The Terror

The men on board Her Britannic Majesty's Ships Terror and Erebus had every expectation of triumph. They were part of Sir John Franklin's 1845 expedition - as scientifically advanced an enterprise as had ever set forth - and theirs were the first steam-driven vessels to go in search of the fabled North-West Passage. But the ships have now been trapped in the Arctic ice for nearly two years. Coal and provisions are running low. Yet the real threat isn't the constantly shifting landscape of white or the flesh-numbing temperatures, dwindling supplies or the vessels being slowly crushed by the unyielding grip of the frozen ocean. No, the real threat is far more terrifying. There is something out there that haunts the frigid darkness, which stalks the ships, snatching one man at a time - mutilating, devouring. A nameless thing, at once nowhere and everywhere, this terror has become the expedition's nemesis. When Franklin meets a terrible death, it falls to Captain Francis Crozier of HMS Terror to take command and lead the remaining crew on a last, desperate attempt to flee south across the ice. With them travels an Eskimo woman who cannot speak. She may be the key to survival - or the harbinger of their deaths. And as scurvy, starvation and madness take their toll, as the Terror on the ice become evermore bold, Crozier and his men begin to fear there is no escape...

Hailed by STEPHEN KING as 'a brilliant, massive combination of history and supernatural horror'.

Now a chilling 10-part TV series from RIDLEY SCOTT on BBC2 and iPlayer

The most advanced scientific enterprise ever mounted, Sir John Franklin's 1845 expedition in search of the fabled North-West Passage had every expectation of triumph.

But for almost two years his ships HMS Terror and Erebus have been trapped in the Arctic ice. Supplies of fuel and food are running low. Scurvy, starvation and even madness beging to take their toll. And yet the real threat isn't from the constantly shifting, alien landscape, the flesh-numbing temperatures or being crushed by the unyielding, frozen ocean. No, the real threat is far more terrifying.

There is something out there in the frigid darkness. It stalks the ships and snatches men. It is a nameless thing. At once nowhere and everywhere, this terror has become the expedition's nemesis . . .

Readers are gripped by The Terror:
* 'One of the best books I have ever read. I couldn't put it down!'
* 'A tremendous weighty achievement in atmosphere and storytelling.'
* 'So beautifully written and well researched. I can't praise this book highly enough.'

Préface
Now a breathtaking 10-part television series from Ridley Scott's production company, Scott Free, and AMC - the studio behind 'Breaking Bad' and 'The Walking Dead', Dan Simmon's devastating historical adventure The Terror - based on the true story of the ill-fated Franklin Expedition - has chilled and thriller readers the world over . . .

Auteur

Winner of the Hugo, Nebula and Word Fantasy awards, DAN SIMMONS is the author of a number of acclaimed and bestselling novels across a range of genres - from suspense and science fiction to fantasy, horror and the supernatural. These include The Song of Kali, Darwin's Blade, Hyperion, Ilium, Olympos and The Terror, Drood, Black Hills and The Abominable. He lives in Colorado.
His website is www.dansimmons.com