Rating: 
Summary: The biggest, the boldest, simply the best
Review: An awesome epic of masterful execution that completely overwhelms the reader. One of my very favorite books. Simmons creates a massive cast of characters, some of whom I loved and a few I loved to hate, but by the end I cared so deeply about ALL of them that I was desperately involved in all of their fates. The action is told in a style of shifting viewpoint that time and again tricks you from the truth of what is wildly unfolding until the exact moment Simmons wants you to know--usually when you're about ten heartbeats from exploding. Seething with power and achievement, rich with intelligence and compassion, Carrion Comfort travels the globe and with an unflinching eye probes the human soul.
Rating: 
Summary: Only reading it because I am past my delivery due date
Review: Boooo-rinnnngg. Can you say Dean Koontz with an even bigger ego and smaller imagination? This was recommended to me highly. I wonder why. I am only reading it because I am waiting for labor to begin and have time on my hands. This is a path-of-least-resistance, lowest-common-denominator book with a mildly interesting premise. Flat characters, some are even charicatures, and the violence is so pervasive that one becomes immune to it very quickly. Like a Stallone film. High cheese factor, too. Maybe I'll pick up Pride and Prejudice again. Or read the side of a cereal box.
Rating:
Summary: Great entertainment. Sad. Terrifying
Review: Yes, it was long. Sometimes it was a little plodding, but as I got farther and father into the book I realized that I was beginning to be awed by this novel. The descriptions of Philidelphia were right on. (I was visiting it when I started the book) And what is further testiment to this novel is that I was reading it at the same time as Heart of Darkness and have to say that that classic is just too esoteric for any normal person to make any sense of and I was deeply disappointed because I like Apocalypse Now. I found myself more amazed by Simmons prose and themes and characters than I ever was with all that dark side, good/evil, symbolism nonsense encrypted into the Heart of Darkness. And Simmons does settings infinitely better than Conrad, capturing much of the essence of the United States. Racism, corrupt government, love, death, its all here in many forms. Beware the Honky Monster.
Rating: 
Summary: Painfully dull
Review: I ADORE long horror books. The longer, the better. So, after seeing the size, and hearing so many kudos for Carrion Comfort, I snatched it right up and couldn't WAIT to begin reading. Ugh. I tried 3 times to get past the 100 page point, and couldn't do it. Slow. Dull. Boring. I've heard this book called an epic. I disagree vehemently. An epic should illicit strong emotions from the reader. An epic should be an incredible testimony of some sort, whether it be GOOD versus EVIL, or whatever. You want to read an epic in the horror genre? King's "The Stand." A masterpiece. It's incredibly readable. The characters are fascinating. It's exciting. It's ACCESSIBLE. Same goes for McCammon's "Swan Song." THOSE are epics. In my opinion, this doesn't come anywhere close. Epic BOREDOM, more like it. Maybe I'll pick it up some day and try again. But as long as I keep finding other, more interesting horror novels, I don't see the need.
Rating: 
Summary: One of my favorites
Review: This book was very captivating for me. I was awed by the idea of mind vampires controlling others thoughts and actions. Dan Simmons has a wonderful way of describing the settings and the characters in this book. I totally disagree with those who found this novel boring or a waste and would put it on my list of those that I would read more than once.
Rating:
Summary: What's the point?
Review: A reviewer below stated that in all other books before Carrion Comfort the characters "seemed so flat." Well I guess that's what happens when you move your reading level up a notch from the Sweet Valley High series. This book was boring and pointless.
Rating:
Summary: Simmons: A Master of Character
Review: I am truly stunned by an earlier reviewer calling Carrion Comfort "very, very boring," and stating that he "couldn't care less if all the characters died..."Carrion Comfort is very probably my favorite book. Simmons does an amzaing job of putting you inside the various characters' heads. As my brother put it after finishing the book, "All of the other books I read now -- the characters seem so flat." Simmons provides the 1st person disjointedness of a character undergoing a mental breakdown, the fear and loathing a concentration camp survivor has towards his SS nemesis, and the horror and disbelief "normal" people have towards the atrocities and seemingly supernatural phenomina around them with equal deftness. And beyond the intriguing characters themselves, Simmons produces that "Maybe this IS possible..." sort of feeling by weaving factual and fictional history together within the framework of the story. JFK, WWII, Ayatollah Khomeni, John Lennon -- scores of the biggest news stories that involve death or murder are fair game to be included in Simmons' story line. And they all fit. The book describes a chess match, both literal and figurative, between people and powers, both supernatural and politcal. It has twists and turns like the best mystery novels, and shear horror with the best of the macabre. It is no wonder that Simmons won the Bram Stoker Award for Best Horror Novel with Carrion Comfort.
Rating:
Summary: You can probably skip this one...
Review: 'Summer of Night' was one of the best horror stories I had read in a long time. You can imagine my disappointment, then, when I tried to tackle 'Carrion Comfort.' And I really do mean tried. I slugged through about half of this autrocity, but then realized that I really could care less if everyone in the entire world died in the end, and humans vanished from existence. Very, very boring.
Rating:
Summary: Great book!
Review: Why I think it's a great book? The author gives an explanation for people who can do more than ordinary people and what they do with them. Just by manipulating them with their minds they make history for the ordinary people. It gives an explanation how people like Hitler in the past could control so many people. Besides it's a fascinating story with a breathtaking ending. Normally I hate to read books for the second or third time, but this is a book you can read many times to understand all the happenings. I can recommend it to anyone who likes complicated stories with humor and a lot of action ! I sure hope there will be a sequel one day (I hope you read this, Dan). From a Dutch admirer.
Rating:
Summary: Did I miss something?
Review: I read this book due to the numerous great things I have heard about it. What a waste this book was. It could have been done in half the pages. It still wouldn't have been that good but at least I wouldn't have wasted as much time reading it. If you are looking for an epic novel of horror, look elsewhere!!!!!
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