The Terror
by Dan Simmons · first published 2007
92% recommend8% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Historical fiction about the doomed 19th-century Franklin Arctic expedition, blending close attention to the real record with a supernatural thread. Suited to readers who enjoy history with horror.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
The bestselling author of Ilium transforms the story of the ill-fated Franklin Expedition into a devastating historical adventure that will chill you to your core.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
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Read The Terror by Dan Simmons. This is a great mix of horror and history novel, using the expedition as its background.
on “Lost Franklin expedition ship found in the Arctic” ↗Very relevant to an amazing book I am reading I wish will never finish: The Terror, by Dan Simmons. A very descriptive novel about an antarctic expedition in the 19th. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Terror_(novel)
on “Pourquoi-Pas (1908)” ↗…tale. I haven't read the rest yet because I am unsure how the story will go without that structure as I wasn't too invested in the space politics, but I hear it is good. Also if you haven't read, The Terror by Dan Simmons is also great and strikes historical/horror like I feel hyperion does scifi/horror
on “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?” ↗…Simmons. What I found fascinating is that he does not write always the same book (as a lot of author), and he can write in different genre and stay very credible. Carrion Comfort, Children of the Night, The Terror in the horror genre are really great. (Try to read the last one in the heart of a very cold winter)
on “Entitlement issues (2009)” ↗Slightly recommended: The Terror by Dan Simmons. I did not really think it was great, but it is an interesting alternative take on the Erebus-Terror disaster.
on “The Erebus – an historic ‘adventure’ with a tragic outcome” ↗For novels, I love Shogun, by James Clavell, The Terror by Dan Simmons. For science book: QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter by Richard Feynman.
on “Ask HN: What are your favorite books or essays written at least 100 years ago?” ↗A good book is also the Terror by Dan Simmons, goes into more than scurvy..... https://www.amazon.com/Terror-Dan-Simmons/dp/0316486094 Just finished it yesterday.. recommended!!
on “The Age of Scurvy (2017)” ↗…but now I find my Dickens is lacking and I need to explore beyond A Christmas Carol. But reading Dan Simmons is a delight, whether it’s Hyperion, or his Stephen King-esque works, or my favourite, The Terror, which is something else again.
on “Mutual Friends: The Adventures of Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins” ↗I love Hyperion! This year I read The Terror by Dan Simmons which is historical fiction but also really good!
on “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?” ↗There's a fun Dan Simmons book "The Terror" that tells a (very) fictional account of what happened to them. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Terror_(novel)
on “Ship found in Arctic 168 years after doomed Northwest Passage attempt” ↗Thanks, I'll give it a go. My favourite historical fiction is Dan Simmons' novel, The Terror [0]. I think it stays pretty close to the known historical record and characters, but adds a fantasy element to glue the story threads together. 0. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Terror_(novel)
on “Beyond Mantel: Historical novels” ↗Simmons, Dan. The Terror I'm about 50 pages in, and am entranced with the prose.
on “Ask HN: What Are You Reading?” ↗…High-heat cooking temperatures or prolonged cook times can break down the vitamin. Because it is water-soluble, the vitamin can also seep into cooking liquid and be lost if the liquids are not eaten. In "The Terror" (A supernatural horror story by Dan Simmons, set in the lost Franklin expedition) it is raw meat that saves the indigenous people from scurvy. Which is probably not too inaccurate.
on “Turmeric’s unexpected link to lead poisoning in Bangladesh” ↗