Carrion Comfort
by Dan Simmons
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Book Reviews of Carrion Comfort
Book Review: What a Great Book!
Summary: 5 Stars
Have you ever pickd up a big fat book that is good from the first page to the last? Carrion Comfort was that book for me. I cannot imagine anybody finding this book dull or boring.It starts in a Hitler death camp in 1942. Here Saul Laski had his first encounter with The Oberst, a mind vampire. The mind violation he endures at this time leads him on a life long quest to find the Oberst and make him pay for what he had done to him. Along the way he meets other victims and they band together to topple the mind vampires' empire.
Unfortunately, the Oberst isn't the only one. There are Nina, Melanie, and Willie who make a game out of their abilities. Never mind that they destroy lives and leave corpses in their wake; the game must go on. It's all about power and they eventually cannot trust one another. But even unknown to them, there are others whose mind control reach the top men in power. They want to rule the world, and with the world leaders' minds under their control, success is not unobtainable.
Saul Laski and his friends have their work cut out for them as they face these creatures. It only takes a second to have their minds taken from them and used against them. I couldn't put the book down and was under its spell until the very last page. I give this book five stars out of five. Great work Mr. Simmons.
Book Review: A masterpiece of good vs. evil
Summary: 5 Stars
A traditional vampire novel often has the villain living on the outside of society while being forced to find its victims in secrecy. However, CARRION COMFORT is not a traditional vampire novel. Here we have a rather motley crew (a former SS officer, a corrupt FBI agent, and two Southern debutantes to name just a few) who are able to take victims whenever they feel like it. These are vampires who feed on acts of violence they cause innocent people to inflict upon other innocent people. The more carnage that results from one or more of these acts, the more powerful that vampire becomes. And what makes these vampires really dangerous is how they have occupied places of high status. However, there are a few normal humans who catch on to what is happening. These people seem insignificant against the evil they are put up against, but that is what makes it interesting. Without giving too much away, this is a long, complicated book that does a get a little boring at certain parts. But these are minor flaws when you consider the plotting and execution. Not to mention, the characterizations are perfect. I recommend this to anyone who likes a good horror novel with a little bit of political intrigue thrown in. Also read Dan Simmons' SUMMER OF NIGHT. He actually out-Stephen Kings Stephen King in that one.Book Review: Simmons is a world above most authors
Summary: 5 Stars
Simmons is one of the literary world's great treasures. He moves with ease between numerous genres, completely at home in each. "Carrion Comfort" was the first book I read by this author. I enjoyed it immensely. Because of it, I read "Hyperion", which is something, because I despise Science Fiction, by and by. Simmons is different. His "Hyperion" series is much more than typical space opera, with phaser guns and funny aliens. He creates stories of immense depth and feeling. He started that for me in "Carrion Comfort", and continues to this day. I look forward to reading "Ilium" with great anticipation.
"Carrion Comfort" is the story of psychic vampires, people who can control others with their minds. Years of this power has bored them to the point where they do it for sport. This started as a novella in one of Simmons's collections and he realized it fully in this novel.
Cover blurb compares it to "The Stand" by King. It is only like "The Stand" in length and scope. The stories couldn't be more different. Read McCammon's "Swan Song" if you want "The Stand". "Carrion Comfort" is something completely different by one of America's most brilliant writers. Bravo.
Book Review: Simmons Brings Out The Big Guns
Summary: 4 Stars
Dan Simmons has fascinated me for nearly twenty years now. I've read all his stuff from the Hardcore Sci-Fi of Hyperion and Endymion to the out-and-out horror of Summer Of Night to the Crime Drama of the Joe Kurtz novels. I even loved genre-spanning Lovedeath and the Historical Thriller The Crook Factory. Worlds Enough & Time? Sure. Why not. It takes me back to think about when I first read Carrion Comfort and was still getting to know Dan Simmons.
Take a small group of "Mind Vampires" who play the game of life and death with their victims for the sheer sport of it, throw in some Nazi concentration camp scenes and a whole lot of Charleston and you have the smallest part of the gist of Carrion Comfort. A sprawling novel, filled with twists and turns and strange goings-on. Dark and deep and historically correct (that is a Dan Simmons trademark) Carrion Comfort rocks. Is it as good as the shocking perfection of The Song Of Kali? No. Is it as creepy as Summer Of Night? No. Does it rock? Yes. Carrion Comfort is Dan Simmons second novel and it is one of the stepping stones in an already illustrious career. Horror is the genre that Simmons chooses this time around and Carrion Comfort holds us spellbound.
Dig it.
Book Review: Epic horror and very well done
Summary: 5 Stars
You don't see a lot of "epic horror" books. Epic sci-fi, epic historical fiction, epic fantasy, yes. But epic horror is a rare beast. Simmons produces a wonderfully horrific novel on an epic scale in _Carrion Comfort_ and I heartily recommend this book to horror fans or to fans of Simmons' sci-fi and recent suspense books.The novel spans more than 100 years and moves effortlessly from first to third person, present to past, and is told by multiple narrators. Usually, this technique fails to hold my attention, either because all of the characters sounds the same, or because one or more the characters have nothing to say. Not so here. Simmons imbues each narrative with vitality and purpose...the overall effect is that you reading multiple short stories that are linked by a common ending and sometimes feature the same characters.
The story itself is a horror take on the concept of how absolute power corrupts absolutely. There is just enough of the supernatural element to give the book that creepy feel but not so much that one thinks "this couldn't possibly happen." Buy this book, sit back in your favorite reading place, and enjoy.