Lovers of the historical novel of nautical genre, adventures and touches of horror and supernatural we are in luck. The April 3 premieres The horror, the television adaptation that the channel has made AMC of the homonymous novel of the North American writer Dan simmons. I am seeing a rig, a bowsprit, a sextant and those Royal Navy uniforms and I'm already starting to tremble with emotion

If also behind the production of this 10-episode series he is a great of the cinema like Ridley Scott, the product already has a sufficient guarantee of quality. To top it off the distribution it's made of prestigious names on the British scene, ideal for a story where the cold, intrigue, terror and conflict they are the main protagonists. Let's take a look because it sure may interest you.

Dan simmons

Simmons is one of science fiction benchmark, a genre that he cultivates in several of his novels. Surely the best known are Hyperion y The fall of Hyperion, as well as its aftermath endymion y The rise of Endymion. But he has been very prolific also in other fields such as suspense (Darwin's scalpel) or the horror, with titles like A dark summer and this The horror. Posted in 2007, the writer relied on a historia real happened in the nineteenth century that ended, in a mysterious way, the life of 129 explorers.

The history

In 1847, two ships of the British Navy, the HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, under the command of sir John Franklin, they got stuck in the ice of the Arctic. They wanted to find the passage of Northwest, But ice prevented them continue your march and complete your expedition. Surrounded by polar cold and all kinds of dangers, they could only wait for the thaw to arrive.

But the days went by and the survival became more extreme, with temperatures that exceeded fifty degrees below zero, escasez of provisions and deterioration of the ships. The enfermedades that little by little they were undermining the morale and the hopes of the crew. The fantastic touch that the author gives to this story is the presence of a beastly and mysterious creature so that they will be decimated. With the first deaths ghosts also appear, such as that of the rebellion, riot or cannibalism to complete the bleak picture.

In reality they were sent for years search and rescue expeditions to try to decipher the mystery of the disappearance of the ships and find out the fate of the 129 men among officers, sailors and soldiers. They managed to find some vestiges and remains like tombs, decapitated bodies, personal items, creative writing, weapons and scouting equipment. Also, and to the shock of Victorian society at the time, they found human bones with marks made by sharp instruments that could mean that the men of both ships had to resort to cannibalism to survive.

These events had a great impact and illustrious names such as, for example, Charles Dickens, they refused to doubt the honorability of the men of the Royal Navy. It helped a lot to increase the legend and the mystery that one of the ships was that HMS Terror.

The novel

Defined as a novel historical and horror with elements of Fantastic literaturePerhaps those supernatural touches may not convince the more orthodox historical novel reader. And vice versa. Perhaps that analysis of characters and narration at times somewhat dense does not convince the reader who loves more science fiction. But without a doubt the terrifying touch is full for everyone.

It is structured in chapters that go alternating the point of view of your characters main and some secondary ones as well. Those dedicated to the Captain of the HMS Terror, Francis Moira Crozier and those starring the surgeon Doctor Harry Goodsir. The latter are written in the first person like a diary. They describe the day after day of the doctor sometimes facing the brutal death from the men of both crews, either from attacks by the bloodthirsty ice creature or from diseases such as scurvy.

Also noteworthy is the character of a young Eskimo who is called Silent Lady and that seems to haunt some of the protagonists.

We could conclude that it is a novel with a mixture of elements of Stephen King, Patrick O'Brian, Julio Verne, herman Melville and terror in the purest style of Allan poe.

The cast

The cast of the series is full of prestigious British actors. Among others:

• Jared Harris (Mad Men, The Crown), who plays Francis Crozier, captain of HMS Terror.
• Ciaran Hinds (Game of Thrones, or Julius Caesar in Roma) as Sir John Franklin.
• Paul ready (cuffs, Utopia) as Dr. Henry Goodsir;
• Tobias Menzies (Outlander, Roma, Game of Thrones) who is James Fitzjames, a member of the British Royal Army.