"The Terror" is the kernel of a good story wrapped in an extraneous 500 pages. Dan Simmons has already proved himself capable of relatively concise, enjoyable horror with "Song of Kali," so I am especially disappointed by The Terror.A few of the issues I have with The Terror:-Simmons repeats himself to an astonishing degree.-Clumsy references to Shakespeare, especially Hamlet-The 'thing on the ice' is not remotely scary, and serves no metaphorical purpose-Ridiculous amount of silly details about non-essential characters that are supposed to pass for 'character development' but really end up annoying the reader-It's far too long!-The platitudinous, ridiculous ending.If you want good Simmons horror, re-read Song of Kali.