Join a book club that is reading The Terror!

Fibre and Fiction

An online, read what you want bookclub, especially for crafters of all types to craft and chat.
Learn More

The Terror

ADD TO MY SHELVES
Recommend book
The "masterfully chilling" novel that inspired the hit AMC series (Entertainment Weekly).

The men on board the HMS Terror -- part of the 1845 Franklin Expedition, the first steam-powered vessels ever to search for the legendary Northwest Passage -- are entering a second summer in the Arctic Circle without a thaw, stranded in a nightmarish landscape of encroaching ice and darkness. Endlessly cold, they struggle to survive with poisonous rations, a dwindling coal supply, and ships buckling in the grip of crushing ice. But their real enemy is even more terrifying. There is something out there in the frigid darkness: an unseen predator stalking their ship, a monstrous terror clawing to get in.

"The best and most unusual historical novel I have read in years." --Katherine A. Powers, Boston Globe

ADD TO MY SHELVES
Recommend book

BUY THE BOOK

784 pages

Average rating: 8.02

44 RATINGS

|

These clubs recently read this book...

Better Read Than Dead Book Club | Fargo

Federal Way Book Club

Spooky Reader’s of Austin

DISCOVER MORE CLUBS

Community Reviews

Write a review...
Ebane1031
Apr 06, 2025
9/10 stars
A deep dive into polar exploration in the 1850's. Based on the real Franklin expedition the horrors of months trapped in frigid conditions with inadequate supplies is almost unimaginable. Simmons layers some supernatural beings and events that take the reader to dark and interesting places. He creates a vivid world with little hope of escape. A long read, but the last 70 pages make it all worthwhile. And worth noting- Simmons wrote this before the wrecks were discovered.
ic_reactions.svg
Hartfullofbooks
Dec 23, 2024
7/10 stars
First thing, this is a long one! I’ve had this on my shelf for years and when they made a tv adaptation I had to read it. I finally picked it up this winter and while I enjoyed it, this book was a commitment. I honestly feel, this was a little too long but understand why it was and appreciate the historical accuracy. This is an excellent read for those looking for historical fiction but with a touch of horror and the supernatural. A fictional twist on the arctic expedition of the Terror and Erebus!
ic_reactions.svg
1
oh_let3
May 16, 2023
8/10 stars
A ship locked in ice. A predator picking off the crew. What else could you want?
ic_reactions.svg
LiziB
Feb 23, 2023
6/10 stars
It's kind of a boys' book; Mr. Simmons insists on describing everything on the ship and the naval and personal history of everyone on board. But once you get to the scary bits it's good.
ic_reactions.svg
1

See why thousands of readers are using Bookclubs to stay connected.

CREATE YOUR CLUB

More books by this author

Hyperion (Hyperion Cantos)
The Fall of Hyperion
Summer of Night: A Novel
Carrion Comfort: A Novel