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nigellicus 's review for:
Drood
by Dan Simmons
A coffee review for the shop I work for. I've been a fan of Simmons since I read Hyperion way back when. This isn't quite as good as last years' The Terror, but it's terrifically ambitious and clever.
This blockbuster historical novel, set over the final years in the life of Charles Dickens, is an intricate, psychological thriller, a puzzling examination of madness and literary rivalry, sometimes comic, sometimes horrific. Narrated by Wilkie Collins, remembered today as the author of The Moonstone and The Woman In White, generally regarded as the precursors of the modern mystery novel, who is Dickens’ friend and, in his own mind, equal, Drood opens with an account of a terrifying rail crash in which Dickens was a passenger and survivor. Moving amongst the dead and dying, Dickens encounters a terrible, spectral figure in black who introduces himself as ‘Drood.’ Dickens proceeds to search for this disfigured creature through the slums and sewers of London, dragging a reluctant Collins along in his wake.
This is merely the opening of a long and strange odyssey. As Dickens appears to lose interest in Drood, Collins finds himself ensnared in a strange underworld, addicted to opium, labouring under the shadow of one of the greatest of literary geniuses, he becomes obsessive, paranoid and possibly delusional.
Dan Simmons is best known for his science fiction, but he has also been known to dip into crime and horror. Drood bears more of a resemblance to his previous book, The Terror, an extraordinary fictionalised account of a doomed Arctic expedition stalked by a supernatural monster. Drood has a pair of doomed authors stalked by a gothic villain.
Collins’ pungent narration lays bare Dickens, warts and all, a selfish egoist with a mean, angry streak, yet also kind and generous to a fault, and capable of the most amazing acts of courage and sacrifice. Despite acute mental and physical suffering, Dickens embarks on a gruelling series of reading tours that exact an appalling toll, yet Dickens displays a superhuman strength of will throughout.
At 800 pages, Drood is a long read, but one that engages on several levels and keeps the reader guessing until the final pages. Terrific, intelligent entertainment.
This blockbuster historical novel, set over the final years in the life of Charles Dickens, is an intricate, psychological thriller, a puzzling examination of madness and literary rivalry, sometimes comic, sometimes horrific. Narrated by Wilkie Collins, remembered today as the author of The Moonstone and The Woman In White, generally regarded as the precursors of the modern mystery novel, who is Dickens’ friend and, in his own mind, equal, Drood opens with an account of a terrifying rail crash in which Dickens was a passenger and survivor. Moving amongst the dead and dying, Dickens encounters a terrible, spectral figure in black who introduces himself as ‘Drood.’ Dickens proceeds to search for this disfigured creature through the slums and sewers of London, dragging a reluctant Collins along in his wake.
This is merely the opening of a long and strange odyssey. As Dickens appears to lose interest in Drood, Collins finds himself ensnared in a strange underworld, addicted to opium, labouring under the shadow of one of the greatest of literary geniuses, he becomes obsessive, paranoid and possibly delusional.
Dan Simmons is best known for his science fiction, but he has also been known to dip into crime and horror. Drood bears more of a resemblance to his previous book, The Terror, an extraordinary fictionalised account of a doomed Arctic expedition stalked by a supernatural monster. Drood has a pair of doomed authors stalked by a gothic villain.
Collins’ pungent narration lays bare Dickens, warts and all, a selfish egoist with a mean, angry streak, yet also kind and generous to a fault, and capable of the most amazing acts of courage and sacrifice. Despite acute mental and physical suffering, Dickens embarks on a gruelling series of reading tours that exact an appalling toll, yet Dickens displays a superhuman strength of will throughout.
At 800 pages, Drood is a long read, but one that engages on several levels and keeps the reader guessing until the final pages. Terrific, intelligent entertainment.