25-30 years ago I would have probably said that Simmons was my favorite author. I read Carrion Comfort 3-4 times in high school/college and while the Hyperion series was coming out it was my favorite SciFi series - I waited for every book. As I moved into my 30s and beyond, I found that I grew out of Simmons' stuff. By the time the Ilium series came out, I couldn't finish them so I moved on from Simmons in general. 4-5 years ago, I picked up The Terror on a whim and ended up really enjoying it. It does feel like it is the work of an author who is at the point of his career where he doesn't really have an editor but still I enjoyed almost everything about it (I read it in the middle of a very brutal Wisconsin winter storm so that might have helped). While reading it, I discovered there was a TV series in production and when it came out, I was again pleasantly surprised - it's a great TV show. I too felt it was better than the book.

At some point during lockdown in 2020 or 2021, I dug out my old books and tried re-reading Carrion Comfort and the Hyperion books. I couldn't finish any of them. I also tried reading The Abominable and it was hands down one of the dumbest books I've ever finished. I guess sometimes a reader's mood and interests rise to meet an author's output and once that crests and falls away, both move on with their lives.