Rating: 
Summary: Just Disappointed
Review: I was excited to read this novel before I even read Summer of Night...but now I just disappointed that I was excited to read it. It seems to me that Mr. Simmons just figured, "Hey, Summer of Night was a good book...eh... I'm low on cash, so I'll slop up this meaning-less sequel". I was deeply angered by a few things that I can't go into because it would spoil the book for future readers, but should have been included for faithful readers of Summer of Night. Also, in no way was the Dale in Winters Haunting the same Dale as in Summer of Night. I know the character obviously aged and had a few problems in life, but let's get real here. It hurts me to type this about a series and cast of characters I really feel for, but this book should not have been written, it's just a pile of crap that fails to entertain let alone make any sense.
Rating: 
Summary: Though I'm in the minority, I enjoyed this sequel better
Review:
Not by any means a great book, as the very misleading, gushing reviews will try to convince you, but, this novel did have an overall "effective" value, regardless of it's many faults. Mr. Simmons definately captured a spooky and clausterphobic atmosphere with "Duane's Old Farmhouse", and wisely set it during the winter. The "is Dale insane or is there really ghosts and Hounds of Hell lurking about" theme worked adequately, although, never reaching the depth that it should have. The many flashbacks to Dale's and Clare's affair, and I do mean many, became extremely tiresome and groan inducing. I thought surely they must be significent to the story, but alas, they ultimately became tedious, sub-plot filler. For every true surprise the author treated us with, he blessed us with 15 -20, tried and true cliches that would practically suck the wind out of any given surprise. And jeez, Mr. Simmons, please have a long, long talk with your editors, so they can advise you when to edit those long-winded passages that seem to last forever...for example, when the Skinheads were chasing Dale and eventually wound up bogged down in the muddy swamp...this scene was drawn out forever...practically becoming a boring "novella" within itself. I give this novel *** stars because there are truly some spine tingling moments, the setting is sheer perfection, and the author does a commendable character study with Dale Stewart...these three elements help the reader to finish the book and overlook the many points of overkill and cliches.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't waste your money or time
Review: This is by far the worst book that I have read in a long time. I bought it because I was going on a long plane trip and felt like a good, scary story would hit the spot. Well good turned out to be awful, and as for scary, a cockroach is scarier than this book. If you were thinking of buying this book, don't.
Rating:
Summary: SO not scary .....
Review: I used to love reading Simmons - but no more. It's seems as if he goes to the library, reads up on a subject, then sprinkles the findings of his research into his latest novel - whether it has anything to do with the story or not. In this case: not. There's a blurb on the back cover from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch which says, "One of the scariest and most unnerving ghost stories to come along in quite some time." Wow - I wonder what that guy was smoking. The tip off should have been the blurb by Stephen King on the cover which says, "I am in awe of Dan Simmons", which doesn't refer to this book or ANY book. He's probably in awe that Simmons can get away with publishing this crap.
Rating:
Summary: He's No Stephen King
Review: Being not a Simmons afficionado I can't fairly say that he is a bad writer; but if "A Winter Haunting" is any example of his writing, I must say that I won't be reading any more of his work. I thought "A Winter Haunting" lacked substance, and feeling. The main character goes back to a spooky abandoned farmhouse where his best friend, the brilliant Duane, was killed in a nasty farming accident. And this is all the pretense Simmons gives you. He messes around with some mysterious hounds, takes a lot of walks (Lord have mercy, does this character walk!), and finds himself attracted to a lesbian; gets his tires slashed, not once, but twice by a group of "belligerent youths", aka skinheads. All in all, I give this novel two thumbs down.
Rating:
Summary: Simmons needs a new editor
Review: I've been a huge fan of Dan Simmons ever since I read Phases of Gravity, reading pretty much most of his stuff, including the horror, straight fiction, and science fiction. I enjoyed _A Winter Haunting_, but I had a lot of trouble with it. My biggest problem, is the fact that Dan Simmons really must find a better editor. He is a great writer, but I think that his writing does not naturally tend towards tightness. There were many paragraphs that really had nothing to do with the story, didn't add to the atmosphere, and really seemed more just a place for the author to soapbox a bit. Even worse, were the sections where he goes into detail about his computer, cell phone, printer, etc. I have no idea why he does this-- it drags the story down, will make the novel seem very dated very quickly, and just seems... amateurish. Was this a first draft?!?
Rating:
Summary: Winter of Discontent
Review: Winter Haunting is an interesting take on the horror genre. It takes your standard ghost story and injects a dose academia, it's just the dose is more than is healthy given the anemic page count. There are simply too many offset quotes and not enough scariness and suspense. Dale is not exactly cut from the most sympathy-inducing length of cloth. Yes, he's losing his grip and his happy family but he's also a pretentious, obssesive adulterer who has brought most of his problems on himself. It's also hard to believe that someone who references so many literary and historical quotes and facts is only capable of writing a series of cliched and inaccurate western novels. Most professors are required to be published in academic periodicals and the ones that do write mainstream stuff usually choose something nonfiction in their chosen field. So much time is spent talking and vaguely reminiscing about Dale's '60s childhood and the book he's trying to write about it that it really gets to the point where you want to ask the author why he didn't just tell that story instead of this one; it sounds much more interesting. But of course Simmons already has and it was called Summer of Night; the problem, is nowhere on the covers or the interiors is there any mention that is in any way related to another novel. The only reason I know was because after I'd finished it I came here and read it in other reviews. So many things might make so much more sense if these were read in order, not to mention the space he could have used to enhance this plot rather then rehashing stuff from the old one. In Simmon's defense, he finds a pretty ingenious way to switch back and forth from first to third person in having the narrator be the spiritual remains of Duane hovering around. Duane occasionally injects his own opinions but for the most part tells the story as it happens while he watches. Being a 'ghost' he can also read Dale's thoughts and serve as a fully omniscient narrator. The ending really comes off as something the author came up with out of boredom, having pretty much written himself into a corner; it explains very little of what's been happening and what ends are tied up leave more questions then they answer. This is not necessarily a bad thing as Dale is obviously becoming increasingly unhinged by the day and what's real and what's just in his head is debateable but the wrap-up muddies the issue with the fact that he receives physical injuries and is able to touch things that later turn out not to have existed. Which is not to say that there aren't some disconcerting scares to be had; the empty radios that continue to broadcast, mysterious scrabblings in the basement, faces that push against the plastic of the closed off second floor and a black bulldog that gradually increases in both size and number provide some much-needed chills and mystery to what is initially just Dale's pity party. But none of these phenomenon are really explained and since Dale isn't the only witness he can't be imagining everything; there is too much mystery and not enough resolution. This book resides squarely in the middle of the Amazon scale, it's not so good as some horror or supernatural novels I've read but it does make me want to give Summer of Night a try.
Rating:
Summary: good but disappointing
Review: Like some others here I was hoping for more of a "sequel" to SoN which I thought was fantastic. Instead we get no or less-than-satisfying follow up on those characters and nothing that really relates them to this story. There are dead end teases-- (mr.doughboy) and references, but little follow thru or explantation. Most disappointing was Dale-- he's aged into a less-than-likable and less-than-interesting old man. No motivation is given for the self-destructive course he suddenly followed in the recent past. A long listing of WHAT he's done, with no WHYs to accommpany them. I'm a stickler for background and continuity errors too, and this had a few: How did JD Congden threaten folks in 1961? A 51-year old had been a US Senator for 20 years? Not impossible, but pretty remarkable. A University of Montana professor drives a $50K car! (well, ok, he's not just a professor) anyway, glad I read it but it was a bit of a let down.
Rating:
Summary: Needed A Bit More of An Edge. 3 STARS ***.
Review: This was my first intro to Simmons writing and he reminded me of the better books Koontz was doing years back, in his Hideaway days. This one was good enough to read all the way through; but with this kind of a plot, I think Simmons needed to really go for the throat more. There could have been more reality situations that are more scary than what he has in here. On the other hand, he does glue you to the page, and even if you think what I have written here, you'll want to see how it ends. So, he can hook you, but to really pull you in, he failed, I think. Good enough to read once, then give to a used bookstore or something, just not a bookshelf keeper. 3 STAR RATING FROM SCRAGGY'S TOMB, USA.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Suspense!
Review: This is the first book I have read by Dan Simmons, and he has a way of making you scared! The characters in this book were mostly believeable, there were a few parts I found hard to relate with. The story plot line was very well written, however.
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