![]() ![]() (In his new intro, Simmons broods over this loss of unsupervised childhood adventures. The opening is steeped in nostalgia, not just for childhood summers, but the simple glory of disappearing on a bike with friends until dinner time. When we meet them in their final moments of class it’s impossible not to share and envy the boy’s enthusiasm for that endless freedom that seemed to lie ahead. ![]() This book is made of everything I love. Set in an idyllic, small Midwestern town in the 1960s, it follows a group of boys through one terrifying summer. We have room for more and I’ll even share my bubble chocolate. Open Summer of Night and you’ll know in the first 50 pages whether you’re on board with Stephen King and I. I guess, like all authors, Simmons isn’t for everyone. He’s drunk on depressing nonfiction lately. It took him 3 weeks to make it through 50 pages before giving up. You’re fully aware that they’re swallowing you and yet there’s nothing to be done about it. I discovered this just last year with The Terror, a historical fiction/ monster/ adventure epic that blew me away. I shoved the tome into my SO’s arms confident he would love it as I did. ![]() His stories swallow you and you do like it. Reading Simmons reminds me of Shel Silverstein’s “Boa Constrictor” song. “Stephen King and I” is a fun way to begin a book review. First published in 1991, Summer of Night by Dan Simmons is a horror classic. Stephen King and I like it a lot. ![]()
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