Rating: 
Summary: Taps into our Universal Fears!!
Review: I just finished this book last night and I can't recommend it highly enough. Dan Simmons taps into our universal childhood fears like few have done before. The "thing" under the bed, or the "monster" living in our bedroom closet, the pale face outside our window. There are some genuinely frightening moments in this novel. I have seen this book compared to "It" and "Boys Life", and I too feel it belongs in the same catagory as those fantastic novels. All I can say is that if you enjoyed either of those novels you will surely enjoy "Summer of Night". Do not read any reviews that give away plot points or try to summarize this eerie tale! Read it without any forwarning of what is to come, and let Simmons' carry you away into his nightmarish story.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Coming of Age Horror
Review: First off, this is by far my favorite book (horror or otherwise). The setting and characters are detailed very well and Dan Simmons has a extremely vivid imagination when it comes to horror description.The story takes place during the summer of 1963 in a small Illinois town, and revolves around a group of 12-year-old kids. The town's central locale is dominated by a school that also serves as a place of evil. The group of kids realize that an evil force is trying to kill them that is somehow related to this mysterious school. They get into several adventures thoughout the summer while trying to solve the disappearance of a local school-mate. Dan Simmons does an excellent job of describing everyday life for 12-year-old kids during a hot Illinois summer, and SUMMER OF NIGHT is full of suspenseful encounters with several adults who may or may not be evil killers. SUMMER OF NIGHT is a true coming-of-age horror novel in the same category as Stephen King's IT, Richard Laymon's THE TRAVELING VAMPIRE SHOW, Robert McCammon's BOY'S LIFE, and Dean Koontz's VOICES OF THE NIGHT. If you're looking for very scary horror involving teenagers in about 700 pages then this is the book for you. Trust me, once you start this you will not put it down.
Rating:
Summary: WOW!!!! BUY THIS BOOK ASAP!!!!
Review: I BOUGHT THIS BOOK ON THE ADVICE OF TWO AMAZON REVIEWERS (JADE & HEDWIGSCHMIDT), AND I AM VERY GLAD THAT I DID. THIS BOOK IS FASCINATING ON SO MANY LEVELS. THE ATMOSPHERE OF SUMMER IN CHILDHOOD IS SO STRONG, I FELT, I REMEMBERED, I WAS THERE! I RECOMMENT THIS TITLE TO EVERYONE, NOT JUST HORROR/THRILLER JUNKIES. IT REMINDS ME FINDLY OF THE BODY AND THE LONG WALK BY STEPHEN KING--TWO OF MY FAVORITE KING TALES. MY FRIEND IS READING IT NOW, AND SHE LOVES IT AS MUCH AS I DO.
Rating:
Summary: MUCH LIKE KING BUT BETTER!
Review: I JUST FINISHED READING "SUMMER OF NIGHT" TODAY, AND I MUST SAY THAT IT IS THE MOST WELL-WRITTEN HORROR NOVEL I HAVE EVER READ. THE LANGUAGE IS EXQUISITE, CHARACTERS WELL-DEVELOPED AND THE ATMOSPHERE IS PERFECT. tHE MAIN CHARACTERS ARE SIX 11 YEAR OLD BOYS ON THEIR SUMMER VACATION. iN THIS WAY, IT REMINDS ONE OF STEPHEN KING'S NOVELLA "THE BODY" (OR THE FILM "STAND BY ME.") I COULDN'T PUT IT DOWN, AND I WILL NEVER SELL MY COPY. IT'S ONE OF THOSE RARE BOOKS YOU CAN'T BELIEVE YOU NEVER READ BEFORE AS IT WAS WRITTEN IN 19911!!! GET A HOLD OF IT, AND CHERISH IT. IT WILL BRING BACK SO MANY CHILDHOOD MEMORIES THAT YOU CAN FEEL THE SUMMER BREEZE IN YOUR HAIR AS YOU RIDE BIKES THROUGH TREE-LADEN SMALL TOWNS. SUPERB!
Rating:
Summary: Summer of Night (Mares)
Review: A fantastic read for any horror afficionado! Grabs you from the beginning and doesn't let go. What I like most about this book is the mix of horror and reality. While it revolves in the land of fantasy, it walks frequently in a real and nostaglic era, the sixties, and for anyone who grew up during that decade, it will make you laugh, cry and remember, all the while keeping your heartbeat up and your finger on the next page. This is one of my all time favorite books.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Characters
Review: I read a lot of books, sometimes two or three at a time. Most of these I find to be rather forgetable, entertaining, but forgetable. This one has definatley stuck with me. I was surprised by the attachment I felt to his characters. Usually I only feel that way with Stephen King novels. Simmons also has a great talent for identifying what scares us all, young and old. The first time the soldier was mentioned, a chill ran down my spine. And Dale's fear of the basement brought me back to my own dread of going down those stairs, alone where it was always dark, always cold, and where countless spiders waited. I can't wait to read more from Dan Simmons!
Rating: 
Summary: A good read, but not for the serious.
Review: I started reading this novel about a year ago, then I stopped reading it due to having to work too many hours and college and all that fun stuff. Last week I found it while cleaning up my room and started it again, and I'm glad I did. First off, this book is great for the sci-fi aliens taking over the world fan - which I'm not. I thought the book was going to be more horror, but it should actually be a sci-fi book than anything else. As for scare factor, this book has some really good scary scenes where you skip lines because the action is so great and you want to see what happens, but it also has parts that are suppose to be scary, and you know they are suppose to be, but it is so far beyond reality that you just have to laugh or roll your eyes. But I believe that is what this whole book is based on, how something so far from the norm of 1960 life in a small town could happen and the effect it has on the society (the older peoples many "reasons" and logic for the goings on are perfect). Overall, if you have a weekend or week that is going to be pretty dull, grab this book and its sequel A Winters Haunting that I am currently reading also.
Rating: 
Summary: I had so much hope for this one
Review: SUMMER is not a bad story. I had trouble staying with it. At first I thought it was because I had recently read King's IT, and the stories are similar in some ways, but when I resumed it a year later and finished it, I realized that it is just a slow and uneventful book for the most part. It's a good premise, it's coming-of-age, it's unconventional horror, and all of these are good things. The real problem here is that it's 400 pages of book streched to 600 pages. If you're patient and like to spend a lot of time with your charaters outside the main plot, then I would say, you wouldn't be worse off for reading this one. It just seemed like it was going to be much better.
Rating:
Summary: A scholarly, scary read
Review: From start to finish, this novel broadcasts Dan Simmons's talent for creating engrossing, subbliminal plots that burrow their way into your subconscious and reside there like festering worms. This book scares me on a number of levels, ultimately because of the relentless attack upon five unsuspecting but strong-willed children during a hellacious summer in 1960. Children die horribly in this novel, though these moments are not always fully described. Simmons lets the reader make up his own visuals, especially during the opening scene in which one young boy meets his horrible end in a basement bathroom, of all places. It also explores the nature of evil inherent in man himself, as seen in the deplorable acts of the local constabulary as well as a group of self-serving school patrons given to feeding their students to ancient Egyptian gods so that Armageddon may be brought about. Make no mistake, the death of the novel's key hero combined with the tolling of the ancient bell described in the story is likely the most disturbing element of the novel, due mainly to the events leading up to that murderous moment, events which shape and ultimately destroy one young boy's life as efficiently as a bullet to the soul. Give yourself ample time to swim deep in the waters of this wonderful novel. You won't regret it.
Rating:
Summary: Spooky, but not frightening.
Review: Summer of Night provides not so much a horror novel, but a rather poignant look at the lives of a group of boys on the verge of becoming young men. While there are some scares and moments of gore, the more appealing part of this story is 6th grade male insights into friendship, parents, and of course the opposite sex. The young heroes are impressive in their realism. One boy worries to himself as he races to meet what may very well be his doom in the form of an ancient evil, that some water on the front of his pants will make him look like a sissy who has wet himself. It is moments like these that set the tone and mood of the story, much more so than the horror elements. There were two problems I had reading Summer of Night. One - The most interesting character buys it just when the plot gets tangled. Two - At times, a road map would have been helpful to understand the narrative. The author gets bogged down in describing who went which way on what road, where the road goes, which road it connects to and so on and so forth, losing the reader in a maze of meaningless street names. While spooky, and occasionally jolting, the book doesn't quite frighten. But the one-liners delivered by the small band of gun-wielding reluctant heroes are worth the read.
| 
