A rich and satisfying horror novel: Drood by Dan Simmons book review

Text review with book details and content warnings here: criminolly.com/2022/12/01/dro...
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[@troytradup]

It's wild how many successful books Simmons has written across so many genres!

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Yeah, he is enormously talented

[@sophiaisabelle0227]

Drood by Dan Simmons seems like. fascinating read. We can always trust Olly with his own recommendations. May God bless him and everyone.

[@stephenmorton8017]

now can we serve that Christmas goose?

[@JediJuniper92]

Definitely decided this will be my next read, especially after hearing your praise for it while you read it and now your review. Will get to it as soon as I finish HEX! 😊

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Fantastic, hope you enjoy it! I'll probably be picking up Hex soon!

[@bjlowe85]

Awesome was waiting for this review. When you first mentioned it I got a second hand copy at a book store cant wait to get into it.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Fantastic, hope you enjoy it

[@stephenmorton8017]

i enjoyed this one too. i read Rutherfurd's China close on the heels of this one and was struck with the additional coincidental context. it seems that Simmons is creating his own genre of 'historical horror' which seems quite modern. a great way to teach history to the nominally unwilling. i will pick up The Terror on your recommendation. i delved into Dan's oeuvre quite a bit after the Hyperion Cantos and Endymion. Prayers to Broken Stones, The Hollow Man and Summer of Night especially reminded me of my High School building. Carrion Comfort was in there somewhere too. it's been a while. lots to catch up with. (or was it Children of Night? one of those) anyway the Rutherfurd was a great change for me. loved it. one last thought. it was quite a different world, socially back then, eh? lots and lots of letter writing, correspondence and entertaining. seems like technology has diffused us.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

I need to try some Rutherford, my Dad is a big fan,

[@rocsimmons8535]

I’m currently reading Carrrion Comfort and I’m really enjoying it…I will definitely give Drood a try. Thank you!!

[@johnward5404]

Thanks as always Olly! Will have to consider this one. Good review as always it sounds really strange and cool.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

It's definitely strange!

[@lindseywarren44]

Hullo, Ollie! Loved this review. I've not been much of a fan in the past of novels set in the waaaay past 🙂But recently I've been developing an appetite for them. I might have to give this one a go. Back in the early aughts, I worked for Barnes & Noble. (I am a transplanted Scot living in the US.) I recall a book by Mr. Simmons that everyone disliked....I cannot recall the title at the mo'. I will look it up. We all gave it a go and out of 8 people, not one of us got past 10 chapters. I've not read anything else by this gentleman. I shall have a look on Amazon and read a wee bit to see if I think I will enjoy it. I've a dear friend in Scotland who is an enormous fan (& scholar) of Dickens and we have quite lively arguments about him. I have struggled with him much to her dismay. I have to say that I continue to be ever so pleased to have "found" you! I've enjoyed quite a few of your recs thus far and I enjoy your commentary very much. You get to the point without a great deal of blethering! LOL Thank you so much! Love and Bless xo

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Thank you Lindsey, really glad you'r enjoy the channel. I try to avoid blethering wherever possible! Let me know if you find the title of that Simmons book

[@cathrussell2426]

Really enjoyed hearing your views on this brilliant book! Definitely due for a reread next year I think. I'm going to buck the trend now and say that I actually quite liked The Abominable. I'd read various comments so knew it wasn't actually about yetis or whatever but more about mountaineering and with a lot of detail. I like reading books about mountaineering in fact so that's probably why I liked it although it's nowhere near as good as Drood. I think my next Dan Simmons ought to be The Terror as that seems to be really popular.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

The Terror was truly great. I think I preferred it to Drood. And I quite like mountaineering too (or reading about it at least!)

[@missi44]

The Terror is a masterpiece that left me emotionally devestated. So good

[@johnnythepillpopper1974]

I bought this book at a second hand store, about a year ago. But I haven’t read it yet, cause I’m not ready to jump into a large book. But you piqued my interest. Thank you

[@CriminOllyBlog]

It's definitely worth being in the right mood for. It's great but the pacing is quite slow at times

[@scottweedman4575]

Thanks, Olly! You should pick up where it all started with Song of Kali by Simmons 🙂

[@CriminOllyBlog]

I read that one (along with Carrion Comfort and Summer of Night) back in the 90s and remember liking it a lot

[@fiberartsyreads]

Definitely adding this one to my list. Sounds great.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

It's really good

[@kellyshaw7271]

I've just finished Drood after reading The Terror. It reminds me of the film Amadeus. Wilkie Collins being the envious friend of Dickens but classes himself as far superior and in a way his nemesis. It's very relationship driven and shows in depth drug addiction and its consequences. It's very atmospheric and reminded me of Ripper Street. It must have taken years of research to write the book. I'm reading Abominable next

[@Sybilla9]

Drood is on my list to read, thank you for your review. I loved his book Carrion Comfort if you haven't read that one. :)

[@CriminOllyBlog]

I have, although many years ago. Hope you like Drood

[@jimsbooksreadingandstuff]

Sounds a fascinating read. I have Dickens' The Mystery of Edwin Drood on my shelves waiting to be read some time...

[@CriminOllyBlog]

It was great, I suspect you'd like it Jim!

[@LE-wc1dr]

I read Dan Simmons book called "Summer of Night." It was so eerie and perfect October reading. Such detail with atmosphere. Set in 1960 about 5 boys ages 12. . I loved it. It carries on in "A Winter Haunting.". I will definitely read "Drood" due to your outstanding review. Thank you.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

I loved Summer of Night, although it's been a long time since I read it. Didn't realise A Winter Haunting was a sequel to it.

[@Bookspine5]

I found Drood at my local library, gosh what a big book (that´s not a bad thing). I still need to read Hyperion. :D

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Yeah I need to read Hyperion still

[@rich56ca]

I haven’t read any of Simmons sci-fi but have read a number of his horror novels and really enjoyed them. Hope to read Drood soon and will probably tackle The Abominable at some point despite some people’s misgivings.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Hope you enjoy Drood when you get to it! And that we both enjoy The Abominable

[@lisag618]

I love Dan Simmons although I haven't yet read Drood. My favourite so far is The Fifth Heart (Sherlock Holmes & Henry James). I also loved The Terror. I'm due a re-read of both! :)

[@CriminOllyBlog]

The Terror was so amazing. The Holmes and James one sounds great. I'll check it out!

[@annettemurielle]

And so... Three Dan Simmons books are on hold now with the Library: Drood, The Terror, and Muse of Fire. Thank you!

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Brilliant! Enjoy!

[@rocsimmons8535]

Thank you

[@ArtwithVikkiC]

Will be putting this on my TBR list for next year.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Hope you enjoy it!

[@alanbejtovic5163]

I'm sci fi fan, and have to say that Ilium - Olympus and Hyperion Cantos are masterpieces of gene! Tnx for this recomendation, it is NeXT on May list

[@CriminOllyBlog]

I still haven't read Hyperion, I really need to

[@juliealvar4587]

I recently listened to Drood. It was very good! Thanks for your review.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Great! Glad you enjoyed it too!

[@deniceh9598]

Where did you listen to it may I ask? I'm interested.

[@juliealvar4587]

@@deniceh9598 I got the audiobook version free from my library.

[@ChristopherEvenstar]

Thank you very much. And I am safe, well, and reading good stuff. Thanks for asking.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Glad to hear it!

[@charletteseaver5923]

The Abominable was the first Dan Simmons book i read..and although I found it flawed in all the ways people have noted, I was at first determined to read it through then something about his style of writing was enough to keep me bogging my way through..but over all it drew me in and kept me wanting to read it..I was then very interested to continue reading Dan Simmons..I next read Summer of Night, then Song of Kali, The Terror, followed by A winters Haunting, which was a follow up to Summer of Night..I have Carrion Comfort being shipped to me from Thriftbooks and i will order Drood..I enjoy Dan Simmons very much..

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Summer of Night, Song of Kali and Carrion Comfort were my starting point with him back in the 90s and I loved all three. I can't believe it's taken me until recently to get back into him again. On the plus side he's published loads of stuff for me to read.

[@authenticpoppy]

Between Drood and Deathnote, you have been doing some heavy lifting lately! Glad you liked Drood. I really enjoyed it too. I hated The Abominable. It was a DNF for me. I will *never* need that much information about mountain climbing.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Lol yes after finishing Drood I think I read 5 really short books back to back

[@revenantreads]

This sounds great.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

It's really good

[@ahem88]

Just finished the abominable by Simmons, lovely winter horror read.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

I definitely want to try that one!

[@BookishChas]

I’ve had my eye on this book. It sounds really good.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

It's really great

[@markrickert6592]

Olly you are sooo giod.i loved Drood. Thought I was the only one with a passion for this novel. The terror blew me away!! Any ther Dan simmons recommendation? I received Slugs yesterday in the mail and I cannot wait to read it -- your recommendation of course!

[@markrickert6592]

You are So good at providing interesting content I mean!

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Thank you!

[@CriminOllyBlog]

I really liked Carrion Comfort and Summer of Night by Simmons. Hope you like Slugs - it's very different to Simmons!!

[@BookBlather]

Picked this up at a used book shop a little while back. Not sure why… it’s too long for a slow poke like me. Great review though!

[@CriminOllyBlog]

It's really good! But yeah it is a bit of a commitment. Cheers Dave!

[@BeverlyBamburyA]

I really ended up liking this one a lot. I wasn't sure going in but it was pretty cool.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Yeah I found it fascinating

[@davebrzeski]

I want to read it one day, but I think I want to read the original unfinished Dickens novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood first.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

I'd be interested to hear your thoughts if you do

[@devradenny8354]

YOU. ARE. MY. HERO! I’ve literally never heard someone else say they don’t like Dickens!!! I couldn’t agree more. Cannot read his work. 😒 Drood is one of my most favorite books of all time. It doesn’t get the love it deserves. It feels like a Sherlock/Watson story for me. Did anyone else get that vibe? With all the adventures and running around London? The dinner scene where Charles McCready (I think that’s the last name?) keeps saying “ahh…ahh…by god, Dickens” and the girls look at one another and roll their eyes… I laughed at this out loud for a long time. I could see it so clearly how dreadfully annoying this would be. 😂😂😂 The Other Wilkie was creepy. And the lady on the stairs! Anyway let me digress or I’ll rhapsodize for hours.

[@devradenny8354]

Oh. And I paid $1 for this masterpiece …but then about $50 on the audiobook. (And don’t trust Audible! It’s abridged. 🙄)

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Happy to meet another Drood fan (and Dickens non-fan!)

[@jeffschaible]

I've read (and very much enjoyed) Carrion Comfort and The Terror. My next Dan Simmons read will probably be Summer of Night.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

I remember really loving Summer of Night

[@davidbrian6498]

Have you read Children of the Night? It's no. 2 in the Seasons of Horror series. It was an entertaining read.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

@@davidbrian6498 No, that one I haven't tried yet

[@deniceh9598]

You should read Black Hills by Dan Simmons. Very good.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

I've not tried that one yet, thanks for the recommendation!

[@marpymellow3805]

'The Terror' was superb and I have Drood on my reading list but after your review it's moved up in the queue. Drood and his gang living in the London sewers reminded me one of my favourite novels 'The Anubis Gates' by Tim Powers - this and his 'Last Call' are in my all time top 10 fantasy novels.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Yes, love the Anubis Gates. I've been meaning to reread it actually as it's been decades since I read it

[@cathrussell2426]

@@CriminOllyBlog & Marpy Mellow, you two have made me grab The Annubis Gate off my tbr pile and put it onto the 'read soon' pile!

[@kevsplitterskull3209]

If you want to get into Simmons' historical period, especially if you have already read Drood and The Terror, I would recommend The Crook Factory, a story of Hemingway and his band of ne'er do wells hunting U Boats off the coast of Cuba. Roughly 90-95% of these things actually happened, the largest fabrication being the existence of the narrator. Great read!

[@CriminOllyBlog]

I'd not even heard of that one, but sounds like great fun

[@kevsplitterskull3209]

Oh, it is!

[@davidbrian6498]

I'd never heard of The Crook Factory, but adding to TBR pile.

[@johnnythepillpopper1974]

I recommend you read Song of Kali by DSIMMONS. That’s my favorite book of his

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Yes, read that one years ago and really liked it

[@caramcnulty8129]

I think you might like The Luminaries by Catton.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Ah, thanks for the recommendation, I'll check that out

[@rickcroucher]

I liked it too.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Thanks again, Rick!

[@adriennelee26]

I enjoyed The Woman in White so much more than the Dickens I have read. Some day, when I don't have 30 other books I want to get to as soon as possible, I will have to read Drood.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Yea, The Woman in White was just fun! Way more entertaining that Great Expectations

[@adriennelee26]

@@CriminOllyBlog And Little Dorrit and A Tale of Two Cities imo

[@loudrockmusic1]

I'm sure someone has already asked,maybe I didn't look back far enough. My bad, but have you read Max Brooks' Devolution? Way better Sasquatch book. Love your channel.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

I have! Really enjoyed it. Glad you're enjoying the videos!

[@Tuaregoxffff]

Almost anything by Simmons is great 👍🏻

[@CriminOllyBlog]

So it seems!

[@davidbrian6498]

I'm a big fan of Simmons, and I really enjoyed Drood (although I know more than a few people who hated it). Go figure? Olly, if I could offer one word of advice it'd be not to rush with reading The Abominable. There are many, many, many better books out there.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Ha! Yes I might try some other Simmons before diving into The Abominable.

[@edwardstoll7677]

Have you read "The Alienist? It is great historical fiction about psychiatry and crime! Very well done!

[@CriminOllyBlog]

I have! I really liked it

[@M-J]

The other thing in common with Dan Simmon’s books is that they are mostly MASSIVE tomes. 😂 I do enjoy London Underground stories very much., so it piques my interest. I would definitely have to Kindle this sucker to trick my mind. I have an unnatural aversion to chunky books. 🫣😁 Great review, book buddy! -📚MJ

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Thanks MJ - Kindle definitely feels like a good way to go with this one. And yes, he does tend to right big uns!

[@M-J]

@@CriminOllyBlog 😱 *gasps* WRITE, it’s write!

[@CriminOllyBlog]

@@M-J OMG!

[@M-J]

@@CriminOllyBlog 🫣

[@andykuhn9798]

Thanks for the great video. If you've never read it, check out CARRION COMFORT by Dan Simmons. It's a very cool horror novel. Definitely worth your time.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Yes, read Carrion Comfort back in the 90s and really liked it!

[@johnkeenan1829]

I've found that I can't read just one or the other, I have to read them together; Drood in fall, and The Terror during the winter.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

That sounds like a nice seasonal pairing!

[@wendyvilla2904]

💚🖤

[@remlya]

Regret getting rid of my copy. Longest book I’ve ever read, but didn’t feel like it. Wonderful atmosphere.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Yes, the atmosphere and sense of time and place was amazing

[@zachreads]

I have read several of Dan Simmons books A Winter Haunting and Song of Kali are my two favorites I did not like Hyperion. I have had better luck with Dickens than Collins I like Oliver Twist and several of his short stories. With Collins I've only tried The Moonstone and dnf'd it. I did not like A Tale of Two Cities at all. PS also with Dan Simmons Lovedeath is wild.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

I haven't tried A Winter Haunting yet, but I really liked Song of Kali. Keen to read more of his books

[@DDB168]

I see it was released in 2009. Sounds pretty good. The Abominable has the Stephen King blurb - that'll guarantee it's average. 😉

[@CriminOllyBlog]

ha ha ha fair

[@fuhkuwe8201]

Or you want it to be because someone successful liked it, so you say his praise will ensure it’s average because you can’t deny his success, so you attack his taste.

[@sunsin1592]

The Terror had its moments, but like Abominable, it just got tedious after awhile. So this sounds like one to skip.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Yeah if you're not a fan of Simmons's detailed, slow storytelling I'd give it a miss

[@Kikilang60]

Huh" The Moonstone or The Murder in the Rue Morgue? Honestly, I don't care who was first.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Ah, maybe The Moonstone was the first detective novel

[@jojoheartspaypay]

I'll tell you this, and I've read this one (took ages) don't drop it from a height!!

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Yeah definite broken toe territory!

[@yorkiepudd]

I've just finished Great expectations and it was a slog! My 3rd Dickens and I've decided I'm just not a fan either.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

He just feels like hard work to me

[@mikebruce3933]

Nope, not really for me. I came to within an ace of DNFing this one. There wasn't a single major character that I cared about. Knowing the fates of Dickens and Collins in advance took away almost any sense of suspense for me. That said, there are some genuinely creepy moments and ideas and the faux Victorian writing style is really well executed. SEMI SPOILER I'd have loved more Barris! If only he could have a spin-off!

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Sorry you didn't like it more! I really enjoyed his portrayal of Collins

[@mikebruce3933]

@@CriminOllyBlog it's a mark of how good the writing is that I found him so annoying 😂

[@CriminOllyBlog]

@@mikebruce3933 LOL!

[@davemave7120]

I think that you do pad it out quite a bit, and repeat information to get to the 10 minute mark. Might consider making your videos a little sharper, or add some more actual points, if you do want to get to the 10 minute mark.

[@deadend68]

ABONIMABLE: ... yes I suffered through this bloated work by Simmons. We all know what it is about right? I mean its obvious right? Well, yes and no. There is a "twist" in this book which by the time it arrives we do not care anymore. If you are into 250 pages of mountain climbing, expedition preparation, moral searching before we even begin to follow a "plot" .... you will like this ... but as a novel it is extremely dull

[@CriminOllyBlog]

It does seem to be the book of his that most people didn't get on with!

[@ricardias1551]

As usual, not in portuguese…

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Sorry!

[@richarddelanet]

Interesting stuff. I am not 100% convinced about the issue of xenophobia. Certain facts of the matter do appear pertinent. Most knife crime in the East End of London was perpetrated by foreigners, as a matter of record. This was especially the case towards the end of the c.19th. A number of foreigners who made their way to London (and England?) were radicals seeking a place to survive and crucially further their cause. The siege at Sydney Street is a case in point: a gang of Italians who had decided that armed robbery was a legitimate form of action in order to obtain funds etc. Otherwise most of the crime in the Whitechapel area was again perpetrated by newly arrived immigrants. Thus describing our brethren and ancestors as xenophobes, which is in my dictionary an irrational fear of foreigners, is not quite or entirely fair. Given the evidence!

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Fascinating! Although suspect the tally of crimes committed by the English abroad in the 19th century was higher!

[@richarddelanet]

@@CriminOllyBlog Mmm, ooh, arr. Well. Um. How to engage? Softly, softly, tippy toe tippy toe, or like a Buddhist monk? To be honest I have not quite worked out whether this is all part of the current zeitgeist, or merely a movement that draws people in its wake, for reasons unknown. I would prefer trying to speak like a lawyer/historian (I am neither professionally), but if we appear to diverge and disagree over a contentious topic, oppositional ill-will is perhaps the next port of call, and it is not a constructive engagement thereby. So, having said that, I had also heard this kind of thing, so I have looked into it, over the years. And I have subsequently read five different books on the British Empire including the Oxford, plus other related texts, and your suspicions - beyond slavery in the Caribbean/Americas until abolition - appear more or less unfounded, after all. Perhaps that is the pivot issue?

[@CriminOllyBlog]

@@richarddelanet was thinking more of things like the Opium Wars and famines during the British Raj

[@richarddelanet]

@@CriminOllyBlog My previous reply has disappeared somehow...!!!??? So this will be a just quotes. 1. ‘…it is a devastating accusation to say that [India] was deliberately or even accidentally impoverished by British policy…' 2. 'Indian industry began competing successfully with British imports - especially as the imperial government gave preference to Indian-produced goods. The colonies, including India, were very lightly taxed - probably less so than if they had been independent (less so than under the Mughals via page 562): India taxes were 20-40 per cent lower than in the non-European world in general, and lower in British India than in the semi-autonomous princely states.’ (Oxford 563). 3. . In 1881, the first Indian Factories Act was passed and the first all-India census was held. To control epidemics, special officers, committees, and commissions were appointed..... ‘The advent of infectious diseases and tropical medicine was a direct consequence of colonialism. The history of diseases and their prevention in the colonial context traces back the epidemiology of infectious diseases, many of which are still prevalent in third world countries. It reveals the development of surveillance systems and the response to epidemics by the imperial government. It depicts how the establishment of health systems under the colonial power shaped disease control in British India to improve the health of its citizens.’ (Source - www (dot) ncbi(dot)nlm(dot)nih(dot)gov/pmc/articles/PMC2763662/ ) 4. 'Sir Bartle Frere, "…was a passionately pro Indian, and had been particularly active in the civic and commercial development of Bombay while he was governor, setting up a municipal commission, which commenced a massive program of public works, building and sanitation"... he described how a combination of steamships and telegraphic communication had managed to reduce a famine in Gujarat [in the 1860s] by quickly importing grain from Persia.’ 5. The Strachey Commission established in 1883 the detailed Indian Famine Codes. The Bengal Famine of 1943 was a shock to India as there had been no famines in living memory. 6. During the Bengal Famine 'It was estimated that every death in the famine "was balanced by, roughly, 1, 000, rupees of excess profit" acquired by the dealers in rice. There was also widespread corruption and "a moral and social breakdown on the part of some sections of the community." Official Cabinet records provide ample scope of the British Government - for example Churchill 8th Oct 1943 instructions to the new Viceroy, Field Marshal Wavell: 'Every effort must be made, even by the diversion of shipping urgently needed for war purposes, to deal with local shortages. But besides this the prevention of the hoarding of grain for a better market and the fair distribution of foodstuffs between town and country are of the utmost consequence.' The Churchill Documents, Vol. 19, Fateful Questions, September 1943-April 1944 provide vast references to Churchill’s and the Cabinet’s efforts from that point on to assuage Bengal from sources as diverse as Iraq and America. This included personal telephone calls to Roosevelt pleading with him to send all possible assistance as a matter of the utmost urgency.

[@richarddelanet]

@@CriminOllyBlog The Opium Wars is another question and not overly related to knife crime in late c.19th London, but nonetheless. Again quoting this time from 'The Opium War' by J Lovell. 1. Rightly or wrongly by the end of the 1830s, opium was starting to be identified as a scapegoat for all the empires problems'. 2. 'Almost everywhere that subjects of the emperor travelled, they brought opium with them, if they had a bit of capital to spare.' 3. Even the Communist Party... secretly grew opium to make ends meet in north-west China in the early 1940s. 4. Emperors were regular users, and subsequently the well-to-do and affluent. 'The earliest reference is from the c.8th... by the c11th it was well recognised for its recreational as well as curative uses.' Through the late c.18th & early c.19th, 'opium smoking in China became a chic post-prandial, an essential element of the prostitute trade; a must-have hospitality item for all self-respecting hosts; a favourite distraction from the pressures of court life for the emperor and his household. Opium houses could be salubrious, even luxurious institutions...in which companionable groups of friends might enjoy a civilised pipe or two over tea and dim-sum.... It was a way of burning money, smoking was the perfect act of conspicuous consumption.' 5. Taking a hard line on opium was [also difficult] because the drug was so ubiquitously useful [in medicinal uses]. And Qing government ships did give chase to the clippers on occasion, but never closed in, and a proclamation was subsequently issued to the entire nation that "His Celestial Majesty's Imperial fleet, after a desperate conflict has made the fan-quis run before it, and given them such a drubbing, that they will never dare show themselves on the coast again".' (Lovell 30)

[@mescalito]

It's not a good Book, the story is foreseeable, the end is poor. It's a " pétard mouillé". A great disappointment to say the least in spite of the historic and literary work and research. It's just a " flashy" novel.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Okay