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.

Great Imagery, Great Storytelling

What made the experience of listening to Carrion Comfort the most enjoyable?

The author's use of imagery and also the narrators really got into telling the story.

What did you like best about this story?

The narrators

What does Mel Foster and Laural Merlington bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

They bring the characters to life. Hearing them read this novel sets you in the midst of the story.

Who was the most memorable character of Carrion Comfort and why?

Melanie Fuller. She's elegant and classy yet evil and corrupt to the core.

Any additional comments?

Great novel to "take you away" for a while.

One of my top 5 favorites in horror!

Story 5/5
Narration 5/5

"Carrion Comfort" by Dan Simmons is one of my top 5 favorites in horror!! This is at least my 4th listen and it seems to have gotten even better!

This is a very long book, even to listen to, but the characters and their voices make many memorable scenes! It starts out fairly strong, then levels out. Like I said, it's very long, so if you're addicted to quick gratification, this may not be your book! But the end is really good!!

Recommendation - get this audio!

Utterly Amazing

This is in my top 5 fiction books. The characters are all so compelling. The story just pulls you in. Listen to this please!

Great read

I read this book when it was first released. It was enjoyable to revisit it again on audiobook. The story would be great as a movie.

There is a novel thought...in a novel

If you could sum up Carrion Comfort in three words, what would they be?

Cool new idea

Any additional comments?

Neat idea for a type of superhuman and the corruption that power creates within their souls.

Drags on way too long!

This is definitely an interesting and unique story, but it would have been dramatically improved if it was half the length! In my opinion, there is just way too much irrelevant filler that detracted from the pace and intensity of the rest of the story. And, don’t let the 2011 publication date fool you… This story was written in the 80s. None of the characters own a cellular phone, and there is no mention of the Internet. People use pay-phones, and go to the library if they want to look something up, and there are numerous references to cassette tapes. So, keep that in mind as you make your credit selection. I definitely think this book is worthwhile, but I increased the playback speed to keep it interesting

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!