1st 3/4ths is a very, very long build-up with a nice payoff. ( )

I couldn’t even come close to finishing this book. I made it 150 pages. 150 pages and nothing happened. Hell 3 pages were wasted talking about a pickup baseball game.
This book and Something Wicked This Way Comes are now tied being the most boring horror books.
And
I should have known it had a recommendation from Stephen King which is always the kiss of Death.
( )

I don't suppose this is *really* a 5 star book ... I mean, as good as Dan Simmons is, he's not William Faulkner, or Homer or ... sigh. Now I feel all pretentious.

Anyhoo ... I enjoyed this tremendously and am feeling generous. ;^) When I purchased it for my Kobo e-reader I'd been in search of "something scary" for a few days, and was very skeptical this would do the trick because I knew it was in the 'neighborhood kids battle evil' vein of things -- that is, somewhere in Stephen King territory -- and that's just never really done it for me: there's often an inadvertent Scooby-Doo cast to the goings-on, a sense that one of the villains is going to wind up saying, as he or she is dragged off to prison "... and I'd've gotten away with it, too, if it hadn't been for you meddling kids."

Ahem. But I have to say, this novel delivers. It's got some genuinely creepy, and sometimes genuinely gross set pieces, and the interest scarcely ever flags. I find myself not wanting to talk about the plot much, because I don't want to give anything away. I will say that Simmons is *not* shy of killing off loved characters. He doesn't do this with the abandon of George R. R. Martin, but he does it.

I will also say that I'd love to quiz Simmons on his personal religious beliefs. In some of his science fiction (the Hyperion novels) there is what appears to be a real excoriation of Catholicism ... that isn't present here (and there are Catholic characters), but ... I'm perturbed slightly by a sense that, yes, we are in a Judaeo-Christian universe and that the evil wouldn't be evil unless the universe had that underpinning. This often comes between me and genuine scares in books and films: I'm an atheist, so if your scares depend on God and the Devil, say, being real things, you've pretty much lost me, scare-wise. I mean, mini-spoiler(?): in this book, holy water works as a defense -- sometimes, anyway. So, Mr. Simmons?

I will definitely read A Winter Haunting, which concerns some of the same characters as adults. ( )

Excellent story!

Backstory:

Setting: Elm Haven, Illinois - 1960

The school Old Central is steeped in mystery and it has also seen its last days as the old school is closing its doors and the kids will be going to a new school, so once school has let out for the summer - six friends are looking forward to having fun with not a care in the world, until something evil appears and their summer turns into something totally unexpected that they will each have to learn to face together.

That is about all I can on a taste without giving away spoilers so you will just need to read the book if you want to know what happens!

Thoughts:

I loved the detailed information of the story and how the author weaves the story around you till it feels like you are experiencing what the boys and the town were going through. This book reminded me a lot of Stephen King's book "IT" with the way the friends all stuck together and the coming of age feel as you slowly read what happens to each individual friend along with how they cope with the evil that settles itself into the town.

The book was a slow burn but there was tons of suspense and mystery surrounding the school and the town. The book is definitely a masterpiece and it is one horror book that horror fans should read and add to their collection of summer time coming of age stories. Giving this book five "Supernatural Summer" stars!


Highly Recommend! ( )

Fun book. Great characters with an awesome setting. The spookiness makes your skin crawl. Takes a bit to really get moving, but once it does, hang on.

I wish I'd started it in October instead of September. It's a perfect Halloween read. ( )