Dan Simmons Anyone?
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I didn't realize Simmons had written a sequel to "Summer of Night" until I came across "Winter Haunting" by chance. That is a decent read if you liked SoN. WH rounds out that story like the adult years in It. I'm on to "The Fifth Heart" which reminds me for good or ill of "Drood."
Carrion Comfort was such an awesome book. I have thought about it being made into a movie, but it would need to be a trilogy.
My ranking when it comes to Simmons.... Take it or leave it
1. Carrion Comfort
2. Winter Haunting
3. The Terror
4. Summer of Night
These are his top four. I'm not overly impressed with either the Hyperion Saga or The Ilion books. I think Song Of Kali, Drood and Black Hills are interesting but they arent really close to touching the top four.
1. Carrion Comfort
2. Winter Haunting
3. The Terror
4. Summer of Night
These are his top four. I'm not overly impressed with either the Hyperion Saga or The Ilion books. I think Song Of Kali, Drood and Black Hills are interesting but they arent really close to touching the top four.
You put Winter Haunting over Summer of Night? The book seemed a little thin, but may be worth it?
It is a sequel but i think just the tightly regulated story makes it all the more effective compared with Summer of Night that sometimes floats out a little. That is Winter Haunting never allowed to do which in my mind makes it better.
Winter Haunting's not fleshed out like SoN. Felt more like a lagniappe if anything.
Drood needed some surgery. Got bogged down a lot, imo.
I agree. thats why it isnt close to making the top four but still is interesting. Or i would have said bogged down in places instead of a lot maybe.
I think there was a great book trapped in Drood. Unfortunately, most readers are not going to make it through the endless minutiae to reach that point. It could have been 200-300 pages shorter. I thought the basic story was fascinating with the real author (Simmons) writing about an author (Collins) writing about another author (Dickens) and the perspective of blurring the lines between reality and fiction in their books.
Agreed.
I bought a Dan Simmons book about two days ago, a new one, from the newsagency. Science Fiction Masterworks series, new for $5.
A reprint i guess....?? Hyperion was written in 1989. The first, and best, of his hyperion string of books (4 books)I bought a Dan Simmons book about two days ago, a new one, from the newsagency. Science Fiction Masterworks series, new for $5.
I agree with Kurben- Hyperion is the best one of the series. Watch out for the Shrike!!!!!
Also Agree. I read it once and just couldn't take it again.
Finished up "The Fifth Heart" which I found only so-so. An odd pairing of Sherlock Holmes and Henry James to say the least. I got lost on a couple of plot points.
The "mystery" surrounding Clover Adams death seems to fizzle out. It is the apparent central premise of the entire book until nearly the end but then becomes a sort of an aside. Instead we get a storyline regarding the plot to overthrow the government which also goes nowhere when it is revealed that Holmes is actually Moriarty. Why was Clover murdered? It seems like they wanted to use Adams' residence as the place to assassinate the president but then nothing comes of that. And why does Holmes' son want to kill the president?
Simmons is one of the writers who does parts really well, but his whole books tend to bog down. "Summer of Night" was interesting, but truthfully I found myself drifting in his endless descriptions of streets and directions that the boys rode their bicycles. I found some of the same issue in "Carrion Comfort". I got confused and started to drift off. He's written some good short stories. I hated "Flashback" which is just a political scree by a man who has gone into that curmudgeon stage of life and evidently also suffers from political paranoia. I've been over to his forum a few times, but I don't stay around. That forum has a rather intellectual snobishy air to it and Mr. Simmons is one of the biggest contributors. Unlike this board which is much friendlier.
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Reading The Abominable now. Reckon I've already learned enough to climb Everest with my tongue! The detail!!!