Dave Edmunds's Reviews > Carrion Comfort

"I despair at the rise of modern violence. I truly give in to despair at times, that deep, futureless pit of despair which Hopkins called carrion comfort."

4.5 stars out of five. Carrion Comfort is a highly original, Bram Stoker award winning, action-horror. The plot centres around the battle between the forces of good and evil, in this case psychic, mind controlling vampires. Does that sound awesome or what?

First off this book does have a glaring problem which prevented me giving it a full five marks. Even though I had a blast and really, really enjoyed it. This is an epic book and therein lies the problem. Pacing. This book is long. Does it need to be that long? Almost certainly not. This book could have lost over a hundred pages and it would have actually improved the reading experience. A book should only be this big (almost one thousand pages) if it needs to be. There's no way Carrion Comfort did and I think Simmons got carried away and didn't really go to town on the editting phase. I've read some huge books lately (Swan Song, Pillars of the Earth, Speaks the Nightbird) and you didn't notice the size of the book. This one you did! A good editting would have upped the pace and focus of the book and made this a fast paced, gripping seven hundred page thrill ride, which is a rare thing and would have made this a very easy five stars.

"All humans feed on violence, on the small exercises of power over another, but few have tasted—as we have—the ultimate power."

But that's my major gripe out the way! Did I enjoy this book. Hell yeah! The characters are fantastic, the action immense and the back story is some of the best I've ever had in a horror novel. It contains flashbacks to the Holocaust and these parts are as engrossing as they are harrowing and really get you invested in the characters.

The villains in Carrion Comfort are some of the best I've come across in a horror book. As unique as they are terrifying. You'll never look at your grandmother the same way again lol



The book also contains a little bit of chess as one of those villains is obsessed with it. Kind of like a nightmare version of the Queen's Gambit. So if you like the game of Kings you'll no doubt enjoy that. I know I did.

So all in all is it worth it? Most definitely. I'd read it again at some point. But I would love to see an editted version.