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tlbignerd's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Violence, Grief, and Murder
Minor: Abandonment
cassieyorke's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
One of the first lessons I've had on the craft of writing horror, and a pretty good one. My favorite kind of horror is the kind that deals with the distant past, and Simmons does this really well - he looks at a haunted past through the lens of pre-adolescent kids. He identifies with his protagonists so much that even his narrative and world-building take on that ominous, dangerous tone and those shadows that lurk on the edges of an incomplete, frightening view of times long gone. The whole book is speckled with these little glimpses, and that spreads a pall of fright over the whole book.
If I could have given 4.5 stars, I would have. The only .5 I marked off for was that the narrative, while it pulled me along really well, wasn't what I would have called gripping or compelling in a really feverish way. Still, Simmons showed a real deftness for talking about so many different times, switching language appropriately for a sense of immersion. But his real skill is in conjuring dread of things out in the dark. I have to say that I ended up liking this a lot more than Stephen King's It, not least because Simmons manages to tell a scary story - in the exact same time period as It and with similar protagonists, but without the skeeve factor. He also does what I thought was a superior job of putting dread in days gone by, and of writing protagonists who are universally relatable.
Summer of Night is my go-to writer's manual for creating a scary yesterday and an equally unsettling present.
If I could have given 4.5 stars, I would have. The only .5 I marked off for was that the narrative, while it pulled me along really well, wasn't what I would have called gripping or compelling in a really feverish way. Still, Simmons showed a real deftness for talking about so many different times, switching language appropriately for a sense of immersion. But his real skill is in conjuring dread of things out in the dark. I have to say that I ended up liking this a lot more than Stephen King's It, not least because Simmons manages to tell a scary story - in the exact same time period as It and with similar protagonists, but without the skeeve factor. He also does what I thought was a superior job of putting dread in days gone by, and of writing protagonists who are universally relatable.
Summer of Night is my go-to writer's manual for creating a scary yesterday and an equally unsettling present.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, and Murder