Simmons, Dan: The Terror
The Terror
Writer: Dan Simmons
Genre: Horror
Pages: 766
I never really intended to read this book.
Last year, when the Discovery Channel's Planet Earth was showing brilliant images from the Poles, my fiance made a remark about how much he loved that setting, how it captured his interest. For some reason, him saying this reminded me of Dan Simmons's The Terror, so I told him what little I knew about the book. Arctic setting, horror story. Greg was interested enough that he sought out the hardcover in the store and bought it. When he read it, he loved it. Gave it five stars.
But I wasn't interested, not even when I'd made a decision to place my own novel in an arctic setting myself, and then I wasn't interested until I read The Ends of Earth: An Anthology of the Finest Writing on the Arctic and the Antarctic. Once I read that, I was hooked. I decided that when I had the time and patience for the beast of the novel that is The Terror, I'd read it. It's not like I didn't know what to expect. I've read Simmons before.
But it's almost impossible to review this book. At 766 pages long, it's a beast of a novel, and you're forced to take your time and actually read the thing rather than skim it. The Terror is a historical fiction, recounting the lost Franklin expedition for the Northwest Passage in the Arctic. Not a single soul was recovered from that passage, while remains were found and guesses were made, the story of the voyages of the HMS Erebus and the HMS Terror are largely a mystery. Simmons has recreated that story, using as much fact as possible (lead poisoning, scurvy, and cannibalism), while also creating a different kind of monster that preyed upon the souls of these men, and thus using the monster to bring this tale to some kind of conclusion.
The monster is as literal as it is metaphorical, because there is so much about the mens' conditions that defeat them. The lack of game, the poorly canned and cooked food, the scurvy, the unrelenting ice, the threat of mutiny. The monster is often the straw that breaks the camel's back, forcing these men to act when they might otherwise not, and increasing the tension and fear.
But the book isn't about the monster. Indeed, there's long parts of the book where the monster never makes an appearance, let alone is talked about. Ultimately, this is a tale of survival, about what it takes to live in such harsh conditions and how these conditions transform a man's body, mind, and soul. While we get several points of view, we're most centered on Captain Francis Cozier and Dr. Goodsir, both who try to keep men alive, but who have completely different angles on what's happening. But the single-most unifying character in this book is the setting itself. No surprise, given Simmons is our writer. Just by reading the first page, I was thrust into the world of the novel, and never once was I torn away by some careless detail or incomplete scene. Simmons is a deliberate writer who takes his time, and while I will admit I thought some sections of the novel could've been trimmed down some, I'll give Simmons the benefit of the doubt: these men lived in these harsh Arctic conditions for three-plus years, and the length of the novel lets the reader fully experience every moment, every joy, and every defeat. It's worth it. By the end it's definitely worth it. Characters flesh into individuals, and some you'll love, some you'll hate, and some will simply fascinate you. And the touch of fantastic at the of the book is just really, really cool.
My Rating
Must Have: it's horror, but it's historical fiction, and a survival story at that. As mentioned above, the pace is deliberately set at the speed of a glacier, but never once does Simmons let you leave his world. There's definitely an awe factor to this novel, as well as a quiet, driving tension that makes you wonder who, if anyone, will survive. It's a fascinating novel that makes me want to research Simmons's source material, just to learn everything I can about where the truth differs from fiction, but as a whole, I'm very happy with the book. If you're a fan of Simmons's work, you definitely have to check it out.
Next up: Nightlife by Rob Thurman