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I'm only about one hundred and fifty pages into Dan Simmons' 1989 book Carrion Comfort so I probably shouldn't jinx myself so early (I've still got four hundred plus pages to go) but I can't help it - it's so good! Any fans?
I was thinking the other week that it had been far too long since I'd been scared, truly scared, and the movies just have not been doing it so it was time to read a scary book. I wasn't sure what to read - and if y'all have any good rec's to make, do so, I want more! Always more! - but I searched around and saw some praise for Carrion - Stephen King, never one prone to hyperbole (kidding), called it one of the top three scariest books of all time - and so I snapped it up. And sure enough, so far, knock on wood, it's terrific.
Like I said I'm only 150 pages or so in, but why hasn't anybody turned this thing into a miniseries? So far it seems like it'd be a winner. It has old people chase scenes! How could it go wrong?
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12 comments:
Ooh, I'll have to read this too. I like Dan Simmons (I've read his short stories, which are awesome) and I keep meaning to read more of his stuff.
I think this was the first Dan Simmons book I read when it first came out in paperback some 20 years ago...all I remember is that it is about vampires and I loved it!...became a big Dan Simmons fan after this and his Hyperion Cantos...read most of his books and I think his recent book, The Terror, was absolutely fantastic...but it appears he has turned into a right-wing nutjob (or he always was and I am only just finding out) so I have soured on him as of late.
Really good book. A bit long, but worth the read. Some really great set ups. Be sure to post back whether you finished and liked it.
Carrion Comfort delivers some creepy awesomeness indeed. I just finished The Cipher by Kathe Koja. Which blew my mind, its like a fever dream. check it out next...
This is the first thing of his I've read, and if it keeps up I'll def. check out more,, but man that news about him being a right-winger sucks!
Thanks for the rec, Lester!
@ JA yeah, i always feel a bit bummed when some of my favourite authors are d*cks. hello orson scott card! but i always found this useful:
http://www.socialjusticeleague.net/2011/09/how-to-be-a-fan-of-problematic-things/
L
I stopped reading King decades ago, after I realized I could skip every other page of his over-stuffed novels and not miss a thing. For a while after that, I tried reading his stuff until I came to the first brand name. That occasionally got me as far as three paragraphs into the story.
His recommendation is usually enough to keep me away from a book. He and the late Kurt Vonnegut have a long history as blurb sluts--they'll recommend almost anything that's put in front of them.
The charitable might say they're supporting lesser authors and nourishing new talents. The more cynical might suspect that they're promoting mediocrity to make their own works look relatively good.
PS All that withstanding, 'Salem’s Lot was one of the scariest things I've ever read.
You can find a unique, convincing and disturbing creature in Simmons' "Dying in Bangkok", one of the five novellas in his "Lovedeath" collection. To specify more is to rob you of its revelations. This story is emotionally resonant and memorable in a genre where most stories are readily forgotten.
If you want creepy, try reading The Strain by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan. Yes THAT Guillermo Del Toro. The first book of the triology creeped me out in broad daylight on a sunny day last autumn. I had to go inside to continue reading. Vampires written by men are ALWAYS more vicious than vampires written by women, or teenage girls! My theory is that women have a much different relationship with blood than men do. Gross maybe, but true.
By the way, you didn't really tell us what Carrion Comfort is about.
I've been meaning to read The Strain, Scot; I heard mixed things about it though. It's good then? Oh and I try not to regurgitate plots when possible since that murders fun and surprise, but you can read what the book's about at that link I linked to if you wanna.
The novel of "Carion Comfort" is a bit baggy and long. The novella (originally published in Omni Magazine-- yes, I am that geeky) is elegant and disturbing.
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