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A review by ojtheviking
Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons
5.0
4.5 rounded up.
As I've indicated before, sometimes you have to concede that some novels are considered classics for a reason. Carrion Comfort has certainly earned that honor, as it presents a highly unique and frightening scenario.
I love the idea of these “mind vampires.” We've seen unspeakable acts of violence throughout history, with witnesses describing the perpetrators as looking empty, crazed, distant, as if they weren't quite themselves, as if something else had taken over. One could look at this story from a symbolic perspective; it taps into the notion of such aforementioned uncontrollable compulsions, with the mind vampires being a metaphor for “what's gotten into” the person who suddenly bursts into a violent frenzy.
Simmons' writing is excellent, with a constant drive in his narration, all while being capable of describing horrific scenarios in captivating ways. He has taken the concept of mind control and made it into a grand, epic tale, showcasing in so many ways how dangerous such an ability can be in the wrong hands, and it all traces back all the way to World War II. It's such an obvious horror concept, but in a good way, to imagine how much more destruction the nazis could have committed by possessing such powers.
Because that's another thing I love about this story; how well this concept weaves itself into actual historical events, suggesting that certain terrorist attacks or presidential assassinations or similar have been caused by these mind vampires playing their games on a global scale, directly affecting the political status and shifts in power.
The scenes of violence are often very sudden, brutal and graphic. As can other forms of assault. But all of this is intentional, as such sudden and shocking moments serve the purpose of establishing just how sadistic and heartless these vampires are, and so, the violence and the assault don't necessarily come across as gratuitous.
Sometimes a story loses some of its charm if a mystery is somewhat overexplained. But in the case of this novel, I liked how there is a part of the story where it's attempted to scientifically explain how these vampires are able to use their powers. Since we already have a bit of reality featured in the book, with historical events being mentioned, the research into how these powers are even possible adds to the realism, and it's approached in a way that I feel doesn't take anything away from the magic of the overall story. It reminds me of how such shows as The X-Files always married the supernatural with the scientific. If done correctly, this added realistic explanation can enhance the horror rather than deflate it, and I feel like Simmons' approach accomplishes the former.
So we have some pretty heavy topics in this book, in other words. I could sum the whole story up by saying that it's like a study of the ugliest, most savage parts of humankind. Greed, violence, hunger for power, corruption, manipulation, oppression, racism, privilege, violation, extremism, war, torture, a secret group having their sinister fun on their own, remote island – so many of the bleakest parts of our nature that in this story are amplified through the influence of these powerful beings.
A superb read that I'd highly recommend to any horror fan.
As I've indicated before, sometimes you have to concede that some novels are considered classics for a reason. Carrion Comfort has certainly earned that honor, as it presents a highly unique and frightening scenario.
I love the idea of these “mind vampires.” We've seen unspeakable acts of violence throughout history, with witnesses describing the perpetrators as looking empty, crazed, distant, as if they weren't quite themselves, as if something else had taken over. One could look at this story from a symbolic perspective; it taps into the notion of such aforementioned uncontrollable compulsions, with the mind vampires being a metaphor for “what's gotten into” the person who suddenly bursts into a violent frenzy.
Simmons' writing is excellent, with a constant drive in his narration, all while being capable of describing horrific scenarios in captivating ways. He has taken the concept of mind control and made it into a grand, epic tale, showcasing in so many ways how dangerous such an ability can be in the wrong hands, and it all traces back all the way to World War II. It's such an obvious horror concept, but in a good way, to imagine how much more destruction the nazis could have committed by possessing such powers.
Because that's another thing I love about this story; how well this concept weaves itself into actual historical events, suggesting that certain terrorist attacks or presidential assassinations or similar have been caused by these mind vampires playing their games on a global scale, directly affecting the political status and shifts in power.
The scenes of violence are often very sudden, brutal and graphic. As can other forms of assault. But all of this is intentional, as such sudden and shocking moments serve the purpose of establishing just how sadistic and heartless these vampires are, and so, the violence and the assault don't necessarily come across as gratuitous.
Sometimes a story loses some of its charm if a mystery is somewhat overexplained. But in the case of this novel, I liked how there is a part of the story where it's attempted to scientifically explain how these vampires are able to use their powers. Since we already have a bit of reality featured in the book, with historical events being mentioned, the research into how these powers are even possible adds to the realism, and it's approached in a way that I feel doesn't take anything away from the magic of the overall story. It reminds me of how such shows as The X-Files always married the supernatural with the scientific. If done correctly, this added realistic explanation can enhance the horror rather than deflate it, and I feel like Simmons' approach accomplishes the former.
So we have some pretty heavy topics in this book, in other words. I could sum the whole story up by saying that it's like a study of the ugliest, most savage parts of humankind. Greed, violence, hunger for power, corruption, manipulation, oppression, racism, privilege, violation, extremism, war, torture, a secret group having their sinister fun on their own, remote island – so many of the bleakest parts of our nature that in this story are amplified through the influence of these powerful beings.
A superb read that I'd highly recommend to any horror fan.