Carrion Comfort
by Dan Simmons
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Book Reviews of Carrion Comfort
Book Review: even mighty Casey can strike out
Summary: 2 Stars
Other folks have detailed the plot of Carrion Comfort here so I'll cut to the chase. This story was so predictable that I had to check the cover to ensure that I was, indeed, reading work by the same Dan Simmons who wrote Hyperion and Ilium. Ok... so halfway through the parade of somewhat overweight descriptions of hollywood action trailers and firefights, I gave up on my expectations for the plot. Nobody's perfect. I decided instead, to focus on the characters; something for which Mr. Simmons is justly famous and again he let me down. I won't play the spoiler, but I will say that after reading a little over half the book I could durn near predict how many pages would elapse before the characters in which I was developing some sympathy would just sort of hop into the tree chipper. To be as fair as I can, there are some very well-drawn characters in this story. But this is the only 'pro' in my assessment and it does not come near to justifying the length of this book. It seems forced, perfunctory, and ridden with cliche's to me. Mr. Simmons is a great writer; one dear to my heart, but he missed the bus to immortality with this one.Book Review: exercise your brain!
Summary: 5 Stars
The only reason you should ever read a book that is more than 800 pages long is to exercise your brain. This book is a grand endeavor that I gladly indulged in for weeks.It's hard to wrap your mind around this book, but Simmons paints wonderful settings, complex characters and a great plot that weaves in supernatural theories on violence and control.
Another reason the book stands out among other hulking, 800+ page novels is Simmons' narrative style, which switches between the first-person observations of Melanie Fuller, a key player in the book, to a dozen third-person perspectives from equally interesting characters.
The book is exceptional because Melanie Fuller is a classic naiive narrator. That is, she is so self-deluded that her perspective cannot be taken at face value. Rather, they must be interpreted by the reader with analysis and reading on to see how the third-person accounts decode those same events.
In short, this book is wonderfully imaginative. In dusting off this book, you'll also be dusting some cobwebs out of your head and getting those rusty cogs turning again.
Book Review: Simply Great
Summary: 5 Stars
Other reviewers have nicely summed up the plot, so I'll just chime in with my opinions. This is not only one of the most fantastic horror novels I've ever read, but is right up there among the greatest novels period. The characters are fully-drawn without copious amounts of back-story; Simmons is a master of 'show, don't tell'. The plot is involving from page one and will not let you go until you finish it, wipe the sweat from your brow, and say, "Good Lord, that was awesome!"
This novel also contains what I believe is the single most terrifying character I've ever come across, in the person of Melanie Fuller. It's not simply because she's completely insane, but because she also combines the selfish temper-tantrums of a three-year-old with the cold sociopathic tendencies of a serial killer (which she most assuredly is). She is totally unpredictable.
Following up on that thought, one last thing: The epilogue is one of the most chilling things I've ever had the pleasure to read. Brrr....
Carrion Comfort. Buy it. Read it. Love it.
Book Review: horribly over-written
Summary: 2 Stars
I approached Carrion Comfort with great anticipation, and it wasn't until several hundred pages later that I gave up on it. Simmons is obviously a talented writer, but apparently no editor ever went near this horribly over-written book. Every action, whether crucial or trivial, is described in microscopic detail, so that a man opening a window and climbing inside takes up almost a whole page. A character makes breakfast, and we're treated to every stroke of the whisk as he scrambles the eggs. Over breakfast, another character tells him the complete, unabridged story of her life (as people so often to do total strangers they've just met), filling up several pages with inessential details. One effect of this, to me at least, is that there's no suspense, even in the most crucial moments, since there's no greater narrative weight to these moments than there is to anything else that happens. Another is that the story seemed to proceed in slow-motion. Ultimately, I was unable to stay awake while plowing through endless descriptions, trying to get to the story.Book Review: Big action packed epic horror
Summary: 5 Stars
This is an epic horror novel. A rare genre that has some of my favorite books in it: Stephen King's The Stand, Clive Barker's Imajica, and Robert R. McCammon's Swan Song. This book deserves a place right along side of them. It has everything you'd expect from the genre: lots and lots of great characters (Melanie Fuller is as successful a study of the sociopathic mind as Patrick Bateman from American Psycho, only Carrion Comfort is a million times better story). Non-stop action from Nina's dizzying pursuit of Melanie at the beginning to Natalie and Melanie's final explosive confrontation at the end(The kid with the scalpel blades on the ends of his fingers, jeez!) and everything in between: the showdowns in Germantown and Dolman Island, holy cow! The book takes the reader from the Nazi concentration camps to the American south, Hollywood, Washington D.C., the inner-city slums of Philidelphia, Isreal, and many other places. Its truly a sprawling novel with more thrills and chills than the latest Hollywood blockbuster. I strongly recommend it.