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Summer of Night

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Summer of Night

By: Dan Simmons
Narrated by: Dan John Miller
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About this listen

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 childhood. But amid the sun-drenched 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-peaceful 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....

©2011 Dan Simmons (P)2011 Brilliance Audio, Inc. Horror Supernatural Suspense Thriller & Suspense Scary Paranormal Fantasy

Critic Reviews

“Impressive...combines beautiful writing and suspense into a book for which Dan Simmons deserves the bestseller status of King and Koontz.” ( The Denver Post)
“One can only wonder what Simmons will do next, now that he’s shown us he can do everything the best writers in horror and science fiction can do.” ( The Philadelphia Inquirer)
“It stands with the best of King and Straub in the traditional modern horror genre.” ( Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
All stars
Most relevant  
At first I nearly stopped listening and returned the book. The narration was too fast and each sentence blended into the next with no noticeable pause at times which was very annoying. I persevered and whilst I enjoyed the story with all its twists and turns I still would have preferred a different narrator. What a difference the delivery makes to an audio book!

Interesting

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This was the book that just never seemed to get going for he - it was a slog to get through. The group of young protagonists are mostly well-written, the sections of development that involve the kids being kids are good.

The horror story here just didn’t grab me though. The book spends a solid amount of time with full exposition and at no stage did the horror story grab me at all. There is no strong Antagonist here; it was a real letdown.

I’m at a 2.5 out of 5 for the book. It had its potential but it took me months to get through and I was really waiting for it to end.

Good coming of age story/dull horror story.

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Enjoyed this book, found the style of writing very similar to some of Stephen Kings books. The narrator had an easy, comfortable voice to listen to & his tone suited the story well. I look forward to reading more of Dan Simmon's books.

Summer of night

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Any additional comments?

Dan Simmons obviously has a thing for King's sepia coloured view of small-town America in the 1960s. A place where all is good and wholesome and right. At least until the evil rises and bad things happen to good people. If you've read King's IT you'll know where this story is going early on. As in a very real sense, this is an IT 'rip-off'. Which is a good thing and a bad thing, depending on your point of view. I guess what I'm saying is, this isn't the most original thing you're ever going to read. But don't be put off by that. Dan Simmons is a good writer, and the characters in this are well drawn. And I'd have no problem reading another Dan Simmons book somewhere down the line.Dan John Miller's read was solid. Not enough variation on individual character voices, etc for my liking. But again, it was nothing that put me off finishing the audio-book.

Riffing on King's IT - Not Original But Good

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Whilst Dan has had masterpieces like the Hyperion Cantos, for me this work was rather uninspired. I am about 25% of the way through it. and I cannot listen to any more. The story just never seems to start -- we just get occasional glimpses of what could be a good story.

Not Dan Simmons best work

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