before I owned a e-reader.

[Chris]

Denae wrote: "I started listening to this yesterday during my commute. I am sincerely hoping it does not snow or anything during the next few weeks, because I already feel cold listening to it. I think listening..."

I felt cold listening too. It was December, so that probably helped that feeling.

[whimsicalmeerkat]

It was 70 today. Weather is absurd this year.

[Michelle]

Denae, it was pushing mid-60s today here in MD, too. kooky!

I'm starting to get the feeling that this is one of the books I'm going to feel guilty about snacking whilst reading. these poor bastards are subsisting on salt pork and rotting tinned soup, so my wine & delicacies are rather out of tone for the tale...

[Zulfiya]

Michelle wrote: "Denae, it was pushing mid-60s today here in MD, too. kooky!

I'm starting to get the feeling that this is one of the books I'm going to feel guilty about snacking whilst reading. these poor bastard..."

I feel sorry for them reading about their low temperature exposure and frostbites in my warm bed wrapped in the blanket and in the soft pajamas.

[Coralie]

I am glad that I'm reading it in the middle of summer. It sounds very alien to someone who rarely even sees snow.

[whimsicalmeerkat]

I can sympathize with the complaints about darkness at least.

[♥Xeni♥]

Just started... read quite a ways, and realized that this is a WONDERFUL book to read right now, while a snow storm is ravaging across Europe. Minus 20 degrees outside, and probably around zero inside my apartment. THE TERROR IS COMING!

(course, I'm only 4% in and I have no clue what's actually going on in this book yet)

P.S. you American's have no reason to complain. hah! 60F (that's +15 in my terms) would be lovely right now! I'd wear a skirt and go out dancing in that and it'd feel like mid-summer right now!

[whimsicalmeerkat]

I love the higher temps, but this back & forth stuff is confusing. Never know how to dress or if I need a coat.

[Deanne]

Breezed through the first 200 pages, really enjoying the atmosphere plus there's snow outside. Not sure what I think about John Franklin at the moment, but have read that Roald Amundsen was inspired by him to become a polar explorer.
It's also a hundred years since Scott got to the south pole to find he'd been beaten, and died on the return journey.

[Lara Amber]

I just started and finished Chapter 2. Denver got a nice big snowstorm this weekend. :)

[Ami]

2 chapters in and freezing. I've cranked up the fire and put on some fuzzy socks.

[♥Xeni♥]

I'm only 80 pages in. And walking through snowstorms everyday since I started a few days ago. Coincidence?

Only warm place now, though, is my bed. Mhhhhhb, bed, you are so wonderful!

[[deleted user]]

Finally restarted reading this.

Had to turn on the heater...

[♥Xeni♥]

Ala, come cuddle with me in bed? ;)

[[deleted user]]

Tease.

<.<
>.>


k

[whimsicalmeerkat]

It was snowing tonight, in a light non-sticking sort of way, but I felt a slight camaraderie on my drive home. I also felt a completely unwarranted smug sense of superiority over all the people who were freaking out over it.

[Traveller]

Oh man oh man oh man I wish I had time to read this with you now. It's been on my to-read list for a while, and Dan Simmons is the greatest....

Too many groups, too many books, too little time...

[♥Xeni♥]

Gotta pick and choose, Traveller. I tend to pick those groups with great members who actually discuss a book... and then go off on tangents. Ala being the perfect example! :D

This is certainly a great pick for this crazy winter month! Wonder if the universe created this little northern hemisphere freezefest just for us.

[whimsicalmeerkat]

We're having some seriously schizophrenic weather here in the DC area. Yesterday it was snowing and today I got too warm with a coat on and actually had to turn on the AC in my car. Insanity!

[Jon]

I started reading this last night, with snowfall predicted to commence after midnight. I sat shivering at the kitchen table while I read the first few chapters, even though the furnace keeps our house a toasty 78 degrees Fahrenheit. I even dug out a blanket to put on the bed before I went to sleep (still shivering). Brrrr.....

Great writing though. I miss reading Dan Simmons (it's been a very long time ... years IIRC).

[Mekerei]

Traveller wrote: Too many groups, too many books, too little time...

I agree, just finished When Gravity Fails and now reading The Terror. I'm finding it slow going, for me this book requires concentration. Hope I'm going to be able to read The Forever War this month as well.

[♥Xeni♥]

I'm finding The Terror to be slow for me too. I think that the main cause is that the book is REALLY long!

[aPriL does feral sometimes]

Started this yesterday, but the size had me gulping. However, I'm up to chapter five and it is terrific (pun intended).

[Susan]

Having read the book a few months ago, I found these pics to be really interesting. Just wish there were more of them online or I was planning a trip to London in the near future.

http://www.atlasgallery.com/atlas.php

Photos from the Scott expedition to the South Pole

[Peggy]

Just finished it today, and would like to thank whoever nominated it. Very surprised at how much I enjoyed it, given the dire subject matter, and the fact that Hyperion broke me. I wound up putting Hyperion down when, after a hundred or so pages, I found I did not care one bit about what was happening. In The Terror, the opposite was true. Even though it's a giant fat book, I could not put it down because OMG WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM!??!?!11!!

I've always kept a mental list of "Things I Never Want To Do," and climbing a mountain during the winter time was always at the top of the list. Until now.