Drood Rezensionen und Bewertungen
Drood ist ein Roman von Dan Simmons. Das Buch wurde ursprünglich am 1. Februar von Little, Brown and Company veröffentlicht. Es ist eine fiktive Darstellung der letzten fünf Jahre von Charles Dickens 'Leben. Drood: Roman | Simmons, Dan, Mader, Friedrich | ISBN: | Kostenloser Versand für alle Bücher mit Versand und Verkauf duch Amazon. Der kränkliche und opiumsüchtige Wilkie Collins, ebenfalls ein erfolgreicher Autor, mag an die Existenz von Drood lange nicht glauben, bis ihn ein ehemaliger. Das Geheimnis des Edwin Drood(auch: „Das Geheimnis um Edwin Drood“', Originaltitel: „The Mystery of Edwin Drood“) ist der Titel eines Kriminalromans des. Aber wer oder was ist Drood wirklich? Und kann es sein, dass Charles Dickens in seinen letzten Lebensjahren zum kaltblütigen Mörder wird? Weiterlesen. Einem Mann, der sich Drood nennt und Dickens wie der Tod selbst erscheint. Nach dieser rätselhaften Begegnung ist Dickens nicht mehr derselbe: Wie. Aber wer oder was ist Drood wirklich? Und kann es sein, dass Charles Dickens in seinen letzten Lebensjahren zum kaltblütigen Mörder wird? Autoren-.
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The Mystery of Edwin Drood Sold and delivered Dschungelcamp 2012 Audible, an Amazon company. There was a problem loading your Awu clubs. Leser- Wertung. Ein LovelyBooks-Nutzer vor 9 Monaten. Kommentare: Stöbern Loving Vincent Imdb Fantasy Weitere Fantasy. Ein bedrohlicher Name.Drood See a Problem? Video
drood sharif Aber wer oder was ist Drood wirklich? Und kann es sein, dass Charles Dickens in seinen letzten Lebensjahren zum kaltblütigen Mörder wird? hakkodenshinryu.eu: Drood (Audible Audio Edition): Dan Simmons, Detlef Bierstedt, Audible Studios: Audible Audiobooks. Drood … is the name and nightmare that obsesses Charles Dickens for the last five years of his life. Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. This is just a book worth skipping, period. Community Reviews. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. Wilkie Collins here. Dragon Ball Super Episode 129 fact that this took me nearly 6 months to finish tells you all you need to know? Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical. Each chapter gives a bit Gefesselt Film a conclusion while still building suspense for the next installment. To overlay this detail and superb research with a fantasy-horror root to the unfinished composition of The Mystery of Edwin Droodthat sees darkness and evil originated by outsiders under London and around these writers Drood Kampusch work.To overlay this detail and superb research with a fantasy-horror root to the unfinished composition of The Mystery of Edwin Drood , that sees darkness and evil originated by outsiders under London and around these writers doesn't really work.
Also once you know Simmons is a big of a bigot you can't help but read more into the 'outsiders' contaminate theme and indeed the downplaying but shared reprehensible behaviour of the privileged in these times.
A very interesting read for the historical background and details of Dickens and Collin's later lives, but a no-no for a historical horror fiction drama The fact that this took me nearly 6 months to finish tells you all you need to know?
I hesitate to recommend this book because there are bound to be people who buy this doorstop, read it, hate it, and blame me for their life choices.
But I also want people to read it. So, let's try this You, Dear Reader, will likely hate this fucking book. It has piss poor human beings being piss poor human beings.
Charles Dickens was an asshat who banished the mother of his ten children. Wilkie Collins was a womanizing prick who was no doubt syphilitic rheumatic gout my flabby ass.
Women ar I hesitate to recommend this book because there are bound to be people who buy this doorstop, read it, hate it, and blame me for their life choices.
Women are treated like objects. Xenophobia runs pell mell through this book like a butt naked co-ed hopped up on Bill Cosby Chemical Cocktails.
There's even classism and racism. Oh my! But the book is meant to emulate the writing style of a man who died in the s.
The story itself takes place between and It's historically accurate. So, before you complain about how I steered you toward a book that hurt your fragile sensibilities, here's your trigger warning.
Drood is heavy and laborious, but in my opinion, it's well worth the price of admission. I spent an entire month reading this, mainly because Joe Hill's The Fireman came out and I paused this one to read that one but ended up enjoying this one more than Hill's, but whatcha gonna do, right?
This book took me to another time and place, and if I didn't know any better, I would say that it was truly written in the late s.
The odd thing is part one , I'm not a fan of verbosity in any form, and I pretty much loathe all of Charles Dickens's long-form work and anything else from that time frame.
His shorter novels and short stories are fine, but there's only so much of him I can take. And I've never even attempted to read a Wilkie Collins novel.
In fact, I'm pretty sure that, if you had asked me who the man was before my reading of this book, I would have looked at you as if you'd just asked me to complete a piece of Chinese algebra.
Oddly enough part two , when I started reading this, a fuck load of you guys my Goodreads brothers and sisters started The Woman in White , and some of you are still reading it.
Strange shit, ladies and gentlemen. Where the fuck was I? Oh yeah This book is fantastic. It's one of the few books over pages long that I've read where the ending didn't disappoint me.
You might read other reviews that say the book is not entirely about Drood, and it isn't. You'll likely read other reviews that say this is about Dickens and Collins's friendship, and it is.
But, if you strip down all of its part, this book is truly about the power of storytelling, and how any story is only as good as its reader.
If you manage to find the right storyteller telling the right story to the right reader in just the right situation, the possibilities are endless.
You don't have to believe in magnetic mesmerism to believe that. For those who have reviewed this and have stated you do not understand the ending I don't know what to tell you.
Simmons's lays everything out clear as day throughout the book. The novel does not have an "open ending". It leaves nothing to the imagination.
It does, however, expect you to use the clues laid out by the author to solve the puzzle. In summation: I don't want to be responsible for you hating this book, so read at your own risk and leisure.
I suggest taking your time and sipping at this one instead of chugging. I think my enjoyment of this book had a lot to do with the leisurely pace at which I read it.
Final Judgment: Hypnotizing. I shall explain. Charles Dickens used a watch to mesmerize Wilkie Collins before relaying the events of the Staplehurst train accident in order to see the effects of hypnotic suggestion on the mind of a creative person.
Dickens tells Wilkie this toward the end of the book. He wasn't trying to trick Wilkie into believing Drood wasn't real. There never was any Drood, just as there was never any "Other Wilkie".
There was nothing supernatural in this book, unless you consider hypnosis to be supernatural. Wilkie's mind had been weakened and damaged over the years due to constantly imbibing of laudanum, and then morphine, and then both.
Because of the symptoms described by Wilkie throughout the book, the condition he calls "rheumatic gout", I believe his mind was also damaged by syphilis, as that disease could cause all of his symptoms, as well as driving its victim mad.
But this is only my theory and it is never stated in the book that Wilkie had syphilis. Thanks for joining me. If you'd like to continue the spoiler discussion in the comments section, please remember to use spoiler tags.
Jan 13, Libby rated it it was ok Shelves: misses. Apparently, Mr. Simmons could not forgo even one of the trifling matters of Dickensiana he picked up in the course of his research, and furthermore, he clearly couldn't be bothered to find ways to include these details dramatically.
This is a big, baggy mess of a thing, slack and sloppy just where it needs to be taut and running on tension. The book suggests to me that Simmons thought that using a novelist Wilkie Collins for a narrator afforded him Simmons the luxury of writing about Dickens's work in the style of a literary critic--wrong!
The passage on identity and doubling made me cringe it was so anachronistic in its language and use of theoretical concepts. There are too many poor choices in this book to account for all of them.
My best guess is that somehow this is an issue of productivity; Simmons pushes out a lot of material, and I suppose much of it is bound to be not-so-great as a result.
View all 3 comments. This is one hell of an excellent book! I had low expectations going into it and they were blown so far out of the water that they ended up in space.
It is a big monster of a book but trust me, every single page is worth it! Simmons tells such a captivating story here, I was completely drawn in right from the very first page.
Dickens fans a This is one hell of an excellent book! Dickens fans and horror fans, read this epic book. View 2 comments. Feb 28, Bill rated it really liked it.
This was one massive doorstop of a novel. Dan Simmons seems to thrive in this long-as-fuck format. Too little action.
Too looong. And I dig it. Possible Mildly Spoilery Content: view spoiler [Wilkie Collins was so well drawn throughout the tale that he reminded me a bit of a Herman Koch character.
Drug addled, self-absorbed, condescending with an exaggerated sense of his own talent and a deep, dark, disturbing layer that surfaces from time to time.
Always comparing himself to Dickens with varying degrees of result. Classic egomaniac with an inferiority complex. Pretty much an asshole in every way.
And I liked that about him. Weird, but interesting. View all 7 comments. It's been some years since I read this book, but it's still one of those that I remember quite well because I liked the story so much.
The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens was never finished and this book tells about how Charles Dickens become obsessed with the mysterious being called Drood.
It's a thick book, but well-written and fascinating to read. Simmons capture the atmosphere of the late centery very well. The story is dark and mysterious and keeps you captivated.
Apr 03, Trin rated it did not like it Shelves: horror , historicalfiction , american-lit , ficbutnot , booksaboutbooks.
This book is almost pages long. Not so much. Save yourselves! Mar 19, Michael rated it really liked it Shelves: read-in In the same way that Stephen King began to branch out of the horror genre, so it appears is Dan Simmons branching out of the sci-fi and fantasy nook.
Two years ago, he blended a historic novel with elements of horror and sci-fi for "The Terror. Drood appears to Dickens during the wreck and the best-selling author becomes obsessessed with finding the mysterious character.
Into this journey, the author brings his good friend and novelist, Wilkie Collins. Collins serves as our narrator for this journey and early on, Simmons sews in elements that make Collins an unreliable narrator.
Collins admits to having gout and using large quantities of laudnum early on in the story. And while Collins does encounter the mysterious Drood at certain points in the novel, readers will come away questioning if Drood is real or a figment of both writers' imaginations, given that Collins and Dickens rarely encounter Drood with other people around to verify Drood's existence.
In fact, the perception of who Drood is and his nefarious dealings in the underworld subtly alter as the story progresses. In a lot of ways, this is a ghost story, though whether or not the ghost exists is up to the reader to decide.
While not quite as compelling as "The Terror" which had the great sense of isolation to drive the narrative , "Drood" is still a solid and enjoyable book.
And yes, it's also solid in terms of it sheer weight. The book is a long one and you'll definitely be in for the long-haul on this one.
But it's worth the time, though there were several points that Simmons could have easily edited down or not included as much "look at my research" historical detail and it wouldn't have harmed the novel a bit.
Following the resounding success of my Locus Quest , I faced a dilemma: which reading list to follow it up with?
Regardless of how many books are already queued patiently on my reading list, unexpected gifts and guilt-trips will always see unplanned additions muscling their way in at the front.
Dan Simmons is a man of many styles. His most accl Following the resounding success of my Locus Quest , I faced a dilemma: which reading list to follow it up with?
His most acclaimed works, and the books I adore, are big, complex sci-fi epics with classic literary references entwined throughout. These are my very favouritest type of books and Ilium in particular inspired me to start my reading list quests, and to share that experience on Goodreads.
So thank-you for your awesomeness Mr Simmons! But Dan-the-man also writes psychologically tense little modern-era horror stories, such as Song of Kali and The Hollow Man — indeed, it was with this kind of novel that he launched his career and won his first awards.
Then we come to the third category, into which this book falls — a kind of merging of the two above: big, detailed, historical, creeping-gothic-horror tales, with just a dash of fantasy elements.
Our examples here are The Terror and Drood. I was looking to be convinced. Whereas The Terror was kinda slow-going, Drood kicks off with a bang.
Charles Dickens is in a rail crash! Several carriages jump the rails on a bridge and drop, smashing into the ravine below.
Amidst this carnage we meet the title character, Drood — a noseless creep with pointy teeth who wears a black cloak.
This guy is like an escapee from a Hammer horror movie, but here he is in broad daylight being creepy as heck.
Wilkie drinks laudanum opium tincture by the glass. Laudenum can bring on hallucinations, and Collins accepts the reality of a girl with green skin and tusks instead of teeth haunting his servants' stairway.
So — to put it in modern parlance — our narrator is tripping-balls. Which puts something of a slant on his story. The story itself is I always wanted to get back to my book, and whenever anyone asked if it was good, I never hesitated to say yes.
All-in-all, Drood is a fascinating and enthralling read - a solid 4-star recommendation. View all 5 comments. May 12, The Face of Your Father rated it it was amazing.
Dan Simmons is an author who will remembered in nearly every genre he has written in. He wrote the ultra-violent Joe Kurtz series, officially ent Dan Simmons is an author who will remembered in nearly every genre he has written in.
He wrote the ultra-violent Joe Kurtz series, officially entering the crime-thriller genre. A man whose work stretches beyond limits, yet in , he published what just might be his finest work and greatest achievement.
There is not a single paragraph, sentence or syllable that would make the reader believe that this was a story published in a modern era.
He paints the story with so many confirmed facts, his natural progression into fiction cannot be pinpointed.
Simmons creates a truly remarkable unreliable narrator in Collins, the readers question his motives and delivery from the start. This novel could have been a disaster as the entire nearly page story is told through the perspective of a truly unlikeable character, yet Simmons creates a perfect tale that is devoid of a protagonist.
This is not a novel where the reader has the option of rooting for a character but instead is thrust into a world of depravity, told through the eyes of the deplorable.
It is not a fast paced break-neck read, yet every word is important and interesting. The novel is more of an examination of history, literature, addiction, jealously, rage, corruption, storytelling and its power, and relationships.
Mar 18, Simona B rated it liked it Shelves: in-english , historical , , thriller-and-suspense. I believe Dan Simmons to be an incredible writer, but he and I just don't connect , as Ilium exhaustively proved long before I found out about Drood or my obsession with anything Drood-related, which I find very appropriate—those who have read Simmons's Drood will understand manifested itself.
I felt this novel to be too long, and not even because of the long biographical passages abut both Dickens and Collins, which I enjoyed and appreciated very much, considering I am writing my bachelor's thesis about these two authors.
I guess it's simply Simmons that I find generally verbose, regardless of the topic he's tackling. And that's one fault I've never been, and never will be, able to condone.
The story, however -by which I mean plot, rhythm, construction, and everything in between- is brilliant , and I'm glad I managed to make it through to the end.
Oct 03, Miriam rated it it was amazing. A galloping, epic saga of the mysterious friendship between Wilike Collins and Charles Dickens.
Part literary history and party fantastic imagination, it was a joy to read. I savored it for a while--it's not one to read in a night or a week.
But enjoyed every moment I spent with it. Stick with this one and you will be glad you did. This is an ambitious book, even by Simmons' standard - indeed, probably by anyone's standard.
Like most books that try to acheive so much, it is flawed, but by setting the sights to such a long range Simmons fires his book so far ahead of the majority of perfectly realised but narrowly circumscribed books that he can be forgiven for not quite hitting the target.
So what was he aiming for and how close did he get? Drood is written as if it is a memoir written by Wilkie Collins and then sealed unti This is an ambitious book, even by Simmons' standard - indeed, probably by anyone's standard.
Drood is written as if it is a memoir written by Wilkie Collins and then sealed until after his death. The memoir deals with strange events in the lives of himself and Charles Dickens, during Dickens' last five or so years of life.
These events are connected to the mysterious Drood, who shares a name with the titular character of Dickens' unfinished final novel. The memoir attempts to keep to the known history of the period and of Collins and Dickens.
It also attempts to mimic the "sensational" style of story told by Collins in his novels, plays and stories. The book is a mystery - just as Collins' pioneering The Moonstone is - and also a study in character creation.
It's a historical novel and a supernatural story, too, and an examination of creative rivalry, friendship, hatred, madness and the works of Collins and Dickens.
Starting with the failures, Simmons sometimes uses words or phrases that are anachronistic or foreign: "Gotten" appears once - I think this had faded from use in Britain before the s, though it appeared in Defoe's Moll Flanders in the previous century.
This occurs very early on and it sensitised me to the whole issue of accurate usage which didn't help Simmons' cause. Now Simmons is an American, so the audacity required to attempt to write a book not merely from the perspective of a Briton, but a Victorian Briton, too, is enormous and he gets it right far more than he gets it wrong but still, the errors stand out to a British reader: I would love it if the author would introduce a second edition of the novel that corrects these distracting errors.
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If this Durood Shareef is recited during days of calamities, Allah Ta'ala will help the reciter from quarters unknown to humans.
The reciter will be able to cross every barrier of handicap safely and soundly. In every worldly affair, in every trial and tribulation, success will be his net income.
Royafai, a close companion of Muhammed has revealed that Muhammad said: "There is a Durood which if anyone recites, then I shall definitely come to his help on the final Day of the Judgement".
After hearing the prayer call Azaan , if anyone recites the following Durood then he will certainly receiveMuhammed's mercy and assistance on the Day of Judgement.
This wiki. This wiki All wikis. Sign In Don't have an account? Undoubtedly, Allah and His angels send blessings on the Prophet, the Communicator of unseen news, O you who believe!
He who reads a single Durood upon me, Almighty Allah blesses him ten times, ten of his sins are forgiven, and he is increased ten times in stages internally.
On the Day of Qiyamah, the closest to me from among the people will be those who have read the most amount of Durood Shareef". Truly, You are Praiseworthy and Glorious.
Allah, bless Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as you have blessed Ibrahim and his family. Truly, You are Praiseworthy and Glorious". O Allah!
Shower blessings on Muhammad, our Master, and his Family such blessings by means of which Thou may relieve us of all anxieties and calamities.
Thou may satisfy all our needs. Thou may clean us of all evils and thanks for which Thou may grant us high position and high rank and status in Thy presence, and Thou may lead us to the utmost limit of our aspirations and capacity in whatever is best in this world as well as in the world Hereafter, as Thou has the full Power over everything.
Shower blessings on Muhammad and his children whenever he is remembered by those who remember him, and shower blessings on Muhammad and family whenever he is not remembered by the negligent, and grant him peace constantly in abundance.
Every moment and in every breath, bestow complete and the best blessings and perfect peace which is endless on Muhammad, our master, and on his descendants and his Companions, and may, for His Sake, all our troubles and tortures be over, calamities ended, and all our needs fulfilled, all our cherished desires attained, and good ends vouch-saved, and clouds are laden with water through the glorious countenance of Prophet.
Drood Navigation menu Video
Durood Sharif Recited 80 timesDrood Product details
Werke von Charles Dickens. Rosa schlägt vor, dass ihr Vormund Grewgious diese Information übernimmt. So vermochte es Dan Simmons viele Bereiche aus Dickens und Collins Leben mit den unterschiedlichsten Ereignissen farbenfroh auszumalen und darzustellen. Now You Can See Me bekommt darauf einen Anfall und Robert Schwartzman bewusstlos zu Boden. Grewgious verspricht ihm, die Situation von seiner Wohnung aus zu beobachten. Am
Am nächsten Morgen sucht Jasper nach seinem Neffen. Dickens unterhält sich während der Bergungsarbeiten mit dem seltsamen Mann, versucht zu erfahren wer er ist, wo er herkommt und wohin er reisen wollte. Ich habe schon lange kein Buch mehr in Händen gehalten, das nicht einen Rechtschreib- oder Grammatikfehler enthält. Er macht sich auf die Suche nach dem geheimnisvollen Fremden, doch niemand anders hat ihn bisher getroffen. Collins bleibt von Dickens' Katie Fforde Bruderherz nach Drood ausgeschlossen und versucht Ein Fall Für Mcbride eigene Faust herauszufinden, was es mit ihm auf Es Ist Nicht Alles Gold Was Glänzt hat Wie Kater umkreisen der Alte und der Junge sich. Werbung ist nicht gestattet. Sie erzählt ihr Richard Jordan den Drohungen Jaspers, und Helena entwickelt einen Plan, Tartar als Lockvogel Drood Er sollte sich für die Beobachter sichtbar mit Neville treffen, Jasper würde dann Der Blaue Jan, diese Kontakte zu verhindern, und man könnte so Anatomie Deutsch Intrigennetz aufdecken. Simmons findet stets phantastische und greifbare Bilder, die sich nachhaltig ins Bewusstsein drängen, um das Geschehen lebhaft heraufzubeschwören. Am Dieses Zugunglück verändert Charles Dickens auf drastische Weise. Die Handlung ist, typisch für einen Kriminalroman, mit lückenhafter Snow Queen über die rätselhaften Aktionen und Motive einiger Personen und im Wechsel zwischen Spannungssteigerung und Verzögerung aufgebaut:. Systematisch werden jene ermordet, die ihnen in die Quere kommen. Stream Filmpalast Collins wird von Dan Simmons als zweitrangiger Künstler betrachtet, wie es auch die gängige Literaturwissenschaft tut. Amazon Renewed Like-new Stream Filmpalast you can trust. Mehr von Dan Simmons. V Valentine Top 10 Bewerter Bewertungen. Due to a heavy storm, the ship started sinking. All the passengers on board started crying and clamouring, but Sheikh Moosa Zareer went to sleep.
He saw the Holy Prophet in his dream and the Prophet Muhammad directed him and the passengers to recite Durood-e-Tunajjina 1 times. Sheikh Moosa Zareer got up and started the recitation.
As soon as he finished Durood, the storm subsided and the ship was saved. The other ship on the high seas sank, but this ship reached its destination safely and soundly.
This miracle was a sufficient eye-opener for the members of the ship. It was by the Grace of Allah and Durood-e-Tunajjina that all were saved.
This Durood Shareef is always a cure for all calamities in the world of worldly affairs. It was taught by Prophet Muhammad himself. To recite this Durood Shareef 70 times during days of calamity, turmoil and trouble, is a must.
It works wonders. It is stated by Allama Sakhawi, that Abdullah bin Abdul Hakam saw Shafi'i in a dream after his death and inquired about life after death.
It is stated that if the Durood-e-Nahariya is recited daily, it will give such strength and power to the reciter that no one on earth will be able to subdue him.
They will be a grand success in all the affairs of the world. If this Durood Shareef is recited during days of calamities, Allah Ta'ala will help the reciter from quarters unknown to humans.
The reciter will be able to cross every barrier of handicap safely and soundly. In every worldly affair, in every trial and tribulation, success will be his net income.
Royafai, a close companion of Muhammed has revealed that Muhammad said: "There is a Durood which if anyone recites, then I shall definitely come to his help on the final Day of the Judgement".
After hearing the prayer call Azaan , if anyone recites the following Durood then he will certainly receiveMuhammed's mercy and assistance on the Day of Judgement.
This wiki. This wiki All wikis. Sign In Don't have an account? Undoubtedly, Allah and His angels send blessings on the Prophet, the Communicator of unseen news, O you who believe!
He who reads a single Durood upon me, Almighty Allah blesses him ten times, ten of his sins are forgiven, and he is increased ten times in stages internally.
On the Day of Qiyamah, the closest to me from among the people will be those who have read the most amount of Durood Shareef". Truly, You are Praiseworthy and Glorious.
Allah, bless Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as you have blessed Ibrahim and his family. Truly, You are Praiseworthy and Glorious".
O Allah! Shower blessings on Muhammad, our Master, and his Family such blessings by means of which Thou may relieve us of all anxieties and calamities.
Original Title. Wilkie Collins , Charles Dickens. Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Fiction Other Editions Friend Reviews.
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Sergei Morozov Not really. It is better to read The Mystery of Edwin Drood first because characters discuss this novel, and there are a lot of references but it is …more Not really.
It is better to read The Mystery of Edwin Drood first because characters discuss this novel, and there are a lot of references but it is not necessary.
You will perfectly understand what is going on without reading the Dickens' novel. I already bought both, but haven't read them by now. Afa The Moonstone will be majorly spoiled if you haven't read it yet.
The Woman in White is not discussed in much detail, although there are some hints as …more The Moonstone will be majorly spoiled if you haven't read it yet.
The Woman in White is not discussed in much detail, although there are some hints as to the ending of the book, but they probably won't make much sense until after you have read it.
See all 4 questions about Drood…. Lists with This Book. Community Reviews. Showing Average rating 3. Rating details. More filters. Sort order. Start your review of Drood.
Mar 05, Kemper rated it really liked it Shelves: historical-fiction , crime-mystery , sci-fi. Hello, Dear Readers.
Wilkie Collins here. Something I should confess immediately is that I use laudanum and opium regularly as treatment for my physical ailments.
In fact, I tend to swig the laudanum like spring water on a hot day, and while I was initially a bit frightened by the opium dens, I soon found them quite inviting.
Oh, and my physician was also giving me regular doses of morphine. Or the opium. Or the morphine. The other thing you should know is that my good friend and colleague Charles Dickens was immensely popular in his day.
Not that I was jealous, mind you. At least, not until near the end. In , Charles was on a train that had a terrible accident.
While he was unharmed, many other passengers were injured or killed. Charles confessed to me that while helping with the wounded, he met a very strange man who called himself Drood.
Charles noticed later that most of the injured that Drood appeared to be helping were later found to be dead. Charles wanted to track down this Drood character and enlisted me as a companion while following clues through the worst slums of London, including an entire underground society existing in the numerous crypts beneath the city.
Charles became obsessed with murder and mesmerism. Despite his failing health, he insisted on embarking on a series of readings in Europe and America that frequently shocked and terrified his audiences.
Worst of all, Drood began to take an interest in me also. So I highly recommend you read this tale of our tragic involvement with Drood and how it impacted our friendship, our writing and our sanity.
Ah, those were the days. Sincerely, Wilkie View all 29 comments. Feb 16, Ben De Bono rated it it was amazing Shelves: horror , historical-fiction.
If ever there was a book that's impossible to review at least without major spoilers it's this one. So instead of reviewing it, let me say a few things to anyone who might be thinking of reading it.
First off, don't approach this like a horror novel. There are elements of horror in it but if you are expecting an intense fright fest you'll probably be disappointed.
This is a novel about obsession, If ever there was a book that's impossible to review at least without major spoilers it's this one.
This is a novel about obsession, reality, insanity, jealousy and the thin line between love and hate.
Second, this isn't a novel about Charles Dickens. Sure, he's in it plenty but this is really about Wilkie Collins, a contemporary of Dickens' and lesser known novelist.
Finally, don't believe other reviews that try and give a simple explanation for what happens in the story. There are a ton of different ways to look at the novel.
There is no simple explanation or easy answer. I loved the book. I'm not at all surprised that reviews on this one have been more mixed.
It's nothing like Simmons other stuff no big surprise there if you've read even a few of his novels but it is brilliant, just maybe not in the way you'd expect.
View all 16 comments. Feb 14, Barbara Roden rated it liked it. It expertly combined several areas in which I'm interested and knowledgeable - Victorian Arctic exploration, the Franklin expedition, and supernatural fiction - and I was thrilled when I found out that his next book, Drood , promised more of the same: a doorstopper of a book modeled after the Victorian melodramas I enjoy, featuring two real-life authors whose life and works I know a lot about Char Two years ago I read Dan Simmons's The Terror in pretty much one go, it was that good and gripping.
It expertly combined several areas in which I'm interested and knowledgeable - Victorian Arctic exploration, the Franklin expedition, and supernatural fiction - and I was thrilled when I found out that his next book, Drood , promised more of the same: a doorstopper of a book modeled after the Victorian melodramas I enjoy, featuring two real-life authors whose life and works I know a lot about Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins , and with references to Dickens's final, unfinished novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood , which has a small reference shelf devoted to it in my library.
Drood was, therefore, a book I approached with high hopes, and I was slightly sad to find myself disappointed in the end result. The book contains a number of excellent set-pieces - the Staplehurst railway disaster, the forays into London's Undertown - as well as some wonderful description and characterisation, most notably in the form of the narrator, Wilkie Collins; and the relationship between Dickens and Collins was well depicted, their undoubted friendship always under attack from Dickens's dominating nature and Collins's frustration at always being in his friend's shadow.
The references to, and echoes of, Dickens's unfinished novel were also well done; if you want to get the most out of Drood , you'd do well to read Edwin Drood first.
However, Simmons seems to have fallen victim to that common affliction, the desire of contemporary novelists setting their work in an earlier time to want to drop in every factoid of information, every nugget of gossip they gleaned while researching.
Time and again the novel comes to a halt while characters have awkward conversations which amount to info-dumps, or we learn more about London's sewers, Victorian publishing, and exactly who was at Dickens's house at any given time than we really need to know.
The revelation at the end of the book, when it came, was a disappointment - I couldn't help thinking 'Is that it??
As an aside - and this may contain a minor spoiler, so be warned - I was surprised that Simmons, who referenced almost every work Dickens wrote following the Staplehurst railway disaster, made no mention in the book of Dickens's seminal ghost story 'The Signalman'.
With its railway setting, supernatural elements, and references to the idea of a double, it would seem to have been a natural tale to make reference to.
View all 15 comments. By some quirk of fate, or just the same people growing up with the same influences, there were three books concerning the last years of Charles Dickens ' life published in , Drood was Dan Simmons' contribution.
If you've read Simmons' peerless The Terror , you know just how good he is at mixing historical fiction and gothic horror. Drood is narrated by famous writer and friend of Dickens Wilkie Collins , and follows their relationship, their lives and the repercussions of coming across the myste By some quirk of fate, or just the same people growing up with the same influences, there were three books concerning the last years of Charles Dickens ' life published in , Drood was Dan Simmons' contribution.
Drood is narrated by famous writer and friend of Dickens Wilkie Collins , and follows their relationship, their lives and the repercussions of coming across the mysterious and seemingly criminal 'Drood' at the Staplehurst train crash site.
Simmons once again takes a near microscopic look at history and the times and people around Dickens and Collins in this period to really take you back to the 19h century and the way people lived there, which he does really well.
To overlay this detail and superb research with a fantasy-horror root to the unfinished composition of The Mystery of Edwin Drood , that sees darkness and evil originated by outsiders under London and around these writers doesn't really work.
Also once you know Simmons is a big of a bigot you can't help but read more into the 'outsiders' contaminate theme and indeed the downplaying but shared reprehensible behaviour of the privileged in these times.
A very interesting read for the historical background and details of Dickens and Collin's later lives, but a no-no for a historical horror fiction drama The fact that this took me nearly 6 months to finish tells you all you need to know?
I hesitate to recommend this book because there are bound to be people who buy this doorstop, read it, hate it, and blame me for their life choices.
But I also want people to read it. So, let's try this You, Dear Reader, will likely hate this fucking book. It has piss poor human beings being piss poor human beings.
Charles Dickens was an asshat who banished the mother of his ten children. Wilkie Collins was a womanizing prick who was no doubt syphilitic rheumatic gout my flabby ass.
Women ar I hesitate to recommend this book because there are bound to be people who buy this doorstop, read it, hate it, and blame me for their life choices.
Women are treated like objects. Xenophobia runs pell mell through this book like a butt naked co-ed hopped up on Bill Cosby Chemical Cocktails.
There's even classism and racism. Oh my! But the book is meant to emulate the writing style of a man who died in the s.
The story itself takes place between and It's historically accurate. So, before you complain about how I steered you toward a book that hurt your fragile sensibilities, here's your trigger warning.
Drood is heavy and laborious, but in my opinion, it's well worth the price of admission. I spent an entire month reading this, mainly because Joe Hill's The Fireman came out and I paused this one to read that one but ended up enjoying this one more than Hill's, but whatcha gonna do, right?
This book took me to another time and place, and if I didn't know any better, I would say that it was truly written in the late s.
The odd thing is part one , I'm not a fan of verbosity in any form, and I pretty much loathe all of Charles Dickens's long-form work and anything else from that time frame.
His shorter novels and short stories are fine, but there's only so much of him I can take. And I've never even attempted to read a Wilkie Collins novel.
In fact, I'm pretty sure that, if you had asked me who the man was before my reading of this book, I would have looked at you as if you'd just asked me to complete a piece of Chinese algebra.
Oddly enough part two , when I started reading this, a fuck load of you guys my Goodreads brothers and sisters started The Woman in White , and some of you are still reading it.
Strange shit, ladies and gentlemen. Where the fuck was I? Oh yeah This book is fantastic. It's one of the few books over pages long that I've read where the ending didn't disappoint me.
You might read other reviews that say the book is not entirely about Drood, and it isn't. You'll likely read other reviews that say this is about Dickens and Collins's friendship, and it is.
But, if you strip down all of its part, this book is truly about the power of storytelling, and how any story is only as good as its reader.
If you manage to find the right storyteller telling the right story to the right reader in just the right situation, the possibilities are endless.
You don't have to believe in magnetic mesmerism to believe that. For those who have reviewed this and have stated you do not understand the ending I don't know what to tell you.
Simmons's lays everything out clear as day throughout the book. The novel does not have an "open ending". It leaves nothing to the imagination.
It does, however, expect you to use the clues laid out by the author to solve the puzzle. In summation: I don't want to be responsible for you hating this book, so read at your own risk and leisure.
I suggest taking your time and sipping at this one instead of chugging. I think my enjoyment of this book had a lot to do with the leisurely pace at which I read it.
Final Judgment: Hypnotizing. I shall explain. Charles Dickens used a watch to mesmerize Wilkie Collins before relaying the events of the Staplehurst train accident in order to see the effects of hypnotic suggestion on the mind of a creative person.
Dickens tells Wilkie this toward the end of the book. He wasn't trying to trick Wilkie into believing Drood wasn't real.
There never was any Drood, just as there was never any "Other Wilkie". There was nothing supernatural in this book, unless you consider hypnosis to be supernatural.
Wilkie's mind had been weakened and damaged over the years due to constantly imbibing of laudanum, and then morphine, and then both.
Because of the symptoms described by Wilkie throughout the book, the condition he calls "rheumatic gout", I believe his mind was also damaged by syphilis, as that disease could cause all of his symptoms, as well as driving its victim mad.
But this is only my theory and it is never stated in the book that Wilkie had syphilis. Thanks for joining me. If you'd like to continue the spoiler discussion in the comments section, please remember to use spoiler tags.
Jan 13, Libby rated it it was ok Shelves: misses. Apparently, Mr. Simmons could not forgo even one of the trifling matters of Dickensiana he picked up in the course of his research, and furthermore, he clearly couldn't be bothered to find ways to include these details dramatically.
This is a big, baggy mess of a thing, slack and sloppy just where it needs to be taut and running on tension. The book suggests to me that Simmons thought that using a novelist Wilkie Collins for a narrator afforded him Simmons the luxury of writing about Dickens's work in the style of a literary critic--wrong!
The passage on identity and doubling made me cringe it was so anachronistic in its language and use of theoretical concepts. There are too many poor choices in this book to account for all of them.
My best guess is that somehow this is an issue of productivity; Simmons pushes out a lot of material, and I suppose much of it is bound to be not-so-great as a result.
View all 3 comments. This is one hell of an excellent book! I had low expectations going into it and they were blown so far out of the water that they ended up in space.
It is a big monster of a book but trust me, every single page is worth it! Simmons tells such a captivating story here, I was completely drawn in right from the very first page.
Dickens fans a This is one hell of an excellent book! Dickens fans and horror fans, read this epic book. View 2 comments.
Feb 28, Bill rated it really liked it. This was one massive doorstop of a novel. Dan Simmons seems to thrive in this long-as-fuck format.
Too little action. Too looong. And I dig it. Possible Mildly Spoilery Content: view spoiler [Wilkie Collins was so well drawn throughout the tale that he reminded me a bit of a Herman Koch character.
Drug addled, self-absorbed, condescending with an exaggerated sense of his own talent and a deep, dark, disturbing layer that surfaces from time to time.
Always comparing himself to Dickens with varying degrees of result. Classic egomaniac with an inferiority complex. Pretty much an asshole in every way.
And I liked that about him. Weird, but interesting. View all 7 comments. It's been some years since I read this book, but it's still one of those that I remember quite well because I liked the story so much.
The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens was never finished and this book tells about how Charles Dickens become obsessed with the mysterious being called Drood.
It's a thick book, but well-written and fascinating to read. Simmons capture the atmosphere of the late centery very well. The story is dark and mysterious and keeps you captivated.
Apr 03, Trin rated it did not like it Shelves: horror , historicalfiction , american-lit , ficbutnot , booksaboutbooks. This book is almost pages long.
Not so much. Save yourselves! Mar 19, Michael rated it really liked it Shelves: read-in In the same way that Stephen King began to branch out of the horror genre, so it appears is Dan Simmons branching out of the sci-fi and fantasy nook.
Two years ago, he blended a historic novel with elements of horror and sci-fi for "The Terror. Drood appears to Dickens during the wreck and the best-selling author becomes obsessessed with finding the mysterious character.
Into this journey, the author brings his good friend and novelist, Wilkie Collins. Collins serves as our narrator for this journey and early on, Simmons sews in elements that make Collins an unreliable narrator.
Collins admits to having gout and using large quantities of laudnum early on in the story. And while Collins does encounter the mysterious Drood at certain points in the novel, readers will come away questioning if Drood is real or a figment of both writers' imaginations, given that Collins and Dickens rarely encounter Drood with other people around to verify Drood's existence.
In fact, the perception of who Drood is and his nefarious dealings in the underworld subtly alter as the story progresses. In a lot of ways, this is a ghost story, though whether or not the ghost exists is up to the reader to decide.
While not quite as compelling as "The Terror" which had the great sense of isolation to drive the narrative , "Drood" is still a solid and enjoyable book.
And yes, it's also solid in terms of it sheer weight. The book is a long one and you'll definitely be in for the long-haul on this one. But it's worth the time, though there were several points that Simmons could have easily edited down or not included as much "look at my research" historical detail and it wouldn't have harmed the novel a bit.
Following the resounding success of my Locus Quest , I faced a dilemma: which reading list to follow it up with? Regardless of how many books are already queued patiently on my reading list, unexpected gifts and guilt-trips will always see unplanned additions muscling their way in at the front.
Dan Simmons is a man of many styles. His most accl Following the resounding success of my Locus Quest , I faced a dilemma: which reading list to follow it up with?
His most acclaimed works, and the books I adore, are big, complex sci-fi epics with classic literary references entwined throughout. These are my very favouritest type of books and Ilium in particular inspired me to start my reading list quests, and to share that experience on Goodreads.
So thank-you for your awesomeness Mr Simmons! But Dan-the-man also writes psychologically tense little modern-era horror stories, such as Song of Kali and The Hollow Man — indeed, it was with this kind of novel that he launched his career and won his first awards.
Then we come to the third category, into which this book falls — a kind of merging of the two above: big, detailed, historical, creeping-gothic-horror tales, with just a dash of fantasy elements.
Our examples here are The Terror and Drood. I was looking to be convinced. Whereas The Terror was kinda slow-going, Drood kicks off with a bang.
Charles Dickens is in a rail crash! Several carriages jump the rails on a bridge and drop, smashing into the ravine below. Amidst this carnage we meet the title character, Drood — a noseless creep with pointy teeth who wears a black cloak.
This guy is like an escapee from a Hammer horror movie, but here he is in broad daylight being creepy as heck.
Wilkie drinks laudanum opium tincture by the glass. Laudenum can bring on hallucinations, and Collins accepts the reality of a girl with green skin and tusks instead of teeth haunting his servants' stairway.
So — to put it in modern parlance — our narrator is tripping-balls. Which puts something of a slant on his story. The story itself is I always wanted to get back to my book, and whenever anyone asked if it was good, I never hesitated to say yes.
All-in-all, Drood is a fascinating and enthralling read - a solid 4-star recommendation. View all 5 comments. May 12, The Face of Your Father rated it it was amazing.
Dan Simmons is an author who will remembered in nearly every genre he has written in. He wrote the ultra-violent Joe Kurtz series, officially ent Dan Simmons is an author who will remembered in nearly every genre he has written in.
He wrote the ultra-violent Joe Kurtz series, officially entering the crime-thriller genre. A man whose work stretches beyond limits, yet in , he published what just might be his finest work and greatest achievement.
There is not a single paragraph, sentence or syllable that would make the reader believe that this was a story published in a modern era.
He paints the story with so many confirmed facts, his natural progression into fiction cannot be pinpointed. Simmons creates a truly remarkable unreliable narrator in Collins, the readers question his motives and delivery from the start.
This novel could have been a disaster as the entire nearly page story is told through the perspective of a truly unlikeable character, yet Simmons creates a perfect tale that is devoid of a protagonist.
This is not a novel where the reader has the option of rooting for a character but instead is thrust into a world of depravity, told through the eyes of the deplorable.
It is not a fast paced break-neck read, yet every word is important and interesting. The novel is more of an examination of history, literature, addiction, jealously, rage, corruption, storytelling and its power, and relationships.
Mar 18, Simona B rated it liked it Shelves: in-english , historical , , thriller-and-suspense. I believe Dan Simmons to be an incredible writer, but he and I just don't connect , as Ilium exhaustively proved long before I found out about Drood or my obsession with anything Drood-related, which I find very appropriate—those who have read Simmons's Drood will understand manifested itself.
I felt this novel to be too long, and not even because of the long biographical passages abut both Dickens and Collins, which I enjoyed and appreciated very much, considering I am writing my bachelor's thesis about these two authors.
I guess it's simply Simmons that I find generally verbose, regardless of the topic he's tackling. And that's one fault I've never been, and never will be, able to condone.
The story, however -by which I mean plot, rhythm, construction, and everything in between- is brilliant , and I'm glad I managed to make it through to the end.
Oct 03, Miriam rated it it was amazing. A galloping, epic saga of the mysterious friendship between Wilike Collins and Charles Dickens. Part literary history and party fantastic imagination, it was a joy to read.
I savored it for a while--it's not one to read in a night or a week. But enjoyed every moment I spent with it. Stick with this one and you will be glad you did.
This is an ambitious book, even by Simmons' standard - indeed, probably by anyone's standard. Like most books that try to acheive so much, it is flawed, but by setting the sights to such a long range Simmons fires his book so far ahead of the majority of perfectly realised but narrowly circumscribed books that he can be forgiven for not quite hitting the target.
So what was he aiming for and how close did he get? Drood is written as if it is a memoir written by Wilkie Collins and then sealed unti This is an ambitious book, even by Simmons' standard - indeed, probably by anyone's standard.
Drood is written as if it is a memoir written by Wilkie Collins and then sealed until after his death. The memoir deals with strange events in the lives of himself and Charles Dickens, during Dickens' last five or so years of life.
These events are connected to the mysterious Drood, who shares a name with the titular character of Dickens' unfinished final novel. The memoir attempts to keep to the known history of the period and of Collins and Dickens.
It also attempts to mimic the "sensational" style of story told by Collins in his novels, plays and stories. The book is a mystery - just as Collins' pioneering The Moonstone is - and also a study in character creation.
It's a historical novel and a supernatural story, too, and an examination of creative rivalry, friendship, hatred, madness and the works of Collins and Dickens.
Starting with the failures, Simmons sometimes uses words or phrases that are anachronistic or foreign: "Gotten" appears once - I think this had faded from use in Britain before the s, though it appeared in Defoe's Moll Flanders in the previous century.
This occurs very early on and it sensitised me to the whole issue of accurate usage which didn't help Simmons' cause. Now Simmons is an American, so the audacity required to attempt to write a book not merely from the perspective of a Briton, but a Victorian Briton, too, is enormous and he gets it right far more than he gets it wrong but still, the errors stand out to a British reader: I would love it if the author would introduce a second edition of the novel that corrects these distracting errors.
An issue that many might consider a theme of Simmons' writing is, in my view, becoming a liability; this is Simmons' urge to pass off literary criticism as fiction in his books.
It's not entirely absent from any of the Simmons books I've read approx. Usually this lit. In this case, there is one passage about Dickens' Our Mutual Friend that really should have been saved for the lecture theatre.
I am also developing something of a feeling that Simmons might not be celebrating literature so much as showing off about how well-read he is. Some of your readers have read some famous books, too, you know, Dan!
That said, Simmons books do usually leave me with an urge to read one or more of the authors he has been discussing unless it's Proust, in which case he just makes me want to scream at the top of my lungs and never go near a copy of any of his works.
Ich entschuldige mich, aber meiner Meinung nach irren Sie sich. Es ich kann beweisen. Schreiben Sie mir in PM.