WOW!

Thanks be to KA that I have finally discovered a horror writer whom I might potentially love as deeply as my Uncle Stevie, Stephen King.

I had previously read Simmons' 'The Terror' for a group read (NO - I have not yet seen the show), and I was completely enamored with it. Fearing that it might have been a 'one hit wonder', I also joined a group to read THIS one, 'Summer of Night'. Now I am certain - Dan Simmons is no laughing matter. (In fact, I promptly ordered the sequel to this book as soon as I turned the last page.)

I 'read' this via audio, and it was executed *extremely* well. At times, I felt as if I was perusing an homage to King's "IT". I mean, Simmons' book showcases a circle of close-knit friends comprising a bunch of boys and 1 girl, who unite to combat evil and dreadful adults in the small town where they reside, and it takes place in the 1960's. Yet, this is far from a 'copycat' situation - this book is a powerful story in its own right.

The writing was both stark *and* descriptive, skillfully crafting a group of 6 highly distinct kids with fully developed characteristics and identities. None of them felt like a 'generic kid character'. In fact, Simmons portrays a childhood summer so adeptly and authentically that I am tempted to go back and verify that this is indeed the same author who penned the Arctic tale of historical horror filled with male sailors, as you couldn't get much more opposite than the two novels of his that I have now read: 'The Terror' and 'Summer of Night'! Each was fantastic, and so different from one another that they could have been the work of two separate writers. (NOT a complaint, by the way!)

I am probably not even making coherent sense at the moment as I am still flush with emotion, and most importantly, I am extremely excited to have unearthed a new 'go-to' author - one of the greatest things to occur to a Constant Reader!

I am aware that I am extremely late to the Dan Simmons bandwagon, but at least I have finally found my ticket to ride and am buckling up for more thrilling voyages of horror and remarkable storytelling. Awesome. --Jen from Quebec :0)

(PS) The paperback of the sequel to this book (entitled 'A Winter's Haunting') is currently on its way to my house.

I wasn't entirely certain what I was embarking upon when I initially began reading "Summer of Night". However, boy, did I truly relish this one!

I adored all the characters and the small-town universe that was constructed within this narrative. Indeed, I did sense that Mr. Simmons could be a bit verbose in his descriptions of things. Nevertheless, I understand that he was endeavoring to build up the world he had fabricated.

I believe the aspect that most impressed me was precisely how terrifying the book was. When it unleashed the terror, it truly cranked it up and had me sitting on the edge of my seat on numerous occasions. It was a thrilling and captivating read that kept me engaged from start to finish. The vivid characters and the detailed setting added to the overall atmosphere of the story, making it a truly memorable experience. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good horror story with a touch of nostalgia for a small-town environment.

The comparisons to King's IT are indeed well-deserved. However, Summer of Night never quite reached the same lofty heights as Stevie's book did. But then again, IT is like, my absolute favorite book ever, so it was an extremely tall order to live up to. A coming-of-age horror story with some good ol' boys teaming up to take down an evil power was precisely what I needed to break out of this slump.

Simmons does an excellent job of transporting the reader back to the 1960s, evoking a sense of nostalgia for a time and place that I'll never be able to experience firsthand. The characters and friendships in this book are good, although I wish they could have been more fully developed. This book could have easily been an extra 300-400 pages long, spending a significant amount of time solidifying the day-to-day lives of these youngsters, and I would have devoured it. As it is, though, the plot doesn't really unfold over a very long period, and Simmons keeps it moving at a pretty brisk pace. For most people, that's probably a plus, but not for me.

Also, something that was completely unexpected but really cool at the same time was Dan Simmons' use of Aleister Crowley's Book of Law, and his incorporation of the ancient Egypt Stele of Revealing and the Spanish noble Borgia family (Pope Alexander) into this book. That was really awesome.

There's some truly grotesque and vivid imagery here, and I was really able to picture the scenes playing out in my head like a cheesy 70s/80s horror movie, and it was really cool. Also, at some point, it kind of turned into that one horror/comedy with Kevin Bacon, you know the one, and it was...weird? But not terrible? But also didn't quite fit? I don't know, that one was kind of a mystery to me, lol.

Overall, the book is good. I will definitely read more Dan Simmons. Maybe The Terror? Or perhaps Hyperion, finally

The only novel I've read so far that I would compare to Stephen King's It is one of the most amazing and underrated of Simmons' works, just like Carrion Comfort. And I really don't understand why it is so underrated.

There are very few authors who possess this remarkable characterization ability. They have the magical gift of making exposition and less action seem incredibly suspenseful and entertaining simply by raising questions that the reader is eager to have answered. Once you get into it, you can't get out. It's truly amazing. Everything feels so perfect that you don't lose interest for a single second. But how does he do it? I have no idea. Trying to dissect Simmons doesn't work. It's even worse than with King because Simmons can also build meta science fantasy worlds, as seen in Hyperion and Endymion, which are some of the best sci-fi novels ever written, inspired by classic literary motives.

I don't know if Simmons read King's It before. Maybe it's a kind of homage, or maybe it was created independently. I guess Simmons at least read It and probably thought, "Hold my pencil." The cool characters, the creepy and disturbing detailed scenes that stay in your mind, the big unknown Lovecraftian meta cosmic horror evil, the stupid and greedy adults, a hint of faith and reminiscence about becoming a writer, the manifestations of the monsters, the introspective descriptions of the protagonists - it's just unbelievably good.

Regarding this style, there are only a few authors like King, John Irving, Robbins, and maybe a few others. I might need to take some time to think about if they are worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as authors who don't produce very good but similar and replaceable genre fiction and have mastered the ultimate level of fusing plot and character into a thrilling ride of unknown dimensions. It might also be significant that Simmons, like King, was a teacher before he had his breakthrough. Could this be just a coincidence?

Did I mention that King said he is envious because Simmons writes like a god? Read him, at least the ones I've devoured in ecstatic days, transported as far away from reality as possible by this amazing, ingenious, unique überwriter who plays with many different genres and doesn't receive the recognition he truly deserves. So please, change that. Read him, spread the word about the 9 unbelievable works I've read so far and can wholeheartedly recommend with my worthless and dubious, personal, relatively incest-free (hopefully), and cellar dungeon-free (probably) Austrian reader quality seal.

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