16. The Terror

By Dan Simmons (769 pp, ebook)

I do not know what to say about this book. Anyone who follows these notes will not be surprised that I thought this was long. It's a fictional account of John Franklin's failed expedition to find the NW passage in 1845. The story is already horrific with the endless winter darkness, freezing temperatures, being trapped in the ice, and scurvey, but the author has added an extra horror element. Long as it was, I enjoyed it and found it page-turning. Great characters and great depiction of this unforgiving environment. Until the end. The end turns into one of the white men from the expedition going Native--not even just going Native but turning into some sort of revered spirit-governors--and some cultural appropriation of Inuit stories and I was completely turned off. Although, I admit, I am now watching the TV series.