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.

Enjoyed the book, though.

I'd read "Carrion Comfort" some years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. I'd always expected a movie to be made. when I learned it was on audio, I believed that had to be the next best. I'm afraid I didn't care much for the actor's renditions. Something about the Sheriff's "drawl" and Natalie's "whine" really took from the story. I couldn't finish the Audible book.

A Chilling View on Humans Capacity for Evil

First: if you are someone who is sensitive to physical and/or sexual violence, or racism then this book is NOT for you. It's a story about the worst humans who could ever exist. Predictably, they do, say, and think some horrific things. However, there are equally as many extraordinarily sympathetic characters in this story as well. We are presented with the cold war festering in humanity since time began: between those who do evil, and those who seek justice.

This book is instantly in my S tier of fiction. The characters are well thought out, with much depth and background given to help you to understand their actions and motives. Despite what some other reviewers say, beneath all the horrific events in this novel is captured many of the the essences of mankind. While it may be about psychic vampires who are practically inhuman, the novel as a whole is exceptionally human.

The performance, both that of Melanie and of the seemingly endless list of characters that Mel Foster portrays, were incredible. Laural Merlingtons voice brought Melanie to life and a whole additional chilling layer to her chapters. My only complaint, early on, was that Mel felt somewhat monotonous in his narrative portions, but by the end, I absolutely loved the contrast between dialogue and exposition.

10/10. I can't believe there is no film, TV, or anime adaption of this story.

Overall long winded, like literature of old.

Made me want to fall asleep or zone out and lose my place. At times the story was very intriguing. At others, it could make me drift away. Not recommended for driving. I think it was the droning old lady voice that put you to sleep like Grandma reading a book at bedtime.

Well done!

I read this after completing Dan Simmons’s Hyperion series. Dan Simmons quickly became one of my favorite writers. This is a wonderfully terrifying story. My only complaint is that this book really could have used a little editing. I love that Simmons attends to every detail but in this book, it was a little much. The voice actors were great. I especially enjoyed Melanie’s voice. I usually read books at home and listen to them during my commute but started spending more time listening because the narrators did such a great job. Well done!

Meh.

The story dragged on and was unnecessarily cruel, it was interesting enough to finish one time through but I doubt I would ever listen to it again,

Mind vampires….interesting concept.

Good listen. Lasted all the way to Japan. And back. Plus a few more hours.

Great story

Not a traditional vampire tale. I wish it were a series. There’s so much more!

Would have been better shorter.

If I could sum the book up in a few words, what would they be?
Mind Vampires

What did I like best about this story?
Good writing and ideas.

What did I not like?
It was just too long.

How did I like the narrator(s)?
They were great.

Would I reread?
No. I was drifting off the story by the end and didn’t want to rewind and get back on track. Just wanted to finish.

Have I read any of the Author’s other works? Want to read more?
Yes, loved the Hyperion series. Yes, want to read more.

So worth the commitment

Yes, this book is 39 hours, but I loved it from beginning to end. The two narrators become truly invisible, allowing you to just concentrate on the story. The story has enough twists and turns and surprises to keep you guessing, but not so many that you get lost in the 39 hours. You'll love some characters and hate others and change your mind on others. I usually can come up with something I don't like about a book, but for this one, it is near perfection.

Captivating!

A masterful thriller, packed with suspense and intrique which kept my unflagging interest through all 5 Parts. It had me thinking and questioning the limits or boundaries of what human beings are capable of doing to one another, within a given set of circumstances. Are there any? A frightening thought.

Narration was excellent and unobtrusive, by both readers, the voices well-matched with the characters. The only criticism i would have, is Mr Foster's inability to read the German phrases. Simple rudimentary elements such as the phonetic structure of the alphabet are misread. The German glyph for double 's' is read as an 's' not a 'b'. "Dass...dass" should not be rendered as "dub, dub". The least bit of research would have elminated such ridiculous pronunciation.

I tend to evaluate a book by 2 sets of criteria: My own subjective enjoyment, and then also by literary standards.

From a literary standpoint, this is a good book, but not a great book. The characters are uni-dimensional. The good guys are angels, the baddies are rotten to their grotesque evil cores. No nuances; black and white like the chess board of the "game".

All round, i thoroughly enjoyed it and can recommend it as a captivating read.