Summer of Night - Book Review!

I keep meaning to do more of these and never get around to it but this book caught me off guard and I wanted to share my thoughts while they were fresh.

Summer of Night by Dan Simmons was - it was really good!  It was compared a LOT to Stephen King's, IT and a few "constant readers,"  also like this book so I gave it a go.  It is comparable to IT, there are a few plot/scene points that are similar, but most of it is original and kept me reading late into the night.

First and most important: READ THE INTRODUCTION LAST!
No, seriously, read it last - it is really interesting and while it doesn't have spoilers per se, it does talk about the characters and might give a few things away that are really need OH! moments in the story.

The story follows a handful of friends and their creepy AF summer in Illinois where they discover some really messed up goings-on in their town - it actually is pretty terrifying in its visuals!  I also loved that it had a bit of Crowley and the Book of the Law in it as well as some creepy history bits that add a lot to the overall ambience of the story.

To be honest, I think this book was scarier than IT, but I am not sure if that is because I've read IT so many times that I am used to what happens - but this book feels darker. Like if King and Dean Koontz had a book baby LOL

I like when I get to the end of a book and want to know more about what happens next. There are a few books that have grown up versions of the boys in the story: Fires of Eden, Children of the Night and Winter Haunting. I guess also, that Winter Haunting has a strong connection to Summer of Night and I am looking for that one next.

His website has 2 links to 2 short stories that sort of continue the story from the end of Summer of Night and give you a really neat forward view of what happens to these characters. He gives a warning that you may not actually like what happens to some and he was right LOL  But it was nice to read more on these  characters - it's something that adds a richness to the book that I love.

​If you read it - let me know what you think!