Customer Reviews

Children of the Night [With Earbuds] (Playaway Adult Fiction)

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

A while ago I wrote a review of "Summer of Night" and without realizing what I was doing, called this book a sequel to that book . . . I wasn't completely wrong, this is a spiritual successor to that book, one of the characters from "Summer" plays a big role in events and some of the other characters get at least one mention. The theme couldn't be any more different though. Simmons makes the book work on two levels here, trying to tell a thrilling suspense story while at the same time turning the vampire myth completely inside out. That's right, what he does here is propose a scientific mechanism (based on a recessive mutation) why they have to drink blood and what that means. This all comes about when the original Vlad Dracula decides that it's time to die and decrees that a new heir must be invested. Unfortunately the heir gets adopted by an American doctor, who tries to figure out why the baby can go from almost dead to perfectly healthy just be a blood transfusion. The science part of all of this is fascinating, some of it might be a little more science than people will want to read and if you're not well versed in biology or genetics a good part of it you're just going to have to take on faith and assume he did his research well. As far as I can tell, everything checks out so hats off to Simmons for taking the time. So all goes well until the vampires figure out where the kid went and go to get him back. At this point all the science takes a backseat for a cloak and dagger "let's sneak into a hostile foreign country where anyone could be a spy for the enemy and get the kid out before we're discovered and killed" at which point things become a little more generic but at the same time what sets this apart is Simmons' masterful gift for crafting the perfect sentence to set a mood, he's not as detailed in his descriptions as he has been in the past but he pulls out a good one when he needs to. The action is burtal and intense, the quieter moments are touching, you can't trust anyone, and it all comes to a rousing conclusion that you may or may not see coming (it didn't strike me until just before the end). Not "horror" per se, more of a dark adventure but ranks at the very least as one of his most entertaining and inventive books.

Let me begin by saying that I love Dan Simmons' books and I've read all of them I can get my hands on. I loved the Hyperion and Endymion Books and I've loved most of his stuff that's closer to horror. I even enjoyed Phases of Gravity, his foray into non-action, mainstream fiction. But I only LIKED this book.

It has all of the typical Simmons strengths: strong characters, lots of action and suspense, intelligence, complexity and lots of research. In fact, it offers one of the more convincing scientific answers for vampires I've ever seen.

The thing that hurt this book for me was its ending. It rested on too many implausible coincidences. After being great all of the way through, it suddenly reminded me of one of those bad movies where the bad guy who has had perfect aim throughout suddenly starts missing when he shoots at the hero.

Still, it's not a bad read and much better than most of the tripe that's available these days.

This book flies off the shelf both in its promise of vampire fiction (good genre, strong following) and the Hugo award winning author's name in large print. It has a well thought-out mystery for its characters to solve, and a 'medical-thriller' aspect that only just uses too much jargon. However- the development is slow, the story does get boring, and the characters get very introspective without really developing into persons a reader can relate to. This leads to those long, dull interludes of an author struggling to describe a character's thoughts and feelings with only minimal success. Simmons does better when characters' actions define their personality (not thoughts) and when his sci-fi is explained through demonstration (not syntax-laden description). Both of these he does with professional quality in the Hyperion series, which are a must read for any sf fan.
Children of the Night drags, has dull characters and a somewhat corny background and one of the most cliche, predictable endings an author could crank out outside of a King/Koontz thriller. Stick to the sci-fi; that's where Simmons' truly stunning ability lies.

What I enjoy most about Simmon's Song of Kali and Carrion Comfort is that they are very different from a lot of horror fiction. I thought Children of the Night would likely be a new and different take on vampires- and it is. The scientific explanation of vampires is fascinating but that and the true stories of Vlad the Impaler are really the only interesting things about this book. It pretty much follows the same story format as most of Dean Koontz's books: Hero and heroine battle a supernatural villian, or villians which turn out to have a natural explanation; along the way they have a graphically descriptive sex scene before destroying the bad guys and living happily ever after. It doesn't have the intensity of Song of Kali or the thrills of Carrion Comfort and the characters aren't that interesting. It's not a bad book but it's not one that many people will treasure either.

This action packed thriller clips right along, to its well-crafted ending, keeping you guessing page after page. Simmons is the exception among horror authors, standing head and shoulders above almost all the rest: he can actually write a plot, believable characters that you care about, AND creepy, teeth-jarring scenes. I enjoyed "Summer of Night" more than this book, but this was well worth the read (and has an interesting connection to "Summer of Night" which you'll get if you've read the earlier novel). Slam bang good! If you like tense, dark horror, and a character driven story, you'll get a kick out of this one.

This pseudo-sequel to SUMMER OF NIGHT (Father O'Roarke and several minor characters loosely tie into the other book) is a fine example of what a suspense-slash-horror writer can be capable of. Ever since the magnificant CARRION COMFORT, Mr. Simmons has not disappointed me yet!

This has all of the markings of a great book - well developed characters, interesting plot (you'll also get a lesson or two on Romanian culture), twisted villians (corrupt politicians, lurking men dressed in black, etc.) and excellent stylings told through Kate (the heroine) and a series of dreams/flashbacks from Vlad Dracula himself!

The story is a hard-nosed, quick read about a hematologist (re: blood doctor) wrestling with the cure for AIDS as she also seeks to unravel the "myth" of vampirism from medically. It is an excellent idea, executed beautifully, and although it crumbles in a few places, the story will open up the imagination and stick with you long after you've turned the final page.

Dan Simmons is a wonderful, talented writer who doesn't write on a 12 year old level. This book is more than just a quick thrill, but a wonderfully researched and realized novel with wonderful development, plot, suspense and characters. If you're looking for a cheap thrill, don't read this novel - if you're looking for a mature, realized vision of a vampirism, this is the book for you! A wonderful read even if you're not into vampires and 'horror' stories.

Perhaps I was spoiled by reading Dan Simmons' excellent horror novels A Song of Kali and Carrion Confort (both of which I highly reccomend) but Children of the Night somehow falls flat. The author's take on vampirism as some sort of disease is nothing new, and what's worse, he bogs down the story with the most excesive and boring medical jargon imaginable. The story itself is slow moving and rather uninteresting since Dan Simmons is more intent in impressing the reader with his knowledge of modern day Romania (with which we get endless descriptions of unpronounsable locations) than in moving the story forward.

Reading "Children of the Night" by Dan Simmons was spellbinding for me. I tire easily with the same, simplistic vampire biting storylines, and was unsure as to whether or not I would enjoy this book, but once I read the first page, my mind changed. I followed all that the characters had done down to the tee, and was especially thrilled by the thoughts of Vlad himself. This isn't the usual 'bite on the neck' story. Dan Simmons actually delves into the past of Vlad, what really happened, and even what his thoughts might have been. I read this book in one day and wanted more. This is an excellent book to read, and Dan Simmons did an exquisite job.

I have to say that Dan Simmons is probably my second favorite horror and sci-fi writer. His hypnotic and down-to-earth narration hooks you into turning page after page until you get to the end of the book. I've always loved stong child characters in literature, and D. Simmons doesn't disappoint. Try reading Children of the Night and the Hyperion Saga as well.