Song of Kali

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Summary: What intensity. Written for the reader with a clue...
Review: The first books of Simmons that I read was the Hyperion series, I never knew he had horror background. As a parent it is difficult to read about the death of the baby, but the intensity is remarkable. I definately recommend this for anyone who enjoys horror or scifi.

Rating:
Summary: Overwhelming aura of horror
Review: The atmosphere reeks of horror throughout this story. It's bleak and a couple of little things dangle at the end, but it's also pretty powerful. Good stuff very reminiscient of another master of atmosphere, H.P. Lovecraft. The story within the story is also a nice touch. Truly horrible.

Rating:
Summary: Stuck with me for years!
Review: One of the most disturbing books I've ever read. You'll feel the heat and smell the stench of Calcutta. Dan Simmons really takes you there. Just like the Goddess Kali, it's horrifying and yet too fascinating to just look away. Just like the hero you'll walk into the trap of your own free will and discover too late that you're hooked into something really nasty. Too amazingly good to be a first novel. He won a Fantasy award for it. If you like horror, you've got to check this out!

Rating:
Summary: The worst book I've ever read!
Review: Where can I begin to descibe how awful this book was? How about that they murder the main characters baby in Calcutta to smuggle jewels in it Or that the author goes into an agonizing long description of stealing a bloated foul smelling corpse that was a drowning death. Or The long drawn out tale about a Hindu Goddess named Kali who wants human blood as an offering. Yuck!! That is the best way to descibe this book.

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Summary: Dan Simmons is the new Master of Horror and Sci Fi
Review: I first heard this book being read by Harlan Ellison. It was breathtaking then and continued to be when I read it myself. Whatever genre Dan writes in his style is superb and his stories are insiteful and scary. I'm constantly on the look-out for anything new by Mr. Simmons!

Rating:
Summary: Depressing, disturbing, and SCARY.
Review: Simmon's debut presents an intense character study, not of any human characters, but of the city of Calcutta itself. Indeed, with the notable exception of the narrator's wife, the character developement in this novel is often thin and weak (a problem Simmons almost overcompensates for in his follow up novels). What makes Song Of Kali so effective and terrifying are two things: the attention to detail in describing the sights, smells, oppressive heat, and claustrophobic crowding of the poorest of the poor; and his writing style itself. While the protagonist may be somewhat weak, Simmons makes what happens to him so vivid your disbelief is suspended for you. Even the most horrifying (and supposedly supernatural) events in the story give the reader an out: you don't have to accept a character's description as accurate, not taking a description at face value only hightens the tension and therein lies this novels power.

Rating:
Summary: A spectacular novel, terrifying to the core of your being.
Review: Dan Simmons' "Song of Kali" is one of the most terrifying and horrific novels ever written. It is a book which grabs the very core of your being and takes it on a roller coaster ride in the macbre setting of India's most bloody cult. The prose flows like fine red wine, seeping into your mind with effortless ease, while exerting an influence which is irresistable. Plan on spending a while once you open the cover, as it will be nearly impossible to put it down once you have heard the the opening strains of the deadly song of Kali.

Rating:
Summary: Song of Kali is a dark, depressing novel.
Review: Dan Simmons does great atmosphere.
He presents a disturbing picture of Calcutta in Song of Kali. The city's evil, its oppressiveness, is palpable. He casts a fascinating, if thoroughly unflattering, light on Calcutta.
Unfortunately, Simmons' characters do not come to life as much as his settings, and we are left with mediocre characters walking on a great stage.
Song of Kali is a depressing book filled with mostly unlikeable characters (although the wife of the protagonist is a notable exception). The story and the setting were interesting enough to keep me turning pages in spite of my distaste.
Overall, Song of Kali is an unpleasant, yet unforgettable experience.

Rating:
Summary: A Scary Mystery with an Unhappy Ending
Review: A journalist is sent off to India to collect a new epic poem written by a famous poet supposedly dead for eight years. Expecting something scary, I was sorely disappointed. Song of Kali is more proof that the judges of the World Fantasy Award just don't have time to read. Granted, the writing is clear and precise; Simmons isn't lacking technical skill. In fact, the book isn't bad, it just can't be called fantasy, and isn't quite horror. So what is it? It's a scary mystery with an unhappy ending.

Rating:
Summary: More haunting than scary
Review: There are a couple of things about "Song of Kali" by Dan Simmons that you should know. First, this is not a horror book. There are scary moments and very disturbing actions, but this book won't have you sleeping with the lights on. Second, there is an ending to this book, maybe not the ending or closure people want... but there is an ending. Granted, loose ends exists and I found myself trying to make sense of them after the book was done, but I tend to like that in a story. Third and final, this was Dan Simmons' first book. In my opinion it's not his best, but for a first effort it's quite extraordinary. It's a smart haunting tale that sticks with you.

The story is about a writer given his first big break. He is to go to Calcutta and bring back the latest poem by the famous M.Das, a poet who had died several years earlier. Bobby, our writer, travels to India with his wife and baby to obtain the manuscript and shed light on the mystery of how a supposed dead writer is still writing. It's to be a brief trip but problems arises and the horrors of Calcutta eventually overwhelm Bobby and his family.

The book takes place in the 70's, and I'm assuming here, has little to do with the Calcutta of today. The city Simmons paints becomes the main character or maybe the main villain. Calcutta is a horror. It is a pit of despair and disease. It is also played as an offering to the Goddess Kali. In western literature we often have fun with our "devil", playing him as an egomaniac, a trickster, a cartoon fool, a manipulator or a beast. After reading "Song of Kali" I am quite confident that Kali could kick our devil's shinny red butt. She is pure darkness, darkness that strikes like a cobra. Simmons uses most of his time slowly building the suspense of this book by painstaking building Bobby's contempt for Calcutta. When it reaches its zenith, odds are you will gasp; but the real ending is in the hope that Bobby and his family finds afterwards.