Summer of Night - 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.

Published: 1992-03-01 (Warner Books)

ISBN: 9780446362665

Language: English

Format: Paperback, 600 pages

Goodreads' rating: -

Genres

Horror Fiction Thriller Mystery Fantasy

Reviews

Melba rated it

It's the end of 6th grade. Summer has just begun. You're 11 years old and don't have a care in the world with nothing but hot summer nights and adventures with your buddies to look forward to...unless you live in Elm Haven and you get to fight evil all summer. Death and destruction lurks around every corner for a small group of friends who have made some very serious enemies. If you loved Stephen King's IT, you'll love Summer of Night!!!

Lynette rated it

Oh no, not Tubby! :)This book was excellent not so much in its horror (which was pretty horrific anyway), but in the way the town the characters live in is so complex and nostalgic. It has everything that one of those 20th century backwater small towns have and then some, and though this book is a horror novel it has its comedic moments and moments of true friendship as well. When Tubby Cooke, a local boy, goes missing, the main characters begin to unravel a sinister secret about their home that scared me for weeks when I was a kid and I first read this book.

Fredek rated it

The author has a masterful control of language. The story brings to life a childhood summer and the sense of nostalgia most of us feel when looking back on childhood events that bear significance on our lives. Tapping this archetypal current of experience, Simmons develops the setting and characters thoroughly before delving into the plot and the action.The early chapters (perhaps through chapter 19) establish the setting, atmosphere and characters with hints of horror subtly interspersed at very rare intervals. When the action begins it build it grows to a crescendo, like a piece of music with the conductor gesticulating in wilder and wilder motions as it nears the end.The story was good, skillfully written and a must read for horror fans. What kept it from being great, in my opinion, is the subtle build up to the plot that at times felt self indulgent, as if Simmons was so thoroughly enjoying his vision of summer as a boy and what that meant to him that he delayed moving the plot along for a greater period of time than was necessary. This novel requires patience to thoroughly enjoy. Its reputation will prompt readers to work through chapters that they would probably give up on had they been written by a lesser known author. Are they worth waiting through? Definitely. The wait, however, is the difference between four and five stars to me.