**UPDATE: $2.99 Kindle US today 9/29/20**

I truly loved this book. It was such an engaging read that left me with a great impression. The story had me hooked from the very beginning and I couldn't put it down. The characters were well-developed and the plot was full of twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat.

Now, I'm really hoping to do a reread of it on audio soon. I think listening to it will give me a whole new perspective and allow me to immerse myself in the story even more. I can just imagine myself walking my dog, with the audio playing in my ears, and being completely lost in the world of the book.

Mel

Wow!

Here is an epic horror story that is told on a truly grand scale. It delves into the fascinating and terrifying world of mind-control "vampires" who are vying for power not only on a personal level but also on an international stage.

The author weaves a captivating tale that shows how just a few people with the Ability have the power to easily manipulate and control the course of history.

Despite consisting of 800-plus pages, this book is a relatively fast read. The writing is constantly propelled forward by the intense action, making it a book that is extremely hard to put down.

Once you start reading, you'll find yourself completely immersed in this thrilling and spine-chilling story.

Highly recommended for those who love horror and are looking for a unique and engaging read that will keep them on the edge of their seats from start to finish.

The promise that was made seemed truly intriguing. It had an allure that made it sound not only interesting but also great fun. And indeed, when the book started, it showed a lot of potential and got off to a good start. However, as the story progressed, it unfortunately ended up being rather clunky. The plot was overly simplistic, lacking the depth and complexity that one might have expected. It became slightly boring, failing to hold the reader's attention in a captivating way.

The characters in the book were all one dimensional. They lacked the nuance and development that would have made them more engaging and believable. There were also some serious flaws in the logic of the story, making it seem as if it was an old film serial from a bygone era.

Given my great liking of Simmons’ Hyperion Cantos, which is a masterpiece of science fiction, I was extremely disappointed with this bloated B-movie adventure. It simply did not live up to the standards that I had come to expect from the author. Overall, I would rate this book a 2.75 out of 5.

My audio book was unfortunately attacked by one of the "vampires".

It died with just around 12 hours remaining. Oh well, perhaps it's for the best.

This book wasn't really captivating me. It was extremely long and seemed to lack that wow factor.

I've decided that instead of struggling through the remaining hours, I'll just have someone tell me how it ends. It's no big deal.

The book seems to be filled with Nazis, evil old racist southern ladies who have no regard for life whatsoever, and gang wars.

That's the essence of this particular book.

Maybe it's time to move on to a more engaging and interesting audio book that can truly hold my attention from start to finish.

I picked it up because I had thoroughly enjoyed The Terror. However, this one pales in comparison. When it comes to vampire books, the analogy here seems like a bit of a stretch. To me, mind-control and physical possession just don't have the same allure as the classic blood sucking and the use of wooden stakes.

While parts of the book were well-written, it unfortunately has a bad case of an 80's action flick script. There was just so much bullet volley, gratuitous bombing of historic lairs, and callous men in slacks. Ehh.

In any case, I will still continue to look for the best of his books. But this particular one definitely doesn't rank high on my list of favorites. It's a bit of a disappointment considering my initial expectations based on my love for The Terror. I hope his other works will prove to be more engaging and in line with what I'm looking for in a good read.

Thriller of action and supernatural intrigue, but without vampires.

Genre. Fantastic narrative.

What it tells us. In 1942, the young Saul Laski barely survives in the Chelmno concentration camp when he has a strange experience with a young SS oberst (a military rank equivalent to Colonel but also a word with the meaning of “supreme” or “superior”). Now, in late 1980 in Charleston, three elderly people with an adorable appearance, Nina, Melanie, and Willi, meet as they do every year to review the scoreboard of a strange and supernaturally macabre game with the intention of seeing who of them has won, although this year's encounter ends with a bittersweet feeling. Tony Harod is a Beverly Hills film producer who works for Willi and shares common talents with him. Bobby Joe Gentry is the sheriff in Charleston and, faced with a series of strange violent deaths related in a chain, he receives the support of FBI agent Richard M. Haines and both attend the visit to the police station of the man who says he was Nina's psychiatrist, Doctor Laski.

Do you want to know more about this book, without spoilers? Visit:

http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...

Carrion Comfort was my very first encounter with Dan Simmons' work. It was a book that had been highly recommended to me by multiple individuals, and even Goodreads seemed to be nudging me in its direction. It was one of those books that seemed to be constantly popping up wherever I looked, a clear indication that it was time for me to give it a read. I chose to listen to it on audio, and I was not let down.

Stephen King reportedly said that this book is one of the three greatest horror novels ever written. I'm really curious to know what the other two are. While I did find the concept of this book to be terrifying, I have to respectfully disagree with Mr. King. I felt that the horror aspect wasn't fully exploited to its maximum potential.

The villains in this book are mind-vampires. They possess the Ability to control people, often resulting in vicious murders, suicides, and even rape. As I mentioned earlier, the concept is truly terrifying. However, Dan Simmons dedicated so much time to the details of the rest of the story that, unfortunately, we don't get to witness a great deal of the mind control that I would have loved to see. Sure, these characters are despicable and they carry out horrible acts, but I wanted to see more. I'm a bit of a twisted individual and I enjoyed seeing them use people as pawns in their game. It was rather fascinating. Alas, we also had to get to know our "heroes". We had to understand why one of our heroes had a particular interest in these mind vampires. I guess I'm stretching my point here. Let me simplify: there was too much backstory and not enough murder, rape, and torture.

My only major gripe with the story as a whole was its length. It's a double-edged sword. If it hadn't been this long, I would be complaining that there weren't enough details. But I just felt that the story had an overwhelming number of details, making it almost a challenge to keep everything straight, especially with the time lapses. It jumps back and forth between different years.

The villain who made my skin crawl the most was undoubtedly Harod. *shudders* Let's just say he had a special penchant for the ladies, and I don't think any woman who has read this book can claim that he didn't terrify them. The very idea that someone could control my mind and make me do the things that Harod makes women do sends shivers down my spine. I can't even type this without cringing in disgust.

Overall, the story was amazing - overly detailed, but still amazing. The characters are ones that you will definitely not forget; both the villains and the heroes are memorable in their own unique ways. I highly recommend listening to it on audio - it's a long listen, but the narrators were outstanding. I truly hope that, after reading that ending (!!!!!!), Mr. Simmons decides to write a sequel one day.

This one was truly a difficult one when it came to deciding on a rating. We're not merely referring to a regular novel here; this one was nearly 900 pages long!

The writing was exquisite, the locations were vividly described, and the characterizations (at least for those that I regarded as the "main characters") were beautifully crafted.

The story itself took the concept of a "vampire" and transported it into an entirely different realm. I felt that this gave it an element of "uniqueness" that isn't often found these days.

I'm awarding it 4 stars. I have to admit that I took the last star off because there were some repetitive sections where I started to grow bored with the excessive details.

Nevertheless, it's still a recommended story. :)

Psychic vampires, bad, bad, worse than the quina; those vampires that enter your mind and lead you to commit the worst imaginable acts solely and simply so that they can feed, a game devised by 3 monstrous old men, without any shame at all.

The general idea fascinated me: someone who can manipulate you and force you to kill, attack or any other action for their own benefit through the mind, is great. As an additional note, here also enter non-consensual "encounters" and there are several.

It had my name written, Maika, this vampire novel is for you.

But oh! Its 1000 pages in this case have played a very bad trick on me. Why? Basically because it has seemed repetitive to me and in some sections very, very descriptive, pages and pages where nothing happened, too long, and to top it off an ending that has left me with my eyebrow raised

This is one of the all-time great vampire novels.

It is not just a vampire story but also a suspenseful novel filled with intrigue, evil, chess, history, and so much more.

The book is quite long, yet it never really bogs down or becomes dull.

The plot is engaging and keeps the reader hooked from start to finish.

If you start reading it now, it will be a great choice for a Halloween read.

It will transport you to a world of mystery and horror, where vampires lurk in the shadows and evil forces are at work.

The characters are well-developed and the writing is excellent, making it a truly enjoyable read.

So, if you're a fan of vampire novels or just looking for a good suspenseful read, this book is definitely worth checking out.

Give it a try and see for yourself why it's considered one of the greatest vampire novels of all time.

Dan Simmons' Magnum Opus.

This is an epic and captivating tale that effortlessly spans across several countries and different time periods. It is filled with a rich tapestry of multiple heroes and villains, each with their own unique and complex personalities.

If you have never had the pleasure of reading this book and you are a die-hard fan of the horror genre, then I wholeheartedly encourage you to pick it up as soon as possible!

Also, it would be beneficial to try and obtain a later copy. The one I had the privilege of reading had a truly remarkable intro by Simmons himself. In it, he delved into the motivation behind writing the book and shared the numerous trials and tribulations he faced during the process of getting it published.

The general premise of the story is both chilling and fascinating. There are human monsters lurking in the shadows, possessing the terrifying ability to invade people's minds and manipulate them into doing their bidding.

Would it shock you to discover that one of these vampires is actually a Nazi from World War II? I didn't think so.

I really admired how Simmons was able to sprinkle in some unexpected surprises throughout the narrative. I won't reveal too much here, but I will say this: try not to get overly attached to some of the main characters!

Real monsters, as this book so vividly portrays, often wear human faces, and evil comes in all shapes and sizes, lurking around every corner, waiting to strike.

As I have already commented in other reviews, the books I like, regardless of the literary genre, are those that engage, move, and make us tremble and shiver with their descriptions. Those books that you can't get out of your head and can't wait to have time to continue reading. Those books that, despite their size, you wish would never end, because every time you pick them up it's a guilty pleasure.

"The Vampires of the Mind" fully meets these conditions.

I think I have rarely come across books that manage to shock and disturb in this way. The way Dan Simmons describes the mental violation suffered by the victims of these "vampires of the mind" even surpasses any description of physical violence I have read before. On the other hand, the action scenes are very well done and are really disturbing. In particular, I highlight those involving the gang Alma de la Fábrica, a group of marginalized colored youth in a suburb of Philadelphia.

Another aspect that caught my attention is that usually the plot of novels has a clear direction (discover the murderer, find out who is behind the conspiracy, who will win the battle, if the hero will stay with the princess...). However, in this book, the author begins to unfold events that absorb the characters, involving them in a sequence of events and revelations that surpass them. They don't know what they are facing or how to continue. There is even a moment in the novel when the only goal is to survive.

The timeline used to present the plot is also very attractive as it is not exactly linear; every now and then it goes back one or two days to explain some event, of course from the perspective of another character. It forces the reader to pay very close attention, especially because the first two-thirds of the novel (approx. 650 pages) take place in just two weeks.

Set in the present (well, in the 1980s when it was written), the characterization of the characters is impeccable, especially Melanie Fuller, the elderly woman attached to a decadent aristocracy, and Saul Laski, a Holocaust survivor, obsessed with his experience of having been "used" in the extermination camps.

In summary, and despite deviating from the author's pet theme, the plot is of an impressive originality and I can say that, so far, it is the novel I have liked the most by Dan Simmons, complex, dark, and very well written. A work of this magnitude cannot be rated with less than 5 stars.