tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post6640722810039667420..comments2024-03-06T11:11:48.095-08:00Comments on Too Much Horror Fiction: Summer of Night by Dan Simmons (1991): No Cure for the Summertime BluesWill Erricksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16285306262078600804noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-90765585797709569432018-12-05T06:15:19.017-08:002018-12-05T06:15:19.017-08:00It felt like Simmons didn't quite know what to...It felt like Simmons didn't quite know what to focus on, instead giving the reader half-glimpses into the interesting stuff through momentary holes of the Illinoisiana and generic thriller-plot filler — although the thriller-plot filler stuff isn't nearly as bad as in his other books. <br /><br />Still better than having to slog through King though. huthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16502682297320819595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-7652127227227092822018-09-26T14:22:53.162-07:002018-09-26T14:22:53.162-07:00The kid characters in this never really felt like ...The kid characters in this never really felt like kids to me, more like short adults who didn't own cars. <br />The genius inventor kid who gets shredded by his own computer?-controlled farm machinery should have been memorable, but he was so underplayed. Even he didn't seem to upset about dying, so there wasn't any emotional impact.batgirlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15143310557906978680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-50361369222455514052016-06-10T16:08:25.729-07:002016-06-10T16:08:25.729-07:00I'm surprised. I thought Hyperion and Song of ...I'm surprised. I thought Hyperion and Song of Kali were a harder slog than "Summer of Night" or "Children of the Night." <br /><br />(I still liked all four books.)<br /><br />I thought "Children of the Night" was great, except I'm already getting tired of people making Vlad the Impaler and Dracula the same person. <br /><br />Carrion Comfort is a great book Padded Cellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01333715189318909706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-32866495740214152612014-10-04T08:17:29.055-07:002014-10-04T08:17:29.055-07:00Over the last couple years I've noticed, on va...Over the last couple years I've noticed, on various horror-fic threads throughout the internets, that reaction to Simmons's books is indeed widely, widely varied. That wasn't the case back in the day when he was pretty much universally acclaimed, but that was when he'd just written some short stories, KALI, and the first two HYPERIONs, maybe another SF novel. Oh well...Will Erricksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16285306262078600804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-81849277560485339812014-09-29T06:52:07.996-07:002014-09-29T06:52:07.996-07:00Oh good, it's not just me then who felt like t...Oh good, it's not just me then who felt like this. The book fell short for me too. It felt rushed somehow, not well thought through. Never got close to the characters and the plot was all over the place.Chantihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02665359221179947353noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-6261373650897279122014-09-09T06:19:27.193-07:002014-09-09T06:19:27.193-07:00I recently read Summer of Night, my first Simmons ...I recently read Summer of Night, my first Simmons book, and count me among those who really enjoyed it. I have not read King's IT, but I found SoN a good mix of The Halloween Tree / The Body - Stand by Me / and Lovecraft.<br /><br />Despite its flaws I mention below, I savored the time it took to get to where it was going, because I felt that Simmmons' point was to evoke that type of Tinderboxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02024535748035181132noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-91087210816890499082014-08-31T10:57:18.446-07:002014-08-31T10:57:18.446-07:00I swear, HYPERION and SONG OF KALI were two of the...I swear, HYPERION and SONG OF KALI were two of the greatest experiences of my life! Alas, I read both in 1991. Nothing else I've read has come even close, and much of what I have read I haven't even been able to finish. Will Erricksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16285306262078600804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-13366588805091048432014-08-25T19:01:29.845-07:002014-08-25T19:01:29.845-07:00Dan Simmons... I read "Carrion Comfort" ...Dan Simmons... I read "Carrion Comfort" a while ago, and I mostly remember it as being one of those novels that managed to be both overwhelming and underwhelming. Overwhelming in that it's so, SO long and insists that we hear every single think each character is thinking and saying, and underwhelming in that, after a while, it was basically the same scene (psychic vampires molestingFernando Brambila O.https://www.blogger.com/profile/13691276374389427864noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-64345677054154883792013-07-09T13:43:05.742-07:002013-07-09T13:43:05.742-07:00One of the good things I can say about Children of...One of the good things I can say about Children of Summer is that it is not Drood. Drood is unbearably dull. Its, quite literally, a 1,000 page meditation on how Wilkie Collins and Charles Dickens are basically unlikeable people. *yawn* The nemesis of the novel seems to be The Master from 1980's Doctor Who.<br /><br />When not wanting gouge out my eyes, the only thing I could think while Kevin Fhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12018428110302687291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-36189702671605541812013-07-09T05:52:25.497-07:002013-07-09T05:52:25.497-07:00Simmons just never really did it for me. I've...Simmons just never really did it for me. I've tried to enjoy his work, but it always fell short in one sense or another. I read the description of this book back in the day and put it right back on the shelf. "Why bother?" I thought. Seems like I made the right decision.Doug Brunellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10557590754803213897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-89511476546087680272013-07-07T19:06:18.737-07:002013-07-07T19:06:18.737-07:00I'm with you on this one but really dug the se...I'm with you on this one but really dug the sequel A WINTER HAUNTING. One of the spookiest books I can remember.Davo ort Wilbohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14583375771452267078noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-5563189139315300292013-07-07T06:53:18.050-07:002013-07-07T06:53:18.050-07:00When I posted this review I was half-expecting a k...When I posted this review I was half-expecting a kind of showdown from Simmons's defenders (like what happened when I trashed Laymon's THE CELLAR). It's a relief, and a confirmation, to see other readers who feel *precisely* the same as I do! <br /><br />I struggled with THE TERROR, finished it, but felt it was ridiculously bloated, but had some great scenes. CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT wasWill Erricksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16285306262078600804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-50574780331198050852013-07-06T17:45:05.512-07:002013-07-06T17:45:05.512-07:00I've attempted to read this one and abandoned ...I've attempted to read this one and abandoned it as well. I did, however slog through the entire mammoth "Carrion Comfort" and it was pretty good. Severely in need of a serious editing job, like to the tune of 2 or three hundred pages being cut out, but still pretty good. Very few authors besides Larry McMurtry and Stephen King can pull off the epic, 1,000 pager novels. MikeGibbonzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17752622832590478659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-19230459745544343072013-07-06T07:26:38.130-07:002013-07-06T07:26:38.130-07:00I remember liking SUMMER OF NIGHT a good deal (tho...I remember liking SUMMER OF NIGHT a good deal (though CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT was a severe disappointment) when I read it a couple decades ago. Same with CARRION COMFORT. R.e. his more recent works, THE TERROR was, I thought, outstanding, but DROOD was a true chore to get through. I'm not sure there's an author I read with some consistency that's more hit-and-miss with me (in fact, Ron Clintonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18433028755791230589noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-76603509130935453522013-07-05T17:52:22.877-07:002013-07-05T17:52:22.877-07:00I couldnt disagree with (most) everybody more...I ...I couldnt disagree with (most) everybody more...I read SUMMER OF NIGHT recently and absolutely loved, precisely BECAUSE it was Stephen King-esque. In fact, its the best Stephen King book I've read in quite some time. I left Steve King around the time of THE DARK HALF and since then, whenever I have gone back looking for that excitement I felt (as a kid) reading CHRISTINE or CUJO or THE STAND,Blofeld's Cathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01508627934434925198noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-70679987056860230402013-07-05T07:19:58.540-07:002013-07-05T07:19:58.540-07:00The best part of THE TERROR is the list of the nam...The best part of THE TERROR is the list of the names of all the crew-members of the two ships. Well, and the revelation that Inuit women Brazilian wax their nether-regions. And the partially underwater sex scene. Come to think of it, what a novel!Jonathan Stoverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07751600613741713162noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-31256551664591262682013-07-05T00:06:16.881-07:002013-07-05T00:06:16.881-07:00For the love of God, don't read Children of th...For the love of God, don't read Children of the Night.Jesus, what a drag that was.<br> What I got from The Terror? It was cold.It was very fucking cold. <br> Ilium,now, that was a cracker,but, the sequel, Olympus was the complete opposite.It was like two different people wrote it. <br> Then there's the fact that he allegedly posted that every Muslim should be wiped of the face off the Bob The Wordlesshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17696744140505706449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-70172880250457054212013-07-04T19:03:14.758-07:002013-07-04T19:03:14.758-07:00I'm a big fan of Simmons and think that both S...I'm a big fan of Simmons and think that both Song of Kali and Carrion Comfort are absolute classics. I've shied away from reading Summer of Night because it has one of the elements that turns me off in a horror story - kid protagonists. The only one that can get away with that (sort of) is King, and "It" is the last word on that subject.Luishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07631388281199815121noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-45825317795422140562013-07-04T10:25:57.419-07:002013-07-04T10:25:57.419-07:00Simmons was promoted as the next big thing in the ...Simmons was promoted as the next big thing in the 80s by Harlan Ellison and Twilight Zone Magazine. It makes me think maybe the horror genre thought they could turn him into the next Big Thing, a new suburb of King-land. <br /><br />Song of Kali I recall as a singularly unpleasant reading experience whose moral seems to be" Never Visit the Third World. This was not a book inspired by Jay Rothermelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09531989615494104215noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-27370668762280650502013-07-04T10:16:02.521-07:002013-07-04T10:16:02.521-07:00What a breath of fresh air to actually see a horro...What a breath of fresh air to actually see a horror enthusiast go against some of the biggies in horror lit. Yes, kids, even renowned writers such as Simmons here can bomb big time.Authorfanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01626566458666454127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-2065404629221828122013-07-04T09:44:26.474-07:002013-07-04T09:44:26.474-07:00I've definitely read all four of the Hyperion ...I've definitely read all four of the Hyperion Cantos, as well as a couple other Simmons novels but for the life of me I could never finish Song of Kali, Carrion Comfort, The Terror, or this. Song of Kali I couldn't finish because of the ludicrous racism on the surface, and others are just... boring. <br /><br />Plus you add in the fact that Simmons is a pretty open racist about Muslims, matthew.https://www.blogger.com/profile/17785443003038077519noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-13429481898782301642013-07-04T09:42:38.859-07:002013-07-04T09:42:38.859-07:00I'm currently reading The Terror, and I'm ...I'm currently reading The Terror, and I'm having a helluva hard time with it. I've been reading it for almost a week and I'm only a hundred pages in. Not to mention the fact that I've only just realized that what I thought were two different characters are really one and the same. Balls.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08043681632744941829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-36739068673677503862013-07-04T08:01:17.025-07:002013-07-04T08:01:17.025-07:00I have yet to read - or attempt to read- a Simmons...I have yet to read - or attempt to read- a Simmons novel that isn't a crashing bore.<br /><br />I've been slogging, on and off, thru 'Drood' for the past 18 months. I'm currently on page 421 of 946 (this is one of those larger-size, 'WalMart aisle' mass-market paperbacks).<br /><br />The book's advertising suggests it's a quasi-Steampunk adventure, but in tarbanduhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08205251855147881113noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-45160778468922204792013-07-04T07:40:56.384-07:002013-07-04T07:40:56.384-07:00I remember having similar thoughts while reading t...I remember having similar thoughts while reading this one back in high school. It seemed very much like it was going for an IT feel that simply made me want to read IT once more instead. I did, however, enjoy it, though not as much as his other work. <br /><br />Now, A Winter Haunting, which follows one of the kids into adulthood was fantastic and something I would recommend. I remember William Malmborghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04261043345510784469noreply@blogger.com