Reading this book brings to an end a month-long (which has turned into two weeks over a month) attempt to catch up on some Gothics, both rereads and contemporary. As such, I feel rather nostalgic about the book, and I am probably prone to rate it higher than I normally would. "A Winter Haunting" is a sequel to Simmons's "Summer of Night" but it's forty years later and therefore not the story of little boys any more, and hence not a rambling trip down a nostalgic memeory lane to when times were simpler and ghosts scarier. I thought "Winter"'s ghosts were pretty scary. The whole feel of the book, because Simmons has taken the nostalgia out of it, is more surreally Gothic in a hands-on, present-day manner. The protagonist was one of the 10 year olds in "Summer" who has returned to the house of another of the 10 year olds to face the ghosts he left there. That basic set-up is a winter's chill in itself. Even though it's only half the length of its predecessor, "A Winter Haunting" packs just as much punch, if not more.

Nota real: 2.75
Reseña soon.

3,5 ⭐⭐⭐
Ho amato soprattutto la prima metà del romanzo dove Simmons costruisce ambientazione e tensione in modo ineccepibile. Mi è poi sembrato che iniziassero a sovrapporsi troppi elementi diversi (fantasmi, mitologia, skinheads -?? -...) cosa che mi ha fatto un po' allentare l'attenzione.
Si tratta comunque di un ottimo libro horror dal sapore letterario (belle le citazioni del Beowulf e di Henry James) che riserva diverse sorprese.
Pur essendo in un certo senso un sequel (ci sono molti riferimenti a quanto avvenuto nel primo libro "L'estate della paura") è godibilissimo anche se letto da solo.

I was a little disappointed in the ending. Too many untethered strings. But an interesting read overall.

Do 4 * a questo libro, anche se in realtà sarebbero 3,5 approssimate per eccesso. Non potevo dargli 3* come a "Clickers". Per caso le due storie, lette una dopo l'altra, presentano dei punti in comune che permettono di metterle a confronto. Entrambe hanno un protagonista maschile, che è uno scrittore, il quale ha deciso di trasferirsi per un periodo di tempo in una piccola cittadina. Entrambi al loro arrivo devono fare i conti con lo sceriffo del posto (pure in nomi si assomigliano, uno è Conklin l'altro è Congden). A quanto pare gli sceriffi di questi posti sono dei bulli, messi lì più per dar noia ai cittadini (soprattutto ai forestieri) che per far rispettare la legge. Entrambi avranno a che fare con situazioni al di fuori del normale. Le somiglianze finiscono quì. Detto questo, lo stile di Simnons è di un altro pianeta rispetto a quello di J.F Gonzalez. Il punto è che il secondo aveva in mente un romanzo splatter, una sorta di B - book, senza nessuna pretesa artistica; Simmons invece mette su pagina un thriller psicologico, con elementi paranormali che dovrebbe far paura. E invece paura non fa. Il ritmo è un po' frammentato dai continui flashback di situazioni passate, e non tutto viene chiarito. Sarà che è il 3 di una serie di cui non ho letto i primi due. E' comunque interessante la scelta del protagonista di mezza età, non proprio un eroe, con tutti i suoi problemi; ed è molto originale la persona a cui viene affidata la narrazione. Dai, 4 stelle le ha strappate. Leggerò altro di Dan.

4.5 stars

This book is appealing in so many ways: The plot twists and turns with truly frightening moments and the suspense will keep you reading. Whenever I thought I figured someone out or knew what was going on, I was taken by surprise in where the story turned. The tension did not let up, although there was some comedic relief! I LOVED the ending.

I will add to my review later :)

Overall this was a decent horror story, with that pervasive atmosphere of unease throughout that is so rarely done well in books these days. It has a fair amount of action and the twists were totally out of left field. I thought it was more fantasy than horror though, as the entire thing is absolutely farfetched. Why would he ever want to go back to that awful house? That town? Why would he act like nothing has happened after every terrifying encounter? Why would you focus more on a ghost's boobs than on that she is in fact...dead??! I just don't get it. Worse, the story could be super boring sometimes. We don't need to know what roads his ex traveled on. We don't care THAT much about Chaucer. Beowolf is overrated, and french bulldogs aren't scary at all. I'm struggling to think of a truly likeable character in this story but Dale is a major loser, Clare was a snob, what's-her-face is portrayed like a walking pair of tits (thanks to Dale's point of view) and everyone else "in town" is horrible until the end. I guess Duane was okay.

Something's waiting for me at Duane McBride's old family farmhouse......

When the haunted 52 year old Professor Dale Stewart decides to return to his childhood stomping ground to revisit the inner demons of his past (by writing a novel) and expunge the errors of his ways, he encounters more than he bargained for with spirits from beyond as well as some pretty nasty humanoid beings.

While satisfyingly creepy, I did not find this novel truly scary like The Terror, but did like the way it was presented with the ghost of Duane (his genius boyhood friend) joining in the narration.

Very good psychological mystery-thriller.....Love Dan Simmons' writing!.....3.5 Stars.

n  (did not read Summer of Night first, but still intend to)n

Okey I need to learn how to DNF books because at the moment I can't so I just drag myself through them

"A Winter Haunting" is Dan Simmon's chilling sequel to "Summer of Night". Dale Stewart, the 10-year-old protagonist of the "Summer of Night", is now a middle-aged divorcee and a failed writer. A former college professor, he lost his job after a torrid affair with a student (also the reason for his broken marriage). When that affair fails, Dale falls into a spiral of depression and suicidal thoughts. Not really knowing why, Dale decides to pack up everything he owns and drives to his old hometown, Elm Haven, Indiana. There, he rents the old home of his childhood best friend, Duane, the one who was mysteriously killed by a runaway combine when he was 10 years old. Duane, however, may not actually be dead. (It depends on your definition of "dead".)

Unlike "Summer of Night", the scares and thrills of "A Winter Haunting" are of a more subtle, psychological nature. The monsters under Dale's adult bed and the skeletons in his adult closet aren't the type that a 10-year-old would necessarily find terrifying. They are, however, frightening to a man who has lost his wife and children, his job, and possibly his sanity. "Winter" moves at a much slower pace than "Summer" but it builds up momentum toward its eerie and oddly moving climax and conclusion. (Disclaimer: this book could probably be read without having read "Summer of Night", but I'd advise against it. Not that the reader wouldn't understand what's going on. I just think the reader would have a greater appreciation and understanding of the references and characters mentioned in "Winter". It just adds to the creepy fun when you know what the author is talking about..)

Spooky. A story about a man who goes back to his hometown to write a book about a summer long ago in his boyhood and rents a farmhouse. The farmhouse makes noises, there is a pack of demonic black dogs, the computer send him strange messages, no cell phone reception, and more. Some of the events that happen were a little predictable, but overall this is a page turner and fun.

This is my third book that I've read by Dan Simmons and each one has been so different. I think he's moving up there as one of my favorite authors.