Carrion Comfort
by Dan Simmons
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Book Reviews of Carrion Comfort
Book Review: It's a meaty book
Summary: 5 Stars
Normally when people see a book this size, they think to themselves, "Wow what a great paperweight" but that shouldn't be the case here. Dan Simmons continues to prove that horror fiction is just as much his plaything as science fiction, crafting a big, ambitious novel that succeeds in just about every aspect. It's scary, it's intimidating, it's complex, it's funny, it's full of characters that you're going to either or love but will be unable to ignore. Simmons takes the basic concept of vampires and goes in a slightly different direction here, instead of the typical bloodsucking stuff, here we've got psychic vampires who can infilrate the mind and do many unpleasant things. For the most part the vampires are utterly amoral, using and abusing people with no other impulse other than instant gratification. Until some people try to get revenge. Here we've got Saul, a Jewish survivor of the Holocaust who makes it a near obsession to find the monster that invaded his mind in a concentration camp during World War II. Or Natalie, who is motivated by a tragedy touches her personal life by way of vampires who see people as only pawns in a game. And then there's Sheriff Rob Gentry, trying to solve a mystery involving a bunch of dead people who apparently went crazy for no apparent reason, murders that seem to be part of a subtle, but disturbing pattern. These are the building blocks that make up the foundation of the rest of the epic . . . needless to say there are more than enough other characters, and subplots and surprises and intrigue and even horror to keep the reader occupied for many an hour. To even add to the excitement, a bunch of sections are told from the point of view of one of the vampires and her utterly amoral useage of the people she encounters all the while justifying it with no problem for her own twisted pleasure has to be one of the most horrific aspects to the book, the gap between the reality she perceives and the reality that exists is frightening indeed. Not that the book is perfect, it probably is a little too long, if you read it in small chunks you're okay but Simmons is very meticulous in his detail, something long time readers are probably used to. Some things aren't really explained either, one of the vampires is apparently ridiculously more powerful than the others but no one ever says why (but I guess that's horror for you, plus no one really gets the time sit down and discuss it), the concept of "Feeding" he never really goes into even though everyone talks about it, but those are minor complaints indeed. Where it's supposed to work it does, the action is thrilling, the emotional payoffs are staggering, the truimphs are earned even as the defeats will keep you on the edge of the chair. If you've got anything more than a passing interest in Dan Simmons or horror, you owe it to yourself to set a week aside and devour this book. You'll be glad you did.Book Review: The War and Peace of the Horror Genre
Summary: 5 Stars
What if you could control the minds of others. And not just simply control their minds, but make them physically do anything you wanted them to. What type of person would you be? Well Mr. Simmons tells us in breathtaking detail. The story revolves around Sal Laski, a Jew who survived the Nazi death camps of WWII. He came into contact with one of these Mind Vampires (as we come to know them) that he nick-names 'The Oberst.' Having his mind touched and his body controlled is worse than being 'raped.' And Mr. Simmons shows us exactly how that would feel. Chillingly! Mr. Laski becomes fanatical about finding his Oberst and giving him back what Sal had felt all those many years ago during the War.
Mrs. Melanie Fuller is a Mind Vampire also, and she and a few of the others with the Ability meet every year to discuss their scores (i.e. how many people they controlled and killed and how much publicity it got). They are so nonchalant about their controls and killings that it is almost maddening to the reader. They have absolutely no empathy for anyone or anything which makes them all the more horrific. Amazingly, the reader eventually becomes comfortable with these characters and wants to know if they will survive their own failings in humanity. Terrific stuff!
Mr. Harod is a slime-bag producer of B-movies Hollywood who also has the Ability. He uses it to control women specifically and solely (because he feels that touching a man's mind would be to homophobic for him).
Mr. C. Barent is a billionaire with the Ability who owns a mythical Island off the coast of Florida. Once a year 'The Island Club' meets and plays a game: they bring lost souls to the island and Use them to kill one another. The last Mind Vampire with a player still alive at the end of the week wins. (spoiler)
Incredible as it may seem, Mr. Simmons has the ability to write in many different genres...and capably so. He received a Hugo award for Science Fiction for his Hyperion novel. And received the Bram Stoker Award for Horror for this one. Truly fantastic.
An incredible novel and quite lengthy. At almost 900 pages, it kept me interested the entire time and rarely, if ever, lagged. Highly recommended reading for those who enjoy the written word and not just bland novels with mindless killing.
Book Review: DREAM DREAM DREAM...
Summary: 4 Stars
Everyone has had once this phantasm or dream : to be able to control others to make them do everything we want them to do. This phantasm is generally produced by a sexual pulsion or aggressivity ; who could say that he hasn't mentally murdered a rather important number of people in his life ? At least, not I.The heroes of Dan Simmons's CARRION COMFORT do have this power. And not during their sleep. They really do what you have always dreamt to do. Without an ounce of shame or guiltiness because it appears that they haven't read Sigmund Freud's THE INTERPRETATION OF DREAMS !
But Willy, Nina and Melanie are quickly bored by their first essays and are now attracted and blinded by the power conferred to them by their gift. Then begins the Game.
The first part of CARRION COMFORT is really scary with the description of the mind manipulations invented by these new vampires. The uneasiness you're about to feel is aggravated by the fact that Dan Simmons chose to present, every 50 pages, the point of view of Melanie, one of the actors of the game. Through these pages, you will feel like entering the mind of a psychopath ; every murder committed by the old lady is justified by numerous reasons Melanie exposes patiently to the hypnotized reader. Soon, you are going to pray for the chapter to end so that you can return to the objective point of view of the good heroes of CARRION COMFORT.
The second part of the book was, in my opinion, not at the level of the first part, Dan Simmons using too many pages to give scientific explanations in order to give CARRION COMFORT the status of a violent thriller rather than a fantastic book.
Anyway, I warmly recommend this 900 pages production.
Book Review: Great writing, fine plotting, but looooooong
Summary: 4 Stars
I haven't read anything by Dan Simmons since The Rise of Endymion, over 6 months ago. I decided to read Carrion Comfort in an impulse - I was curious as to how good his horror will be.in the first 300 pages I was enchanted, and I asked myself frenzily "How come I haven't read anything by Simmons for so long?"
by page 400 I knew the answer. Because it's sooo loooong.
Now don't get me wrong, Simmons is a hell of a writer. Many scenes in this book are really tense. The characters are vary between ok to great (most of them),and no stickers. The action is often exciting...
But there is so much of it! around page 350, Simmons starts a huge sub plot about a gang war and a haunted house(kind of). The subplot doesn't really go anywhere, except that it kills a bunch of people, and substitutes them with some other people.
Simmons is the writer most need of an editor that I know of. This could have been a Thriller masterpiece. Had it been 700 pages long, it would have stood there next to 'Red Dragon' and 'The Silence of the Lambs' by Thomas Harris.
Rather it is 992 pages long( british mass market paperback), it's a really good book, and a one that you would enjoy reading. It has some minor flaws other than the length, but it is really well done. It has the spookiest chess scene I've ever read, and quiet enough original ideas to keep this a truly original Thriller.
Dan Simmons wrote a Science Fiction masterwork with Hyperion, and now he came very close to writing a thriller masterwork. That's quite an achievement.
If you're looking for a good horror-thriller, with some mind candy and lots of action and obscenitites and sex, this is a great choice.
Book Review: CARRION ME AWAY
Summary: 4 Stars
It's a tribute to the writing skills of Dan Simmons that "Carrion Comfort" manages to hold your interest in spite of its almost 900 pages, and it's wandering development. The concept of "mind vampires" is quite unique, and the shifting points of view, along with the first person narrative of Melanie Fuller, combine to make an almost perfect horror novel. There are some marvelous characters including the sheriff, Rob Gentry; the heroine, Natalie Preston; and even the over-used Saul Latski. I say overused only because Simmons employs a little too much reminiscing and self-pity in dealing with Saul. Indeed, most of the flashbacks incurred by the characters, tends to slow the pace down, making you want the author to get back to what's going on now. For instance, the first human chess games is novel and tense; when we go to the climaxing chess game, it seems very repetitive, tedious, and not as gripping as I imagine Simmons wanted it to be. There are tons of villains, and at times, it's hard to keep up with them. The main villain, the Oberest, Willie Borden, is such a shadow figure that when we finally meet him again, he doesn't truly live up to the expectations you have of him. The character of Tony Harod, the movie producer, is so despicable that you want him out of the book long before he gets his just desserts.But, if you stick with it, persevere with the immensity of the book itself, it is a rather major accomplishment. The ending is sort of a surprise, and it's open-endedness smelled of a sequel, which I don't think Simmons ever gave us?
Anyway, plan to spend a few days with this book.
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