Drood
Drood by Dan Simmonsby Dan Simmons
Shares rank 12 of 13 historical novels by recommenders
Readers enjoyed this historical novel even without a deep Dickens background, praising its fantastical bent and its tone and style, which convincingly match Dickens and Collins.
Readers enjoyed this historical novel even without a deep Dickens background, praising its fantastical bent and its tone and style, which convincingly match Dickens and Collins.
4 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 3
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 75%
Recommended in 1 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 3 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 3 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 1 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Enjoyable without prior Dickens knowledge
“I really enjoyed it! So I'd say it's worth checking out even if you're not a big Dickens reader.”
Comment from 27 Feb 2026 in “Dan Simmons, author of Hyperion, Song of Kali, dead at 77” Tone convincingly matches Dickens and Collins
“his tone and style match that of Dickens and Collins so convincingly”
Comment from 27 Feb 2026 in “Dan Simmons, author of Hyperion, Song of Kali, dead at 77” Historical fiction with a fantastical bent
“My favorites were his historical fiction that contained a fantastical bent”
Comment from 27 Feb 2026 in “Dan Simmons, author of Hyperion, Song of Kali, dead at 77”
Other historical novels people recommend
The four most recommended other historical novels, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aubrey-Maturin seriesby Patrick O'Brian | 18 | 0 | 100% | 6 | — | Approved |
| The Three Musketeersby Alexandre Dumas | 12 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | Approved |
| The MANIACby Benjamín Labatut | 12 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | Approved |
| I, Claudiusby Robert Graves | 11 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | Approved |
| Droodby Dan SimmonsThis page | 3 | 1 | 75% | 1 | — | — |
What people said
All 4 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“My favorites were his historical fiction that contained a fantastical bent”
“I really enjoyed it! So I'd say it's worth checking out even if you're not a big Dickens reader.”
“I tried reading it but I couldn't get into it.”
“his tone and style match that of Dickens and Collins so convincingly”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.