The Terror

Simmons’s lumbering seafaring adventure-cum-ghost story is solidly manned by Vance, who invests his reading with a vinegary tang perfectly suitable for the nautical setting. Vance derives special pleasure from the opportunity to dive into the book’s mixture of King’s English, Cockney, Scottish and Irish accents, delivering each with brio and panache. Working with characters who express themselves lustily, Vance avails himself of the opportunity to chew the scenery and makes the most of it. Simmons’s novel mingles genres, alternating between horror and maritime action, and Vance uses tone and pitch to indicate the story’s joints and digressions. Vance enjoys declaiming Simmons’s characters’ speeches in booming voices, as would be appropriate for the book’s setting, but those listeners residing in apartments, or with babies, would be advised to keep the sound turned firmly down to avoid any potential noise complaints. Simultaneous release with the Little, Brown hardcover (Reviews, Nov. 6). (Apr.)