Carrion Comfort

By: Dan Simmons

Narrated by: Mel Foster, Laural Merlington

Length: 39 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

"Carrion Comfort is one of the three greatest horror novels of the 20th century. Simple as that." (Stephen King)

"Epic in scale and scope but intimately disturbing, Carrion Comfort spans the ages to rewrite history and tug at the very fabric of reality. A nightmarish chronicle of predator and prey that will shatter your world view forever. A true classic." (Guillermo del Toro)

"Carrion Comfort is one of the scariest books ever written. Whenever I get asked the question Who's your favorite author? my answer is always Dan Simmons." (James Rollins)

"One of the few major reinventions of the vampire concept, on a par with Jack Finney's Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Richard Matheson's I Am Legend, and Stephen King's Salem's Lot. (David Morrell)

THE PAST...

Caught behind the lines of Hitler's Final Solution, Saul Laski is one of the multitudes destined to die in the notorious Chelmno extermination camp. Until he rises to meet his fate and finds himself face to face with an evil far older, and far greater, than the Nazis themselves...

THE PRESENT...

Compelled by the encounter to survive at all costs, so begins a journey that for Saul will span decades and cross continents, plunging into the darkest corners of 20th century history to reveal a secret society of beings who may often exist behind the world's most horrible and violent events. Killing from a distance, and by darkly manipulative proxy, they are people with the psychic ability to "use" humans: read their minds, subjugate them to their wills, experience through their senses, feed off their emotions, force them to acts of unspeakable aggression. Each year, three of the most powerful of this hidden order meet to discuss their ongoing campaign of induced bloodshed and deliberate destruction. But this reunion, something will go terribly wrong. Saul's quest is about to reach its elusive object, drawing hunter and hunted alike into a struggle that will plumb the depths of mankind's attraction to violence, and determine the future of the world itself...

©2009 Dan Simmons (P)2011 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

As long as it was, I didn't want it to end

The lengthy descriptions painted both beautiful and wonderfully gruesome images in my mind, loved it!

Our vampires are different ( but it works.)

Dan Simmons doesn't disappoint.

the Book takes the listener into a subculture of psychic vampires. The characters are well developed. There are elements of suspense and horror. Dan Simmons' story telling is just wonderful. READ THE HYPERION CANTOS!

awesomeness

such great storytelling and a real way with building tension between scenarios. I enjoyed all 40 hours of listening.

I liked it

The storyline was full of holes but entertaining just the same. Playing chess with humans, too much.

Worth the time.

No spoilers.

Performance was great.

The story started a little confusing, but as character were added it got better and better. I had issue with a few plot points about specific characters, but as the story went on those plot points had meaning. You just had to wait out for the story to catch up.

The ending had a few "jump the shark" moments, but overall was satisfying. The beginning and middle parts of the story were very grounded and believable.

My favorite part of the story revolved around one of the characters telling a story about a chess game. I won't say any more than that. Dialogue was written and paced well. That was the point in the story that got me hooked until the end.

In my opinion, a very unique take on vampires. Is that a spoiler? No, because there are no vampires in this story. So what do I mean? You'll have to listen to find out :).

classic

suspense and horror and sci fi all in a creative shell. not sure how this one has missed me for so long

Wonderful story

loved it! lots of characters, winding stories, kinda fluffy in the middle, but worth it!

A Different Simmons

It's ironic that an author now considered a right wing fascist wrote a subversive, woke, liberal horror novel in the early 80s. I wonder if his politics have changed or the political parties have become more polarized.

I loved the book until the half way point, didn't care for a quarter and then really enjoyed the ending. Not as good as Summer of Night or A Winter Haunting but I'm glad I read it.

Narration!

40 hours, are you kidding me, absolutely yes! What a fantastic book, I loved every minute of it, and the narration is absolutely incredible. This was an absolute joy!

Great Imagery, Great Storytelling

What made the experience of listening to Carrion Comfort the most enjoyable?

The author's use of imagery and also the narrators really got into telling the story.

What did you like best about this story?

The narrators

What does Mel Foster and Laural Merlington bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

They bring the characters to life. Hearing them read this novel sets you in the midst of the story.

Who was the most memorable character of Carrion Comfort and why?

Melanie Fuller. She's elegant and classy yet evil and corrupt to the core.

Any additional comments?

Great novel to "take you away" for a while.