Carrion Comfort question

Not really. In fact, after a rampaging and wonderful first third (about 330 pages) that I read in a day, and the promise of a superb idea behind it all, it started to fade for me and by the end it was getting tiresome. It was never bad, but it was disappointing. Should have just stopped with the novella it was based on. But until recently, I've had a problem with Dan Simmons. I saw him as a poor finisher. He has rallied recently though with The Terror and Drood, both of which were well rounded and impressively researched.

All that apart however, even at its best this book was never scary. Perhaps that's just me though and I accept that as just a value judgment on my part.

There are certainly some very creepy scenes in there. The 'chess games' spring to mind…

I found it more of a thriller than a horror, though there were some genuinely creepy moments. I wouldn't go so far as to call it scary. I actually liked the way it ended, though the middle did drag at times. It's a long book, no doubt about it.

I agree with David - more of a thriller than horror, although it has supernatural elements. I enjoyed it despite the length, but not a recommendation that would jump to mind if someone asked to me to name a good "scary" book.

Not scary and derivative...mind vampires or parasites was an old idea...even by the '80s. As a matter of fact, after the first 300 pages or so I had to really struggle not to put the book down and move on to something else.

This was my first and last Simmons book -- apologies to his fans.

Here's a link to my review of it: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I read this as a teenager... creeped the hell out of me then. Probably wouldn't have the same impact now that I am middle aged and seen or read a lot worse. Still a favorite of mine, however.

I found it very well written, but not scary. I think thriller is close but not quite right either.

I would say it's a good book, but he's written much better. Summer of Night is a must read horror novel in my opinion.