Search - The Terror

This book is rather hard to define and transcends genres. It is a fictionalized account of what might have happened to the Franklin Expedition which disappeared while exploring the Arctic in 1846-1848 in search of the North West Passage.

It starts with the crews of the two ships HMS Erebus and HMS Terror already stranded and ice bound. The narrative jumps around in time and perspective. We are offered events from the perspectives of Francis Crozier, Captain of the Terror, Harry Goodsir, surgeon aboard the Erebus and Sir John Franklin, commander of the expedition, among others. This can make it a bit difficult to follow the storyline but adds some richness as well because we are able to understand some of the different motivations and desires that drove these men to take on such a dangerous challenge.

To complicate matters further the crews are being stalked by a mysterious (and possibly otherworldly) beast that is killing them at random. Their food stores are determined to be tainted and there is no game for them to hunt. All of which adds additional strain and already stressed crew.

Even without the supernatural stalker, this tale would have been worth reading. I think Simmons offers an interesting and realistic perspective of how events may have played out. The twin themes of patriotism and religion also weave their way throughout the storyline. Most of these men truly believed with every fiber of their being that England was blessed by God and they had a right, if not an obligation, to venture forth in search of ways to make the Empire even greater. This confidence (even arrogance) may have been all that sustained these men during some of the harsh times they endured. Their ability to maintain order, keep their spirits up and keep on going despite the obstacles that faced them is genuinely awe inspiring.

This book is long and sometimes it can be a bit hard to slog through all the verbiage but at the end of the book I felt it was a rich and detailed story worth telling and worth reading.

Rarely do I give up on a book, but I did give up on this one at about 300 pages in. I kept hoping it would pick up, but it did not interest me. Perhaps someone who enjoys tales of swashbuckling sailors at sea (Patrick O'brian anyone?) and murderous creatures (Stephen King fans?) would enjoy it, but I did not find any of the characters interesting enough to care what happened to them.

The book was well-written, but I found it difficult to suspend my disbelief long enough to be terrified by The Terror.

This Dark historical fiction novel is very rich in detail. Its nearly 800 pages provide an in-depth look at many of the Erebus and Terror officers, sailors and marines. The book focuses on many individual characters, and the chapters are told from varying points of view. It is a well-told, straight-forward story that is not confusing.

However, The Terror is not a fast read, and I think the author intended the story to be lengthy and slow moving. It exemplifies the long, arduous treks that the ship crews took across the ice. Sometimes it took them a full day to walk less than a mile. The length of the book is also a metaphor for the long wait aboard the Erebus and Terror ships for the coming of spring, a glimpse of the sun, and the breaking up of ice. It is a metaphor for the long, painful process of starvation and scurvy that threatens to kill the crews long before the -80 degree temperatures can.

I read in a review of this book that the ending was disappointing and unbelievable. I completely disagree. The Terror provided the best possible fictional ending for a real-life polar expedition that was never seen again.

I have mixed feelings about this book. There were parts of it that I really enjoyed, and parts of it that I really disliked. I found myself skimming a lot (something I don't usually do). I think it was the wordiness; the author tended to use 50 words to describe something where 15-20 could easily have sufficed. I liked the different points of view in the storytelling, for the most part, but would have enjoyed "Dr. Goodsir's" part of the narrative much more had the author not written it in diary-style with all of the bizarre capitalizations. Additionally, the "Terror" beast, along with its origins and actions, is never fully or adequately explained (to my personal satisfaction). Overall, this is a decently good read, but rough in many spots.

Thrilling survival story of a Brittish exploration crew seeking out the Northwest Passage in the 1800s. Draws you in with great characters, plot lines, mystery, suspense, and a fascinating setting. However, there's a point where this novel turns 180 degrees and becomes a different book. Very disconnecting.

3 stars out of 5