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Carrion Comfort

Written by: Dan Simmons
Narrated by: Mel Foster,Laural Merlington
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Publisher's Summary

"Carrion Comfort is one of the three greatest horror novels of the 20th century. Simple as that." (Stephen King) 

"Epic in scale and scope but intimately disturbing, Carrion Comfort spans the ages to rewrite history and tug at the very fabric of reality. A nightmarish chronicle of predator and prey that will shatter your world view forever. A true classic." (Guillermo del Toro) 

"Carrion Comfort is one of the scariest books ever written. Whenever I get asked the question Who's your favorite author? my answer is always Dan Simmons." (James Rollins) 

"One of the few major reinventions of the vampire concept, on a par with Jack Finney's Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Richard Matheson's I Am Legend, and Stephen King's Salem's Lot. (David Morrell) 

THE PAST...

Caught behind the lines of Hitler's Final Solution, Saul Laski is one of the multitudes destined to die in the notorious Chelmno extermination camp. Until he rises to meet his fate and finds himself face to face with an evil far older, and far greater, than the Nazis themselves...

THE PRESENT... 

Compelled by the encounter to survive at all costs, so begins a journey that for Saul will span decades and cross continents, plunging into the darkest corners of 20th century history to reveal a secret society of beings who may often exist behind the world's most horrible and violent events. Killing from a distance, and by darkly manipulative proxy, they are people with the psychic ability to "use" humans: read their minds, subjugate them to their wills, experience through their senses, feed off their emotions, force them to acts of unspeakable aggression. Each year, three of the most powerful of this hidden order meet to discuss their ongoing campaign of induced bloodshed and deliberate destruction. But this reunion, something will go terribly wrong. Saul's quest is about to reach its elusive object, drawing hunter and hunted alike into a struggle that will plumb the depths of mankind's attraction to violence, and determine the future of the world itself...

©2009 Dan Simmons (P)2011 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

What listeners say about Carrion Comfort

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A marvelous revisit to a classic story.

I ordered Carrion Comfort out of curiosity since I am a long-time Dan Simmons fan and it has been close to three decades since I read the book. The experience was captivating as Mr. Simmons took me back to that intriguing story and his imaginative, and often disturbing, take on vampires who replace their addiction to blood with a lust for control over psyches. The characters - good and evil - are richly cast; the premise thought-provoking; the action amazing; and I could almost smell, taste, touch the exquisitely textured descriptions of locations, from the mundane to the exotic. The pleasure of listening to this amazing story was enhanced by the two narrators, Mel Foster and Laurel Merlington. who brilliantly brought the characters and their predicaments to life. I highly recommend this book to Audible customers and advise them that even though this is a long story set in the late 80's, neither length nor date will deter them from thoroughly enjoying Carrion Comfort. #Audible1.

7 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars

Yes, It's Long. Spend the Credit.

Stephen King undoubtedly used this 1989 novel as inspiration for his cabal of psychic vampire villains in 'Doctor Sleep'. Other authors have similarly built on an intriguing premise.. Dan Simmons was extraordinarily imaginative in creating the horrifyingly evil characters of 'Carrion Comfort'. The only real "vampiric" qualities of his psychic antagonists, however (who use "The Ability" to make puppets out of people), is that they can use the energy from violence, murder, death, and despair to slow their own aging to a crawl. These awful specimens unapologetically use the powers for personal gain and happily wallow in death and misery - to the point of nonchalantly playing with human life as though it were a "Game". Simmons's villains are not "vampires" per se, but merely "gifted" deplorable beings who use paranormal powers to commit evil. Regardless, he paints an ugly picture.
To that captivating World matrix, he adds quality writing: the plot is clever, action-driven, and well-paced (sinuous with a refreshing willingness to kill off major characters); the denizens of the novel are interesting (even protagonists are flawed and demonstrate blurred lines of morality); dialogue is true-to-life (although a little sophomoric at times); and the descriptions of murder & rape are uncomfortably vivid (albeit satisfying to a horror fan like me).

Besides occasionally silly action-scenes, the main drawback to the book is typical of Dan Simmons: it's slightly over-written. He likely could have delivered the same quality of work in this 39½ hour book in 25 hours.
Simmons contrives a plot that's overinvolved (adding a few too many twists & turns) and adds intensely descriptive scenes that are well-written but superfluous (they do nothing to advance the plot or add to characterization). The man would benefit from an aggressive editor.

The reading from Mel Foster and Laurel Merlington undoubtedly render this audiobook superior to the text version. Both exhibit remarkable tone, timbre, cadence, and pacing - and Merlington's Melanie Fuller is accented perfectly. She delivers a legitimately chilling portrayal of a psychotically evil character. Foster and Merlington make this a worthy listen - the producers at Brilliance Audio cast this project admirably.

This book isn't perfect (unnecessarily long, for example.. although not uncomfortably so) - but it's an enjoyable read. This Bram Stoker Award-winner is worthy of 7.5 stars out of 10. Whether you're a Simmons fan, a consumer of SciFi Thrillers, or a Horror story afficianado - this audiobook is worth your Credit.

1 person found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars

Wasted a credit

Got to the 30 minute mark and found rape scene a little too lurid.

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Riveting Story, Lots of Triggering Content


Overall a great book. Dan Simmons is quickly rising the ranks of my favourite authors.

Pros:
- Immediately engrossing story that keeps your attention to the end. This is one where you’ll want to walk around the block to finish a chapter.
- Full of tension and action. This would need a huge budget to be a movie: car chases, gun fights, enough explosions to intrigue Michael Bay
- Interesting and well developed characters
- Best narration I’ve heard yet for an audiobook

Cons:
- Every woman is described by her breasts and nipples. Dear god when will male writers learn.
- Similarly black characters are described by their blackness. It makes sense in some contexts but not every single scene, especially if we’ve already been introduced to the character
- TW for multiple gratuitous rape scenes that I couldn’t even get through, had to fast forward
- TW for unabashed racism, coming from the villains at least, but it again got to the point that it felt gratuitous

A note: I expected this to be a horror novel but I would not put it in that category. More a classic good vs evil, action/adventure with a supernatural twist. The violence is very explicit and it touches on some horrifying themes (the holocaust, sexual assault, slavery), so maybe that’s why some consider it horror. This book is not going for spooky atmosphere or scares.

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Excellent, simply excellent!

The story does not follow the standard trope of ancient supernatural horror - it's much better!
Exciting and easy to follow. I didn't lose interest, even for a moment, despite it being a lengthy novel.
The performances from the narrators was surprising! Superb and appropriate for the book.

Highly recommended!

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excellent book

well put together ...well read...characters came alive...kept me wanting to turn it on and get to listening...what's next from your mind

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Intense, Epic and well written

This book was fantastic! I loved everything about it.. the history, the characters, the imagination. It felt real by the end, as if I was privy to a dark secret about our society.

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  • WBA
  • 2019-11-05

Idk who needs to see this, but TRIGGER WARNING

I won't wade in on the whole story, plenty of others have.

**This book contains extremely graphic descriptions of rape.**

What's worse is that the scenes are mostly described from the rapist's point of view, and written as very sexy and pleasing to him. The victims are completely throw-away characters and totally objectified. As a sexual assault survivor, I would have liked to know this beforehand. The first scene, which involved an underage teenage girl, took me off guard as it continued for what seemed like forever. The author described in detail her beautiful 15 year-old body, how good she felt to the rapist, etc. The second scene with an airline attendant happened just a chapter later. Same thing, all how much the rapist was enjoying himself, how he got off on making her feel helpless, how she was nothing, and indeed this character was never even given a full name. I stopped listening after this, I couldn't go further.
Both scenes made me feel very anxious. None of the top reviews I read before purchasing this book mentioned these scenes, so I was not prepared.

So for whoever needs to see this, if you are sensitive to scenes depicting rape, this might not be a fun listen for you.

210 people found this helpful

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  • Robert
  • 2012-07-03

Simmons at his best

As I said in my review of The Passage by Justin Cronin, had I known the book was about vampires, I would have taken a pass. And, as I said in that review, it would have been my loss. This really is not a book about vampires, per se, as we have come to think about them, but a variation on the theme and it was excellent. I selected this book because another reviewer had written that he thought Carrion Comfort was the best that Dan Simmons had penned. I would certainly rate it close up there with his Magnum Opus Hyperion and Endymion. It was that good and that is saying something.

The book is one of Simmons early works apparently derives its title and many of its themes from a poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins. I am also not a fan of WWII books about Nazis. This also was not what the book was about per se though it does give us the background on the main villains of the story and villains they are like perhaps we have never come upon before. That theme also is somewhat of the thread that permeates and ties things neatly through the book as it continues to America in 1981.

Saul Laski is one of a few of the heros in the tale of whom some survive and others do not. Saul is both predator and prey. Though old in 1981, he somehow manages to rise to the occasion and present a challenge to some of the most nightmarish scenes I have ever read. And, no, I am not particularly a fan of horror books either but I am a fan of Dan Simmons and will probably read anything he comes out with.

Some of the accolades and awards the book has received include Bram Stoker Award winner 1989; British Fantasy Award winner, World Fantasy Award nominee, 1990. Some have commented on the length of the book. I would not have shortened it one page. I often find unnecessary passages in books but this is not one of them. The book was thoroughly entertaining after about the first couple of chapters which, on hindsight, were just as integral as the others.

The narrators of this epic were extraordinary. This is a book made for listening to by gifted storytellers. Mel Foster acts Saul, Willi and the other men and some of the women. While I find men acting women’s roles can sometimes be impossible to pull of, Mel foster is impeccable in his narration. Laural Merlington plays the role of Melanie, the most arch of villains. She is vicious, scarier than $#it and made even more so by the incredible acting voice of Ms. Merlington. I could not rate either narrator more highly.

Bottom line if you can’t handle scary, skip this one. If you love great writing and like it complex and epic in scale, don’t miss it.

154 people found this helpful

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  • LillyO
  • 2012-01-02

Long, sure...but GREAT story!

I see other reviewers a bit put off by the length of this story. I had the thought "wow, a compelling story that the author took his time with!" What a bonus! I didn't find a single part boring. I liked how he took his time with a complicated tale. I liked the story development in between bouts of action. In typing this, I would compare it to the Steigg Larsen series...I like some story and character development with my "action sequences." I have not read Simmons' other books (for which he is apparently more famous) but this one piqued my interest in perusing more! The narrators were both excellent, too!

62 people found this helpful

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  • David Shear
  • 2011-11-02

So worth the commitment

Yes, this book is 39 hours, but I loved it from beginning to end. The two narrators become truly invisible, allowing you to just concentrate on the story. The story has enough twists and turns and surprises to keep you guessing, but not so many that you get lost in the 39 hours. You'll love some characters and hate others and change your mind on others. I usually can come up with something I don't like about a book, but for this one, it is near perfection.

58 people found this helpful

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  • Lewis Teeter
  • 2020-07-11

RUN FROM THIS BOOK

I'll admit I'm a bit of a snob when it comes to what I like to read but every now and then I'm forgiving of talent for a good scary story. I figured, 'Forty hours? Must be a well thought out story'. Wrong. I lasted up to chapter 7 out of 78 chapters. Even in that short time I spotted many mistakes and plot holes one could walk through, The writing would get a failing grade in Junior High and the characters were so stereotypical I just wanted to laugh. This book reads like the diary of an incel who fantasizes about hypnotizing women so he can do what they would never allow (2 occur by chapter 7). I'm going to give you the sentence that was the last straw for me in hopes of sparing you the torture of this tripe. This comes from the thoughts of country cop Bobby Joe Gentry (I kid you not) as he's being followed. "There was more than one green Plymouth in Charleston...But with Maryland plates?..sneered the 'copwise' part of his mind". If after reading that you still think this book is a good idea I hope you enjoy it. I'm sure the next 71 chapters couldn't possibly get worse than that.

31 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Brian
  • 2011-10-18

A classic

This is one of the all time classic horror novels. Well read, thought it would be long but I wanted more. Fascinating concept.

28 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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  • Vira
  • 2012-08-24

Captivating!

A masterful thriller, packed with suspense and intrique which kept my unflagging interest through all 5 Parts. It had me thinking and questioning the limits or boundaries of what human beings are capable of doing to one another, within a given set of circumstances. Are there any? A frightening thought.

Narration was excellent and unobtrusive, by both readers, the voices well-matched with the characters. The only criticism i would have, is Mr Foster's inability to read the German phrases. Simple rudimentary elements such as the phonetic structure of the alphabet are misread. The German glyph for double 's' is read as an 's' not a 'b'. "Dass...dass" should not be rendered as "dub, dub". The least bit of research would have elminated such ridiculous pronunciation.

I tend to evaluate a book by 2 sets of criteria: My own subjective enjoyment, and then also by literary standards.

From a literary standpoint, this is a good book, but not a great book. The characters are uni-dimensional. The good guys are angels, the baddies are rotten to their grotesque evil cores. No nuances; black and white like the chess board of the "game".

All round, i thoroughly enjoyed it and can recommend it as a captivating read.

23 people found this helpful

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  • Chris
  • 2013-12-04

Keeps you glued to the earphones

This offering from Dan Simmons is more of a horror thriller than a strictly sci-fi genre book. Ordinarily I wouldn't have listened to this book, but having recently listened to the Hyperion series I decided on the strength of the storyline to give it a go. Needless to say I wasn't disappointed, despite the lack of "sci-finess" (or fantasy) which I usually look for.

This is a long book and understanding Simmons penchant for long and involved descriptions, almost rambling sometimes, he still builds a wonderful and gripping story that begs you to listen to the next chapter.

Simmons provides an interesting twist on the vampire theme now so common in print and video and with this being written almost 25 years ago, the variation is quite unique. In addition he skillfully blends in historical events and presents questions of morality that help to build the depth of the main characters in the book.

The bad characters are so horrible, they are almost likeable. They do the bad things you expect and the good guys are presented with situations that question their ethics and morality. Questions that still very relevant in today's society.

The narrators do an excellent job. The point of view swaps between first and third person depending on the character, but is consistent and works well as intended by the author.

The book and historical material is deep, insightful and well researched, giving great support to the overall premise of the storyline. If you wear a tin-foil hat you might almost believe it!

Overall a great book and worth the time to listen to a great yarn from an outstanding author.

21 people found this helpful

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  • M. S. Valdez
  • 2014-02-26

Edge-of-the-seat thriller!!!

A fantastically delicious novel of centering on some truly despicable and vile creatures that the main protagonist refers to as "mind-vampires", people that can invade a person's mind and control their actions.

What makes this book an absolute must-listen are the performances by Mel Foster and Laural Merlington. These two talented narrators are like chameleons in how well they can change to another voice and inhabit that character, especially Merlington. Her reading of Melanie Fuller is one of the best I've listened to.

While the story became a bit contrived towards the climax and seemed to fall into plot convenience, it more than makes up for that in an action-packed finale. This will not disappoint!

18 people found this helpful

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  • Denise Dalrymple
  • 2018-06-23

Not so great

I think Dan Simmons is a brilliant writer and so I was surprised how much I disliked this. I forced myself to listen to the whole thing. The prose is great, the voice performances are top notch. The story is awful, filled with stereotypes, trite plotting, too much killing off of sympathetic characters, implausible side plots, and it is TOO LONG. There are easily three stories uneasily meshed into one. My advice is to skip this one and read or listen to his other work.

14 people found this helpful