Summer of Night: Amazon.ca: Dan Simmons: Books

Product Description

From Publishers Weekly

Hugo Award-winning novelist Simmons pens an outstandingly eerie horror story about a group of Midwestern boys stalked by an ancient evil.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

A monstrous, timeless entity is devouring children. Adults either refuse to understand what is happening, or are themselves agents for the monster. A group of young boys, in uneasy partnership with an outcast girl, realize they must kill the creature before it devours them all. Simmons ( The Fall of Hyperion, LJ 3/15/90), winner of several prestigious awards for science fiction and horror (most recently a Hugo Award for Hyperion , Doubleday, 1989) ranks with the best the genre has to offer. In outline, this novel resembles Stephen King's It ( LJ 8/86). The children are well drawn and affecting in their bravery. This book should be in most horror fiction collections. BOMC alternate.
- Marylaine Block, St. Ambrose Univ. Lib., Davenport, Ia.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Customer Reviews

94 Reviews

5 star:		(63)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

Average Customer Review

4.4 out of 5 stars (94 customer reviews)

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Most helpful customer reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars utterly ridiculous, Jul 5 2004

By	Clinton D. Davis (Norman, OK United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Summer of Night (Mass Market Paperback)

I will admit that the book had some decent suspense until about the halfway mark, and a couple of real hair raising situations, but I knew I was in trouble when those holes in the ground started to pop up. And then the description, comparing the sides of the mysterious holes to a "section of human gut, red and raw." Huh. Or how about that dead guy's face morphing into something like a lamprey and gonna try to eat somebody. Nice. I kept wondering when Sigourney Weaver was gonna show up.

That's nowhere close to scary, no matter how often you have such silliness creeping out of the dark. I mean, where else is it gonna creep out of?
Oh ya, there's an absolutely ridiculous Aleister Crowley tie-in that is downright offensive to anyone who knows anything of Thelema, and a big monster referred to as The Master with some kinda pink tentacles and an egg sack that "sizzles". Yawn.
And what else are you gonna do with such a monster but burn it down? Pump the gas to it, light it up hunny.
And this is supposed to be "good" or "powerful horror"? I think it makes great kindling. I wish someone had so simply told me and other readers what we were in for.
Simmons gets a star for a few nice scenes and some interesting ideas that unfortunately worked themselves out into, well, The Master. I was expecting some sort of twisted Osiris cult, and all I got was a big, pink, stinky monster.
If this is what the horror genre is about, I'm backing out now and going back to fantasy.

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4.0 out of 5 stars 3.5 stars is more fitting for a not so scary read, Jun 28 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Summer of Night (Hardcover)

This book of Simmons comes highly touted as one the greats in the horror genre. However, the only scary parts are found in midway through the 600 page novel. Once the story really gets descriptive about what's taking place in this small town, it becomes too unbelievable and unsatisfying. I do agree that the way Simmons writes (elogantly and almost poetically at times) makes this book a good read. However if you're looking for a book to scare the heck out of you look elsewhere. I would recommend Ketchum's older works, SK's Pet Semetary and the Shining, and Laymon's The Woods are Dark.

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5.0 out of 5 stars True terror...., Jun 14 2004

By	P. Tichenor (Birmingham, Al United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Summer of Night (Mass Market Paperback)

Dan Simmons "Summer Night" was incredible. The suspense is tangible. It actually had me looking under the table for things that come out only at night, even though I was sitting at a lunch table at work. I highly recommend the book, it is awesome.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars First book that ever scared me!
I have just about every King, Koontz, Saul, Rice, Lumley, McCammon, and Barker book ever written. Ive also written a story or two of my own. Read more

Published on Jun 10 2004 by Nicholas A May

5.0 out of 5 stars Summer of Night
Summer of night is a great book. I read it about 10 years ago. The main reason I read it is because the author is from the same small town as I. Read more

Published on May 20 2004 by Mitch stokes

5.0 out of 5 stars One scary summer in the '60's
If you were a child growing up in the 1960's this novel will certainly evoke strong memories of childhood summers filled with an innocence and freedom that has long since... Read more

Published on May 7 2004 by J. Fercho

5.0 out of 5 stars Best book I have ever read
This stephen king type book has to be one of the the best book I have read. I had never read anything from Dan Simmons before Summer of night but now he has me hooked. Read more

Published on April 14 2004