I've always enjoyed Dan Simmons's work, but nothing he's done has blown me away like his new novel, The Terror (Little, Brown, Jan. 2007). This gripping story of seamen trapped in the Arctic ice while something big and nasty devours them one by one held me rapt for the nearly 800 pages. The characters leap off the page, and despite its length, there's not an ounce of fat or filler. I'm going to be pushing this one hard to anyone who enjoys great adventure stories—it is technically a horror tale, but Simmons's skill in putting you right in the middle of the frozen action lifts it above genre fiction. It's going to be a good Father's Day handsell, too. Anyone who enjoys Patrick O'Brian or tales of Arctic expeditions is going to love it. I sure wish it were going to be out in time for Christmas, but, hey, people have to spend their Book Sense gift cards on something, right? The first great read of 2007.