Debra's Reviews > The Terror

This is so good!!!!!!!! What took me so long to read this?????

The men aboard the HHS Terror believe they will be the ones to successfully search for the Northwest Passage. The year is 1845 and the Franklin Expedition is steam-powered and after spending another a second summer in the arctic circle, their rations begin to dwindle, men's spirits begin to plummet and there is no end to the ice, cold and darkness. As the men begin to show signs of scurvy, they also are confronted by poisonous food, crushing ice, and an unseen "terror" on the ice which seems to be plucking them off one by one.

Plus, there is the Inuit/Esquimaux woman who cannot speak but who has survival skills that leave the men in awe and frightened at the same time. She seems to be able to hunt and thrive in a harsh environment. Is she a witch? Can she be trusted? and how is she able to slip away without notice?

When Sir John Franklin meets a gruesome death, Captain Francais Crozier takes charge and leads the men on a last-ditch effort to take their chances and flee on the ice. Will they survive? Will they starve to death? Will scurvy be their downfall or will the real "terror" on the ice be the death of them all?

This is a monster of a book. It's HUGE and cannot be read fast. It is to be savored and read slowly. There are many characters with stories to tell. The first 5--70 pages were a little slow for me but as the story builds, I found my heart racing in fear for the characters (especially when Blanky was desperately trying to get away by climbing higher and higher through the ropes to survive).

Whew!