It's a horror story set in Calcutta. Pretty dark; Simmons' talents lean towards these sorts of superlative dark odyssies. I have no problem with horror novels set in foreign countries, not at all - but Simmons' depiction of Indian people and culture is pretty brutal, bordering on racist, and I don't say that lightly. I loved the book when I read it, but like Lovecraft, I was too young (13) and stupid to understand the implications of such unapologetically negative depictions. I'm not saying Simmons himself is a racist, but he is pretty narrow-minded in matter of race and culture, and he's one of those writers whose African-American and other minority characters tend to sound remarkably like white people. I don't think he's learned what Oscar Wilde put so well: “We are each our own devil, and we make this world our hell.”
You're a fan of Stone City, Cameron - if you have a chance, look up a book called Karma by the same writer. It's a terrific thriller about an architect in New York City who locks eyes with a woman falling from the top of a half-built skyscraper. He is faced with a ruthless Indian crime family and its assassins who, in the words of Ralph Peters, 'bleed medieval'. Of course he is an ex-Recon Marine, and they've messed with the wrong guy...But in any event, an important part of the story is the main character (who can trace his family's roots back to the Mayflower) confronting his own prejudices as he realizes the minorities who will one day run New York City are no better or worse, no more brave or corrupt, than his own WASP ancestors.
And it has great knife fights.
Sorry Blofeld.
