Song of Kali by Dan Simmons Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Song of Kali
Book Review: Dark, excellent, unforgettable, though not that scary
Summary: 4 Stars
Not what I expected. Simmons is my favorite author, Hyperion my favorite series. That said, the only unsurprising thing about the Song of Kali is the quality of the work--excellent.
Other reviews have adequately highlighted the story, the 'what is', of The Song of Kali, so refer to one of them for a plot synopsis. The 'what [it] does' will be the focal point of this review.
The book evoked in me emotions utterly alien to any fiction I've read before. This is, without a doubt, a work of horror (and a ridiculously effective one at that), but it underscores the fundamental difference between the haunting and the frightening. Almost entirely the former, The Song of Kali does not scare, it does much more: it repulses. Not through horrible writing, not through ludicrous and tasteless violence, but through hideous atmosphere. Dan Simmon's Calcutta is so irrefutably sinister, so fecal, so hopeless, that you'll find yourself in agreement with Simmons' contention that Calcutta should be eradicated, that it is too malevolent to be left standing. It makes you wonder how accurate his depiction is, and you want to believe that he fabricated all of it.
For what it is (the story of a man spiraling into a maelstrom in the most ominous sense), this is one of the most compelling books I've ever read. I have to say, though, that beneath all the grime, the story is fairly standard and would have been nothing special had it not been in the capable hands of Dan Simmons.
Book Review: Depressing, disturbing, and SCARY.
Summary: 5 Stars
Simmon's debut presents an intense character study, not of any human characters, but of the city of Calcutta itself. Indeed, with the notable exception of the narrator's wife, the character developement in this novel is often thin and weak (a problem Simmons almost overcompensates for in his follow up novels). What makes Song Of Kali so effective and terrifying are two things: the attention to detail in describing the sights, smells, oppressive heat, and claustrophobic crowding of the poorest of the poor; and his writing style itself. While the protagonist may be somewhat weak, Simmons makes what happens to him so vivid your disbelief is suspended for you. Even the most horrifying (and supposedly supernatural) events in the story give the reader an out: you don't have to accept a character's description as accurate, not taking a description at face value only hightens the tension and therein lies this novels power.Book Review: Disappointing
Summary: 2 Stars
I was blown away by Dan Simmons' Hyperion series (and I'm not a sci-fi fan), so I was eagerly anticipating this book after reading all the rapturous reviews. I didn't find it scary, just gross - and, overall, terribly sad. It paints a horrible picture of Calcutta, with filth, vermin, death and disease everywhere.
It probably says more about me that I have no problem whatsoever believing in vampires, ESP, monsters, ancient gods come to life, etc., but I just can't see why anyone would bring their infant to such a nasty place! ;)
Book Review: Don't be confused
Summary: 4 Stars
Don't be confused by the 4 stars I gave it, they're not meant to be "wow, great horror novel." It's a very good book. It's dark when it needs to be and the instances where I felt a little bored and like skipping over a few passages were rare at best. It managed to stir some pretty powerful emotions in me, but the downside was that I never felt a gratification in the end. Without giving away too much I'd like to warn you that you don't get a "lived happily ever after" ending here. If you need that ending look elsewhere. I usually don't, but with this book I craved it. I wanted vengeance on the "bad guys."
Now, Simmons bashing of Calcutta. If it weren't for my Indian friend who said that Simmons didn't even get close to the misery of that place I'd say he was on a mission to insult that place as much as he could. But, apparently this work of fiction is not far from the truth in describing the horrid dystopia of a major Indian city.
So what's all this about "don't be confused by my rating"? Well, I bought this as a horror novel. It wasn't. It has an element of supernatural to it and it's quite good, but horror it is not. In fact, the worst things that happen in the story are real life dramas that have nothing to do with supernatural entities. I'd classify it maybe as Dark Fiction at best.
Some reviewers have alluded to certain plot elements being unrealistic (especially concerning the protagonist's wife). I didn't find any trouble with it at all. Everything happened the way I'd expect it to happen under those circumstances (everything except the end where I would have gone off the deep end on a murderous rampage of every single person in the country if it were me).
The length was good also. Simmons wrote exactly what was needed without any "filler" to add up to a higher word count. I didn't feel like I needed more (except that ending damn it!) or less.
Good book, well written, good imagination, good story, proper length, not horror, there you go.
Book Review: Entertainingly quick read, but a new edition is needed, badly.
Summary: 2 Stars
I have never encountered a paperback book of any kind, fiction or non-fiction, that had as many punctuation and spelling errors as this one. It actually became distracting at times. That being said, the story is a decently written novel about India and how it is the worst place in the entire world. I'm looking forward to exploring more about India, partly to figure out what the hell Dan Simmons' problem was with the place. From the one page "prologue", it is clear that Simmons is virulently hateful of India.
I was told it was one of the scariest novels ever written. While it has managed to haunt my thoughts, I believe that is a result more out of wonder if India is really as evil as it is in the novel.