A Winter Haunting

Seasons of Horror, Book 2

De: Dan Simmons

Narrado por: Bronson Pinchot

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.

Great, slow burn of a horror novel

I did not listen to the first book, but plan to once summer comes around again. I think that this book stands alone just fine though. Good story and excellent narration.

Not what i was expecting

What did you like best about A Winter Haunting? What did you like least?

I liked all the messages from his dead via the laptop in different languages as well the overall questioning of the main characters mental state throughout the story. But all the pauses at the beginning of a chapter going back the dead friend point of view really made the story jagged. The author did a similar style on another book that i absolutely love, it worked there because of setting and environment presented in the novel but it just becomes annoying in this one.

What could Dan Simmons have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

I understand the Mr.Simmons has an interesting writing style and seems to change with every book, and that's not small feat to do. But some are a hit other a miss. in this case a miss for me. I liked the story as a whole but i know i won't be reading it anytime soon.

What about Bronson Pinchot’s performance did you like?

Mr. Pinchot really captured the essence of the main character, throughout the book the character was near dead inside and Pinchots voice made it so one could almost feel it.

Could you see A Winter Haunting being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Nope, though it would be fun to see a movie of it, I think it would get a bad review since it would have a steep learning curve to fully understand whats going on.

Good could’ve been better but worth it.

Honestly this was a pretty good book not as good as the first at times it got little slow but all in all still happy I got it I just wish there was more creepy stuff happening than there was could’ve been a whole lot better of a haunted house story than it was.

Eh

I tried to get into this book really but just couldn’t. To me the story was just lacking and I hated all the parts about Claire. Not scary either

Narrator terrific and storyline good

The narrator of this story did an excellent job. I will look for more books that he has narrated. Story was excellent also, although there were a few loose ends at the end that I wish had been more fleshed out. I will read more from Dan Simmons though. This was my first book by him, but good enough for me to read additional books.

Complex, riveting, satisfying

Loved it. Frightening, mythical and beautiful - it's truly haunting. Every element just perfectly rendered so the story unfolds like the unwrapping of a gift.

Good spooky fun

Edit: I just read the first book in the series Summer Of Night and it's an incredible story! I love 11 year old Dale. It was fun going into the first book with the knowledge of how his childhood friends grew up. Cordie is only a line in this book but is my favorite character from the first book. Duane's story line is devastating but it's good to hear from him in this book. I could read a book based on only him.
The narrator of the first book is fantastic. You will feel the terror and excitement of the children as he reads for them.
If you are reading this book because it's included, spend the credit on book one. It's more than worth it. It's one of those stories that you'll think about from time to time and shiver and smile.

Enjoyable horror story with a barely likable and pompous professor who decided to be a cliche. Come on middle aged men, she's not going to stick around. The story was solid and kept me wanting to know more.
I listened to this book because it was included but am getting ready to purchase the first book in the series. I'm sure it will leave me brokenhearted but I think it's going to be an amazing horror story.

Kept Me Listening

I ebhoyed it. It had a lot of "in his mind" thinking which I do a lot so I could really get into it. It actually had scary parts. Many these days don't.

Unexpectedly haunting

I wasn’t expecting much, as this was a free book under audible, and I hadn’t ever read anything by Simmons. I was unexpectedly entranced with “A Winter Haunting” and couldn’t put it down. I’m excited to pick up another read by Dan Simmons right away.

Bleak but great

A little bleak but great Dan Simmons writing. Story is encompassing and the performance is outstanding