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The Terror by Dan Simmons

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Telynor
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Post by Telynor » Thu January 22nd, 2009, 9:15 pm

[quote=""Leyland""]I thought 'rats in a maze' and why did they expose themselves to clearly present danger like that. Of course, being stuck in the Arctic ice can do some real pyschological damage and an 'ice street costume party' is a way to lift spirits.

I think the costumed recreation of the 'bear' decapitating the officer from an earlier part of the book was a signal that mutiny might be brewing. I know the event was inspired by the American author's story, but don't know if that's what you're referring to as the 'story behind it'.

It was a gripping section for sure.[/quote]

Yep. The author is Poe, and the story is one of the more famous and grisly ones -- it was turned into a film starring Vincent Price. A very intense sequence -- after reading so much about various shades of grey and white and cold, it was something to 'see' in my mind so much colour at once.

But then, finding out what the 'terror' was, that simply blew me away at the end. It sounded crazy and very implausible, but it made sense in the greater arc of things.

I saw an interesting bit of trivia on the news the other day -- did you know that the president's desk in the Oval Office is made from the timbers of a ship, HMS Resolute, that was lost in the Arctic, and was rescued by the Americans? Queen Victoria had the desk made from the ship, and sent to the President as a thank you present.

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Leyland
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Post by Leyland » Fri January 23rd, 2009, 12:30 am

I had read about the origin of the Pres's desk before. Very cool.

I was very surprised about the origin of the terror - and yes, Simmons came up with a superb story at the end that made crazy good sense. The region and its mythologies had been the sole domain of the native tribes for so long and then pulling the last survivor of the expedition so naturally into that world to start a new life was genius. Loved it!

I'm trying not to give too much away about the fate of certain characters, so hopefully this post doesn't seem too odd.
We are the music makers, And we are the dreamers of dreams ~ Arthur O'Shaughnessy, Ode

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Leo62
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Post by Leo62 » Fri January 23rd, 2009, 8:27 pm

Just got my copy from the library and read the first few pages :D My god, its the size of a small house! :eek:

annis
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Post by annis » Sun January 25th, 2009, 3:40 am

"The Terror" sounds really interesting. Who could forget those images of the frozen mummies from Sir John Franklin's expedition? I think the consensus about their fate is quite mundane, though. Hair on the back of the neck of mummies examined revealed that they had ingested large quantities of lead during the expedition. Later, it was discovered that the 8,000 tin cans they took with them were improperly soldered, which meant that the lead could leak into the food. Lead poisoning leads to mental weakness and death. These cans quite probably contributed to some of the crews' costly errors in judgment. It was their food which did for the poor sods.

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Ludmilla
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Post by Ludmilla » Sun January 25th, 2009, 1:42 pm

Simmons addresses the corrupted food issue in The Terror, as well.

Interesting about the President's desk. I wasn't sure whether that was true or urban legend. I remember it being mentioned in the film, National Treasure (I think the 2nd one).

Has anyone read Andrea Barrett's The Voyage of the Narwhal? It lacks the horror elements of Simmons' novel, but is another one of those books inspired by the Franklin expedition. Really delves into the psychology of why men go on these expeditions and how it affects them after they return.

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Post by annis » Sun January 25th, 2009, 6:28 pm

Re the President's desk- this desk is actually known as the Resolute desk and looks to be the size of a small ship!
Picture and history here

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Leo62
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Post by Leo62 » Wed January 28th, 2009, 12:53 pm

I'm about 200 pages in, and I'm really, really impressed so far. Love the characters, the details, the descriptions of the ice & cold, the very effective sense of psychological and physical menace.

Only problem though, I think I might have guessed the ending...Simmons pulled a similar time-loop trick in Endymion. Just hope I'm wrong. :(

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Leyland
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Post by Leyland » Wed January 28th, 2009, 3:11 pm

I haven't read Endymion, Leo, but I'm pretty sure you're wrong about Terror's ending. I thought I had a clue not far into the novel and was caught very off guard about the beast's origins right at the end.
We are the music makers, And we are the dreamers of dreams ~ Arthur O'Shaughnessy, Ode

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Leo62
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Post by Leo62 » Wed January 28th, 2009, 7:01 pm

[quote=""Leyland""]I haven't read Endymion, Leo, but I'm pretty sure you're wrong about Terror's ending. I thought I had a clue not far into the novel and was caught very off guard about the beast's origins right at the end.[/quote]

Thanks Leyland :) I hope you're right...still enjoying the book anyway - in fact I can't put it down which is a nuisance as its bleedin heavy :p

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Leo62
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Post by Leo62 » Sat January 31st, 2009, 3:40 pm

[quote=""Telynor""]Yep. The author is Poe, and the story is one of the more famous and grisly ones -- it was turned into a film starring Vincent Price. A very intense sequence -- after reading so much about various shades of grey and white and cold, it was something to 'see' in my mind so much colour at once.
[/quote]

Just read that bit - wasn't it amazing? :eek:

I think the Poe story is Masque of the Red Death. Funny, when I was reading the scene, before they even mentioned Poe, I was thinking of the movie...when he was describing all the different coloured rooms I thought hey that's like "Masque of the Red Death" where's Vincent Price?! - so when I got to the Poe reference it totally freaked me :p

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