Carrion Comfort was Dan Simmons's second published book, after Song of Kali. It is a horror novel, as was its predecessor... It deals with the subject of vampires -- but not your classic blood suckers that Simmons wrote about in Children of the Night. Rather, these are vampires of the mind... Here is a review I found from Amazon: **************************** From Publishers Weekly The second novel by World Fantasy Award-winner Simmons ( The Song of Kali ) is a 636-page epic that draws on a variety of genres--horror, science fiction, political thriller, Hollywood roman a clef. It centers around a small number of "mind vampires" who can subjugate other people to their wills, read their minds, experience through their senses. The immensely powerful vampires use others, often bloodily, and often in frivolous "games" (hunting human prey, chess games with human pieces, and so on). Opposing them are Saul Laski, a psychologist and concentration-camp survivor, who is devoted to tracking down the Nazi vampire von Borchert; Natalie Preston, whose father inadvertently and fatally crossed the path of a pawn of the ancient, dotty vampire Melanie Fuller; Sheriff Bobby Joe Gentry, dragged in while investigating the multiple murders that marked the departure of Melanie Fuller from Charleston; and a host of other normals and vampires whose lives impinge on those of the principals. While he could profitably have trimmed the novel by a third, Simmons has produced, overall, a compelling thriller. Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. ************************
The short story of the same name, which was the inspiration for this novel can be found in the collection Prayers for Broken Stones. ******************************************************
Our lives are the songs that sing the universe into existence.~David Zindell <i></i>
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