Dan Simmons

A Novel

Drood

Sarah Sammis

Incredibly well-written and well-documented!! A truly impressive, enjoyable book, I highly recommend it :)

Kali Olson

I thought this book would be perfect me--a sensational story about the writing of a Victorian sensation novel, narrated by my favorite real-life sensation writer. That would be Wilkie Collins, author of "The Woman in White" and "The Moonstone" and--most importantly for this story--friend of Charles Dickens. Collins tells the story of how Dickens, in the last years of his life, became obsessed with a sinister, possibly imaginary fiend known only as Drood. Collins and Dickens descend into the sewers of London to seek out Drood, but they are also obsessed with their own vanities and competitions with each other. Collins is an unreliable narrator, to say the least, since he's a hallucinating opium addict, but what I couldn't get past was how peevish, vain, and cruel Dan Simmons writes Wilkie. Collins did actually suffer from severe gout and was addicted to opium; he also had two long-term mistresses and refused to marry either or them. But he's still the author of some of my favorite books, and I didn't enjoy reading about him as such an unlikeable character (not that Dickens comes off as a shining hero either). In fact, we have no one to like and few to sympathize with, and with over 700 pages to get through, likability was an important factor for me as a reader. The story is also bogged down by a never-ending onslaught of real-life and historical details. Sure, there is a great deal of macabre atmosphere and some real chills and thrills, but those are vastly overshadowed by the petty bickering between the very Dickens and Collins, who spend most of the book throwing smug insults at each other. Less bitterness, more mystery, and a couple hundred less pages would have made "Drood" into a much better novel.

shellybn

This is one of my favorite "horror" novels of all time. I don'the know how to describe it. The ending is wonderful and horrible at the same time.

Aaron Bach

I truly enjoyed this gripping, chilling read. A smart blend of interesting historical fact and a well constructed mystery make Drood - not novels like The Da Vinci Code - a prime example of outstanding historical fiction.

Rather than spend pages talking about what I liked (which were numerous), allow me to be the critic and share the three points that kept me from giving this gem a full 5 stars.

1. At various points throughout the novel, Simmons goes a bit too far in his weaving of history into the plot. This practice normally serves a great purpose; however, when carried too long, it seems as though he is filling pages with long paragraphs of who-wrote-to-whom-in-which year.

2. Each time a puzzling moment came up in the book, Simmons did a great job in having Wilkie confirm my suspicion with some of his own. However, all too frequently, resolutions to those puzzles were never given, almost as if Simmons had forgotten to re-approach them.

3. The grandiose emotion of the book's plot, the sinister, ethereal, and extremely mysterious nature of its villain, and the ever-present sense of doom carry this book to an extreme height. However, this is often a tricky spot to land in, as only the most talented of authors can deliver a climax that stays that high. Drood's ending, while certainly brain-bending and interesting, doesn't carry the same level of excitement that it's plot does.

Overall, this is a book - and an author - not to be missed. Check it out as soon as you can.

Nicholas Zachariou

Sherry

Peter Read

Cal Desmond‐Pearson

Arun Raghavan

Steven O'Toole

Marie Rogowski

This story shall be about my friend (as at least about the man who was once my friend) Charles Dickens and about the accident that took away his peace of mind, his health, and, some might whisper, his sanity...' Sealed for one hundred and twenty-five years, Wilkie Collins's scribbled words launch a feverish descent into the underbelly of Victorian London as he is dragged into Charles Dickens's pursuit of a spectral figure known only as Drood. Their investigation will lead them through slums, opium dens, catacombs and sewers. What they discover will destroy their friendship, driving each writer to the very brink of insanity. And murder...

Drood A Novel

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