Summer of Night has often been compared to Stephen King’s IT, and with good reason. Six friends living in a small town discover that an ancient, evil force is lurking beneath the surface of an idyllic summer. The adults would never believe them if they tried to tell anyone, so it’s up to them to destroy it before it can bring ruination to their town—and perhaps the whole world.
With all six of the main characters being boys living in the same town, and five of the six being the same age, it would be easy for them to blur into each other. But Simmons imbues each of them with a distinct personality, so I never had trouble telling them apart.
I also loved the atmosphere of the book. Simmons did a great job of evoking the feeling of a seemingly endless summer vacation, close-knit friendships, and the growing sense that soon things are going to change forever. The parts of the book that weren’t about the ancient horror felt really nostalgic.
The climax of the story was wonderful, too. Simmons switches back and forth between different groups of protagonists as the kids put their plan into action. He’s a master of the cliffhanger, pulling the “camera” away from one of the kids just as they’re in mortal peril. And he made sure that all the kids played a role in the ultimate defeat of the monster.
I did feel like the thematics of the ancient evil were a little muddled. The descriptions of the worms and their burrows were wonderfully gross and menacing. But the worms aren’t the only minions the monster has. There are also formerly-human revenants and an amorphous, insect-like darkness that Lawrence glimpses skittering under his bed. There doesn’t really seem to be any connection between these different types of servants. Overall, though, this is a great book that I think fans of King are especially likely to enjoy.
Outside of a Dog 