The Terror: A Novel

By Dan Simmons

Book Overview

Based on the true story of two ice ships that disappeared in the Arctic Circle during the Sir John Franklin Expedition in 1845, The Terror is a meticulously researched and fascinating account of 19th century seafaring life.

"Masterfully chilling." --Entertainment Weekly

The men on board the HMS Terror--part of the 1845 Franklin Expedition, the first steam-powered vessels ever to search for the legendary Northwest Passage--are entering a second summer in the Arctic Circle without a thaw, stranded in a nightmarish landscape of encroaching ice and darkness. Endlessly cold, they struggle to survive with poisonous rations, a dwindling coal supply, and ships buckling in the grip of crushing ice. But their real enemy is even more terrifying. There is something out there in the frigid darkness: an unseen predator stalking their ship, a monstrous terror clawing to get in.

"The best and most unusual historical novel I have read in years." --Katherine A. Powers, Boston Globe

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0316017442
• ISBN13: 9780316017442
• Release Date: January 2007
• Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
• Length: 784 Pages
• Weight: 2.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.5" x 2.0" x 6.3"

Customer Reviews

More than an expedition

A book about perseverance and self discovery.

The Terror Speakes for itself

I picked this up because I loved the Mini series. The comparisons as I read are interesting. Character development is really what this book is about. Very realistic. A careful building of tensions. Hard to put down.

One of my favorite books

This book is a great thriller, you never lose. Interest

Booklist Review

Warning - if you managed to skip the Booklist review posted above, don't read it. For some reason, the reviewer gives away the ending! I will never understand why people do that. DON'T DO THAT.