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.

A real surprise

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It took a little while to get into it, but in the end it was worth it. A different kind of story, but well written and well performed.

Great Book!!!

Would you listen to Carrion Comfort again? Why?

I don't usually 're-listen to my audible books but this is a great story and keeps you glued to the story.

What other book might you compare Carrion Comfort to and why?

Steven King's horror books. Complex interesting story lines.

Which scene was your favorite?

Natalie 's fight to end Melanie. Totally action packed.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

The masters of the earth.

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed this book totally. It was long but it moved constantly keeping the story flowing. What is going to happen next?

it’s a handful!

i saw 40 hours and got excited, a perfect way to keep me occupied at work! except it’s incredibly intricate, which makes catching every little bit of detail while listening VERY difficult. it was weird and fun, but if you want to keep track of everything maybe just read it.

laural merlington is a delight

The book is solid, but the narration is really exelent, especially Laural Merlington who does such a wonderful job!

At times the story felt to long and tedious.

Great narration and good story, but at times you just wanted it to move forward a little faster. It felt as though the author got a little caught up in repetitive words and details. It was good though and I would reccomend it.

Interesting but long....

As a fan of Dan Simmons and eagerly awaiting his over-due new novel, I decided to listen to one of his earlier books. It was a fine, solid work with an intriguing premise of mind-vampires who want to take over the world or at least their immediate orbit. It is fairly long, clocking in at 39 hours. Not my favorite of Simmons' but worth listening to.

Laural Merlington is fantastic

Merlington is brilliant as Melanie. Unfortunately she can not save the overall production from being dragged down by large swaths of tedious action sequences, and a mediocre Mel Foster.

Slow…

Takes awhile to get into but all in all, a good listen. I would most likely not be able to finish if reading.

Needs to be a movie

All the right elements. for a screenplay. Please Hollywood! Steven Kings endorsement is well warranted.

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.