Dan Simmons

It's the summer of 1960 in Elm Haven, Illinois, and five 12-year old boys are forming the bonds that a lifetime of changes will never erase. But then a dark cloud threatens the bright promise of summer vacation: on the last day of school, their classmate Tubby Cooke vanishes. Soon, the group discovers stories of other children who once disappeared from Elm Haven. And there are other strange things happening in town: unexplained holes in the ground, a stranger dressed as a World War I soldier, and a rendering-plant truck that seems to be following the five boys. The friends realize that there is a terrible evil lurking in Elm Haven...and they must be the ones to stop it.

(Seasons of Horror #1)

Summer of Night

Sade A

First let's start with the elephant in the room, let's just get it out there If you've ever read even half way through Stephen King's IT then you'll definitely know this book has some very close similarities with it..Picture it like this, if this were a song, you'd be going like "hey isn't that the same tune in that other song?". 

Let's talk about what really get's my goat in this book. The fact that Dan Simmon's put every mundane thing he could find into this book. I've seen some reviews which say, that him doing that makes you feel like you get to know the characters, i'm just going to say, not if half of the book is filled with that kind of stuff. like in chapter 10, you spend the first half of that chapter reading about the boys playing baseball, it goes on and on and on ugh!! Look i could have skipped that part of the book and it would not have in any way affected my knowledge of what was going on the book. i wouldn't have needed to go back there because i'd missed a clue, missed something pertinent that would screw up my understanding of the book as a whole, why? because it just wasn't needed!!!!

Now let's go on to the book giving you descriptions of where things are: Dan Simmons seemed to have a fixation with describing things like the reader was walking around with a compass or a measuring tape. Someone was either going south or north or north east or something of that nature if they weren't they were fifty feet from each other or maybe ten feet heck maybe fifty. 
case in point : 
 
❗"Cordie did not look right or left as she strode through the woods, climbed the embankment about fifty feet south of where Dale had come down"  . 

❗"The invaders had reached the far side of the quarry and were closing in from the north and south . But the woods started twenty feet beyond the quarry and went on for miles" . 

❗ "On the edge of a small copse of trees in a glade about five hundred yards north of the quarry and a quarter of a mile northeast of calvary cemetry, Gypsy Lane ran north to the south about five hundred feet west of them."  I mean why?? why??

Here's the kids speaking to each other:

Mike: "but if we use those pine trees on the south slope for cover .." 
Kevin: "the last fifty feet or so will be in the open.."  
Duane i could imagine talking like that but the rest of the boys, nooopeee!!!

Also the hygiene habits of those boys were terrible, you'd think with all the frankly unnecessary stuff the author was able to squeeze into this book he'd have squeezed in enough bath times for those boys.

Assuming the book doesn't annoy you, and cause you to dump it, Dan Simmon's finally comes through with the scares, like it's 
  really, really really, good
 heck you might even forgive him for putting in that part about baseball, and all the compass like descriptions.

P.S: Would totally have loved to see more of Cordie Cooke. That girl was badass!

Janice Hopper

My negative opinion of Dan Simmons really affects how I feel about this book. :/

I remember liking this book better the first time I read it. It was only ok for me this time through. 

I just think Dan Simmons' horror is repellent. I don't like kids in danger. The book was too long, with too many silly side things. And now reading this nostalgic summer boy story with real horror just... yuck. 

Listened to the audio version, and it was fine. The narrator was quite good. It's just the story that made me tired.

Summer of night

Elizabeth Neill

It was creepy and uncomfortable and I absolutely loved it. I listened to the audio as I followed along in the physical book. The narrator did great with all the characters especially one of the side characters that was a drunk, he nailed it. Dan Simmons writing kept me hooked and it flowed really nicely without it being info dumpy. I do have to say there are some trigger warnings for animals deaths, you might have to look up other TW before reading the book. It was a good coming of age horror book and I would recommend it to anyone who loves horror and coming of age books. Well I will be recommending this book to all my friends and family. This reads like a stand alone book and you really don't have to read the others in this 'series' but from what others have said I would definitely read the others books. Which that is what I will be doing ASAP.

shellybn

I return to this book every 2-3 years. Part of the reason is because it starts on the last day of school before summer break, and I've turned it into a kind of tradition to start it on my last day of school, as sort of a celebration of the beginning of summer. Another reason is that every time I read it, I see details, connections, and foreshadowing that I missed before. This year, I focused especially on Dan Simmons' descriptive powers. I was especially taken by his descriptions of the sky. This is a terrifying story, and yes, I know some people think the plot is cliche, but the reason why a cliche is cliche is because it is a common experience people can relate to. The themes of friendship and adults being unaware of what is really happening are common experiences of most young people.

This is one of my favorite books of all time. It is in the top 5 most frightening that I have ever read, and I thoroughly enjoy the characters, the plot, and the way it transports me to a different time.

This masterfully crafted horror classic, featuring a brand-new introduction by Dan Simmons, will bring you to the edge of your seat, hair standing on end and blood freezing in your veins It's the summer of 1960 and in the small town of Elm Haven, Illinois, five twelve-year-old boys are forging the powerful bonds that a lifetime of change will not break. From sunset bike rides to shaded hiding places in the woods, the boys' days are marked by all of the secrets and silences of an idyllic middle-childhood. But amid the sundrenched cornfields their loyalty will be pitilessly tested. When a long-silent bell peals in the middle of the night, the townsfolk know it marks the end of their carefree days. From the depths of the Old Central School, a hulking fortress tinged with the mahogany scent of coffins, an invisible evil is rising. Strange and horrifying events begin to overtake everyday life, spreading terror through the once idyllic town. Determined to exorcize this ancient plague, Mike, Duane, Dale, Harlen, and Kevin must wage a war of blood—against an arcane abomination who owns the night...

A Novel

One of my favorite books of all time. I re-read it every year or two.

ghost girl in satin

J'ai beaucoup aimé ce roman ! Les personnages sont tous attachants (même si j'aurais apprécié un peu plus de développement pour Kevin et Cordie) et j'ai adoré suivre leurs aventures (farfelues). L'aspect "coming-of-age" de ce roman m'a beaucoup plu ! Le rythme était assez lent, mais ça collait bien avec l'atmosphère très particulière de l'histoire. Les dernières pages m'ont émue. Et bien qu'il appartienne au genre de l'horreur, je n'ai pas du tout eu peur pendant ma lecture. Si cela peut déranger certaines personnes, ça m'a au contraire enchantée. Certes, certaines scènes sont gores et certains passages donnent froid dans le dos, mais j'ai le sentiment que cette lecture reste relativement accessible pour les trouillards dans mon genre. Le style d'écriture de Dan Simmons est agréable. En revanche, j'ai trouvé le climax (avec les antagonistes) un peu faible par rapport à la construction de l'intrigue. 
Quoiqu'il en soit, je suis très heureuse d'avoir découvert cette pavasse. Je recommande !

Summer of Night (Seasons of Horror #1)

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