Simmons writes in a style that is truly captivating, like a hot-rodding angel. He fills his American nightmare with scares that will make your heart race, suspense that will keep you on the edge of your seat, and a sweet, surprising nostalgia that will tug at your heartstrings. It is one of those rare must-read books that you simply cannot put down. I am in awe of Dan Simmons, just as Stephen King is.

Mr. King's words of high praise were what initially drew me to read this story. And after just finishing it, I wholeheartedly agree that Dan Simmons' talent is outstanding. "Summer of Night" is indeed one helluva ride! It takes you on a journey through a small town in the summer, filled with mystery, danger, and unforgettable characters. The atmosphere Simmons creates is palpable, and you can almost feel the heat of the summer sun and the fear in the air. If you're looking for a thrilling and engaging read, then "Summer of Night" is definitely the book for you.

Once in a while, a book emerges that truly lives up to all the hype and glowing reviews it receives. Such a book is not merely a great horror story; it transcends genres to become a great novel and a remarkable work of fiction. Summer of Night is precisely one of those books.

Epic in scope, it is massive and thoroughly awesome in every conceivable way. The author has masterfully captured the essence of the freedom and excitement that comes with being a child during the summer. The writing is excellent, and there are parts that are genuinely terrifying. The pages seem to come alive, and the characters are portrayed with cinematic vividness.

SPOILER ALERT: It was extremely upsetting to witness the author kill off my favorite character midway through the book. SPOILER END. It is quite evident that the author has a tendency towards verbosity. However, this is a good thing considering his remarkable command of words. This is manifested not only in the size of this hefty book but also in its very lengthy introduction. In fact, the introduction should arguably be an afterword as it contains spoilers. I was extremely glad that I chose to skip it and read it only after finishing the book.

For the most part, the subject of the introduction is a lamentation about the loss of children's personal freedom nowadays compared to 1960. Some valid points are made, supported by legitimate research. However, it comes across as a bit of a personal crusade lecture, something that fortunately has no trace in the actual book. Nevertheless, there are some interesting and informative aspects in the introduction, such as autobiographical notes and a guide to other books featuring the characters from Summer of Night. Overall, it is an extremely impressive and terrific book that I highly recommend.

Stephen King's book blurb for "Summer of the Night" states:

"If it isn't the best horror novel of the last five years, it is surely one of the best three - a gorgeous and terrifying story of five boys who encounter a monstrous entity during an enchanted Illinois summer thirty years ago. Simmons writes like a hot-rodding angel, filling his American nightmare with scares, suspense, and a sweet, surprising nostalgia. This is a must-read book, easily surpassing Clive Barker's 'Books of Blood.' I am in awe of Dan Simmons."

This book was written in 1991. I find it hard to believe that there weren't many better horror novels around that time, including those by Stephen King himself! I simply can't agree with King on this one. It wasn't terrible, but it definitely wasn't great. I hate to disagree with King as he is the master, but perhaps he was handsomely paid for this blurb? Shaking my head in wonder.

I can't fathom how anyone could review this book and compare it to Stephen King's "IT" and claim this one is superior. No way! "IT" was in every way better than "Summer of the Night." I think Mr. Simmons was attempting to create his own version of "IT," but he fell short. Now, don't misunderstand me; I think Dan Simmons is a great writer and his recent works are excellent. But this one... well...

Let's discuss the continuity issues and excessive repetition. For instance, he mentions that Dale's basement has flooded 4 times in 4.5 years, but several chapters later, he says it has flooded 2 times in 4 years. He also twice mentions that the same basement has no windows. Another example is when he states that Lawrence usually wants to hold his older brother's hand while falling asleep, and most of the time Dale tells him no. He repeats this almost word for word later in the book. Simmons does this several times... While it's nice that he wants to remind us of earlier details, it really irritated me.

Also, there is a boy in the group, Kevin, who decides to fight the evil in their town despite never actually witnessing a supernatural event. All the other characters have seen and experienced things that terrify them, but not Kevin. Why does he believe his friends when they share their experiences? His character is very underdeveloped, so we have no idea why he participates in life-threatening plans without first-hand knowledge of what's going on.

And why was a key character killed off early in the book? He was the most well-developed character of them all. Why invest so much time in getting us attached to him and then eliminate him?

I did find that Dale's and Mike's characters were well-developed, but I didn't really buy Kevin's and Jim's. Lawrence was somewhere in between, but why was he often alone in the brothers' shared room when he was so afraid of what's under his bed? There's no way he would ever be in that room alone, even during the day.

And how could any of these boys have normal boyish moments like searching for a buried cave or playing hours of baseball when they all knew they were in grave danger at any time of the day or night? I would be staying close to home and worrying myself sick!

There were just too many things that didn't work for me in this book. It took me longer to read than I usually do, and it wasn't believable. It did have some creepy parts and a good premise, but otherwise, I wouldn't recommend it to others.

All Dan Simmons fans are well aware that he has the remarkable ability to write successfully in any genre he opts for and has a penchant for infusing horror into various other literary forms. Here, we have his YA/horror novel.

It is, however, a bit too intense in its horror, profanity, violence, sexuality, and grimness to be neatly placed in the YA section of any bookstore. With all the guns, swearing, budding sexuality among eleven-year-olds, kiddie-crime, and gruesome horror elements, it might raise some eyebrows. But that's precisely what makes it great and worthy of any eleven-year-old's time (or that of any older person, for that matter). Of course, one might expect nightmares due to its sheer scariness, and those nightmares might not be limited to just the 11-year-olds.

All the protagonists are 11 years old, except for one who is younger. They find themselves up against something ill-defined, sinister, and extremely dangerous. But they are unaware of this when they decide to investigate the disappearance of a classmate on the last day of school before the summer of 1960. Being a YA novel, the kids must solve the problems without the help of adults, a common plot constraint/difficulty in the genre that Simmons handles superbly. His choice of setting in small-town Illinois in 1960 is excellent as it naturally resolves many of the issues. Back then, kids could roam freely without supervision for entire days, go camping without adult accompaniment, and venture wherever they pleased within the range of their bikes and energy. In the small town of Elm Haven where our disappearance-investigating kids live, this includes a wide variety of locales such as farmland, woodland, the town dump, and the railroad/way. Private gun security in the USA back then seems to have been similar to that of today, i.e., non-existent, and all the kids seem to have been taken shooting by their fathers.

The characterisation is outstanding, which is crucial as there is a group of kids who get increasingly involved in a series of supernatural encounters that are both dangerous and malicious, and they need to be clearly distinguished from each other. However, there is a slight flaw in the writing itself. Generally, it is the evocative, atmospheric prose that one anticipates from Simmons. But just occasionally, throughout the book, there are individual sentences that stand out as glaringly bad and could be easily corrected. This is a minor annoyance in a novel that manages to capture the nostalgia for childhood summer vacations/holidays from school, the fears, concerns, and bonds of school-children, and the spookiness and dread inspired by the inexplicable events extremely well.

This leads to the question of which genre this book belongs to. Yes, it is Simmons' YA novel, but I also believe it is his Ray Bradbury-esque novel. Its resemblances to both Dandelion Wine and Something Wicked This Way Comes are striking: the small-town Illinois setting, the nostalgic look back at childhood summers, the unexpected tragedy and evil, the nostalgia for old horror films and stories, and the presence of wannabe writers.

This book may start slowly, but it builds up to a gripping and terrifying experience and is never dull. It foreshadows later Simmons works such as Drood and The Terror in its narrative and thematic approach. Moreover, it doesn't suffer from the bane of Simmons' books, which are mood-destroying/tedium-inducing lit.crit. essays.

Overall, it's great stuff.

I know many will call it blasphemy, but this book truly put Simmons ahead of King in my mental list of great horror authors.

"Summer of Night" is closest in story to "It" only without the haphazard ending (and 400 pages shorter). When you pick this book up at the store, you'll notice it's a thin book. Like me, you might assume you're about to read a 200 - 300 page story. However, about 100 pages in, it dawns on you that there's still a long way to go. Flipping to the back, you'll discover that the "light read" you picked out is actually 600 pages exactly. Written on what appears to be rice paper, it's so thin, and every page is about to crawl over the margins (if you can call typing to the end of the paper a margin). There's no wasted space in this book either; chapters begin on the same page as the last chapter ended, with only a few returns in between and a chapter heading. Prepare yourself for a lot of reading.

Now the good news - every page is wonderful. I compare this book to "It" in the sense that it's about a group of young children, mostly 10 - 11 years old, with an 8-year-old younger brother. These boys (and girl when she shows up) are the only ones who know that something is terribly wrong in their little hometown. The setting is a very rural small town surrounded by cornfields in 1960. The boys are all instantly likeable and very real. I listen to the descriptions of Lawrence, the little brother, and he's my youngest son to a "T." Each of the boys is different, has different living situations, and none of them are some sort of magical superman who wrestles monsters with superhuman ability.

The tale is patient and brooding, slowly building to a terrifying crescendo. It starts with the disappearance of a child on the last day of school, followed by sounds under the beds, faces peering in windows, and grows with ferocity from there. As you read, your stomach will churn and your heart will race as you pray for the survival of the children. How can they stand against these dark forces? I read all 600 pages in 2 nights, hating to give it up on the first night, but work forced me to sleep. Odds are you'll want to read all 600 pages in one sitting. It's that hard to put down. You'll find yourself worried about those little boys all day until you're able to finish the book. I highly recommend it for anyone who was afraid of the basement, the creatures under the bed, walking through cemeteries, the bathrooms in the basement of dark and ancient buildings, or the faces in your windows at night.

This book is a must-read for horror enthusiasts, offering a gripping and terrifying story that will keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish.

The book is an explanation of the love for Childhood, that Childhood - with the endless summer days, with the dangerous games - swimming in unsecured water bodies, climbing trees and mountain slopes. Childhood with skinned knees and elbows, with torn pants and scuffed sneakers. Childhood, which according to Dan Simmons we have irrevocably lost in the 21st century. The author's Introduction is a wonderful essay on the topic, which, following the translator's and editor's advice, I read after the book itself.

Of course, the novel is thrilling, and the kids will encounter an ancient evil, better known to us from the "It" formula, but as a hint, the plot evokes more associations with "A Boy's Life" for me. I also found my favorite heroes - Lawrence - Dale's younger brother, one of the main characters, an eight-year-old boy, brave to the point of recklessness (or stupidity, ha-ha) and Cordie Cook - the girl, who is quite different from the sugary images we are used to seeing in such reads...

The real rating is 4.5, because of the slightly wise beginning, but... that's how Dancho Simov is - he gradually gains inertia, slowly and insistently he introduces us into his next book Universe, outlining the heroes down to the tiniest detail, after which he drives them at full speed as only he knows how :)

"You guys have been scaring each other, haven't you?" she asked.

Both boys denied it and began babbling, describing the thing again. Dale showed how they had tried to hold the closet door shut.

"And this bug pushed it open?" Their mom had a slight smile.

Dale sighed. "Mom," said Dale as calmly as he could, his voice conversational, reasonable, "can we sleep in your room tonight? In our sleeping bags?"

She hesitated a second. Dale guessed that she was remembering the time they locked themselves out because of the "mummy", or perhaps the time last summer when they'd sat out in the fields near the ball diamond at night trying to telepathically contact alien spaceships and had come home terrified when a plane's lights had gone over.

It's the summer of 1960 in Elm Haven, Illinois. The creepy school building is shuttering for good, and school is out for the summer. Amid the joys of long hot days, baseball, swimming holes, and hunting for buried treasure, a group of boys who call themselves "the Bike Patrol" (later joined by one extraordinarily unique heroine) can't help but wonder how their classmate Tubby disappeared on the last day of school and why the school staff seem so unbothered about it. Their investigation uncovers a much bigger conspiracy involving creepy adults, trucks, holes, Medieval relics, ghost zombies, and a creepy peepshow. And someone is conducting rituals on the roof to bring about the end of the world.

Yes, this novel came out a few years after Stephen King's It, but it's different. Simmons is very invested in the adventures and discoveries of childhood, the loss of outdoor play, and the importance of kids having their own world separate from adults. For the first half, I wondered if he should have left the horror out. But things come together after about halfway through (and one shocking death). While his prose got a little florid sometimes, and there were some scare sequences that didn't pay off narratively, and the action scenes were a little drawn out and hard to visualize, the ending got me with the Kleenex.

One thing to note: for those who hate reading about violence toward animals, gird your loins. Cats and dogs die in this story, a lot. I had to skip over paragraphs more than once. Seriously horror writers, stop killing cats and doggos for cheap shock. (Oh, and some people die too. Still recommended. The end.)

Summer Of Night is an overly long book. I have a 500-page hardcover copy, and it truly needs some excellent editing. Dan Simmons undoubtedly has good intentions, but most of them are drowned in the complete staleness and clichés of the plot.

So far this year, one of my favorite re-reads has been King's IT, which I regard as one of his genuine masterpieces. After finishing Summer of Night, I can't help but think that Dan Simmons might have shared my enthusiasm for IT and decided to write his own version. However, in the end, he failed to recapture the magic that King achieved so effortlessly.

What could have been a beautiful coming-of-age novel instead turned out to be little more than a B-movie horror with all the typical elements: haunted schools, possessed objects, creatures taking over people's bodies (there's even darkness that creeps under the bed!). The book progresses at a snail's pace, and even when something finally occurs, there isn't enough suspense or interest to make you eager to turn the page to see the resolution. Simmons overuses cliffhangers (sometimes several times per chapter) and makes amateurish mistakes like starting several sentences with the character's name one after another.

As the plot slowly unfolds, the children begin to realize what's happening in their town. Moreover, they finally decide to fight the creepy things with Holy Water (reminiscent of Salem's Lot?). And when the final confrontation arrives, they all become gun-toting little rambos. The worst part is that none of this is even remotely scary, and I dare say that the interest established in the opening chapter (which is a rather nice tribute to Shirley Jackson) completely fades away at the end, as the novel reaches utter mediocrity.

Reviewers have compared Summer of Night to classics like Boy's Life and the aforementioned IT. It's like comparing a wheelbarrow to a sleek muscle car. Simmons had some interesting ideas, but ultimately, he lacked someone to guide him in the right direction regarding where to take all these elements. Then perhaps it could have become a great novel. Unfortunately, that's not the case.

I really wanted to like it, but it just didn't meet my expectations.

4.5/5 stars

When compared to the other books by Simmons that I have perused, this particular one took a different turn. It wasn't overly fixated on history or the realm of sci-fi. Instead, it presented a relatable narrative centered around childhood and the inevitable loss of innocence.

Although it may not be the most original coming-of-age story out there, it still manages to be a rather enjoyable read. It features some truly great horror moments that send shivers down your spine and an awesome setting that immediately grabs your attention. Who can resist the allure of cornfields and a small town?

My only minor gripe was that a few aspects were left somewhat unanswered, which left me with a tinge of curiosity. However, this is a great addition to Simmons's bibliography. It doesn't feel bloated or bombard you with an overwhelming info dump. Sure, there were a few sections that were a bit overwritten, but they didn't detract from the overall experience at all.

In conclusion, despite its minor flaws, this book is definitely worth checking out for those who appreciate a good mix of horror and coming-of-age themes.

Most non-King (and now McCammon) horror books have not worked for me.

Other than Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill, I can't think of one I really thoroughly enjoyed.

Then came Dan Simmons and his novel Summer of Night.

I had people tell me that if I liked IT and Boy's Life, I would like this.

Since those are both all-time favorite books for me, the bar was set extremely high.

I have to admit I was nervous at first because the book started quite slow.

Also, as the characters were introduced, I didn't take to them or differentiate them quite as easily as I did with those in King or McCammon books.

I think part of that is just what Simmons tries to do.

He goes for a slower start and keeps his characters kind of separated earlier on.

However, after the halfway point, I was fully immersed in the story and the characters, and I did not want to stop.

It leaned into a couple of tropes I really enjoyed, and the climax and conclusion were fantastic.

It was satisfying, even if I found myself wanting a bit more information about what was going on.

Ultimately, I have to say that it was decidedly not as good as either IT or Boy's Life.

But like I said, those books are all-time favorites for me, so that's a tough standard.

I definitely see why this book is compared to those, though.

And Simmons is a fantastic writer who really ends up nailing the characters and the horror elements.

I definitely recommend this book to all horror readers.

It is a winner in my opinion, and I'll definitely be reading more Simmons.

A truly remarkable coming of age horror novel that vividly brings to mind Stephen King's IT, but thankfully without that rather disturbing sewer orgy scene. I was completely enthralled by this book. Simmons masterfully crafts the town of Elm Haven, imbuing it with an overwhelming sense of impending doom and dread. There is an abundance of depth and mystery lurking behind the underlying evil, which keeps the reader on the edge of their seat throughout. Additionally, he presents us with a brilliant ensemble of characters that one instantly grows to love and cheer for as the story unfolds.

To be honest, I would struggle to identify anything that I didn't like about it. Simmons skillfully balances the elements of horror, humour, and heartwarming goodness with absolute perfection. It is a book that every horror enthusiast should devour immediately. It is an easy five-star read that will leave you haunted and satisfied.

This novel is a testament to Simmons' talent as a writer, and it is sure to become a classic in the horror genre. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a thrilling and unforgettable reading experience.

On the second reading, I liked it much more.

It was simply perfect!

The story seemed to unfold in a whole new light, revealing details and nuances that I had missed the first time around.

The characters came alive, their emotions and motives becoming clearer and more relatable.

The plot had twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat, eagerly turning the pages to see what would happen next.

Every sentence was crafted with care, the language flowing smoothly and beautifully.

It was truly a masterpiece, one that I will surely read again and again.

I can't wait to share it with others and hear their thoughts on this wonderful piece of literature.