The Abominable: A Novel

If any of these things don't apply to you, you may not enjoy the book.1. You love reading gripping mountain-climbing stories, like K2 and Into Thin Air2. You don't mind a relaxed development pace--you're content to dive into the background. This is not a read-in-one-night thriller--it's 673 pages, and if you've read The Terror, the pace is very similar. That said, I did always feel that there was enough of an impetus to keep me reading, to find out exactly what extraordinary event took place at the end of the climb.3. You enjoy historical fiction.4. You can overlook some egregious cultural stereotyping. Granted, this story takes place in the lead up to WWII, so Simmons' characters were fairly Germanophobic. I'm not sure that it was necessary to go quite so over the top, and the French character J.C. was annoying during his "how do you say..." moments. Since these characterizations account for so little of the actual story, they didn't overly bother me.Bonus points if you've read and enjoyed Simmons' book The Terror. I can't really say anything about the ending without a spoiler and I hate spoilers, but I can say that the "Abominable" that the title refers to is truly abominable, and was not at all expected. A few images bothered me for a couple of days, especially because I have young children. That's all I can say.Otherwise, I enjoyed The Abominable immensely. I love well-researched books, and Simmons is one of the top researchers today, IMHO. I love books I can get lost in, and I spent a very pleasant sixteen hours reading this book. As others have said, it will appeal to a very particular taste. I think it's most important that you love reading about mountain climbing and everything that's involved. I've never climbed a mountain and never will, but reading about expeditions almost feels like Sci Fi to me, given the extreme conditions and high death rates. I loved it.

I liked the book, but not well enough to recommend it. The first two thirds include endlessly detailed descriptions of mountain climbing techniques and terminology. Much of that could have been edited out for the sake of a better narrative. The last third is a pretty improbable clock-and-dagger scenario on the slopes of Everest. And p.s., this is NOT about the abominable snowman or yeti. If you expect some a story like Simmons told in The Terror, you won't find it.

I love all his books, period. But, I also know that when I pick one up, it is going to be a mix of true history and fiction. I love the way the author melds history and the supernatural or unexpected. I like historical fiction, and even though his books go the extra mile on the fiction part, I always learn something new about history. I love how he allows stories to slowly unfold with very thought provoking twists. I find myself pausing to think about what I have just read. BUT, this book was so bloated, so slow, so repetitive, so contrived, I could not finish it, even though I love most books based on this subject matter. One device I absolutely cant stand is when authors try to catch the reader up on history or backstory by revealing it through tedious dialogue. In this book, Simmons uses that device ad infinitum. And the characters are so contrived, so one dimensional, so sterotyped, I just could not get through it.Highly recommend this and my favorite of the author's, The Terror.

If you like climbing and very close details this book have many fine moments, also told around very exiting parts of history leading up to WW2 even though most of it is fiction. The book is long and very detailed but rewards you with both action and a good story but you have to be patient. Big parts of it is of course fiction as a i said but im impressed with the cuorage this climbing pioneers had in the 20 an 30thies climbing this mountains with the tech they had these days. If you expect the book to descripe Yetis or the abominable snowman your in for a dissapointment, the monsters here are humans, this is not a sc-fi/horror book, far from but don't let it fool you, it's well written and sometimes you feel the cold and despair of the main caracters fighting mother nature in it's most unforgiving environment, i was close to give it 5 stars but feel it is to long and detailed about climbing and equipment used to so to hold every readers interest, it is worth it if you give it a shot, Dan Simmons is for sure a gifted writer and i can only imagine the amount of reserarch going into this book

I just finished reading The Abominable and feel deeply moved by this amazing and surprising story -- which is apparently not really by Dan Simmons, and not really fiction. If you read this book, you MUST read Dan Simmons' introduction or prologue to truly understand the rest of the story's context. The story has everything a good adventure tale needs, and the ending offers several powerful surprises. If, like me, you are not a mountain climber, you may find some sections a little hard to picture in your mind, as the narrator describes technical details of climbs. However, those sections lend authenticity to the tale and aren't too dense for anyone who wants to know what the climbers actually went through. Also, there are many vivid scenes that are fascinating and not technical. The characters - wow - I liked and cared about all of them so much. Toward the end I found myself weeping at a description of something that was mysterious & otherworldly. There is much excitement, suspense, and mystery in this book - including how this story came to be told. Highly recommended.

The copywriter who wrote the blurb had either never read the book (or even heard an accurate description of it) or was just unscrupulous about horribly misleading the potential reader into buying something very different from what is described. Sadly it's probably the latter, and I will never trust a blurb on a Simmons book again.SPOILER ALERTThe blurb: As the winds rise and the temperature and oxygen levels drop, Deacon and his companions hear howls in the distance. Some dark creature is tracking them up the mountain, sending them scrabbling blindly into Everest's dangerous heights to escape it.The reality: America saves the wimpy Brits from assured destruction in WWII years before the war even starts by obtaining evidence that Hitler is a pedophile. Yes, you read that right. No dark creature at all, but plenty of racist stereotypes and a farcical dinner party at which the narrator is amused by a near falling-out between Winston Churchill and Charlie Chaplin, but takes an unpleasantly homophobic disliking to Lawrence of Arabia. The first 488 pages concern nothing but mountain-climbing and are fine (two stars for these). From then on it's Famous Five and Scooby Doo all the way. Don't bother.

The Abominable is a clear example of why setting and then meeting genre expectations is so important.- Called 'The Abominable.'- Set on Everest and the blurb includes the line: A dark creature is tracking them up the mountain, sending them scrabbling blindly into Everest's dangerous heights to escape it.Anyway, guess what the book isn't about?I feel seriously cheated because I was not sold the story I was set up to want. It's cool to subvert genre expectations, but to sell a monster story and then supply an espionage novel is not the same as subverting genre elements. This kind of cheap, smoke and mirrors misdirection serves only to frustrate readers.It's a shame, because I would have enjoyed the novel if it were the story I was expecting, but ultimately I'm left disappointed.

I read this fresh from having read 'The Terror' by the same author, and was disappointed. No-one reading this book could say that Simmons hasn't done his research. However, what was a strength in The Terror' is a flaw in 'The Abominable'. The author is so eager cramming in his knowledge of mountain climbing that he neglects characterization and a reasonable plot. The result is a drawn out over detailed and stolid offering marred even further by a ridiculous story, badly told. Sorry Mr Simmons, I thoroughly enjoyed 'The Terror'.

This is a really, really good book.As others have said, the description blurb has no link whatsoever to the actual contents of the book. If you've read The Terror and think this will be the same sort of thing, you're going to be disappointed in that respect. Towards the end of the book the titles link to the plot does at least become apparent.If you have any interest in mountains and mountain climbing (even as just an armchair enthusiast as I am), then the detail and descriptions in the book will hold you, and with it is, in fact, a really good plot. Sure, the author has taken liberties with the reality of climbing and chatting at 8000m, but then the plot has to move forward. The tie in to real history, as with The Terror, is excellent. Certainly I finished it wondering "what if ...".My only issue would be all the heights being listed in feet, which obviously links with the period, but means nothing to me!

Anybody expecting anything as compelling as Drood or The Terror will be bitterly disappointed. Dan Simmons is so much better than this yet even experts produce a stinker now and then. I won't go into the plot but can assure you that most readers who are familiar with his work will be disappointed by how banal this novel is.