This novel is long, but if you grew up in the 50,s 60 s, or 70 s, you will probably feel a sense of nostalgia. For some, the book was too long, and others never wanted it to end. I read the reviews before buying this audiobook, and was surprised by the vast differences in reviewer opinion. I have 1 hour left of the sequel to this book, A Winter Haunting, then I plan on tackling Carrion Comfort! He has an excellent vocabulary but when it comes down to it he just tells the story & keeps you enthralled the whole way through. For me, Dan Simmons is one of those writers who can spin a truly compelling story without using too much frilly language or overusing metaphors, similes and other linguistic tools that many times can just bog down a story and become irritating. I read in some of the other reviews that people were reminded of Stephen King's 'It' when they listened to this story. There was a slow build to the scary stuff, with little things happening one by one, and it turned out that the writing was so good that I didn't really even notice, even when the story (near the beginning) was mainly about the friendship between the children. Yes, even at 22 hours long! I was a little concerned at first because I felt that it took a while to get into the horror aspect of the story, which is what I was really looking forward to. This is one of those stories that you just don't want to end. The world-building was pretty good, and the story was hard to put down, despite the length. One always has to have serious mommy issues) they were all fully their own people, and you find yourself invested in them and their fates. actually, i feel like that's a trope in most of these kids-in-peril-fighting-monsters stories. What a massive punch in the gut! Ugh, even the second time reading it, I felt so sad.) The characters were well-developed, and even though there are blatantly obvious parallels between these kids and the kids in IT (a would-be writer, a kid with intense mommy issues. Like, the author went there, he really did. What more can I say? And that other completely shattering death. The way the author expressed her feelings of betrayal, sadness and disillusionment was just heartbreaking. It was an uncomfortably realistic portrayal of everyday sexual harassment. And there were scenes that were genuinely upsetting (the 'shirts versus skins' baseball game, for one, made me feel sick. I rarely identify with characters, but in this case, how could I not? A fat, slovenly, friendless weirdo, but criminally underestimated. And it features my favourite secondary character of all time, the inimitable Cordie Cooke. Yeah, it gets a little ridiculous, naturally, but darn it, it was intense.

Look, I understand why folks would compare this unfavorably to IT, considering it a pale imitation, or at least like, written to cash in on ITs success, but. Second listen, just as compelling as the first.

Children of the Night by Dan Simmons