The Damned Summer

by Scott Weaver

When the paths of good and evil intersect, the resulting conflict can sometimes result in a scarring of the place where it happened. The town of Storm, Illinois is one such place, for long ago, a battle that resulted in a stalemate between the two forces had left a powerful imprint on the soil, an imprint that seems to scream out to the cosmos for a rematch, as if the land yearns for the battle to be finished so it can finally heal.The demon from the original fight hungers for the rematch as well, in desperate need for the prize that was fought for, a prize that seems to have finally returned to the mortal world after nearly 500 years. A prize that is held among a group of teenagers whose main focus is partying and having a great summer before their senior year. Easy prey as far as the demon is concerned.The side of good in this conflict is an ageing Vietnam vet and his small dog. The vet spent his youth running with the demon, but now fights against it every night in the meeting grounds of the physical world and the spiritual world, the place known as dreams.It is in this summer of celebration and sin that the final clash between the demon and the old man with his dog will finally come to an end. A summer where the older generation fights for the souls of the oblivious younger generation. A battle that will not only determine the fate of the teens, but also those close to them as well.

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Paranormal, Thriller, Dark Fantasy, Ebooks

371 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 9, 2012

Reviews

[Evans Light]

Got this free today from Amazon after seeing it listed on Laura Thomas' review blog at: http://fuonlyknew.wordpress.com/

Looks great!

[K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

At first I did not agree with the descriptions of partying, cigarette smoking, alcohol, pot - but then I realized the story is about a demon and how he tries to lead the innocent off the right path.

"Nice guys finish last ..."

"... at the simple truth of the bad of Johnny just tasted sweeter than the good of Drew, which was just stupid ..."

Nonetheless, I was really glad that after half the book, one of the most important characters had the nerve to say no partying tonight I need my sleep.

Once I had read my way well into the book, the plot took off and was intense, suspenseful and interesting.

The author is quite a master of words, painting images of fight scenes, carnivals and storms on an exciting literary canvas. He takes you right into the action. I could imagine this book would make a good movie.

[Susan Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like how the characters interweave. The fight between good and evil that prevails in the small town and how it has the potential to prepetuate through time. The evil waits in dreams and reality. The significance of the switchblade passing from bad boy to bad boy has it's own story. Of course I love Lloyd, I picture my own Australian Cattle dog in the role. Gotta love a good dog with common sense and a bad ass attitude.

[Fran Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very easy to read, fun, exciting, couldn't put it donw.

[Frank Carpa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dark and ominous! Fantastic! Good vs evil with a punk twist. I loved it!!

[Aurora · Rating 3 out of 5]

Felt very contrived and the constant whiny teenage angst evoked nothing but annoyance. Put it down for a while and then came back to it a few months later. The pacing is well done and the back stories are pretty interesting. However, though, there was so much extraneous nonsense that contributed nothing to the story and was just time consuming and confusing. The emo whining, also. Plus, I don't care how 'hardcore' they are, no teenage boy can down tons of whiskey and 6-7 cans of beer in 1-2 hours without ending up in the hospital. Then there's the names. Johnny. Jenny. Jack. Jake. Frank. Thanks for not making the names so similar that they're confusing or anything.

[Mari · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book jumps around so much it became hard to follow at times. sometimes I thought I was reading a new story but than it would jump back to where you felt you were hanging. The overall story was pretty good overall.

[Brenda]

Terrible book.