I loved this book! The story sucked me in right from the beginning and I couldn't stop reading. The following sentences aren't really spoilers. It's not a secret at all who the killer is, but if you don't want to know beforehand you may want to stop reading.

I loved that Father Tony was so unapologetically committed to what he was doing. He had character and just the right amount of crazy. It's always super annoying (in books, and movies too) when the killer talks too much and you almost get the feeling that they're not really fully committed to this whole killer thing. You also never find out why Tony is killing kids and councilors, but I think the best slashers don't have a reason. Or the reason is simply because they want to. Or just because they can, so why not?
The emails from Martin's mom that are peppered throughout the novel are strange and I didn't quite 'get' them. I'm not sure what their purpose was, unless it was just to break up the narrative at the camp so it didn't become monotonous.
Overall, very well done slasher with an awesomely demented killer. ( )

A quick read, The Summer is Ended... is light reading, certainly, but it still manages to have a few clever moments.

In particular, I found interesting how easy it was to read the physical violence as allegory for the kind of mental/social harm perpetuated by some religions. I also liked the one off sentences showcasing good parenting and healthy attitudes about humanity which were fitted into the narrative, an unusual find in a horror book. This is a book that is aware of the broader reality even while it's focused on being a very fun, very focused horror movie-esque romp.

And the ending, well, I appreciate it while simultaneously being disappointed by it, except I'm growing to like the ending more the more I think about it. It's very well executed, the way it builds up one expectation and then subverts it... and honestly, the ending I thought we were leading towards would have been happier, but I don't think it would have been better.

Sometimes, people you rely on fail. And that's not... it's a sad thing, but it's not exactly a fault. Sometimes people just do the best they can, and it's not enough, and everything goes wrong that could have so simply gone right. It's nice to read a novel like that, once in awhile. ( )

I loved this book! The story sucked me in right from the beginning and I couldn't stop reading. The following sentences aren't really spoilers. It's not a secret at all who the killer is, but if you don't want to know beforehand you may want to stop reading.

I loved that Father Tony was so unapologetically committed to what he was doing. He had character and just the right amount of crazy. It's always super annoying (in books, and movies too) when the killer talks too much and you almost get the feeling that they're not really fully committed to this whole killer thing. You also never find out why Tony is killing kids and councilors, but I think the best slashers don't have a reason. Or the reason is simply because they want to. Or just because they can, so why not?
The emails from Martin's mom that are peppered throughout the novel are strange and I didn't quite 'get' them. I'm not sure what their purpose was, unless it was just to break up the narrative at the camp so it didn't become monotonous.
Overall, very well done slasher with an awesomely demented killer. ( )

Rating: 2.5 of 5

The Summer Is Ended did have its strengths - namely, the relationship between Martin and his mother - but they were overshadowed by its biggest weakness which, in my opinion, was the rapid descent into a predictable "all gore, no guts" slasher novel. By "no guts," I'm referring to the author's choice to play it safe within horror's clichés, choosing the mundane versus something riskier.

Now, don't get me wrong, I heart slasher movies - they're my second favorite horror movie, right after zombies - but in a novel, it's tricky to get all the elements right. So, not only was The Summer Is Ended a brutal splatterfest featuring children (aged 10 and up) as its victims, it devolved into the lackluster campy type. Most likely as a way to lighten up the depraved subject matter.

In the end, I was really torn between two and three stars on this one. It wasn't the story I expected at all, but I did finish it. And I would give Comeau another read...if I heard his next book ditched his reliance on the expected and embraced his strengths such as characterization.

Recommended if you're looking for a blood-soaked campy slasher novel that's a quick read with the typical unhappy ending.

Disclaimer: Featured the brutal murders of children and adolescents. ( )

The Summer Is Ended and We Are Not Yet Saved is a reworking of his novel Bible Camp Bloodbath.

Plot:
Martin’s mother is a make-up artist who particularly enjoys working on horror movies. Since those are not jobs that come along very often, when she gets the chance to work on one during the summer, the question arises where Martin is supposed to stay in the meantime. Through a few coincidences he ends up at Bible Camp. Which could have been fun, if the priest running it hadn’t gone completely insane and started killing children.

TSIEaWANYS is your classic slasher movie, only in book form. It’s funny, well written and a quick read with really nice characters. If you always wanted to read a horror movie, it’s perfect.

Read more on my blog: http://kalafudra.wordpress.com/2013/11/12/the-summer-is-ended-and-we-are-not-yet... ( )