The Summer I Died

The Roger Huntington Saga, Book 1

By: Ryan C. Thomas

Narrated by: John Andrews

The cult thriller novel is back in this all new edition which features the original text as it was meant to be published! Dubbed one of "The Most Intense Horror Novels" ever written by many horror review sites, The Summer I Died is the first book in the Roger Huntington saga and has been optioned for film.

Please be warned: This book contains depictions of torture and graphic violence.

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
When Roger Huntington comes home from college for the summer and is met by his best friend, Tooth, he knows they're going to have a good time. A summer full of beer, comic books, movies, laughs, and maybe even girls. The sun is high and the sky is clear as Roger and Tooth set out to shoot beer cans at Bobcat Mountain. Just two friends catching up on lost time, two friends thinking about their futures. . . two friends suddenly thrust into the middle of a nightmare.

Forced to fight for their lives against a sadistic killer with an arsenal of razor sharp blades and a hungry dog by his side. If they are to survive, they must decide: are heroes born, or are they made? Or is something more powerful happening to them? And more importantly, how do you survive when all roads lead to death?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Ryan C. Thomas lives in San Diego with his wife and two dogs. He is the author of several novels including Born To Bleed (the sequel to The Summer I Died), Hissers, Salticidae, The Undead World of Oz, Ratings Game, Origin of Pain, as well as several novellas and short stories.

©2008 Ryan C. Thomas (P)2024 Ryan C. Thomas

Critic reviews

"A tense bloody ride!" - Brian Keene

"The Summer I Died is an endurance test. It’s certainly not for everybody. But if you want to freak yourself out on your next camping trip, you can’t really do any better." - BloodyDisgusting.com

"A down and dirty splatfest, 70s style!" - HorrorDrive-in.com

Very well written

An extreme horror book that doesn’t feel like it’s just for shock value! Each character feels lived in and I actually cared about each of their fate. Dark, gorey and surprisingly heartfelt. Also, the narrator did a great job bringing these characters to life.

So descriptive!

I've been looking for a good body horror book for so long and this was perfect. I would absolutely suggest reading this if gore and torture are your thing😄

Good, gruesome, crazy book

I loved this book, I’m a big horror fan and this books is absolutely gut wrenching. It’s worth the read! Although if you have a queasy stomach i recommend you take caution before reading. Most of the details are brutal.

jesus CHRIST

This was my first "splatterpunk" book, and I had no idea what I was REALLY in for. Some of the most twisted things I have ever heard in my life, and I loved it all. The pacing was great, very tense and high strung the entire time. Great narration, really helped accentuate the vibes of the story

0 to 100 REAL quick

Loved the story and the narrator was incredible too. Probably one of the better written gore/splatterpunk books I’ve listened to that doesn’t completely rely on leaning into obscenity, morbid sex or absolutely over the top gore for shock value’s sake. Don’t get me wrong, this book is plenty f’d up, it just feels like it’s approached with some intelligence and character building instead of some books that feel like they’re written by an incel teenager writing down every bad word he knows for the first time.

One of the most disturbing books I have read

It was very dark, grim, disgusting but still very captivating. Not for the weak stomachs.

Very anti-religious. Annoyingly so.

The story had great potential but was poorly executed. The gore was written well and was definitely creepy.

depraved and jaw dropping.

Absolutely loved it. Phenomenal character build up. Some scenes will punch a hole through you.

Graphic

This is a very graphic serial killer horror. Becomes uncomfortable at points, but a good story.

demented action

the story was well related. could almost feel like you knew the people. one thing I would have liked would be more background on Skinny Man but still enjoyed it