The Terror by Dan Simmons, is the best book I've read in quite a while. Despite it's whopping 784 pages, I devoured it in about a month.
It is a "historical fiction" novel which offers up an interesting explanation of the lost Sir John Franklin Expedition to "find" the Northwest Passage.
Although most assuredly fiction, as there is no evidence of the Inuit mythological Tuunbaq, Simmons artfully wove historical record throughout his piece by accounting for the known failures of the expedition and painting vivid portraits of the characters, who were based on historical people. Smartly, since none survived and records were never found, no one really knows what happened, especially amid such a desolate and hopeless background.
The novel is just as rich thematically, as it explores imperialism, arrogance, will, diplomacy, evil and even romance -- it's amazing too that I could actually feel the frigid, relentless cold that surrounds the story.
Stop being a prick and come up off the ten clams and buy it here.
Leave a comment