# The Terror by Dan Simmons

12 Hacker News commenters recommended The Terror by Dan Simmons and 0 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 3 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Readers call it a masterpiece of historical horror, praising its vivid period detail and Arctic setting, and many feel it is underrated.

## Why people recommend it

- Vivid historical detail and Arctic setting (2 comments): "incredible book. Simmons painted quite a colorful picture of what it's like to die from scurvy" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47185377)) "The Arctic is a character in itself in this amazing story." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47186626))
- Excellent historical horror (2 comments): "strikes historical/horror like I feel hyperion does scifi/horror" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46397605)) "historical fiction but also really good!" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46405271))
- Underrated and under-discussed (2 comments): "The first one, the one based on the book, was great and did fly a good deal under the radar." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47058411)) "The one that came out some years ago was incredible, and very under-discussed I think." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47057780))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski](https://hackerapproved.com/p/house-of-leaves.md): 19 recommend
- [Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons](https://hackerapproved.com/p/carrion-comfort.md): 9 recommend
- [The Shining by Stephen King](https://hackerapproved.com/p/shining.md): 4 recommend
- [World War Z by Max Brooks](https://hackerapproved.com/p/world-war-z.md): 3 recommend
- [Summer of Night by Dan Simmons](https://hackerapproved.com/p/summer-of-night.md): 3 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/085750391X?tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/130825/9780857503916) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "The Terror by Dan Simmons", https://hackerapproved.com/p/terror/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).