LOGAN VS. CARRION COMFORT

Logan digs into the late Dan Simmons’ doorstopper Carrion Comfort and finds it to be surprisingly relevant.

TITLE: Carrion Comfort

AUTHOR: Dan Simmons

GENRE: Horror

PAGES: 800

FORMAT: E-book/Paperback/Audiobook

PRICE: $20.10 paperback, $12.99 e-book, $27.54 audiobook

So here we are again. This time I will be taking a slightly different approach to my whimsical zoom in on a book or the world. Mostly because the one I’m wanting to cover takes place in the world we live in. Or at least a version of it. A place where power means everything. Those dynamics quickly heighten our own perception of life, and the world around us. The places, the structures, the control, a world where people are used to the whims of the powerful. 

I wasn’t sure what to think when I began Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons. 

From the prologue set during the holocaust to the dramatic ending this book will keep you reading to the end. The writing is distinct despite this being a block of a tale. Every time you think the stakes can’t get higher, they do.

I believe it is a masterclass in not just character but writing as a whole. Taking the concept of people who can control others and using it to create a fight for power between groups is an insane look at the power discrepancy between the poor and the rich. Between those who can and can’t. It blurs the lines between good and evil and looks at the grey that covers the world. 

Written in multiple perspectives you see the arches all blend to a crescendo that I didn’t see coming. Death awaits around every corner. Then there is the one perspective that caught me off guard, it was the only one in first person, but it worked almost too well. Melania Fuller is one of the ‘mind vampires’ and from the beginning is in the middle of events. Constantly trying to win the chess game with everyone else. The perspectives show us how she stays ahead of the game, no matter what our heroes, and villains throw at her.

Our protagonists, Saul Laski is a Holocaust survivor looking for his tormentor, and Natalie Preston who is looking for revenge for her father, and Bobby Joe Gentry a sheriff who gets caught up in the issues between the entities. All have unique voices that don’t just make you wonder but make you feel like there is no way these poor lowly characters can win over the supernatural. They seem outnumbered, and at points you wonder if the tides can really turn in their favor when they have so much less at their disposal. Especially with the government seeming to be against our protagonists.

Unflinching and terribly brutal at points. You will hate and love the characters, and if you’re like me, it makes you wonder what if there are entities controlling our world from beyond the shadows. The worst thought is we will never know because they are controlling us all, filling us with not just thoughts but feelings. If it was true. 

Five shots echo in the night, as the FBI narrows their grip. Read this book y’all, you won’t regret it.

Logan Patrick has earned an MFA in Creative Writing from Southern New Hampshire University. He is a member of the Horror Writers Association, and author of The Disappearing of Three Forks, and has been included in the Horrorzine. As well as a collection, Marked: Tales of S.T.A.N.G.E., Logan has a background in theater, from acting to directing. As well as a play that is still in development.

PLEASE NOTE: The views and opinions of the staff of Memento Mori Ink do not necessarily represent those of Memento Mori Ink or Crystal Lake Publishing. Thank you for understanding.