Book Review: Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons

We've covered plenty of Dan Simmons books on this site, and it's no secret that I'm a fan. Last time around we covered Song of Kali, his first book. Now, we'll dive into his second book.

If you read the same copy that I did - the 20th anniversary edition - you'll know that this is the second book he wrote due to the extensive forward that he wrote, which may be the most fascinating part of the book - if you're going to read this, I highly encourage you to seek that edition out. In it, he provides the story of how he wrote this book in his "free" time while teaching at a middle school and also running the district-wide gifted and talented program, then how he made the decision to give that all up to be a full-time writer, and how it almost all imploded due to a publisher with crazy demands. If you ever wondered how someone decides to take the plunge to quit their job for writing, plus what day-to-day life is like for a writer, it's an amazing tale. Peppered throughout the story are cut-aways regarding the holocaust, the development of the human brain, and a reminder that the book is about his worst fear.

His worst fear is mind control. Which...I don't count anywhere near the top of my list, so that's a strike right off the bat. This is definitely a "supernatural" story (in terms of ESP), but at no point did it seem scary (unless, of course, you're scared of mind control).

This is the first of Simmon's giant-sized (800+ page) novels, and there are so many characters that pass through and so many twists and turns in the story that there's no way to summarize. But it starts off by introducing us to three long-time friends at a get-together in Charleston (!) in 1980. All three are "mind vampires" (!!) who are adept at entering people's minds to force them to do their will (and also rejuventate them? The "vampire" part of this is mentioned a couple of times but never fully explored.). They compare conquests, then part as friends. Then one friend suddenly attempts to kill the other two friends, and the story is on.

This story will touch on concentration camps, street gangs, the state of Isreal, Hollywood, secret societies, and televangelists before culminating in a The Deadliest Game-style finale. Main characters will change, protagonists will die, friends will become enemies, enemies will become friends OR ARE THEY? It's a whole deal.

And I loved it! This is definitely not a "great" book. I mentioned already that the "vampire" part is very vague (plus mind control isn't a hot button issue for me). There's also not much of a "plot" here, more of a "this happened, then this, then this....", and some of the things that happened don't hold up upon further thinking. One other note: There is a lot of racial discussions in this book. I think it's very clear based on who the "good guys" are that Simmons is on the side of civil rights; however, I know some people are sensitive to any prejudicial thoughts whatsoever - since the "bad guys" are very disparaging to other races, this book might not be for you.

What saves the book is Simmon's writing and characterization. In a giant-size story with a huge cast, not only did I have no trouble remembering who everyone was but also I cared deeply about what happened to them. It was a real page-turner - and there were certainly a lot of pages!

So I'd recommend if you want a page-turner that will entertain you (albeit without tickling your higher brain functions). Seven out of ten hot dogs!