Rating: 
Summary: Literate and Disturbing
Review: ...this is hardly the most frightening book ever written. I wouldn't even put it in the top 10. That said, Mr. Simmons has crafted a chilling read. Right from the introduction, I found myself completely seduced by his fictional Calcutta as a den of unspeakable evil. This has stayed with me after reading the book, and I find that I am now drawn to Calcutta in the same way I was drawn to New England after reading H.P. Lovecraft, just to see if it is really that disturbing.The book is extremely enjoyable to read, with an almost literary quality. The author is deft at handling the demands of exposition within the constraints of the first person narration. A few moments ring untrue, but others (including the climax) are just fantastic. Overall the book has the messy feel of a true-life story, which of course makes it all the more disturbing. Highly recommended!
Rating: 
Summary: One of the best horror novels of all time!
Review: Dan Simmons has compiled a wide body of eclectic work yet no major movie deals, which strikes me as odd. His writing is clear, riveting, and sometimes poetic. Having written horror, science fiction (Hyperion is just plain awesome), mystery, and other types of fiction, Simmons takes some very interesting chances to create an unusual story. The main character is an American writer named Kuczak who journeys to Calcutta, India to find the great Indian poet Das. He decides to take his Indian-born wife and infant daughter with him for reasons which turn out to be both unnecessary and very problematic. It's a natural story insert though as he believes he'll need a translator, but it turns out that translation is the least of his problems. Kuczak and his family feel the oppressing poverty and an air of evil the moment that set foot in Calcutta. It's a city of beggars, misery, class division, and despair that is palpable. All Kuczak wants to do the moment he arrives is to meet M. Das, get his new manuscript of poetry to be published in the states, and leave. Instead he is pulled into a series of events beyond his control and imagination. Along this journey we meet the mysterious Krishna who may or may not be an ally, the elitist Chatterjee who sees nothing wrong with the poverty and violence which he never has to interact with, and then there is the Cult of the goddess Kali with its bizarre and archaic practices and beliefs. What is reality and what is illusion? Kuczak is never certain. There is a great deal of criticism of Indian religion, culture, and beliefs that might be difficult for some Indians to take, but in the book some Indians can't help but despise what Calcutta is and rightly so as the elites have not only allowed the city to become what it is, but actually sustain the poverty and despair. In addition to being a horror story and mystery, this book also attempts to explore many different themes that third world countries face. This novel is filled with unexpected turns, imagery that is sickening to even read about, and is a no holds barred tour de force that will leave the reader drained at the end (and that's the point). This book is better than King and I won't even mention Koontz and is worth checking out along with Simmons' other great horror story, Carrion Comfort. You won't be disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: A great read--up to a point
Review: I read this book mainly to see if I could recognize the Calcutta that I used to know ten years ago. I have no great interest in books on anything supernatural, books involving traveling in time or midgets on horseback constantly fleeing from an unidentified threat in the horizon. The fact that D.R. Koontz expressed his admiration for Song of Kali on the back cover of the Finnish-language edition was a minor put-off for me. I was quite pleasantly surprised. The story takes place some fifteen years earlier than my visits to Calcutta, but I did find it interesting to see how Mr. Simmons had experienced that, to my mind, wonderful Indian city. The Grand Oberoi Hotel, obviously, had not been renovated yet, and the young boy who used to lie on his back on the sidewalk of Chowringhee St. with his head buried into a pothole filled with sand had not been borne yet. The slight tinge of fear brought about by the intense culture shock you are likely to experience when you come to Calcutta for the first time was not there, for me, in the Song of Kali. And in reality, too, it wore off after the few first visits. The dark shadows of throngs of dark people and cows in the night, living on the streets, lit only by open cooking fires on the roadsides, all the way from Dum Dum Airport to Chowringhee St., in a rattling, hot Ambassador speeding through the hot, moist darkness of the night, constantly swerving around potholes or policemen; all this, and the noise and the sounding horns make quite a memorable experience. The story itself was better than I had expected in the sense that nothing supernatural happened, the plot was believable. O.K., the image of Kali came to life once, but that was maybe two pages, at the most. Amrita, the protagonist's wife, had moved to London with her family at the age of seven. Despite this, she knew six or seven Indian languages in addition to the normal European languages and Russian. This kind of exaggeration I find as annoying as Clint Eastwood portraying his clumsy he-man characters as connoisseurs of fine art and classical music--in his later films, that is, the ones he produced himself. The funniest part to read was Muktanandaji's account of how he was initiated into the secret and terrible society of Kali-worshipping criminals. The end flops badly. I got the impression that the last part was written to make Song of Kali a plausible manuscript for a film, complete with the second coming of the murdering thugs.
Rating:
Summary: Atmospheric, Insidious and Terrifying
Review: I am *never* going to Calcutta. Apparently he only spent two and a half days there, but Calcutta must have made one hell of an impression on Dan Simmons. I don't know if his portrayal of it is accurate, but he's presented a dark, dirty, frightening city -- a place I've visited in my nightmares many times since reading "Song of Kali." This is a novel that really stuck with me. In fact, after reading it I had to get rid of my copy, because it freaked me out so much. It's a thoroughly engaging story -- part of why it was so upsetting is that I believed the protagonists (a writer and his wife and baby) so completely. Lots of writers have approached the subject of bad places -- mostly in the form of haunted houses (Shirley Jackon's classic "The Haunting of Hill House," Richard Matheson's "Hell House," and Stephen King's "The Shining" all come to mind). This is the first example of a *city* as bad place that I've seen. It's also the first book in a long time that's really scared me.
Rating:
Summary: Atmospheric and nightmarish.
Review: As many others have noted, this book is quite depressing, but very good. Author Dan Simmons pulls no punches as he describes the dark atmosphere of Calcutta and its inhabitants. Indeed, the very city is a character in itself that permeates the entire book with its madness. The storyline moves forward at a brisk pace as the entire novel unfolds in the first person narrative of its main protagonist, Robert Luczack, a poet. Like in Simmons' later novel, Hyperion, a poem is one of the main plotines in the story, and there are varied literary references. The supernatural elements in the novel take on a very menacing and realistic aspect because the reader gets so involved in the nightmarish surroundings of Calcutta. We enter the mindset of the hindus and the terrible worship of the death goddess Kali.
I give the book 4 stars because the book leaves many unresolved questions (also like in his later novel, Hyperion, but that one at least had a sequel). Dan Simmons may argue, and rightly so, that in real life not all answers are given, but still, a little more insight into the motivation of some of the characters would have been appreciated.
Rating:
Summary: Suspenseful, but too high hopes
Review: Dan Simmons is something unique in the literary world. He writes horror and science-fiction, alright, but I never considered this as something bad. The way he writes it, is brilliant. His "Carrion Comfort" is a masterpiece in every way, and "Summer of Night" and "Prayers to Broken Stones" prove his brilliance too. "Song of Kali" was in that way a disappointment. It's a pretty good horror novel, well written, suspenseful and all, but something was missing. Something "Simmons". The story is about a literature agent who travels to Calcutta to find a manuscript by a famous, but vanished author. On his journey he gets involved in cultural and occult struggles and his life changes dramatically. Right up to the middle of the book, it's also built-up and exposition. It can be read easy, it's not too interesting, but not boring. Then, after 3/4 the suspense somehow increases extremly. From that point on I had to read it all till the end. The end itself was not disappointing, but surprising in another way than usual. "Song of Kali" is a good read, not brilliant, but better than most Koontz and some King.
Rating:
Summary: Tight storyline but Mr. Simmons needs to learn endings
Review: From my title you might assume I am stating that Dan Simmons cannot write. Quite the contrary, Mr. Simmons is an excellent author --- I could only dream of being half the writer he is. But Mr. Simmons needs some help with endings. Now don't jump on me for criticizing this portion of his writing style, but I'm becoming a little concerned (perturbed maybe?) with the way he ends his novels. I started with Hyperion --- which was an absolutely awesome story --- and 'graduated' through that series. Now I've finished Song of Kali and noted the same problems. His endings....well...stink. Sorry, but there's no other way to put it. But let's move on.... Song of Kali is the story of Mr. Robert Luczak and his discovery of evil incarnate growing within Calcutta. The story is basically about loss in the extreme, but retaining one's vision of why we continue on even in the face of overwhelming and insurmountable obstacles. Mr. Luczak initially goes to India on assignment for Harper's Magazine to find out if a famous Poet ---M. Das --- is still alive after years of no one seeing him and being presumed 'dead.' A Poet manuscript has been discovered that fits the writing style of M. Das and Mr. Luczak has to find out the truth as to its origins. He soon falls into the cracks of the black background of Calcutta and discovers death and dismay at every corner. The descriptions of Calcutta are vivid and depressing (just as they should be coming from Mr. Simmons). Mr. Luczak soon learns that this isn't the place to be but seems helpless to leave or get his family to safety. Driven forward by his desire to 'finish his assignment' he is forced into a soul and death struggle once he encounters The Song Of Kali. But even after his return to America (minus a family member --- but I won't tell you who) he seems embittered and lost. His soul is fighting between light and darkness and he is forced to return to Calcutta by the Song. But he can't obey the Song of Kali and forces himself back again to America where he settles down once again. But to what end? The blackhole of Calcutta remains and will it devour the world of light? It appears that only Mr. Simmons know this. Frustrating. Okay, but would I recommend this book. Definitely. Mr. Simmons is a master-storyteller...at least up til the end. This is good literature, however.
Rating:
Summary: Great read, but somewhat disappointing
Review: As a huge fan of Dan Simmons, I expected more from this novel. Song Of Kali is definitely a page-turner, but it does not live up to the comments written on the jacket. It's definitely not the scariest book I've ever read. Not even close. "Disturbing" and "depressing" would be better words. It is masterly written and is fascinating from a cultural point of view and for its brave ventures into the human nature and situations few writers dare touch. But, unfortunately, the last 1/4 is a huge disappointment. You keep turning the pages and wondering, "Where is he going with this?" You are eager and impatient to find out what the whole thing was about... but you never do. The author does not reveal some of the most mysterious characters' identities or their motives. Why not, that escapes me. We're simply left with completely wasted 4 final chapters. If you're a Dan Simmons fan, you have greater chances of enjoying this book. If you aren't, I suggest reading his Hyperion series and Carrion Comfort for starters.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Read, a small caveat
Review: Magnificent wordsmithing by a top young writer. Simmons' lush descriptions and vivid characterizations are up to the challenge of his strong topic. Perhaps the only mild letdown is the principal character's sporadic density---he brings his wife to her native India to assist in translation, but never actually bringing her to any functions where translation might be required. I find it hard to believe that Simmons meant only to use the presence of the wife and child to advance his theme on evil in the world towards the tail end of the tome while ignoring their existence for most of the novel, but that's what he did. A great read, really. I read this on an airplane and had to ask myself a few questions about air rage---especially since I'd been bumped off a full flight and was getting home six hours late on my wife's birthday. There was a point where during that evening when I could relate to Simmons' naive protagonist (psssst...read the book to see what that meant).
Rating:
Summary: OK, but not nearly as good as his other works
Review: I bought the Song of Kali based on my enjoyment of Simmons other works, particulary his Hyperion related books. This book started out great, set the scene, and established all of the items required for a good horror story. The naive protagonist going on an adventure, the warning about the trip, the items near and dear to him that he brings along, the mystery, and the disasterous consequences. Unfortunately Simmons handles all of these items in a formulatic way. The gun that is introduced goes off with disasterous consequences and evil reigns supreme or does it. The Song of Kali is average fare in terms of horror books go. It lacks some origionality, which I think has more to do with this being one of Simmons earlier works than any failure of the author's other works. This book is not a masterpeice of horror, or something that will haunt me in the dead of the night. It does not live up to the jacket comments and reviews. If you like Simmons and are expected the degree of sophistication or origionality provided in his other works. I would take the book out of the libarary rather than purchase it. I would recommend Simmons Science Fiction associated with the Hyperion series.
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