Good but quite an odd duck.

The general plot and various climaxes are the stuff of thrillers, but the rythm and length of the book aren't really those of a thriller. It's a pretty massive book and you spend 90% of that time in protagonists' and antagonists' heads building up to those and experiencing them in minute detail, sometime from multiple perspectives.
The choice of characters is pretty archetypal (a bit unfortunately ?).
Most of the antagonists are also pretty fun choices for an author who later did such a political U-turn, there's a televangelist, an old maid who lives 200% in the past and can't even /see/ the individuality of people of color she interacts with because in her head they're all still slaves and servant material, all pretty thoroughly roasted. ( )

Una vez al año, tres ancianos se reúnen para comentar sus andanzas, pero no son personas normales, ya que son capaces de obligar con sus poderes mentales a que la gente cometa las más abyectas atrocidades contra su voluntad, y lo que comentan en esas reuniones son los frutos de su maldad.
Pero una de sus antiguas víctimas que quedó con vida ha descubierto su auténtica naturaleza, y está dispuesto a emprender una cruzada contra estos "vampiros de la mente"

I was going to say that I didn't like it. But I did finish it, and I didn't think the time on it was wasted. Most of the time anyway.

Decent mainstream supernatural thriller that has one major flaw, it is way too long. There is about a 400 page novel here dragged out by Simmons to 800 page epic length. The pacing at times is plodding for a thriller. One example, the final chess game is so corny and drags on so long and does nothing to advance the story except eliminate bothersome characters. I kept expecting Austin Powers to jump out.

The idea of "mind vampires" isn't particularly novel, but Simmons may have done it first. I don't know. However, [a:China Miéville|33918|China Miéville|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1243988363p2/33918.jpg] did it better in [b:Perdido Street Station|12366974|Perdido Street Station (New Crobuzon, #1)|China Miéville|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1313246856s/12366974.jpg|3221410] and even [a:Stephen King|3389|Stephen King|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1362814142p2/3389.jpg] made his mind vampires much more three dimensional in [b:Doctor Sleep|16130549|Doctor Sleep (The Shining #2)|Stephen King|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1362415596s/16130549.jpg|17851499]. Except for Tony Harod, Carrion's vampires are two dimensional characters. ( )

It's easy to see why so many masters of horror recommend this book. No detail is spared. In the version I read, Dan Simmons talks about the difficulty he faced getting this book published. I'm glad he prevailed and was able to publish the version he wanted. Because it's the details that give this horror story its heart and soul, and ultimately one of the best endings I have read in a long time. Just when you think a character is safe, Simmons sucker-punches you, making you just as vulnerable as the characters. This would make a fantastic television series. ( )