Frank H. (perryfran) reviewed on 5/27/2013 + 1187 more book reviews

This was a great horror novel reminiscent of some of Stephen King's best. It is about a group of 8-11-year-old boys during the summer of 1960 being terrorized by some unknown entities. I thought some of the best parts of this book were the nostalgic look at life in a small town during this time period. I was 10 in 1960 and many of the activities of the boys I could really relate to such as all-day baseball games, biking to secret hideouts, avoiding the local bullies, etc. The characters were well-developed overall and you could really empathize with the boys situations. The horror in the novel revolved around the old Central School and a bell that was installed in the school when it was built in the late 1800s. The bell called the Borgia Bell, was bought by a wealthy family in the small Illinois town and was a relic from the Borgia family of 15th century Europe. I especially liked this aspect of the story because I have recently been watching the fascinating Showtime TV series about the Borgias. I was a little disappointed that the novel didn't provide more detail on how the Borgia family used the bell and how it affected their powers. Overall, I really enjoyed this one even though I thought the actions of the young boys against the evil was quite unbelievable. I think when I was that age, I would have stayed hidden under my bed to try to avoid all contact with the monstrous entities on the loose!

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