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

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😄

Great description, climax a bit rushed

I loved the story so much. The image did feel a bit rushed and more backstroke to the Skinn Man and his decline would have been great. All in all a hell of a good body horror torture novel.

Reader Beware

For reasons I cannot immediately articulate, I quite liked this book, it's definitely a case of the whole being more than the sum of its parts.

However, this is the most distressing book I have ever read, and it is the only book I have ever considered not finishing because of how it impacted me emotionally. I am no stranger to violent books, but the way it is depicted here got to me like nothing else has.

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.

Very good read

The story was good from the very beginning and definitely turned crazier than I thought it would! Can’t wait to read the next book. It was written great.