On June 9, 1865, while traveling by train to London with his secret mistress, 53-year-old Charles Dickens--at the height of his powers and popularity, the most famous and successful novelist in the world and perhaps in the history of the world--hurtled into a disaster that changed his life forever<b>. </b></br></br> Did Dickens begin living a dark double life after the accident? Were his nightly forays into the worst slums of <ST1:CITY w:st="on">London</ST1:CITY> and his deepening obsession with corpses, crypts, murder, opium dens, the use of lime pits to dissolve bodies, and a hidden subterranean <ST1:PLACE w:st="on"><ST1:CITY w:st="on">London </ST1:CITY></ST1:PLACE>mere research . . . or something more terrifying?<br></br></br> Just as he did in <i>The Terror</i>, Dan Simmons draws impeccably from history to create a gloriously engaging and terrifying narrative. Based on the historical details of Charles Dickens's life and narrated by Wilkie Collins (Dickens's friend, frequent collaborator, and Salieri-style secret rival), DROOD explores the still-unsolved mysteries of the famous author's last years and may provide the key to Dickens's final, unfinished work: <em>The Mystery of Edwin Drood. </em>Chilling, haunting, and utterly original, DROOD is Dan Simmons at his powerful best.