I didn't mean to imply one would read them out of order - thanks for clarifying. The game in time between Fall and Endymion creates a fine gap in the narrative so one would not feel compelled to read them all at once.
I didn't mean to imply one would read them out of order - thanks for clarifying. The game in time between Fall and Endymion creates a fine gap in the narrative so one would not feel compelled to read them all at once.
[QUOTE=WeDealInLead;798421
Give The Crook Factory a try. [/QUOTE]Of course I will. I intend to read everything by Simmons.
Ask not what bears can do for you, but what you can do for bears. (razz)
When one is in agreement with bears one is always correct. (mae)
bears are back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Excellent ideaOriginally Posted by WeDealInLead
Has anyone here read A Winter Haunting? I didn't see it on the recent lists posted. Not sure I'd really even recommend it though. Summer of Night is one of my favorite stories and I wish he had left it there.
Only the gentle are ever really strong.
Dr. Z - I'm REALLY happy to see the Cantos on #1 on someone else's DS Top List. I wish more people would give those books a chance and not give up after the first 50, 100, 150 pages. There are around 1500 pages. It's a daunting/challenging task but very rewarding in the end. The scope and depth of it, the ideas, the cool backdrops/settings...man... to me these four books are in my all time Top Ten S.F. books of all time.
I think I will read it eventually... I know everyone says it can't be compared to the original story, but I want to see those kids again.
Ask not what bears can do for you, but what you can do for bears. (razz)
When one is in agreement with bears one is always correct. (mae)
bears are back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I liked A Winter Haunting a lot (here is my review from shortly after it was published)
In part:
Where Summer of Night was set against the backdrop of humid, hot days and nights, summer rains and tornadoes, A Winter Haunting is its mirror image, frigid, snowy and barren. Summer recounted a group effort, several friends collaborating to defeat the evil in Old Central School. Winter is a solitary adventure; Dale's struggle is almost completely internal.
A Winter Haunting is a tauter, more introspective book than its predecessor. The author says, "Each book changes the 'reality' of the other, depending on which novel one reads first. The idea was to create a Mobius strip of perceptions."
Author of The Road to the Dark Tower, Stephen King: A Complete Exploration of His Work, Life, and Influences and The Dark Tower Companion. Co-editor with Stephen King of the anthology Flight or Fright.
I agree with Bev, great book.
I also agree with Jean, I will read all of Simmons books as time goes on.
As will I. I only recently got into reading Simmons because his books are somewhat hard to find where I live, but so far I'm pretty impressed. I read Children of the Night, Flashback, The Terror and Summer of Night (in this order). Still have a lot to look forward to!
Ah, too bad you didn't read Summer of Night before Children of Night - a much better order. There is an interesting chapbook out called Banished Dreams that provides an interesting perspective on each of the boys in Summer of Night. Because of size it was cut from the novel. Get it if you can.As will I. I only recently got into reading Simmons because his books are somewhat hard to find where I live, but so far I'm pretty impressed. I read Children of the Night, Flashback, The Terror and Summer of Night (in this order). Still have a lot to look forward to!
Another brilliant aspect of the four novels is how genre bending they are. Hyperion is the the Canterbury Tales in space. Fall of Hyperion is like a high tech look at AI. Endymion is like a sic-fi Indiana Jones adventure. And then Rise of Endymion is a sci-fi Dan Brown adventure. That's the best I can do with describing them. They should be a required reading for all sci-fi fans. Can't recommend them enough.
Thank you, I didn't know that. Although I buy and read books by many different authors, King is the only one I truly 'collect'. I do have fairly complete sets of McCammon and Crichton 1st/1st trade hardcovers - and Joe Hill of course - but most of the books my wife and I own are second-hand paperback reading copiesAh, too bad you didn't read Summer of Night before Children of Night - a much better order. There is an interesting chapbook out called Banished Dreams that provides an interesting perspective on each of the boys in Summer of Night. Because of size it was cut from the novel. Get it if you can.As will I. I only recently got into reading Simmons because his books are somewhat hard to find where I live, but so far I'm pretty impressed. I read Children of the Night, Flashback, The Terror and Summer of Night (in this order). Still have a lot to look forward to!
But I like everything I read by Simmons quite a lot so I'm planning to start a 1st/1st trade hardcover collection of his works as well and it would be nice to also get some goodies like the chapbook you mentioned.
Thanks for that info. I had never heard of Banished Dreams either. I'll have to see if I can find it somewhere. And I haven't read Children of Night yet. Is it related to Summer of Night in some way?
Only the gentle are ever really strong.
No, it's not related at all. It's a vampire novel.
Author of The Road to the Dark Tower, Stephen King: A Complete Exploration of His Work, Life, and Influences and The Dark Tower Companion. Co-editor with Stephen King of the anthology Flight or Fright.
I need more than 24 hours every day
also, I need a new set of eyes, although with Kindle it isn't such a horrible problem as it used to be
I both love and hate Simmons for how endlessly long his novels are.
Ask not what bears can do for you, but what you can do for bears. (razz)
When one is in agreement with bears one is always correct. (mae)
bears are back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Isn't Mike O'Rourke a character in both novels?
Yes, that's true -- I'd forgotten. But there's not much reference back to the earlier book.
Author of The Road to the Dark Tower, Stephen King: A Complete Exploration of His Work, Life, and Influences and The Dark Tower Companion. Co-editor with Stephen King of the anthology Flight or Fright.
The books are quasi related, with one of the main characters being a grown-up version of the boy from Summer. They are standalone books, but I find it richer to know the character's backgrounds.
I know what you mean. For a while I was enjoying Simmons more than King, then came The Terror and all that followed. Both King and Simmons can be a bit bloated in their narratives.
For those interested, I just checked ABE.com and found a number of copies of the chapbook Banished Dreams, which are the deleted dreams of the major characters from Summer of Night. As it says in the preface, one boy's dreams were not included because he would die in the novel (no name give here) and therefore had no dreams - sad stuff! They cost about $15-$20.
Thanks!!
Funny, I really like Simmons' longer works, such as The Terror, Drood and now The Abominable. I enjoy the, to me, extremely detailed background in each book.I know what you mean. For a while I was enjoying Simmons more than King, then came The Terror and all that followed. Both King and Simmons can be a bit bloated in their narratives.
John
Must be my ADD.
I adore them. The longer, the better. The Terror could never be long enough.Funny, I really like Simmons' longer works, such as The Terror, Drood and now The Abominable. I enjoy the, to me, extremely detailed background in each book.I know what you mean. For a while I was enjoying Simmons more than King, then came The Terror and all that followed. Both King and Simmons can be a bit bloated in their narratives.
John
But... time!!! where will I take the time!!! That's the only reason why I said "hate". He should provide a portable time-suspending machine as a bonus with each of his novels.
Ask not what bears can do for you, but what you can do for bears. (razz)
When one is in agreement with bears one is always correct. (mae)
bears are back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I agree that The Terror is one massive book where the length was not a detriment to it.
A portable time-suspending machine? That would be the most stratospheric priced book ever!
In Digitized Remorse
no, he must somehow write it into the text
Ask not what bears can do for you, but what you can do for bears. (razz)
When one is in agreement with bears one is always correct. (mae)
bears are back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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