I recently finished reading Dan Simmons' novel "The Terror," and here are my thoughts on it. I picked up the book based on a recommendation by SciFun, a popular Polish YouTuber whose work I greatly admire. As a fan of his channel, I took his suggestion to heart. The premise itself sounded incredibly intriguing—a story about two lost ships searching for the legendary Northwest Passage. The novel is based on true events, and while we don’t know for certain what happened to Sir Franklin’s doomed expedition, there are some scientific clues. Simmons provides his own imaginative take on these historical events.
While reading the book description, one element caught my attention—the suggestion that the crew not only struggled with the harsh Arctic conditions but also faced a mysterious monster. This struck me as surprising for a story rooted in real historical events, as I wasn’t expecting any fantastical elements. Nevertheless, I approached the book with high hopes. Although it’s a hefty novel, it’s not the longest one I’ve ever read.
The beginning, however, felt slow and heavy to me. It was packed with detailed descriptions and minutiae that fans of this niche might appreciate, but for me, it was a slog to get through. Unfortunately, things didn’t improve much as I continued. The novel was filled with sections that I had to push myself to read because they simply didn’t capture my interest. Detailed descriptions, side stories, and subplots that didn’t seem to add much to the action or momentum made it increasingly difficult to stay immersed in the story. With every hundred pages, it became harder to abandon the book, even though I wanted to on several occasions. I forced myself to keep going, much like a diligent student forcing themselves to read a mandatory school text.
I felt a strange sense of obligation to finish the novel once I’d invested the effort to get through the first 200 pages. I kept hoping the action would finally pick up. For me, it only started to get interesting toward the very end, during the escape from the ships. Sadly, the final 50 pages lost me again, with lengthy digressions into the culture and beliefs of the northern peoples, as well as their historical context.
Perhaps I wasn’t the most attentive reader, but I also felt that some threads in the story lacked proper resolution. On the positive side, the book’s central topic deserves praise. The story of searching for the Northwest Passage is inherently fascinating. In fact, the afterword by c Dr. Grzegorz Rachlewicz, detailing the exploration and conquest of these Arctic regions, struck me as far more engaging. I hadn’t been aware of the history of Sir Franklin and his ill-fated expedition before reading this novel. At the same time, I do recognize that Simmons extensively researched his sources to capture the authentic elements of this historical narrative.
In conclusion, I can see how this book might be a brilliant read for enthusiasts of this subject matter, but it simply wasn’t a story tailored to my tastes. That’s all there is to it.