Horror Bites: Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons

Carrion Comfort is a novel by Dan Simmons, published in 1989. The plot revolves around a group of people with psychic abilities, known as mind vampires, who are able to control others and use them for their own purposes.

The story follows the intertwined paths of a group of survivors who have encountered these mind vampires over the years, as they come together to try and stop them before they can cause further harm.

Critics have generally praised the novel for its intricate plot and character development, as well as its exploration of themes related to power and control. However, some readers have criticized the book for its graphic violence and disturbing content.

Overall, Carrion Comfort is considered a classic of the horror and thriller genres and well worth a look if you haven’t already read it.

Who is Dan Simmons?

Dan Simmons is an American author of science fiction, horror, and historical fiction novels. He was born on April 4, 1948, in Peoria, Illinois.

Simmons has written several critically acclaimed and award-winning novels, including the Hyperion Cantos series, The Terror, and Song of Kali. He is known for his vivid and intricate storytelling, as well as his ability to blend genres and incorporate historical events and figures into his fiction. Simmons has won numerous accolades for his writing, including the Hugo, Nebula, and Bram Stoker awards.

Who are the Main Characters in Carrion Comfort?

Carrion Comfort features several main characters, but here are some of the most prominent ones:

• Saul Laski: A Holocaust survivor and retired professor of psychology who has dedicated his life to tracking down and exposing the existence of mind vampires.
• Melanie Fuller: A young, idealistic student who becomes involved in Saul Laski’s mission and finds herself in danger.
• Willi Schibner: A former Nazi officer who now works as a hitman for the mind vampires and becomes a primary antagonist in the story.
• Nina Leibowitz: A wealthy businesswoman who is revealed to be one of the most powerful mind vampires in the world.
• Harry Keogh: A psychic who can communicate with the dead and whose abilities play a key role in the story. Keogh also appears in other novels by Dan Simmons.

Saul Laski

Saul Laski is one of the main characters in Carrion Comfort and an important driving force in the novel’s plot. He is a Holocaust survivor and a retired professor of psychology, who has dedicated his life to hunting down and exposing the existence of the mind vampires.

Saul Laski is an aging, somewhat bitter man who has spent his entire life haunted by the memory of the atrocities he witnessed during the Holocaust. He is driven by a deep sense of justice and a desire to protect others from the kind of evil he witnessed in his youth. Laski is also fiercely intelligent and analytical, with a deep knowledge of human psychology and a tenacious commitment to his cause.

Throughout the novel, Laski’s story arc involves his efforts to track down and stop the mind vampires, and the personal sacrifices he makes in pursuit of this goal. He recruits a young student named Melanie Fuller to help him, and together they embark on a dangerous and ultimately deadly mission to expose the mind vampires to the world. Along the way, Laski also confronts his own mortality and comes to terms with the trauma of his past, finding a sense of closure and purpose in his final actions.

Nina Leibowitz

Nina Leibowitz is one of the main characters in Carrion Comfort, and also one of the most powerful and dangerous of the mind vampires in the novel. She is a wealthy businesswoman with psychic abilities that allow her to control the minds of others, and she is deeply involved in the network of other mind vampires who use their powers for personal gain and to manipulate the course of world events.

Nina Leibowitz is depicted as a complex and multifaceted character. She is driven by a fierce ambition and a desire for power, but she is also haunted by her past and her experiences as a Jewish girl in Nazi Germany. She sees her abilities as a means of protecting herself and others from the kind of persecution she faced in her youth, but her actions ultimately lead her down a dark path.

Leibowitz’s story arc in the novel involves her efforts to use her powers to influence the course of world events, particularly in relation to the Cold War and the nuclear arms race. She becomes embroiled in a dangerous game of manipulation and counter-manipulation with other mind vampires, and ultimately finds herself facing off against Saul Laski and his allies in a deadly confrontation. Her role in the book is to serve as both a formidable antagonist and a complex exploration of the nature of power and its corrupting influence on those who wield it.

Willi Schibner

Willi Schibner is a former Nazi officer and one of the primary antagonists in Carrion Comfort. He is a cold and calculating man who now works as a hitman for the mind vampires, a group of people with psychic abilities who can control others for their own purposes.

Schibner is depicted as a remorseless killer who takes pleasure in his work, but he is also shown to have a complex past and a troubled relationship with the mind vampires who employ him. He is haunted by his experiences in Nazi Germany and is motivated by a desire for power and control, as well as a deep-seated hatred for Saul Laski, who he blames for ruining his life.

Schibner’s story arc in the novel involves his efforts to track down and eliminate Saul Laski and his allies, and his growing conflict with the other mind vampires who employ him. As the novel progresses, he begins to question his loyalties and his own motivations, and ultimately finds himself facing a reckoning for his actions.

Overall, Schibner’s character serves as a dark reflection of the novel’s exploration of power and control. He is another person who has been shaped by the horrors of the past and is now using his abilities to perpetuate that cycle of violence and oppression. His story arc highlights the dangers of unchecked ambition and the corrupting influence of power.

Why You Should Read Carrion Comfort

Stephen King put Carrion Comfort in his top three all-time great horror novels. I cam across the book in the 80s and it was my first introduction to Dan Simmons writing. What I like is the way that real historical events are brought into his novels that give it a strong grounding. The characters are fully drawn, and the pace never seems to drop. If you love your horror novels with some deeper meaning and thought, and some liberal gore thrown in, this is well worth a read.