Drood

I ordered "Drood" by Dan Simmons. It arrived in excellent shape...a decent price...and quickly, too! When I'm ordering online, that's what I want: Fast, affordable or inexpensive, and high quality; I was satisfied on every level with this transaction.

This is wonderful book for true book lovers. It's witty, intelligent, entertaining with a complex story plot that draw you in and keeps you there. It's my first Dan Simmons book and I'm looking forward to reading the rest of his books. Simmons has a wonderful imagination and the ability to put it to hard work.

Having read his previous 'Darwin's Blade: I was expecting similar...but this dark tale of Dickens and Wilkie blew me away. It exposed the white underbelly of low life London, of women's poor lot in life, and the horrors that can insidiously creep in and take residence within, with us not knowing at all. The book is LONG, at times slightly slow, but it always draws you inexorably along, almost againt you power. Then the end looms. You read that last sentence. You pause, you think about it and you scream, as chills run diown your body and you really realize how damn clever Simmons wa Loved this book!

Drood is a literary historical horror novel that revolves around the relationship between two authors: Charles Dickens and our narrator Wilkie Collins. It begins with the famed Staplehurst train accident, which Dickens survived (and would later die on the anniversary of). In this telling of the story, Dickens claims to have met a strange man (if indeed he is a man) named Drood, who seemed to steal life away from the wounded survivors of the derailment. Dickens tells these things to his friend and occasional co-writer Wilkie Collins, and soon the two begin a twisting search for Drood. But the closer they get to Drood, the darker and stranger things get, forever changing the two men.

I listened to Drood as an audiobook. While I’m sure the ink on the page reads just as well, I gotta recommend the audiobook version of the tale. Simon Prebble’s reading is fantastic. So often I forgot I was listening to fiction read by an actor – I started thinking I was hearing Wilkie Collins recount his tale on tape. It’s a marvelous performance, one of the best audiobook readings I’ve ever heard.

I guess I’d say that Drood is sort of like Nosferatu meets Amadeus. I believe it’s the Amadeus part of the story – and not the horror elements – that make it into such an interesting book. While Drood and the shadowy world he inhabits are effectively creepy and at times quite shocking, the novel’s rarely truly frightening and I don’t know if horror fans are going to be totally satisfied. By comparison, the Amadeus-like rivalry between the master Dickens and his artist friend who is secretly plotting his murder is much more interesting. Wilkie Collins wants Dickens dead – and Dickens doesn’t seem to suspect a thing. It becomes clear as the story progresses that Wilkie may not be the most reliable of narrators. He grows increasingly dependent on drugs in order to survive his day-to-day and he imagines phantoms everywhere.

It’s an ambitious novel. Simmons’ prose is excellent and I feel I really got into the head of Wilkie. I liked watching this artist go from friendly admirer, to frightened conspirator, and then to resentful madman. It’s one of the most interesting looks at the evolution of a character I’ve seen in a long while. The novel may leave something to be desired in the horror department for some readers, but I quite liked it. It’s a bold, unpredictable novel. And again, I loved Simon Prebble’s reading in the audiobook. This is my first Dan Simmons book but it will not be the last. I think I’ll be checking out The Terror very soon.

I bought this several years back and had been intrigued by it's mysterious cover and promising storyline for all of that time. When I finally cracked it open, I received a story I did not expect, and didn't altogether care for.

I must give Simmons credit for his lengthy career and for putting out this equally lengthy (and finely researched) book. He is a talented author, without a doubt, but I believe better works of his exist, if only for their more specific focus.

Drood suffers from an OVER-abundance of detail, and not even in the Tolkien-sort of way that provides the reader with intense clarity into the happening moment or loads of relevant character back-story. No, the details found here are more like self-indulgent and pointless rabbit-trails from Wilkie Collins, the voice through whom this story is told. Collins is a real historical figure and was an actual close friend of Dickens, however there are large portions of this book that have nothing at all to do with Dickens, nor the plot at large. Collins (or Simmons speaking through Collins) chooses to droll on about his personal life, his mistress, his extended family, things that irritate him, his eating and drug habits, etc.

In Drood, weren't we supposed to be getting a big fantastical mystery about this dark and unknown figure who nearly drove Dickens mad at the end of his life? That is the very thing the book jacket summary promises; a caper through underground London with enough excitement and close-calls to rival Sherlock Holmes.

There is a small measure of that sort of bombastic fun, but it is few and far between. One of the books opening scenes, in which Dickens is involved in a horrific train crash (and also briefly interacts with Drood himself), is exciting and thoroughly detailed. There is also a short yet intriguing section where Collins and Dickens go tromping through London's graveyard underground. Apart from these scenes and a few others less significant, there is little else to keep one interested, unless you are seeking to expand your general knowledge of London life in the mid-1800's.

The climax and ending are leave much to be desired. With many books, the saying is true that `the journey is worth more than the destination,' although I'm afraid I can say neither for this book. Frankly, the journey is dry and the destination is disappointing.

Suffice it to say, I believe there are a number of readers of a particular sort that would absolutely love this book, as well as hardcore-Simmons fans, and more power to them. But on a broad scale, this is a difficult book to approach (and perhaps a tad misleading in it's cover/jacket summary) unless one knows precisely what they are getting into.

Dan Simmons, Drood (2009)

Dan Siimmons, a prolific writer of fantasy fiction, presents us with an ultra-Gothic novel in Drood. As the title suggests it harks back to Charles Dickens's unfinished last novel. Dickens himself appears after his near fatal Staplehurst railway disaster, in which he played the part of rescuer on his return from France with his mistress, the young actress Ellen Ternan and her mother. But it is Collins who tells the story of the monster Drood who haunts the lives of both novelists, mutual friends and collaborators, but often bitter rivals.

This inordinately chunky novel (775 pages) is loosely based on Collins's own The Moonstone, but its sole narrator, Wilkie, spends much of his time in an opium den in the sewers of London. There in the rat-infested catacombs accompanied by rotting corpses poor Wilkie tries to find out why the ubiquitous Drood, whom he half suspects of being a phantom, is pursuing him and indeed Dickens. Meanwhile above the charnel house his tortuous domestic life weighs him down and his addiction and failing health threaten his very life.

Much of the material is based on the biographies of the writers, as well as drawing on characters from their novels, such as Inspector Bucket from Bleak House and Sergeant Cuff from The Moonstone. Plot twists abound as horror is piled on horror and both novelists plunge into physical and mental decay. The real and the fantastic twist like a double helix. One is forever conscious of the real drug-addicted Collins with his Doppelgänger forever watching him as his writing self takes possession of his physical self. Dickens, too, though off-stage, as it were, during his reading tours and his second American visit, haunts Wilkie. He is seen by turns as a friend, a cheat, a monster, a pathetic old man and a genius. There are finely worked passages of literary analysis of the Inimitable's work, showing both Dickens's power and his weaknesses as man and novelist. I would have enjoyed more of this contrast of purpose and temperament and rather less of the often laughable nightmares in the stinking catacombs.

Simmons has put an enormous amount of effort into his research of the life and times of his heroes and this is most praiseworthy, but it is also at times a little tedious. The plot around the middle tends to drag and the 775 pages weary the reader, who is constantly and tediously being addressed as `Dear Reader', a fictional construct living in the far-distant future, when Collins and Dickens will be rotting underground, presumably watched by a cackling phantom named Drood. Oddly enough Simmons, perhaps with a touch of supernatural foresight (?), has a penchant for anachronistic slang, his favourite term being `a tad.' But we also have Wilkie admitting to being `a bit knackered' after a session with his young mistress, while his older mistress and kept partner asks him `what are you going on about?' He also prefers the American past participle `gotten' over the English `got.' But perhaps the most irritating flaw in Simmons's diction comes from his overplaying of adjectives when piling on the Gothic horror - with his iron grip still hard on my quaking arm et cetera - in true Penny Dreadful style. Sometimes one feels that Simmons-Wilkie will never sober up. Here is a typical hysterical passage from the beleaguered narrator:

It was intolerable, especially to nerve ends that had been denied sleep for at least three days and nights, muscles and bones which had been drugged and left for dead in the dark, and senses which were even now screaming with pain and protest.
Well, I suppose a night - or maybe a month, time being of no moment - beset by stinking vermin and ravenous monsters in the sewers, might just make one think of `some terrible Crimean battlefield,' but the intelligent reader can hardly take this blood-drenched banquet seriously.

I also groan at the continual beefing up of the plain word `said.' His people love barking laughs, snapping replies and so on. And surely it was Cassio not Iago who had `a lean and hungry look'! Small points, but too many of them and rather a let-down in an otherwise meticulously researched amusing fantasy that the Guardian has called `a labyrinthine piece of hokum.'

Unfortunately, after reading so many of the other reviews before I bought this book, I fear this is going to wind up being a defense of the novel rather than a real review. To be honest, my critical writing is so far behind me in school that I couldn't claim to write a real review, anyway.

However, I thoroughly enjoyed this latest work from Mr. Simmons. It is a spooky, chilling, gritty, amazingly textured piece of fiction that, to me, is a story of one man's descent into crippling jealousy, an overwhelming sense of inferiority, and ultimately, madness. It is rich and detailed. You can smell the foetid muck along the Thames and feel the grime of London under your fingernails.

Such is the depth of description in this book and it is just that kind of portraiture that gives this novel such length. The complaint about the length of the book surprises me on several levels....1) who should complain when a skilled wordsmith lays out such a banquet of ideas and language? 2) This novel is in imitation and homage of the style of the time it represents (Dickens' novels frequently pushed 800 to 1000 pages) and the descriptive nature of the book matches that style, repelete with formal language, detailed character and scene description, etc. 3) Horror, to me, is not about some fast plot, descriptions of gore, and a book full of dialogue. It is texture and description that set the tone for horror. If you are looking for a Dean Koontz horror novel, then this is not your book. If you look to Lovecraft and Poe as classic, masterful horror...not so heavy on the snappy dialogue, but full of unsettling description, details and tension...then Simmons does not miss the mark with this effort.

I will admit that I, too, dragged a bit through the last third of the book, but it is here that what I saw as the truth of Drood was laid bare and Collin's slow unravelling really began. His inability to determine truth from hallucination, and his belief that his delusions themselves have flesh, is truly creepy.

I am a bit stymied by so many reveiwers who are offended that Dan Simmons did not shout out at them what they are supposed to take away from this novel, wrap up what is true and real in a nice tight bow, or serve some nugget of reality as adelicious little amuse-bouche. When has he ever done that before? Certainly not even in the beginning with Song of Kali, certainly not with Hyperion. The ability to come away different potential answers to what you have just read is, to me, more stimulating, more thought provoking, and creepier.

Although all of the ex Pythons tell us, especially Terry Gilliam, "Why bother with a punchline?", that cannot apply to most fictional works bar out and out off the wall comedy, yet, if we think 'ending' rather than 'punchline', as they are the same in spirit - then in this book - which is as far from a comedy as can be - Dan Simmons does exactly that, no ending as such. Sad really, as the book, for 600 pages or so of most editions, is actually fine, but then, oh dear ...

Doing my best not to enter spoiler territory: this is a tale which features the relationship between famed Victorian writers and friends, Wilkie Collins and Charles Dickens. The book is in the first person from Collins' perspective. The relationship is affected, often adversely so by the use of Laudanum and Opium by Collins, mostly self prescribed, sometimes properly prescribed - but always abuse in the form of doses hundreds of times more than the doctor ordered or would order; this is due to a crazy combination of both addiction, and for the purposes of inspiration and focus.

The very real perceived Lennon and McCartneyesque friction between Collins and Dickens (ie, to avoid a seeming paradox - their relationship really was perceived as such by the public - whether rightly or wrongly), is, in this story at least - additionally fuelled by drug use. Although even without drugs, part of the general perception was that Collins was always Dickens underling, assistant and even employee (which he never was as such), and this undoubtedly, at least for the purposes of fiction here, adds to the paranoia etc which is such a strong feature throughout the tale.

Then comes the spooky part, and again for the sake of avoiding spoilers I'll be as vague as I can. The almost fatal to Dickens and entourage train crash in 1865, sets off just on 25 years of Collins coming to know a Fu Manchuesque world set in the seediest of the seediest then some and then a further drop down towards the other place no one mentions (much), parts of old London. It is from here that Collins' life becomes one long roller-coaster ride of blurred reality and terrifying fiction, without anyone, either the book characters or the readers knowing where the lines are drawn.

The trouble is, as already said, this is great, and I do mean that, it really is great for 600 pages or so, but oh my, what a damp squib of an ending. No one but Terry Gilliam and his ex python pals could possibly be happy with this. Tragic really, what was a 5 star effort gets dragged back down to 3 star territory all for the sake of getting the ending right, or not, as is the case here.

It is hard to empathize with main character William Wilkie Collins in Dan Simmons `Drood'. But that is the author's point. Set in the mid-to-late 1800s in Victorian England, and told in an autobiographical style, this is a tale of envy, snobbery, and horror. Wilkie Collins was a colleague of Charles Dickens. He collaborated on plays, books and magazines with "The Inimitable One", and spent a great deal of social time with the world's most famous author as well. But, according to this book, he was never accepted as an equal, (in Dickens' mind or the public's). And there lies the rub. When you add opium addiction to the mix, (Collins), and mesmerism/hypnotism, (Dickens), you get an interesting dash through the fog.
The length of the book is an issue, (771 pages). The author takes a number of sidetracks. The haze of "recreational" chemistry, (which was supposedly taken to cure Collins' gout), allows for a certain amount of ambiguity. (Did he really see that apparition or not?) Collins' callousness and disregard for the servant class is evident throughout the story, (to the point of murder). Animal cruelty is taken as a given. In other words, if you are expecting a Dickens story you will be sadly disappointed. But the author has his own style, (and it would be a frustrating experience to try to compete with the original, which was, of course, the main problem for William Wilkie Collins).
At times, when our dynamic duo, (Collins and Dickens), find themselves wandering through cemeteries and crypts; you get a whiff of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. At other times it is more like Mozart and Salieri. In the story Collins has a love/hate relationship with Dickens. Dickens never fails to give his protégé the critical eye, and Collins gives it back, (and the very notion of calling Collins a student of Dickens was enough to send the storyteller for his laudanum bottle). There were times when Collins wanted Dickens dead, (which almost happened in the Staplehurst train wreck which Dickens barely escaped from).
But the main focus of this book is a mysterious murdering spectre with ancient Egyptian roots named Drood. Dickens' last unfinished work was, of course, `The Mystery of Edwin Drood'. You will have to read the book yourself to get the connection. (Just allow yourself a lot of time).

Maybe I should be spanked for giving this novel a single star; and Dan Simmons has my permission to excoriate my own novels as much as he likes, assuming he ever reads the kind of stuff I write. But I suspect that almost everybody turns first to the five-star and one-star reviews, rarely consulting those in between. And I could not in good conscience have given this one five stars.
It outright demonizes a couple of men who actually lived, breathed, and worked not that very long ago. Granted, the life of Charles Dickens at least was not free from scandal, and I wouldn't be surprised if the life of Wilkie Collins also had its irregularities. But being an adulterer or an unwed bigamist does not automatically make a man a murderous fiend. Does Dan Simmons daydream about someday coming in himself for this kind of posthumous maltreatment?
That being said, this is not a negligible novel. Its preliminary pages of ecstatic blurbs neither anger me, nor will I contest them. To quote the novel itself: "I both admired and hated that book ..." paperback edition p. 913). Simmons' research alone seems to me as near perfection as possible in a work of fiction that still remains readable. Setting aside the question of how closely those of his characters who are based on real people may or may not resemble their originals, as characters they are well drawn (if by and large unlikable). He seems to tie up most (not all!) of his loose ends. I don't like his plot; but granted his premise, it seems sound enough, if presented in fits, starts, and stutters -- which could be popular modern literary style for this genre: he tends to end a chapter on an apparent cliffhanger, then begin the next chapter months later, and tell you only gradually what that cliffhanger led up to. In fact, you never will see whatever hungry entity on the servants' staircase is eating up its victims, nor learn how Collins knew the name of the man Agnes was supposed to have run off with. When he gets away from his rather silly supernaturalistic elements and sticks to what might be mistaken for plain fictionalized biography, it becomes pleasantly engrossing: I quite enjoyed his take on the "Muscular Christianity" of the mid-Victorian period.
I had read about half the near-thousand pages when a flu bug knocked me flat for about 36 hours. Probably pure coincidence, although most of Simmons' major characters seem to be suffering throughout the book from greater or lesser chronic illnesses. While sick and recuperating, I did almost nothing but read DROOD. It turned out to be ideal for the purpose: read a few pages, doze up to half an hour, read a few more pages ... It gave me not a single nightmare. To get involved in characters' tribulations, you have give a darn what happens to the central characters. I think it was the scarabs that snapped my last strand of willing suspension of disbelief. I won't play spoiler by explaining further, and it makes probably the most nearly gripping chapter in the book; and Simmons does throw out, very late, one small crumb of an alternate explanation (while hinting that he'd rather we didn't take it). I also see a symbolic and allegorical significance: that beetle may represent the self-destructive blight of envy; if so, had the novel only been about fictional characters, it might almost have become a moral lesson worth two-thirds of its length. But as literal beetles, I really find them way over the top.
It may not be spoiling too much to reveal that the title character is the monstrous leader of a sinister cult based in ancient Egyptian religion. But while their actions are certainly evil, I can find nothing inherently wicked in the verses purportedly drawn from their dread liturgy, which strike me as more innocent than many verses in the Psalter! At one point, we even have testimony that Drood is working with Dickens to alleviate slum conditions and other social evils. It is as if Simmons depends on the mere facts of antiquity and secrecy to make his readers see a religion as evil, and this annoys me. For the sake of consistency, those liturgical quotations ought to be blatantly evil. If he drew them from actual scholarly sources, altering them to fit his literary purposes would have been far less grievous than working his demonizing will on his victims' biographies.
A lot of meticulous work and sustained effort went into this project; but it seems comparable to lavishing artistic workmanship on a polished, gleaming, smoothly operational, delicately engraved and gilded thumbscrew. It isn't impossible that Simmons came to identify deeply with his version of Wilkie Collins, to the point of using him as a mouthpiece for some of Simmons' own reflections on the life and mental patterns of an author. If so, let me state that we are as much different individuals as the members of any other group of people; one author does not and cannot speak for all, and after a lifetime in the racket, I find some of Simmons' Collins' plaints all but incomprehensible.
Fellow Droodologists might borrow a copy and read Chapter 47, which contains pretty well all this book has to offer of true relevance to our pet unfinished Dickens mystery. Oh, Simmons earlier gives us a Princess Puffer, and a thirsty stonemason named Dradles [sic], and a Detective Hatchery [sic], and a scrap of familiar-sounding dialogue here and there; but all these are mere borrowings worked in to suggest that Dickens drew them more or less directly from his own life. The eponymous monster is in no way, shape, or form our poor Edwin, who has been savaged and demonized the worst of all. I suppose Simmons saw an element of creepiness in the surname, and hoped it might sound Egyptian. (To me, it doesn't.)

I'm no stranger to reading long involved novels. Several of my favorite books have been quite long and involved (Pillars of the Earth, World Without End, The Meaning of Night, etc).

This is a book that was ENTIRELY too long in comparison to what it actually offered.

Drood. It's a book about a mysterious apparition Charles Dickens claims to have seen upon surviving a vicious railway accident during his later years, an apparition that he tells friend and fellow author Wilkie Collins about. An apparition that supposedly haunted Dickens from the day of the train accident to the day he died and also sucked Wilkie Collins in as well.

Interesting, yes? Interesting enough that it got me to pick up the book even though I read Dan Simmons 'The Terror' and utterly disliked it (yet another long book that was entirely verbose in comparison to who much actually took place in the book, but I digress).

There are some very interesting parts in this book which is why I rated it at three stars. Wilkie Collins investigating the existence of Drood after having been brought into Dickens' confidence about the sinister apparition. This investigation involves probably the most interesting characters in the book, Inspector Fields. The dialogue between Wilkie and the Inspector as insight, theories and the supposed deeds of Drood over the years in the London underworld are far and away the most engaging and interesting and fun to read portions of the book. It's just about everything else that falls flat in an overly verbose manner.

Some of the things in the book that could have been culled down or nearly cut out were the long and involved descriptions (everything is told in the first person by Collins, as if this were a memoir of the Drood experience as he saw it and lived it) of his bachelorhood. Collins's 'living situations' and his outlook towards the women in his life took up entire chapters or at the least big portions of several chapters. Other than to make the reader actively dislike Collins (who comes off as a , womanizing, pompous, opium addict who is jealous of his 'friend' Charle's Dickens superior writing talent), it does little to actually advance the story.

Another thing that could have been severely whittled down were the long discussions he and Dickens would have in regards to literary and theatrical projects they were working on, either by themselves or in tandem. As it turns out, the duo co authored many works in their early and middle years of acquaintance and the conversations they had about what to do during this or that part of a play or this or that part of a serialized tandem novel they were working on does nothing to advance the overall plot of the book.

If it were just a book about their relationship that would be entirely fine, I would totally expect that to take up long passages in the novel but this book is called DROOD. It's supposed to be about the mysterious apparition that came to haunt Collins and Dickens during the last five years of his life.

The above mentioned issues I had with the book served no other purpose to me than to take me completely out of the main theme. As a result I couldn't wait to get through it just to be done with it.

I know I'm not the only one that feels this way because after having read it I've read some like minded reviews. It simply seems to me that it's either a book that people will love or hate for the most part. I can certainly say that after reading this and the Terror that I'm very cautious of putting my time into another Dan Simmons book.

One thing I almost forgot to mention. In the Editorial reviews at the top of the page, the person from Publishers weekly mentions that Drood is in the same genre as Michael Cox. I would recommend to anybody looking for a great mystery that's rich, involved and completely enthralling, and is set in a similar time and place to read both The Meaning of Night and The Glass of Time. FANTASTIC reads.

In 1865 a steam train derails whilst it is crossing a bridge at Staplehurst in Kent. Ten people are killed and forty more injured, some very severely. Amongst the shaken but unhurt passengers is the novelist Charles Dickens, who lends aid and succor to the dying and injured. Dickens is lauded as a public hero for his efforts, but the accident has a tremendous psychological impact on him which only seems to worsen as the years pass.

Wilkie Collins, a fellow novelist and sometimes-collaborator of Dickens, observes Dickens' decline following the accident, and is particularly bemused by Dickens' account of a spectral figure called 'Drood' who appeared in the aftermath of the crash. Dickens apparently becomes obsessed with finding Drood, embarking on lengthy explorations of London's criminal and literal underground in search of the figure, aided by Collins. A private investigator named Fields joins the chase, informing Collins that Drood is a serial killer and mass-murderer, and Collins soon finds himself embroiled in a complex and clandestine struggle. These events are made all the more confusing due to Collins' own reliance on opium (a painkiller for his gout) and the fictional events of the two novels that Collins and Dickens are inspired to write by these events (The Moonstone and The Mystery of Edwin Drood, respectively) become entwined with the 'real' events that are transpiring.

Drood is a complex novel, huge in length, exacting in detail and relayed to the reader through a narrator so unreliable - Collins - that is very hard to know what is 'real' (as in 100% back up by historical fact), what is reliable (or true in the sense of the novel's narrative) and what is pure fantasy (either an outright lie or a drug-induced fantasy). As with Suzanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, Simmons has attempted to write a book that is almost Victorian in its own construction (not to mention its formidable and possibly unnecessary length), but unlike Clarke's book, Drood is less obviously a fantasy, existing somewhere between historical novel and a literary and metaphorical work. Simmons also raises a lot of issues and ideas here, from the struggles all novelists and writers face in writing their books (thankfully without descending to self-indulgence) to the social issues the day. He even finds time to further explore the aftermath of the events of The Terror, his previous novel about the Franklin Expedition, which took place a few years before the start of this novel.

The result could have a confusing mess, but Simmons' skills as a writer and the orchestrator of an immense and complex narrative shine through here. The writing is strong, the story is page-turning and the characters are convincing, although also increasingly repellent as the book goes on. Wilkie Collins, our narrator, becomes particularly unlikable as the book nears its conclusion and his less savoury aspects (such as his scandalous home life) are emphasised whilst some of his more positive ones (his work on behalf of 'fallen women') almost go unmentioned. In particular, whilst the book's fantastical elements and more far-fetched moments can be explained as part of Collins' drug addiction, one plot point towards the end of the book is pretty hard to swallow and rather unconvincing.

Overall, Drood (****) is a rich, well-written and satisfying novel, very clever in construction, which will reward re-reading. However, the ending is something of a let-down and the motives ascribed to (very well-known) historical characters are sometimes dubious. The book is available now in the UK and USA. Guillermo Del Toro has bought the movie rights to the book and is planning a film adaptation for the time after he has completed work on The Hobbit.

Dan Simmons' last novel, THE TERROR, was about an artic expedition that went horribly wrong. Simmons takes a page from the same novel, using the playwright, Wilkie Collins, who wrote a play about the same expedition entitled "The Frozen Deep," as his narrator. Charles Dickens was a collaborator and an actor in the same production.

Simmons centers this novel around Charles Dickens' many quirks, primarily his interest in mesmerism, and his lust for a young actress, Ellen Ternan. Also, Dickens was almost killed in a railroad accident, during which he met a strange character named Drood. Dickens convinces Wilkie Collins that Drood is a sort of zombie bent on forcing him to write his biography. Drood is also supposedly an expert on mesmerism and the leader of an Egyptian religious cult. Wilkie Collins has his own eccentricities. He has a horrible case of gout and takes laudanum for it, as well as morphine and opium. So, we're left wondering whether the strange things that happen to Collins are a result of an opium dream or Dickens' experiments with mesmerism.

Charles Dickens also seemed bent on killing himself with his readings, during which he acted out the murder scene from OLIVER TWIST where Bill Sykes kills his prostitute girlfriend Nancy. Dickens drove himself so relentlessly that some biographers claim it led to his eventual stroke and death. Meanwhile, Wilkie Collins is trying to convince himself that he's a better writer than Dickens. His book, MOONSTONE, outsells Dickens' OUR MUTUAL FRIEND.

Simmons asks another plot-enhancing question: Is it possible for someone to murder another human being under the influence of mesmerism if he would not ordinarily be capable of such behavior? Simmons takes us on a trip into the subterranean depths beneath the city of London and gives us a look at the squalid conditions there where poor people actually live and the opium dens that Collins ultimately resorts to.

Simmons leaves us hanging in some respects. Did Collins remain under the influence of mesmerism to the end of his life? Did he murder his maid, or was it all in his head?

Poor Wilkie Collins. Popular in his day but now vaguely remembered for THE WOMAN IN WHITE and THE MOONSTONE if at all, is used by Dan Simmons as the protagonist who we see slowly descend into madness when confronted by Dickens’ Drood. Taking Dickens’ unfinished novel, Simmons presents us with a very solid biography of Dickens and Collins but filters it through a horror novel that takes the reader to hidden underground cities, Egyptian mythology, and the power of belief. Dickens is here in all his charismatic egotism, as is Collins, whose unconventional lifestyle would even be a bit surprising by today’s moral compass and Simmons clearly has done stellar research as even the supporting characters ring true. A great example of remaking an old work and breathing new life into it, DROOD is a great example of using some excellent research and giving it a great twist right into the realm of a thriller. You’ll probably see the ending coming, but getting there is a lot of fun.

This book, written in first person narrative, is about....I'm not sure. It's certainly about the moral and mental decline of Wilkie Collins - a real life contemporary and friend of Charles Dickens; and, it's about the rivalry between Dickens and Collins (as Collins perceives it); and, it's about the decline of a man as the result of his addictions; and, it's about a mysterious and murderous man named Drood who stalks Dickens and Collins for reasons not totally clear to me. Oh well, whatever it's about, this book is long, complicated, and although the middle and end sections kept me spellbound, the end was so unsatisfying that I was annoyed I'd wasted my time reading the rest of it. I was also surprised that a real historical figure could be written about in that way - isn't there something wrong with portraying Collins as a murderer? as someone who plots to murder Dickens? I know that writers, myself included, stretch fact in order to fit a plot, but surely there is some limit on this when it involves a real person.

On the positive side - the book is suspenseful and it has a few twists and turns that were jaw dropping. The historical detail is fascinating(albeit who knows how much is true), and you just can't beat Simmons writing skills.

I am held back from recommending it to others because the beginning was tedious and the end was irritating and a let down.

I found this difficult to read mostly because of my foul feelings toward the narrator. I spent the whole of the text wishing for nothing more than the Wilkie Collins to choke on his own tongue and die. The style was grand, the prose impressive. I couldn't enjoy it. Having to spend so much time with so detestable a man's thoughts... I found him an unlikable character and, perhaps due to the length of the book, hated spending every page with him. A long shower was required often and I only made it to the end by sheer hope that at some point there would be a redemption of some sort. No. This pustule of man is splattered across every page. I hated it.

Ohh - doesn't the cover just grab you? The script of the title, the foggy background, the mysterious figure in a top hat? It opens with Victorian thriller novelist Wilkie Collins as the narrator.

"This true story shall be about my friend (or at least about the man who was once my friend) Charles Dickens and about the Staplehurst accident that took away his peace of mind, his health, and, some might whisper, his sanity."

It is 1865 and Charles Dickens is riding a train that crashes, killing nearly all aboard. As Dickens tries to help survivors, he notices a tall, thin, pale man with a 'skull like visage', wearing a heavy black cape, also among the survivors. But those the caped man is attending to seem to die despite or as a result of his attentions. This mysterious figure, who introduces himself as Drood, comes to haunt Dickens. Dickens insists that Collins accompany him into the underbelly of London, into the sewers where it is rumoured that Drood may live. It is also rumoured that Drood is responsible for many murders. But Collins begins to believe that Drood does not exist, that Dickens may himself may be Drood.

Dan Simmons' research is detailed and extensive. He has recreated the friendship and rivalry between these two esteemed authors, whose works are known and loved over 150 years later. The social life, dialogue and historical details of Victorian London are impeccably described. I love this time period and Simmons has done an amazing job bringing it to life - opium dens, lime pits, crypts, mesmerism and the slums of London. I found myself taking side trips to the computer to follow up on many pieces of knowledge presented in the novel.

The introduction of a supernatural aspect to the plot line was a bit disappointing and unexpected to me, but shouldn't have been- Simmons has a background as a sci fi writer. I was caught up in the idea of a serial killer living in Undertown and personally would have preferred the story to proceed strictly in that direction. The ending is somewhat ambiguous and ended and left me thinking of several possiblities. But all in all, I really enjoyed it. If you're looking for a historical novel written in the style of the time, you would be hard pressed to find a better (and bigger! 800 pages!) one.

Very well received, sprawling (700+ pages) novel that reinvents the relationship between Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins, contemporaries and friends in real life. In this account, we are treated to a narration by Collins, who almost immediately reveals himself to be in awe of, and both fond of and intimidated by the clearly better writer, Dickens. When Dickens and his mistress narrowly escape being killed in a railway accident (which actually did occur), Dickens quickly enlists Wilkie's help in tracking down a mysterious gentleman who had arrived at the accident scene and walked among the dying, then vanished. His name is simply Drood, and the search for the wraithlike, demonic man will take over both of the writers and their imaginations.

Collins is a laudanum addict, and his habit becomes increasingly overwhelming, leading him to opium dens and their denizens. His narration is brought into question constantly as a result. His actions become increasingly erratic, until he believes he has been implanted with an Egyptian scarab that scrambles around his brain, forcing him to do the shadowy Drood's bidding. He even becomes convinced that he must murder Dickens and makes plans to do his friend in.

Throughout the book, we are given details of both the men's literary output, in the waning years of Dickens' life and the creative years that inspired The Moonstone, which would become Collins' biggest claim to fame. Each writer apparently served as a sounding board for the other, but the unstable Collins in this book takes increasing offense at everything Dickens has to say.

Naturally, the chase for Drood and the tale of his fantastic history and reputation as a killer takes up the most of the book. I must say, this whole piece of work could have been a hundred pages shorter and still could have preserved its best and most `thrilling' aspects.

A quibble: early on, Wilkie writes of Shakespeare's Iago as having "a lean and hungry look" and I wonder if we are supposed to suspect an unreliable narrator right away or if it was a mistake on Simmons' part. (Cassius, in Julius Caesar, is the possessor of that description.) Iago is mentioned several other times, and the theme of betrayal of the greater man by a lesser, jealous one is definitely there, but still.... I guess I was impressed, but not as impressed as all the reviewers I've read.

'Drood' by Dan Simmons is the story narrated and primarily about Wilkie Collins a real life friend and collaborator of Charles Dickens. The story takes us from about the time of the Staplehurst train crash which almost ended the life of Dickens. It is after this train crash when Dickens is trying to help other victims that he meets a strange man named Drood. The character of Drood is a mystery that seems to drive Dickens in to the London Underworld, but we find out that Drood is also an obsession of other people. Collins unknowingly gets equally obsessed.

It is an great subject that unfortunately never seems to go anywhere. The story meanders over the years as Dickens gets older and sicker, Collins sinks deeper into opium and morphine addiction, and their friendship ends. It is a slow painful story. Simmons is a good writer and I ahve enjoyed other books of his. I think that is the main reason I just couldn't give up on this book. I did have to put it down several times as I couldn't take the seemingly endless narration of a story that never goes anywhere.

This is not a book I would recommend.

w/out reservation! Wonderful tale, and it is one that the reader simply cannot get in front of, no matter how hard you try! Lol, you just have to read on. Big book, the story matches, it really does. Fascinating information that was previously unknown to me, in parts, about both Charles Dickens, and his real-life friend and collaborator, William Wilkie Collins. Wilkie, as everyone calls him familiarly (haha) is the narrator of this ghostly tale of mystery. Spooky, creepy, thrilling, fun; all of these adjectives fit this story very well. I particularly like how Dan Simmons ties in a previous work, The Terror, with this one. I'll not give that connection away, except to say I find those connections and references across novels, and casts of characters too!, an intriguing tool. Expanded universes often are, but that is a bit of a digression...

Inspired by real events in the lives of authors Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins, Dan Simmons' latest massive novel DROOD finds the Dickens and Collins digging into the underbelly of the slums of London to uncover who who or what Drood is. After a horrible train accident Dickens meets Drood for the first time; Drood reminds Dickens of death when they first meet if Death was dressed as a Victorian gentleman.

Dickens becomes obsessed with finding out who Drood is and what he was doing at the site of the train accident where they first met. A surpisingly taunt and well written novel, DROOD may not immediately appeal to everyone; Collins narrates the story and it is written in a style similar to novels of the time with the use of slang common at the time as well. For those brave enought to venture into the catacombs below London with Collins and Dickens in pursuit of this mysterious creature, DROOD will be both an entertaining and chilling trip. I would agree that the ending is a bit anticlimatic but it isn't just about the end of the trip--sometimes it's about the trip itself.

There has been some criticism that this is a 300 page novel masquerading as a 300 page one. While there may be some merit to the argument that DROOD could have been trimmed, I still found the mix of gothic thriller and the biographical elements fascinating. Like "Amadeus", Simmons uses Cooper a contemporary of Dickens who both admires the writer and is jealous of his talent as the narrator so we learn much about Dickens, his time and even Cooper.

It's a long trip but it IS worth it.

Highly recommended.

I honestly have not figured out all of my reactions to this book yet, even though I read it a few weeks ago.

Simmons is a brilliant writer, and this book is brilliantly written.

Yet, the main POV character, Victorian Age writer Wilkie Collins, was such a competely repellant character on so many levels I ended up despising him. He was a heavy duty drug addict (to the point where you cannot trust him whatsoever as a narrator, as he is totally delusional and out of touch with reality). In addition, he was eaten up with envy over the literary genius of Charles Dickens, his supposed friend and colleague, which hardly makes for fun reading. And his personal life was completely centered around himself - if he had a single redeeming trait as a character or a human being, I was unable to find it.

So here was this gimormous book, and I could not read more than a hundred or so pages as a time because the main character was such a slimeball. Took weeks to finally get through it.

Simmons, as I said, wrote it brilliantly - it takes genuine great talent to induce a reader to hate the main character that much - but on the other hand, why read something where the main POV is so screwed up you never know if something was actually happening or not, or whether or not other characters actually even existed when you hate the main character as much as I ended up hating Wilkie Collins? So my admiration for Simmons' writing skills had to try to balance out with my loathing for the Collins character. In the end my admiration for Simmons won out and I did manage to finish the book. But that surely was not easy for me.

Dan Simmons' Gothic re-imagining of Dickens' final years--as told by his closest literary compadre, the sensation novelist Wilkie Collins--follows up on his horror novel THE TERROR, which retold the ill-fated John Franklin expedition to find the Northwest Passage that Dickens and Collins themselves re-imagined as their play THE FROZEN DEEP. Simmons's novel gets off to a rousing start by recounting the Staplehurst rail disaster of 1865 that involved Dickens and his lover Ellen Ternan that scarred the novelist emotionally to the end of his days; at first your hopes are high because Simmons doesn't simply recapitulate the tropes or structures of Victorian sensation fiction the way so many other contemporary novelists (such as Michael Cox or Michael Faber or Charles Palliser) do. But despite some genuinely creepy passages involving an "Undertown" constructed beneath London (which seem to owe more to Sax Rohmer's Fu Manchu fiction than to Dickens' or Collins' novels) the novel gets a bit bogged down in biographical details. It's hard to imagine getting much out of this book unless you know Dickens' and Collins' biographies pretty well, and even so I found the book pretty slow-going, as the novel slogs through different disparate events in both writers' lives to get to its conclusion. Simmons's Charles Dickens--arrogant, lively, clever, and exhausting--is very well drawn, but his notion of Wilkie Collins as Salieri to Dickens' Mozart not only seems vulgar but also seems to disregard the achievements of Collins himself in his own novels. There are genuinely creepy moments in this book, but it is far from being the gripping page-turner it would like to be, and in the end it just seemed sort of cheap, for all its exhaustively researched details.

I had never read anything from Simmons before I stumbled on this over in the horror section of my local Borders. I had a gift card to use, which was the only reason I was there. I read the back cover copy, and since I am a huge Dickens fan, love historical fiction, especially when it seems like it might be a psychological type horror story, and I don't mind an eight-hundred plus page book from time to time, I bought it. I wasn't disappointed, unlike many the store reviewers. Granted, it's in the horror section, but frankly, the book isn't a horror novel ... not by a long shot. The book, beginning in 1865 with the Staple Hurst accident, is supposed to explore Dickens growing obsession with the mysterious character Drood, but in reality, it's an exploration in hatred, arrogance, and jealousy, and the real monster in the story is Wilkie Collins not Drood. It had a Picture of Dorian Gray feel to it in story and writing style, which apparently didn't please many of Simmons' loyal fans. It was a long and brooding, meticulously researched book, chronicling the obsessive state of dementia Wilkie Collins descends into over the course of the narrative, culminating in a crazy plot to kill Dickens and strip him of his literary glory. I recommend it if you have the patience for a rambling narrative. There are moments that are spectacularly creepy even though you know Drood does not exist except in Wilkie's opium twisted mind.

This really is a great work of imagination and gives wonderful history on London during the mid-19th century, a pretty horrible place where disease, drug addiction and poverty runs rampant. No one researches a book better than Simmons, the way he mixes fantasy in with facts of the time is simply amazing, by the end of it I could almost feel Wilkie's gout. I found myself looking up the actual events described in the book to see how close Simmons was to the facts, he was right on. I also realize that lovers of Wilkie Collins and Dickens will be horrified by the way Simmons portrays them and will probably give this book a 1 star because of this. Simmons definitely will not be getting any awards or praises from the Queen anytime soon for his portrayal of two of Britain's greatest authors. That aside, the dark humor and hypocrisy of the characters is pretty funny. There's not a whole lot of excitement here and it reads more like one of Dickens or Collin's own books which fits in with the 19th century theme.

This really is a great work of imagination and gives wonderful history on London during the mid-19th century, a pretty horrible place where disease, drug addiction and poverty runs rampant. No one researches a book better than Simmons, the way he mixes fantasy in with facts of the time is simply amazing, by the end of it I could almost feel Wilkie's gout. I found myself looking up the actual events described in the book to see how close Simmons was to the facts, he was right on. I also realize that lovers of Wilkie Collins and Dickens will be horrified by the way Simmons portrays them and will probably give this book a 1 star because of this. Simmons definitely will not be getting any awards or praises from the Queen anytime soon for his portrayal of two of Britain's greatest authors. That aside, the dark humor and hypocrisy of the characters is pretty funny. There's not a whole lot of excitement here and it reads more like one of Dickens or Collin's own books which fits in with the 19th century theme.

Having read The Terror (which was FASCINATING AND A HELLUVA GOOD READ) and Illium and Olympos, I stumbled across this book in a used book store. A hardcover in great condition for $1 was too good to pass up and like others on here, the premise sounded fantastic. I have never read Dickens (Yeah I know) but I did read the Moonstone so I was intrigued by the story.
Wow.
No wonder it was $1. This book was soooo mundane and boring. WAY too much detail about Dickens and Collins life. Well researched but ye gods! AT 700+ pages I expected more of a payoff. I finished it yesterday and just sat there after reading the last page.
All I could think was "Really?"
THIS is what it all came down to?? After the page turner of The Terror I expected so much more. I cannot really recommend this book to anyone unless they are a massive fan of Dickens and then just to give counterpoint to what is known about the man. There is NO ONE likable in this book. At least the character of Drood was interesting. Then when you find out that... well I won't spoil it. Lets just say I think Simmons wrote himself into a corner and had to tie things up quickly. But NOT satisfactorily. To me at least. Even my own guess work about the solution to the mystery was better then the ending. Ugh. Others may disagree but that is my opinion. Not the worst book I've ever read (that claim goes to a horrible book called The Witch of Blackbird Pond) but def not the best or even in the middle. At your own risk...

First, for those Dan Simmons fans: understand that the author has used his considerable talent to write a different type of tale. He has not only written a great historical fiction here, but also kept the flavor of the time period, including the writing style. No small feat. Yes this book is about Charles Dickens, written from the point of view of his long time collaberator Wilkie Collins. What is fabulous is that Mr. Simmons was able to incorporate some great historical research into the story and plotted it within actual events.

This story is not a fast paced book, no explosions, but there is a constant level of suspense. Consider the story one of clues or bread crumbs and only about 3/4th of the way in do you think you know what is truly happening.

Personally, I enjoy a wide range of supernatural type of stories and did pick up this book thinking it would be a similar story. Although not a traditional supernatural book, I was very pleasantly surprised by "Drood: A Novel" and with a bit of patience I think so will other readers.

This book, to me, was quite good. HOWEVER, it probably won't be to anyone who doesn't like and isn't familiar with the history and literature of Charles Dickens. It's also a long book, so not a quick read.

I love historical fiction, so that gave this book a leg up for me. I also like what I've read of Dickens so far. I have a passing knowledge of Wilkie Collins, who is the narrator of the book.

The book begins with the crash of a train in which Dickens is one of the lucky survivors. While helping the casualties, Dickens meets a mysterious and sinister being named Drood. This chance (or perhaps, not so chance) encounter flavors the remainder of Dickens and Collins lives.

Taking the reader to the slums and literal underworld of England, the mysticism of mesmerism, and the some gruesome experiments at the quicklime pit of an overfilled cemetery, "Drood" is an interesting read. I did skim a few pages, but overall, it was well worth reading. It's just definitely not going to be for everybody.

Dan Simmons is one of the great underrated authors of our time. But if you want to see his genius at work, this is not the book.

Simmons, in his educated and highly idiosyncratic style, tells the tale of Charles Dickens' unfinished Mystery of Edwin Drood through the first-person eyes of contemporary friend and author Wilkie Collins, regarded as the author of the first true detective novel (The Moonstone). Simmons' basic conceit is that actual events of mystery and intrigue (as well as heavy opium use) inspired both Dickens' last novel as well as Collins' successful magnum opus.

This is a great idea, and Simmons' masterful writing and painstaking research could have carried it off well. If he had had an editor and approximately 350 of the 775 pages we are provided with. Simmons may be attempted to replicate the sprawling feel of Dickens and Collins' era of writing itself. But that's why I normally read Simmons and not Dickens. If you really want genius, pick up Simmons' Hyperion series or The Terror instead.

"Look over here!" exclaims the illusionist on stage. "Don't pay attention to what my hands are doing, look at this pretty thing instead!"

Of course, no stage magician worth his salt ever says this out loud - but they demand it of their audiences with every trick. The masters do it without ever letting the audience know what they're doing. In the same way, Dan Simmons weaves magic with his words in his novel about Charles Dickens: 'Drood.'

What is 'Drood' about? The title alone would lead you to believe that it might be about the writing of 'The Mystery of Edwin Drood,' Dickens' final (and never-finished) novel. In some senses this is true. From the first few pages we hear of the mysterious Drood (just Drood in the beginning) who haunts Charles Dickens' life through the whole story. The events of 'Drood' in some ways mirror those of Dickens' unfinished mystery, both stories laced with opium and jealousy and the dark underbelly of London. Simmons' style in 'Drood' is clearly in the Dickensian tone, and perhaps the biggest success of the novel as a whole is how well he mimics and uses that tone to create an air of menace and dread around the character of Drood, ever-present yet seldom seen.

It's also, of course, a story about Charles Dickens, here painted as often helpful and generous, always active and vibrant, sometimes vain and arrogant. 'Drood' follows Dickens through the last five years of his life as he writes and publishes novels in serial form, as he edits monthly publications, as he performs his work for audiences on a breakneck schedule despite declining health. Simmons' presentation of Dickens-as-character is compelling and deceptively subtle. Watch the details - you'll want to remember them when you reach the denouement.

Remember also, as you read, that this tale of the menacing Drood and the genius Dickens is told through the filter of Dickens' friend and collaborator, Wilkie Collins. Wilkie, in 'Drood,' is a self-confessed opium addict, often prissy and self-absorbed, and a man needful of the company of women. Everything we see and hear, as the audience, comes through his filter: self-aggrandizing, jealous of Dickens, haughty. Wilkie is as much a character as Dickens himself, and Simmons captures him expertly in the novel's voice.

So what, in the end, do we have in 'Drood'? We have a skilled 21st-century author writing in the voice of a 19th-century writer who is writing for "readers of the future" about one of English literature's most beloved writers and the dark figure that hovers over all their lives. And the layers just keep on coming, with a pitch-perfect tone and the occasional sense of the absurd. Can we trust anyone in this story? Is anything what it seems? You have to read it all to find out, and even after you close the book, questions may linger.

There's a trick in 'Drood' and I have to admit it, Dan Simmons got me. I saw the trick coming, but he distracted me with expert skill. It's not a gimmick - it's so good that it borders on real magic. The wonder of magic isn't in the reveal - it's in the trick itelf. Dan Simmons, in 'Drood,' proves himself a skilled practitioner at the top of his game.

Dripping with atmosphere & utterly creepy throughout, this book is delightful, one of Simmons' best. Whether you're into Dickens & Collins, Victorian period stories, a good psychological horror story, or just want a mystery that will keep you wondering until the last page, this is the book. Do yourself a favor & read it; if you've read it before, read it again.

"The Mystery of Edwin Drood" was Charles Dickens last novel, but he died before it could be finished. Dan Simmons picks up the mystery, not to solve and finish Dickens' work, but to provide a back story, the real source of Drood.

Simmons starts out with heavy foreshadowing. Told in the voice of protagonist Wilkie Collins, friend and confidant of Charles Dickens, we are promised to know the real story of Dickens' last years. After a narrowly surviving a disastrous train accident, Dickens' tells Collins of a mysterious figure he sees slipping among the dead and dying of the train wreck. Tall, pale white, in an opera cloak and stove pipe top hat, the man identifies himself as Drood. As the story progresses, Dickens and Collins explore the underside of London, visiting underground opium dens and dark tunnels running with tributaries of the Thames, seeking the illusive Drood.

As Collins' narrative of Dickens' last years progresses, Dickens dabbles with mesmerism, seemingly with assistance of the dangerous Drood, always somewhere on the periphery of vision. Meanwhile, Collins fights demons of his own, an increasing addiction to laudanum and opium.

With the end approaching, Dickens slowly wear himself out conducting dramatic readings of his literary works, conducting a break-neck tour schedule, both through-out the British Isles and post-Civil War America. We also see Collins struggle, like Amadeus' Soliari, to achieve recognition and wealth to prove his worth relative to the great master Dickens. He is only a mediocre shadow of his friend, however, and soon finds himself under the spell of Drood. Before long, we are left to wonder what is real and what is illusion, what is perspective and what is opium induced.

While the book weighs in at over 700 pages, the setting, the depth of texture, and the reality with which Simmons spins this tale in Dickens 19th century England, makes the book worth reading, even if just to see and feel the world in which Dickens lived. However, beyond just showing an insider's glimpse of the era, the reader feels like he is looking at a picture of the great Dickens himself. The mystery, and Collins' apparent madness, combined with the dangerous and hypnotic villain-like Drood keep the reader reading, even when the months bleed into years.

I never felt like I was rushing to an ending or being pulled along by the plot, as I might have in a Clancy or a Patterson. On the other hand, I always enjoyed my Simmons deft use of language. I appreciated his ability to keep the story, and the character development, moving subtly and building to a surprising, but entirely plausible and almost expected, climax. Throughout, he makes appropriate use and reference to Dickens' various works, weaving them into the story and the Collins consciousness. The book feels well researched, and though I am no Dickens expert, it seems like Simmons either knows his Dickens or has done the research to look like it.

The book is at times dark. Many times I found myself loathing the narrator, and it is rare that I read a book through the eyes of such an almost unredeemable character as Collins was by the end of the novel. He is scheming, mediocre, addicted, and, inexorably, mad, not to mention untrustworthy, deceptive, murderous, and greedy. Yet Simmons writes in honesty, developing the character as he must and with a story that almost compels finishing. I cannot recommend this book to everyone, but I wish I could. Dan Simmons is a good writer, and he does Dicken's justice with this latest novel.

I read Summer of Night by Dan Simmons and thought it was pretty good so I picked this book up. An other reviewer said a good editor could have cut this book in half... I would say 2/3rds of the text could have been axed and then it might have been an interesting story.

I will give Dan Simmons credit for being able to stay in the same long winded, meandering, pompous, Victorian style of writing from start to finish. He does not spare a single trivial detail.

Some reviewers gave this book 3, 4, even 5 stars.... makes me wonder if we were reading the same book. Save your money for another Dan Simmons book (any other Dan Simmons book), He is a good author but this book really missed the mark.

My number one complaint about novels in this century is that all of the editors seem to have disappeared. Books seem to make it to the reader without anyone having taken an editing pencil to the manuscript and slashed the heck out of repetitions, dead ends, endless subplots, red herrings and so forth. This novel is yet again another case in point.

This is a fascinating account of Charles Dickens, with his friend Wilkie Collins, afoot in the London Underground looking for the ghoulish Edwin Drood. The personal habits and character traits of both Dickens and Collins are fully dissected. I found Dickens absolutely fascinating as a character in his own right.

Collins is in a Watson to Holmes role here and he acts as our narrator. The only problem is that Collins imbibes LOTS of laudanum every day for his pain, which mainly seems to be gout from overeating, as per the style of the day. Laudanum is Opium, with hallucinatory effects upon its imbibers. Thus, his is a distorted prism to be rendering any factual account.

The biggest reason to recommend this book, however, is Charles Dickens the man is as interesting a character as any he ever created. He is filled with contradictions as are many people in real life. He jettisoned his wife after she bore him 10 children AND he kept the children! In doing so, he set up her sister as his chatelaine while keeping an 18 year old actress as his mistress on the side. He walked 12-20 miles every day of his life at a pace of 4MPH. He was also a terrific actor and took to the stage briefly, with Collins, to great acclaim. He acted with great heroism at a rail disaster which almost claimed his own life. And this is just a small portion of the many fascinating aspects to Charles Dickens the man.

As for Drood, we have yet another dead undead type of character with him. I don't want to call him a vampire but he is certainly akin to one. Although I loved Bram Stoker's original novel DRACULA, I frankly wish that the great vampire craze, still going on in all media, would crash and burn.

Visit my blog with link given on my profile page here or use this phonetically given URL (livingasseniors dot blogspot dot com). Friday's entry will always be weekend entertainment recs from my 5 star the store reviews in film, tv, books and music. These are very heavy on buried treasures and hidden gems. My blogspot is published on Monday, Wednesday & Friday.

Opening "Drood" by Dan Simmons is like stepping into a time machine. I could almost feel the cobblestones of London's back alleys beneath my feet and smell the overpowering stench of raw sewage draining into the Thames.

In June of 1865, world-famous author Charles Dickens and his mistress were among the few survivors of a horrific train crash. Simmons manages to weave this real-life event into a compelling and terrifying tale of murder, jealousy, ancient Egyptian magic and mesmerism.

Drood is narrated by Dickens' fellow author, friend and sometimes rival Wilkie Collins. A laudanum addict, Collins is an unreliable narrator at best. Three days after the accident at Staplehurst, Dickens relates the harrowing experience to Collins. At the center of his tale is a mysterious man named Drood; a disfigured, wraith-like creature who seemed to float back and forth amongst the dead and dying victims of the crash. Was he rendering assistance to these unfortunate souls or hastening their departure from this mortal coil?

Dickens becomes obsessed with finding Drood, and this search will lead him and Collins into a labyrinthine world hidden below London's poorest districts. The horrors that await them there will change both of the authors - and their friendship - forever. Collins begins to wonder if Dickens has simply gone mad from the trauma he endured at Staplehurst or if he has fallen under the mesmeric influence of Drood, a man rumored to have killed over 300 people.

Victorian London is masterfully depicted; the sights, sounds and even smells seem to come alive and add a rich sense of atmosphere to this dark story.

The first 100 pages of "Drood" were slow-going for me, but they established a framework that was essential and very rewarding later in the book. I never knew what to expect with this story, and the shocking ending left me re-evaluating virtually every conclusion I'd come to over the length of the book. While it's still very early in 2009, I can certainly see "Drood" as one of my favorite reads of the year.

**This review is for the Audiobook Version**

Simmons has always been hit or miss with me, when he's on... he's one of the best authors available right now, when he's off, though it's never "terrible" it's just weird and boring. I listened to this Audiobook while suffering through mounds of excel files at work and I have to admit, it made reporting a much more entertaining proposition. As far as the work itself, I was thrilled with the first 3/4 of it, but then it got weird and dissapointing on me.

The tale is told from the viewpoint of Wilkie Collins, a longtime friend and competitor of the author Charles Dickens. Wilkie suffers from gout as well as other medical problems that have lead him to a laudinum and eventual opium addiction. Through Wilkie's eyes we learn of a train accident in which Dickens was part which almost took his life. Dickens attempted to help some of the survivors and notices a strange dark figure called Drood. From his meeting Drood, Dickens and Wilkie spend the next several years in a cat and mouse game with the dark figure. Is Drood the Angel of death? A deamon? A Monster? A murderer? or a figment of Dickens' wild writer's imagination? Is it all a joke or are they in mortal danger? They visit parts of London that few are willing to travel to, graveyards, and the very edge of sanity.

But through all of it our host in the story, Mr. Wilkie Collins' mind wanders from tangent to tangent. We learn all about his dualing mistresses, his servants, his addictions, his pain, his doppleganger, his writing (he loves to list his works and tell us how wonderful they were). In the beginning his tangents are interesting enough, the characters of Collins and Dickens are well defined and we learn so much about them through these little sidebars that they add much to the beginning... but then when we should be really getting into the tale, they make the reader want to slap the living crapola out of Wilkie and say "Get to the story man!"

Though I won't get into the ending of the book - at first the reader feels let down and almost furious... then about an hour or so later, you're left questioning some of what you had read, does it all make sense in the end? I'm still baffled about some of the scenes now.

As far as the audiobook version - the reading is fantastic, the reader has a very soothing yet expressive voice that suits the story well. I can't imagine a better reader. The sound quality is even, smooth and high quality.

Absolutely brilliant!

Dan Simmons weaves a hell of a story with a stunningly written "Drood." Starring Wilkie Collins, Charles Dickens, and the mysterious Edwin Drood (among other real and fictional Victorian characters) the story explores the labyrinth of the London Underworld, the friendship and collaboration of two well-known and gifted writers, the unfinished last work of Charles Dickens ("The Mystery of Edwin Drood"), and a purely fictional story of murder, mayhem, and misogyny.

Impeccably researched and filled with fast-paced prose I honestly felt like I was transported to Victorian England as I waited for the serialization of the next Dickens's or Collins's novel to appear on the newsstands. When Simmons walks us through the dark passages that conceal the underground cemeteries, opium dens, and catacombs of London we follow along. When he reports the train wreck at Staplehurst we experience the loss of life and limb on a personal level and we feel the victim's pain. When he depicts the lives of the novelists we gain a sense of what life must have been like in their households.

I thoroughly enjoyed this fast-paced, page-turning phenomenon. You should too!

5 out of 5 stars

1) This book is not really about Dickens or Drood, but rather the narrator, Wilkie Collins, a drug-crazed douche bag who really can't engage our sympathies.

2) The horror is blunted by the fact that Collins is using such a quantity of narcotics that the reader is unable to credit anything he says as happening anywhere outside of his mind.

3) The horror is also blunted by the fact that we know from the historic record that London was not, in fact, ever taken over by an evil criminal mastermind, and remade in the image of ancient Egypt.

4) Moreover, the horror elements are pretty much submerged by Collins' lengthy disquisition upon his day-to-day affairs. Drood makes only sporadic appearances. If you or I believed that an evil genius had placed a scarab beetle in our brains in order to control us, we probably wouldn't spend so much time on the household accommodations of our mistresses, and on feverish efforts to advance our careers.

In short, this story is only moderately interesting once we realize that we are unable to discern what is really happening, and that there will be no definitive denouement. I admit that I was struck by the parallels Simmons drew between the behavior of Collins and today's moneyed class (the self-medication, a feeling of entitlement to control the lives of "inferiors" and dependents, etc.). And, as always, Simmons' writing was excellent. But as another critic once said in another context, "no terror, no pity"

Drood is a big, bold, ambitious piece of work and, though maybe a tad overlong and somewhat uneven, it is a unique and unforgettable read. Dan Simmons, whose previous novel, The Terror, I thoroughly enjoyed (and reviewed here), endeavours to tell the (fictional) truth behind Charles Dickens' unfinished novel "The Mystery of Edwin Drood." Though this might be challenging enough, given that it would require that he, Simmons, research Dickens' life as well England of the mid-1800s, but he decided to write Drood in the first person with Dickens' friend and fellow writer, Wilkie Collins, as narrator. Simmons' job, and the resultant narrative, are further complicated by Collins' addiction to laudanum and documented mental instability. Collins is probably the most unreliable narrator I have read since Portnoy's Complaint.

Given these challenges with which Simmons has chosen to burden himself, one would expect that Drood would be an absolute mess, but Simmons is a true master and clearly up to the task. He creates in Collins not just an erratic and often confused narrator (and he certainly is that), but a fascinating, multi-layered character with a unique and engaging voice. Collins tells his tale with an eye towards maintaining his dignity and elevating his renown, but frequently comes off as petulant, bitter and cold. Though in lesser hands, Collins would have been an irritating and unlikeable narrator, Simmons ensures that Collins' flaws are amusing and entertaining rather than annoying and abrasive. We want to hear what Simmons' Wilkie has to say because he is flawed and, of course, because the tale he tells is an intriguing one.

But what of that tale? What is the book about, exactly? Well, it's about a very real train accident in which Dickens was involved. And it's about Dickens obsession, following the accident, with the lower, more dangerous areas of London. It's about a man named Drood who may or may not have supernatural powers . . . and may not exist at all. Also, there's a green-skinned ghost and Other Wilkie and the possible murder of a man named Edmond Dickenson and . . .

And Drood is an excellent read that defies categorization. It is in large part horror, with much mystery, and a hefty, necessary, dose of historical fiction. A highly recommended read.

This book is simultaneously a brilliant example of a modern novel, a piercing, illuminating study of the life of literary giant Charles Dickens, and a Victorian sensation novel of the type popularized by the book's ostensible narrator, Wilkie Collins. The fact that Drood functions on so many different levels is primarily due to the fact that the story is told by someone who for several reasons (drug addiction, personal and professional jealously, etc.) is an unreliable narrator, a characteristic feature of modernist fiction.

Potential readers should not, however, get the impression that Drood is an unreadable work of fashionable gibberish that only rarefied academics would appreciate. Dan Simmons has done a tremendous amount of research on Victorian England in general and the lives of Collins and Dickens in particular (the two writers had an extremely close, long-standing working relationship). He recreates the London and England of the 1860's with amazing thoroughness while still holding the reader's interest throughout. The author takes the same keen delight in human affairs that Dickens did and observes with a similar eye for detail. For this reason, I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone interested in the Victorian era and to general fans of historical fiction.

Drood also functions well as a psychological study of a monster, a morally depraved person who does not even realize his own failings. I refer to Wilkie Collins the narrator, the focus of the novel through his first-person narration of events, even though Dickens's person and character loom large throughout, even when absent from the action.

Drood is simply a terrific novel. I recommend it without qualification.

After the excellent The Terror: A Novel I was very much loking forward to Dan Simmons' next novel and I was not disappointed. As with Dan's first novel Song of Kali, here the city itself is a character that plays a major part in the story. The author makes us feel the texture, the grime and the stench of Victorian London as well as that of its inhabitants. One thing that must be said and that many reviewers have complained about, is that the novel is not really about Drood, whose presence is felt rather than seen, but rather about the novelist Wilkie Collins who narrates the entire book in a first person account. Fortunately, Mr Collins is such a fascinating character that his voice carries the entire novel quite nicely. His discriptions of his life and times gives us an insiders view into the writing process itself and the lesser known details of Charles Dickens' life, a giant of an author who to this day casts a shadow over the lesser known Wilkie Collins.
The Dickensian lenght of the novel has also been a point of dispute among readers and I too believe that it could have been at least 100 pages shorter and told the same story. However, Dan Simmons' narrative powers manage to keep your interest all throught the 700 plus pages of Drood.
In closing, a very original and entertaining novel that plunges the reader into the underbelly (and deeper still) of 19th century London.

When life imitates art the possibilities are endless...especially if you are 19th century author Wilkie Collins and your muse is your lifelong friend and collaborator, Charles Dickens. Through the eyes of Collins, Dickens' final years are explored through a haze of opium and intrigue as the inspiration for Charles' unfinished work, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, is revealed in hearty Agatha Christie style.

On June the 12th, 1865, Wilkie Collins is bowled over with Dickens' account of a terrible train accident he had the misfortune of being a victim of just three days previous. The carnage witnessed by Dickens was breathtaking, but even more hair-raising was his uninvited traveling companion whose antics set the stage for many years of terror. When Dickens ran to the aid those who were dead or dying, this companion...this Drood...visited upon those very same injured souls and appeared to feast upon death itself.

Instead of scaring them away, Dickens' tale of a real life Drood intrigues this literary duo into beginning an investigation into London's "Undertown" and opium dens with the intent on neutralizing this obvious threat to mankind. Throughout the several years that Collins' and Dickens' lives are unimaginably altered by the specter of this dark figure, both authors realize their career potentials while simultaneously watch helplessly as this success strains their friendship. Sanity begins to break down and unspeakable acts become common place in the lives of these men. It appears that Drood just might win this war of morality and civility.

Dan Simmons writes a spine tingling tale set in Victorian England and through the eyes of Wilkie Collins. The cast of characters he creates to share the stage with Dickens and Collins in Drood are mesmerizing to say the least. Simmons has managed to combine the genres of traditional murder/mystery, psychological thriller, and historical fiction with much success. Drood adds even more mystery to Charles Dickens' one and only "who dunnit" tale (The Mystery of Edwin Drood)

...and ended so poorly. The opening chapters of Drood had me completely hooked. "Can't wait to read all of DS' novels," I thought. "Man, this guy can write." Well, turns out DS has Dickensian ambitions but talents for story-craft that fall far short of the Dickensian. To whit: Drood is long. Endlessly endlessly long. And far from the fascinating exploration of the human psyche -- healthy or addled, murderous or mild -- that some critics claim, it is the banalest of explorations, chicken scratches on the surface of what might (and at 800 pages(!) should) have been a psychologically penetrating narrative. Another DS pretension: that he is master of the unexpected. The 'twist' in this novel comes about 30 pages before the novel wraps. Let me just say: seriously? That's your idea of a zinger, DS? No spoilers here; if you've read this far and decide to slog through Drood anyway, far be it from me to chip away at what little reading pleasure you're likely take from the experience. Who knows, perhaps your own readerly sympathies will align with those of the Publisher's Weekly critic who gave Drood a "starred" review, or the New Yorker critic who crows that DS is "a master of otherworldly suspense" who "cleverly explores envy's corrosive effects." My theory: both critics wrote their reviews under the corrosive influence of laudanum and the mesmeric arts.

My second star is for DS' occasional flashes of writerly brilliance. When this guy writes well, he really really writes well. 50 pages' worth of Drood was the stuff of a 5-star novel for sure. Would that Dickens or Collins had risen from the grave to rewrite the remaining 700...

In college, I had a literary class on Charles Dickens. Unfortunately, it turned me against the Victorian author when I found his stories repetitive and too long. Thanks to Dan Simmons, I came to appreciate the inimitable's life and found one of THE best novels I have ever written.
Ironically, the book's main character is the narrator, Wilke Collins. Collins was a long-time friend of Dickens and he comes to reality watching his dear friend succumb to an obsession with a strange man named Drood. Dickens met him after a train wreck at Staplehurst. A disfigured, dark, and brooding man, Drood uses some sort of Egyptian Magic, mesmerism, and supernatural abilities to the underbelly of Victorian London. Dickens becomes obsessed searching for the man, and trying to get into Drood's psyche. As Collins watches his friend's descent, he reluctantly follows into his own madness.
At the outset, Simmons' prose is masterful and capturing the historical setting of Victorian London. You can literally smell the stench of waste being dumped into the Thames and the unsanitary conditions. The reader will also see the image of Drood and his followers, and feel the terror of Wilke being unable to move as a frightening creature burrows through his body.
The one thing that stands out here is the book does not drag in the middle as some of his other works like Carrion Comfort or Flashback. The story unfolds and keeps the reader's attention.
Simmons has become my favorite author over the last several years. I look forward to his next endeavor.

I thought this nearly 800-page book held great promise.

It's about British literature and history. It's a good yarn and a creepy mystery set in 19th century England (complete with opium dens, prostitutes, rampant open sewers and the tragic underbelly of London). What's not to like, right?

The narrator is Wilkie Collins (NOT a fictional person) who weaves a tale about his life and Charles Dickens's life during the last five years that Dickens lived. The book is really more about Collins and told from his point of view. (Well, it's fiction so it's from the author's idea of Collins's point of view.)

And Drood? He's just a mysterious sidebar - just an excuse to write a story about the other two men.

This book is not for everyone. It is heavily laden with discussions of the writings of both Dickens and Collins, and if you're not familiar with at least one of them, you might get bored with all the detailed discussions of their preoccupation with plays and story serialization.

The book starts out as a fascinating and intriguing tale. The author does a great job at setting scenes and bringing the 1860s alive - not only with his descriptions but by telling us his (Collins's) opinion about everything that happens. It's as though he's writing a personal letter with some inside jokes. It's a great writing style and the author promises a good mystery. (I love the way Dickens and Collins discuss their characters as though they are real.)

But it all breaks down about halfway through the book. It begins to drag and goes off in all sorts of tangents that have nothing to do with Drood. It becomes repetitive, tiresome and tedious. It's more than a little spacey and rambling.

The author discards subplots and doesn't follow through on various topics (such as cannibalism).

I found I couldn't suspend my disbelief anymore and, by the end of the book, the story took a turn for the bizarre - and not in a good way.

For example, two chapters are written about the events of the very same day but are totally different. That was never explained.

A good writer wraps up lose ends or leaves you in a place where you can wrap them up yourself. But the writing suffered as it drew to the end. It just fizzled out with confusing and frustrating rhetoric and provided no real conclusion.

Frankly, I felt cheated. It was a great build up but was disappointingly anticlimactic after nearly 800 pages. I believe that when you put that much effort into reading a book, you expect to be rewarded.

I agree with a previous reviewer who said, "Rarely has a book begun so promisingly and ended so poorly."

If I were a descendant of Collins or Dickens, I think I would be appalled that the author had both Collins and Dickens murder someone! Can he do that?! I guess he can since it's called nonfiction. But these were real people and it doesn't seem right.

In conclusion, I would say that as a vehicle to show the times and customs of the day and provide a glimpse into the possible lives of Dickens and Collins, this book was great. As a mystery, it was lame.

I like Dan Simmons. I thought "The Terror" was excellent and I enjoyed both "Children of the Night" and "A Winter Haunting" very much.

Early on, I thought "Drood" was going to be terrific. That scene in the aftermath of Dickens' train wreck, with Drood floating amidst the carnage, the dead, and the dying... wow! I was hooked-- this was going to be a great book.

Alas, despite the title, the character Drood appears on stage only rarely. When he does, the book crackles with energy and one page is quickly devoured for the next.

Most of the book, though, is devoted to the petty jealousies and depravity of the narrator, Wilkie Collins. After 600+ pages of reading about laudanum, the scarab, mistresses, and Wilkie's resentment of Dickens, I did something I've rarely done with any book: I gave up. It was incredibly boring by then and my desire to reach the conclusion and find out what happened was far outweighed by my desire to never again hear Wilkie Collins whining about anything.

Generally I don't live historical fiction but Mr Simmons gives a clinic in this novel as to why he can't be contained in one genre. Parts Historical Fiction, Speculative Fantasy and Horror all rolled up into one deliciously Dickensian romp!

This is the most exhaustively researched book on Charles Dickens you will ever read. It is beautifully written, minutely detailed and will transport you to the England of Charles Dickens. From the first page to the last you are in England with the characters. This book should be required reading for any college course on Charles Dickens and his works. That being said, it is NOT an unresolved mystery. There is no mystery. This book is 98% Dickens life and works and 2% flimsy attempt to create a mystery where none exists. By the end you will feel as if you were tricked into reading what was supposed to be a historical mystery, when in fact it was nothing more than an amazingly well written book about Charles Dickens.

Drood sounded like a great idea for a novel: after the Stapelhurst train wreck, Charles Dickens meets a ghastly demonic figure named Drood. As time goes on, Dickens becomes increasingly obsessed with crypts, the underground portions of London, and murder. The story is told from the point of view of his sometime friend and collaborator Wilkie Collins. Unfortunately, shortly after the train wreck in the novel, the story derails early on.

Drood is merely a sideshow. The story focuses more on Simmons (speaking through Collins) taking apart several Dickens stories. After going through Dickens' life story and several of his works, the novel is half over - and little has happened to advance the story.

The novel builds towards a climax, but it doesn't really deliver. My thoughts on the novel can best be summed up in this paragraph:

"All right . . . Reader. I know that you could not care less for my history or pains or even the fact that I am dying as I labour to write this for you. All you want to hear about is Dickens and Drood, Drood and Dickens."

Unfortunately, very little of the book deals with Drood and Dickens. Essentially, Simmons could have used a good editor to coax out a great book out of the jumbled story here.

However, I did enjoy Simmons' writing style; I found it easy to read and enjoyed reading much of the book. Had it been more focused, I would have enjoyed it much more.

There seems to be no middle ground with Dan Simmons. His books are either brilliant or downright awful. Drood is, sadly, one of the latter.

Really, little more needs to be said here than that I cannot stand books in which the drama hinges on the testimony of a thoroughly unreliable narrator, which Drood's main character, Wilkie Collins, is. This makes for an undeniably frustrating experience - and while it's true that Simmons is, as always, a master of language and especially of conjuring up an interesting idea based on a dark spot in the historical record, his skill at wordcraft just cannot compensate for the fact that when the last page has been turned, it's not clear whether the whole thing was real or just a really bad drug trip.

To be fair, this wouldn't have bothered me that much had the book not been bogged down with an incredible amount of needless detail surrounding the lives of two people (Wilkie and Dickens) who were portrayed as having not a single admirable quality among them. I do, in fact, appreciate a book with an open interpretation more than I do a story in which the author feels the need to explain everything. Unfortunately, while Drood's early forays into London's seedy underground evoked the creepy atmosphere of one of Simmons' excellent early works (Song of Kali), I soon found myself forced back above ground and having to endure endless pages of Wilkie Collins describing in excruciating detail every plot element and character of every book that he and Dickens ever wrote - often supposing that I was as already as intimately familiar with these details as he was - and seemingly endless pages describing Collins' contempt and jealousy of his supposed friend.

By about two thirds of the way through the novel I was just skimming pages, hoping that somewhere near the end my tedious slog would be rewarded by some semblance of an exciting climax with the eponymous villain, but unfortunately such closure never materialized. Even despite all this, Drood might have been tolerable if it was half as long, but as it was there was just too much prose for too little action and almost zero emotional payback. My profound apologies to Mr. Simmons, whom I admire greatly as a writer, but Drood just didn't do it for me. Song of Kali essentially accomplished the same thing and was a far better novel, at least in this reviewer's opinion.