A rich and satisfying horror novel: Drood by Dan Simmons book review

Olly you are sooo giod.i loved Drood. Thought I was the only one with a passion for this novel. The terror blew me away!! Any ther Dan simmons recommendation? I received Slugs yesterday in the mail and I cannot wait to read it -- your recommendation of course!

I love Dan Simmons although I haven't yet read Drood. My favourite so far is The Fifth Heart (Sherlock Holmes & Henry James). I also loved The Terror. I'm due a re-read of both! :)

Thanks as always Olly! Will have to consider this one. Good review as always it sounds really strange and cool.

The Abominable was the first Dan Simmons book i read..and although I found it flawed in all the ways people have noted, I was at first determined to read it through then something about his style of writing was enough to keep me bogging my way through..but over all it drew me in and kept me wanting to read it..I was then very interested to continue reading Dan Simmons..I next read Summer of Night, then Song of Kali, The Terror, followed by A winters Haunting, which was a follow up to Summer of Night..I have Carrion Comfort being shipped to me from Thriftbooks and i will order Drood..I enjoy Dan Simmons very much..

I’ve had my eye on this book. It sounds really good.

It's wild how many successful books Simmons has written across so many genres!

I think you might like The Luminaries by Catton.

I see it was released in 2009. Sounds pretty good. The Abominable has the Stephen King blurb - that'll guarantee it's average. 😉

Regret getting rid of my copy. Longest book I’ve ever read, but didn’t feel like it. Wonderful atmosphere.

I bought this book at a second hand store, about a year ago. But I haven’t read it yet, cause I’m not ready to jump into a large book. But you piqued my interest. Thank you

I recommend you read Song of Kali by DSIMMONS. That’s my favorite book of his

I've just finished Great expectations and it was a slog! My 3rd Dickens and I've decided I'm just not a fan either.

I recently listened to Drood. It was very good! Thanks for your review.

Awesome was waiting for this review. When you first mentioned it I got a second hand copy at a book store cant wait to get into it.

Drood is on my list to read, thank you for your review. I loved his book Carrion Comfort if you haven't read that one. :)

'The Terror' was superb and I have Drood on my reading list but after your review it's moved up in the queue. Drood and his gang living in the London sewers reminded me one of my favourite novels 'The Anubis Gates' by Tim Powers - this and his 'Last Call' are in my all time top 10 fantasy novels.

Really enjoyed hearing your views on this brilliant book! Definitely due for a reread next year I think. I'm going to buck the trend now and say that I actually quite liked The Abominable. I'd read various comments so knew it wasn't actually about yetis or whatever but more about mountaineering and with a lot of detail. I like reading books about mountaineering in fact so that's probably why I liked it although it's nowhere near as good as Drood. I think my next Dan Simmons ought to be The Terror as that seems to be really popular.

Have you read "The Alienist? It is great historical fiction about psychiatry and crime! Very well done!

Thanks, Olly! You should pick up where it all started with Song of Kali by Simmons 🙂

I enjoyed The Woman in White so much more than the Dickens I have read. Some day, when I don't have 30 other books I want to get to as soon as possible, I will have to read Drood.

Between Drood and Deathnote, you have been doing some heavy lifting lately! Glad you liked Drood. I really enjoyed it too. I hated The Abominable. It was a DNF for me. I will never need that much information about mountain climbing.

If you want to get into Simmons' historical period, especially if you have already read Drood and The Terror, I would recommend The Crook Factory, a story of Hemingway and his band of ne'er do wells hunting U Boats off the coast of Cuba. Roughly 90-95% of these things actually happened, the largest fabrication being the existence of the narrator. Great read!

The Terror had its moments, but like Abominable, it just got tedious after awhile. So this sounds like one to skip.

I have read several of Dan Simmons books A Winter Haunting and Song of Kali are my two favorites I did not like Hyperion. I have had better luck with Dickens than Collins I like Oliver Twist and several of his short stories. With Collins I've only tried The Moonstone and dnf'd it. I did not like A Tale of Two Cities at all.
PS also with Dan Simmons Lovedeath is wild.

Sounds a fascinating read. I have Dickens' The Mystery of Edwin Drood on my shelves waiting to be read some time...

Just finished the abominable by Simmons, lovely winter horror read.

Will be putting this on my TBR list for next year.

I'm a big fan of Simmons, and I really enjoyed Drood (although I know more than a few people who hated it). Go figure?
Olly, if I could offer one word of advice it'd be not to rush with reading The Abominable. There are many, many, many better books out there.

Definitely adding this one to my list. Sounds great.

This sounds great.

I'll tell you this, and I've read this one (took ages) don't drop it from a height!!

And so...
Three Dan Simmons books are on hold now with the Library: Drood, The Terror, and Muse of Fire.
Thank you!

It's not a good Book, the story is foreseeable, the end is poor. It's a " pétard mouillé". A great disappointment to say the least in spite of the historic and literary work and research. It's just a " flashy" novel.

Thank you

💚🖤

Nope, not really for me. I came to within an ace of DNFing this one. There wasn't a single major character that I cared about. Knowing the fates of Dickens and Collins in advance took away almost any sense of suspense for me.
That said, there are some genuinely creepy moments and ideas and the faux Victorian writing style is really well executed.
SEMI SPOILER
I'd have loved more Barris! If only he could have a spin-off!

I want to read it one day, but I think I want to read the original unfinished Dickens novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood first.

ABONIMABLE: ... yes I suffered through this bloated work by Simmons. We all know what it is about right? I mean its obvious right? Well, yes and no. There is a "twist" in this book which by the time it arrives we do not care anymore. If you are into 250 pages of mountain climbing, expedition preparation, moral searching before we even begin to follow a "plot" .... you will like this ... but as a novel it is extremely dull

I really ended up liking this one a lot. I wasn't sure going in but it was pretty cool.

Almost anything by Simmons is great 👍🏻

I read Dan Simmons book called "Summer of Night." It was so eerie and perfect October reading. Such detail with atmosphere. Set in 1960 about 5 boys ages 12. . I loved it. It carries on in "A Winter Haunting.".
I will definitely read "Drood" due to your outstanding review. Thank you.

YOU. ARE. MY. HERO! I’ve literally never heard someone else say they don’t like Dickens!!! I couldn’t agree more. Cannot read his work. 😒

Drood is one of my most favorite books of all time. It doesn’t get the love it deserves. It feels like a Sherlock/Watson story for me. Did anyone else get that vibe? With all the adventures and running around London?

The dinner scene where Charles McCready (I think that’s the last name?) keeps saying “ahh…ahh…by god, Dickens” and the girls look at one another and roll their eyes… I laughed at this out loud for a long time. I could see it so clearly how dreadfully annoying this would be. 😂😂😂

The Other Wilkie was creepy. And the lady on the stairs!

Anyway let me digress or I’ll rhapsodize for hours.

I think that you do pad it out quite a bit, and repeat information to get to the 10 minute mark. Might consider making your videos a little sharper, or add some more actual points, if you do want to get to the 10 minute mark.

I found Drood at my local library, gosh what a big book (that´s not a bad thing). I still need to read Hyperion. :D

I'm sure someone has already asked,maybe I didn't look back far enough. My bad, but have you read Max Brooks' Devolution? Way better Sasquatch book. Love your channel.

I’m currently reading Carrrion Comfort and I’m really enjoying it…I will definitely give Drood a try. Thank you!!

I'm sci fi fan, and have to say that Ilium - Olympus and Hyperion Cantos are masterpieces of gene!
Tnx for this recomendation, it is NeXT on May list

You should read Black Hills by Dan Simmons. Very good.

I've just finished Drood after reading The Terror. It reminds me of the film Amadeus. Wilkie Collins being the envious friend of Dickens but classes himself as far superior and in a way his nemesis. It's very relationship driven and shows in depth drug addiction and its consequences. It's very atmospheric and reminded me of Ripper Street. It must have taken years of research to write the book. I'm reading Abominable next

Great book... I have read it twice. I wish they would make a movie mini-series based on it.