Snow and Superstition

I'm a superstitious person, no doubt about it. I have to knock on wood and I can't ever say really bad things out of fear that they will happen. It extends further than that, but you get my point. 

The last time (and actually first time) that I had a big honking Dan Simmons arc to read, we got hit by a blizzard! A freaking blizzard! And me, the southern girl who loves 75 degree year-round weather, well I was miserable. Or would have been had Dan Simmons and his over 1,000 pages gotten me through it (James Herbert helped as well). Surprisingly, or not, both reads had to do with inclement weather. 

We've had some really nice weather here lately. I've even been able to turn off my heater it's been so warm. Course my friend had to go and ruin it by saying that snow was coming. That paired with the fact that I have Drood coming up on my TBR shelf leaves me a little worried about it. Yeah, yeah, I know I'm a bit ridiculous. 

Anyway, I just realized that I never actually posted a review on that first Dan Simmons book, The Terror. I loved this book! Some might say that it is long and drawn out, but the story is one that fascinated me to begin with and then he adds a supernatural twist to it and you've got the perfect long read. Sometimes that's a good thing! Sometimes you get that book that you just don't want to end and this was one of them. 

Here's my review as it appeared on Bookbitch.com (from the archives of course):

In 1845, the John Franklin Discovery Expedition set off from England in search of the illusive Northwest Passage.  The expedition’s two ships, HMS Terror and HMS Erebus, were better equipped for the voyage through this hostile environment than any before.  The ships’ hulls were fortified against the ice and there was enough tinned food to last for five years.  In 1847, the ships became frozen in the ice.  Suffering from malnutrition as a result of the poorly prepared food, scurvy and lead poisoning, the men set off, on foot, across the ice.  Evidence suggests that the men ultimately resorted to cannibalism in a desperate attempt to survive.  Dan Simmons draws on an abundance of historical documents and adds his own signature twist to this gruesome and tragic tale.  The story begins in October 1847, nearly two months after the ships become trapped in the ice.  An unknown predator is silently stalking the sailors, killing them one by one.  This is a very hefty and dense read.  My hand literally fell asleep holding the book up.  Simmons has brilliantly made over a fascinating tale of one of the most famous failed expeditions into a horrific and frightening fiction read -- a great accomplishment for any author and just one more sure win for Simmons.

I'm going to cross my fingers that we don't end up with another blizzard, but I gotta tell you that Simmons is a good one to be snowed in with!