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A Winter Haunting

Seasons of Horror, Book 2

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About this listen

Dale Stewart's life has become a shadow of what it once was. A respected college professor and successful novelist, he sabotaged his career and his marriage with an obsessive love affair that ended badly.

With darkness closing in on him, Dale decides to return to his boyhood home in Illinois. Drawn by a recurring nightmare that has plagued him since his youth—and a troubling certainty that something is waiting for him there—he hopes to exorcise his demons.

In the last hours of Halloween, he reaches the outskirts of the dying town of Elm Haven. There, he moves into the abandoned farmhouse that was once the home of his closest boyhood friend, the strange and brilliant Duane McBride, who lost his young life in a grisly "accident" back in the terrible summer of 1960. Hoping to find peace in isolation, he settles in for the long, harsh winter.

But Dale is not alone. Soon after he arrives, cryptic messages begin appearing mysteriously on his computer screen while he struggles to work on his novel. He sees black dogs roaming the grounds. And an old enemy has reemerged, a bully who seems as determined to persecute Dale as he was in childhood.

©2002 by Dan Simmons. (P)2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc. and used by arrangement. Ghosts Horror Supernatural Suspense Thriller & Suspense
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Simmons writes the tale of a follow up to Summer of Night in a different tone. No Stephen King here: it’s the Scandi Noir version. The innocence of childhood has gone, just a gloomy author at the end of several unrewarding avenues in his life, who returns, un-remembering to the same place 42 years later. If SoN was a tale of American confidence at the height of the American century, then this is post industrial America, it’s values and self confidence hollowed our, the town a ghost of its former vibrancy.
Simmons riffs throughout on the story by James that plays out across the pages: is the alter ego demonic, mad and unconscionable or is the “hero” of the story just a loser for having none of these qualities?

As you can gather it’s a much lower tone book than SoN, so if you do read, you know what to expect. Having said that, I enjoyed it immensely, and will give the next one a go.

The performance is strong throughout, matching the mood of the book very well.

Gloomier, darker than the first one

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As noted above this was the sequel, and I would recommend you read/listen to it first as there are a lot of references to it here.

This book was like discovering an old photo album and re-uniting with friends you hadn't seen since childhood. Reliving the incidents of the kids' summer was great and reminded me of old school holidays when you were pretty much left to yourself all day.

Dale has grown up now and returns to the house of one of his friends to write about that summer. We are re-introduced to background characters who now play pivotal roles in the town and Dale is never quite sure who to trust. Enjoy it, I did!

Sequel to "Summer of Night" - Read it First!

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I found this story truly gripping and literally couldn’t stop listening. Bronson Pinchot had my total attention, his narration was perfect, bringing clarity to each character, he was a pleasure to listen to.

Gripping story

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I was told this is boring don't bother. But I am so glad I did. This book completes and defines Summer of Night and to read that without going on to Winter Haunting would be a real loss.

Completes Summer of Night

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Interesting, if not particularly scary story, well paced with an excellent perfomance by Bronson Pinchot.

Good low key follow-up to Summer of Night.

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