Song of Kali by Dan Simmons Summary and Reviews
|
List Price: Our Price: $8.99 You Save: $9.00 (50%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $2.58 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of Song of Kali
Book Review: Beautifully written. A haunting masterpiece.
Summary: 5 Stars
Having read the Hyperion series, I was on the prowl for more Dan Simmons, when I came across Song of Kali. I was very surprised to find that Simmons wrote horror, and proceeded to read this book in one sitting. The lush descriptions and vivid details served to bring realism to the sordid world of Calcutta. I have rarely seen writing of this caliber in works of horror or fantasy. A propos the horror aspect -- I found this to be less of a horror novel than a tragedy. Yes, there were horrific fantastic elements, but these were not as overwhelming as the realistic descriptions of the surroundings. The story is truly tragic, and to me at least, it seemed about as 'horror' as Hamlet. Sure, there's a ghost in Hamlet, but that's not the point. Similarly, the mythos and horror of Kali is merely a vessel to convey a much more important message -- a warning about our society today. Apart from the horrific, this book also contained much of humor (in the vein of the great tragedies). I found myself chuckling out loud in parts, due to the absurb metaphorical juxtapositions the narrator sometimes presents. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys long, beautifully worded descriptions and an insight into violence in the world today.Book Review: Brilliant writing...Harrowing Tale
Summary: 4 Stars
Dan Simmons is a brilliant writer. I don't think anybody will deny that after reading his works...especially Song of Kali. He takes you to a dark, dark place and doesn't let you go. You feel like gasping for breath but you can't. His writing does that to you. I've never read anything like this in horror. I'm not surprised it won the World Fantasy Award. He creates a horrific world where menacing things lurk at every corner. This is what horror should do and he does it very nicely. If you want to read another horror masterpiece by Simmons, you should check out Summer of Night. Its better in my opinion. But this is still an unforgettable experience. Simmons has the gift.Book Review: Calcutta- Hell on Earth
Summary: 5 Stars
I loved this book because it totally could happen. I've been there and the way Simmons describes it is almost too kind. It's the bowels of the earth, to be sure. Also, I really believe in this sort of thing...statues coming to life and all that. And when you read what happens to the baby, well, it's not for the squeamish. The people who live there are gross and infested with lice, rats and human feces. Gawd, it's terrible. In the end, the protagonist considers Calcutta in a mushroom cloud and I agree. Some places should just not exist.Book Review: Dan Simmons is the new Master of Horror and Sci Fi
Summary: 5 Stars
I first heard this book being read by Harlan Ellison. It was breathtaking then and continued to be when I read it myself. Whatever genre Dan writes in his style is superb and his stories are insiteful and scary. I'm constantly on the look-out for anything new by Mr. Simmons!Book Review: Dark and graphic, yes. Scary, no.
Summary: 3 Stars
Song of Kali was fairly underwhelming. For a book touted to be one of the best horror novels of all time, I was understandably shocked when I finished the book unable to recall ever being scared. Simmons is apt at painting a dreary and filthy portrait of Calcutta, a "city too wicked to be suffered", but never in the novel is there a sense of fear, of shock, of terror. Sure there's vivid imagery of squalor and contamination, even graphic depictions of corpses, but is that scary? No, that's just gross. Gross is fine when backed up with fear, but the relationship between the two never quite materializes in Song of Kali.
That being said, the narrative was fairly engaging. The story moves along at a nice place, though Richard Luczsek is essentially an unlikeable moron. The plot resolution, however,(or more appropriately, the lack thereof) will leave you dissatisfied and perhaps feeling a little cheated. The weirdness and the paranormal events are fairly standard for the genre, and nothing really jumps off the page at you to frighten or enthrall, but as this is Simmons' first novel, perhaps that's an unfair expectation. There is an overhanging sense of despair and melancholy in the novel, which fits in well and gives an interesting atmosphere to the book; unfortunately, though, the atmosphere is never utilized to its full potential and ends up serving only as a half-developed image of an abysmal and horrid Calcutta.