A review by bbrassfield
The Terror by Dan Simmons

5.0

One of my favorite Dan Simmons novels and the first of his that I read with a true historical context. The second would be Drood, but that review is for another day. I've been thinking about the Terror again, now ten years on, with the arrival of the new AMC television series based on the novel. I was living in upstate NY at the time the novel came out and living through winters that commonly feature snow between October and early May, I felt a semblance of simpatico with the doomed crews of the Erebus and Terror. Before reading, I was largely unfamiliar with the historical Erebus and Terror as they set out to discover a new trade passage through the perilous polar ice regions. Simmons absolutely nails the sense of overwhelming cold and stillness as the ships become trapped in endless ice, so much so a palpable sense of fear and panic set into this reader several times. Looking back, I should have read this novel during the brief short months of summer!
What sets the Terror apart from mere historical drama, which would have been frightening enough, is Simmons brilliant creation of a giant ice bear/killing machine monster. What sets the Terror apart from run of the mill horror creation is the relationship the creature has with the natives of this frozen land and how the fate of Captain Frances eventually weaves into that relationship. I won't spoil it here but suffice it to say that the Terror is enormously satisfying.