Comments (36)

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Feb 10, 2024IndyPL_GwendolynS rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
This book was kind of a beast to tackle. The build-up was painfully slow, though the action in the middle was a very satisfying pay off. I found myself kicking my feet in excitement every time the monster showed up to wreak havoc, but then…
Jan 12, 2022LPL_ChristinaJ rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Winter storms, cannibalism, disease, mutiny, betrayal, more winter storms! I can honestly say that this book made me feel very, very cold. Set in the 1840’s, this story is about the lost expedition of Captain Sir John Franklin. Aboard the…
Oct 20, 2021LCPL_Cathy rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
I love fiction that is based on true events. Here, Dan Simmons weaves the true story of the doomed 1845 Franklin Expedition to find a Northwest Passage through the Arctic with a monstrous unseen predator that is stalking the crew. The…
Sep 15, 2021dennismmiller rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
The year is 1848. Over a hundred men are spending their second winter trapped in their two ships, HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, off the coast of King William Island. They are surrounded by ice, wind, and darkness. They are running low on…
Apr 25, 2021Cidherman rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Historical fiction doesn't get much better than this riveting story of the fate of the polar exploration ice breakers The Erebus and the HMS Terror. This is a fictional account of what befell the 2 ships and their crews in their ill…
inkyfingertips
Apr 14, 2021inkyfingertips rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
I watched and loved the TV series. I'm less a fan of the novel. Simmons clearly did a lot of research and his writing in some places is powerful. However, the initially compelling narrative starts to drag, devolving into bizarre and…
Feb 05, 2021Alex_198 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
What a great story! Incredibly researched and well written. Places and some people are based on fact. If you like historical fiction, I highly recommend this novel. This comment section offers an age suggestion or suitability. I…
Jan 19, 2021taylorsmith2_0 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Incredible novel. This is the first work I've read by Dan Simmons and it definitely makes me want to read more! The Terror combines horror and supernatural elements with fictionalized historical accounts of arctic explorations circa the…
Jun 29, 2020
Sounds like I want to read it. Good description.
Jan 20, 2020NicoleCMueller rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
This is the best novel I have read in some time, and might be at the top of the list of contenders for best modern novel I've enjoyed. I first watched the television series and so loved it I thought that the source material would be worth…
Jan 13, 2020tjdickey rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Immersive in its depth and emotional experience, Simmons' treatment of the harsh arctic conditions for a lost expedition will hook you at the depths. The ice-bound sailors and officers are well-drawn and human, desperately struggling…
Jul 18, 2019Katie_____ rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
I cannot possibly praise this book enough. The characters are wonderfully crafted, and I could not help but hopelessly cheer them on. A long book, but so fantastic I did not want it to end. Their inescapable doom will haunt you long after…
May 29, 2019yuliiastankevych rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
I've enjoyed every single chapter of this book and for me it was a real page-turner! It is graphic and naturalistic at times, loaded with nauseating details and depressing atmosphere, but brilliantly composed, with multiple points of view…
Mar 26, 2019Alyssa_RR rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
I likes the mystery, suspense and chaos. It was well written including detail (not too much). The end was odd so just be open to that.
Feb 13, 2019Alyssa_RR rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
I liked it. Slower read. Long story with a lot of details and events that create suspense.
Nov 03, 2018Lovestoread5 rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
A little long, but worth the read. I admit, I did have to skip through a bit, but got the gist of it. Exceptional background explanations and details. Very good to the end.
Sep 03, 20181860Colt rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
So in depth, you feel like you're one of the men, living and dying along with them. It is well written, and is exactly what I have been searching for for years: a real historical event, but fictionalized with an event that although isn't…
Jun 12, 2018Chopper2342 rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
I started watching the television series based on this book and wanted more. I checked this book out and read it in a few days. It's a fun fictionlized tale of the supernatural surrounding a real historical event. I found the writing to be…
Apr 02, 2018lexlothor rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
“The Terror”, a novel by Dan Simmons is without equivocation, the single most tedious and dreadful book that I have ever followed down to the bitter end. It is based on the true story of the most harrowing catastrophe in the history of…
Mar 12, 2018SPPL_János rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
The story of the lost 1845 Franklin expedition to the Northwest Passage is retold once again, but this time the perils of Arctic exploration are ratcheted up with the presence of a fearsome monster stalking the doomed sailors. Simmons…
Feb 12, 2018Kona9988 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
I loved this book! I picked it up because I saw a trailer for the AMC mini series that will be out in March. I loved how the author tied in historical facts into the story. Most of the main characters are real men who were actually on…
Feb 07, 2018SPPL_jcl rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
I enjoyed this book for its mix of historical events and mystical/fantastic elements. I felt the cold seeping in as the crew spent day after day locked in the ice and spiraled further into desperation and fear as supplies ran low and…
marycatlyons
Oct 10, 2017marycatlyons rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
Overall, this was a pretty solid read. However, it was like slogging through frozen mud to try and finish it. Not that it wasn't a quality read, but I felt as if I was never going to finish it, despite the fact I would read for hours on…
Aug 05, 2017WhidbeyIslander rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
Simmons writes well, but this book was way, way, way too long. At 750 pages, there were many back-stories I could have done without (and did, skimming many parts), and lots of repetitive passages. Chapters jump around between characters…
Sep 13, 2015ebotsikos rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Loved this book! Dan Simmons takes the mystery surrounding the Franklin expedition and offers up his own interpretation. So is this historical? Absolutely. Very well researched. Is it fiction? Yes. On some level it has to be as each…