Introduce yourself (If you want to :-)

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado]

Welcome Aaron! :-)

[Robert]

Hi Everyone,

I'm a total newcomer to the works of John Saul. (I've read many reviews of his books from the very positive to the negative.)
Where would be a good place to start? (And which titles should I avoid?)

Thank You,
Bob

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado]

Hi Bob :-) From what I hear, Suffer The Children (Saul's earliest book) is highly recommended. I haven't read it myself because it's easier for me to use audiobooks and this title is not currently available on unabridged audio.



My personal favorite is The Manhattan Hunt Club. Earlier works such as The God Project and Shadows seem to be very popular.

[Kylie, Natural Born Devereaux]

Weird. I've looked through the group threads a zillion times, and this never came up as a "new post". I only just noticed the date was more recent than it should have been.

Agreed about Suffer the Children. It's a pretty definitive work for him. The God Project is slightly unusual (one of only three scifi-horror), but I do love it!

Of course, the Manhattan Hunt Club is one of my least favorites (if not my absolute bottom choice). hehehe But I suppose that we've had this discussion by now, right Dustin?

At any rate, a warm welcome to Bob, if indeed he is still around.

[Kylie, Natural Born Devereaux]

Ah... just occurred to me that there are now 4 scifi-horror novels from Saul. I always forget about his newest novels (easily forgettable I guess?).

The God Project
Brain Child
Shadows
Faces of Fear

That all of them?

[Julie]

Hi im julie. I am 39. From maryland. I am currently reading Blackstone chronicles. I just joined this group today. Any advice on how to get the most out of the group would be appreciated.

[Kylie, Natural Born Devereaux]

Woah... don't know how we missed this! A very very VERY belated hello, Julie! How did you like the Blackstone Chronicles? I just reread it not too long ago.

[Julie]

hi I'm still reading it. It's one of my favorites sofar. I'm on the handkerchief part chapter 8

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado]

Glad you are enjoying The Blackstone Chronicles Julie :-) I loved reading those books. That is how I first found John Saul when I bought one of those little serial books at the grocery store when I 17. Have you finished The Blackstone Chronicles yet?

[Kylie, Natural Born Devereaux]

The final installment is super fun for that serial. It's a nice little read with limited re-readability (I am big on re-reading Saul... I've read most more than once).

Your first was BC, Dustin? My first (in maybe 2005 or so?) was Suffer the Children... my second was Punish the Sinners. After that, I read them in whatever order (though still roughly old to new). I bought like 3-4 of them that day and figured that I might as well start at the beginning. Suffer the Children was an AWESOME introduction to Saul. Totally hooked me.

[Kylie, Natural Born Devereaux]

Oh... Julie, I just compared our book lists. Our ratings are very similar most of the time. Based on your ratings, I think that Suffer the Children would be great for you (and Elizabeth from Blackstone Chronicles #1 is a teenager in that novel-- he just brought the character back for the serial).

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado]

Blackstone Chronicles was my first introduction to John Saul. I think I read Shadows and The Homing after that - those are the ones that really stuck with me. I really would like to re-read The Homing. I just have a good memory of reading it. I got it from the bookmobile that came to my town. Too bad John Saul has stopped writing. He was my introduction to the Horror Genre.

[Julie]

my first book by him was when the wind blows. i was 14-15. i read it twice in two weeks. that was around 1990 lol

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado]

Julie wrote: "my first book by him was when the wind blows. i was 14-15. i read it twice in two weeks. that was around 1990 lol"

Are you still reading The Blackstone Chronicles?

[Julie]

Yes dustin. I'm on the stereoscope part

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado]

It's been a long time since I've read any John Saul. I'm gonna have to change that :-)

Please post when you finish The Blackstone Chronicles and want to read more John Saul - Maybe we can set up a group read again sometime in 2015. It's been a while.

[Julie]

That would be great!

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado]

I think so :-) Thanks Julie.

Typically, I do audiobooks and can get through the books pretty quickly. However some of the older John Saul Novels, such as Suffer the Children are not available on unabridged audio as far as I know. It would take me a while to get through a book if I don't use audio, but I'm willing to do it.

Brilliance Audio is always coming out with re-released audiobooks so I should see if some of the older ones that weren't previously available, have been made available. Most recently I noticed Guardian available on unabridged audiobook.

[Kylie, Natural Born Devereaux]

Hmmm... I guess I could probably read some Saul. It's been a while. The last few times I tried to reread, I got bored. I've read all of the ones I like best at least 2 or 3 times, so I was left with the ones that weren't quite so good.

If The Homing is what you want to read, that would be easy enough I guess. I don't think I've read it for years, and I know that I own a copy.

My first reaction is always to reread The Unloved or The God Project, but I have read them so many times that it doesn't really matter. ;)

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado]

I would love to re-read The Homing. I would probably be really behind anyone else on reading because I read so slow - unless Julie wants to join in - I might have some competition. I usually use an audiobook to help me, I will have to see if any of Saul's older works have been made available on unabridged audio. Anyway, Yes, Yes, Yes, I am interested in any of those three you mentioned: The Homing, The Unloved or The God Project.

Curious, Which ones did you feel weren't quite so good? Maybe you have mentioned before. It's been a while :-)

[Kylie, Natural Born Devereaux]

Not so good. Well...

I thought Manhattan Hunt Club was derivative to the point where it just annoyed me (I know it's a favorite of yours, but what can I say?). It's an updated retelling at best. Boring and obnoxious but readable in my view.

In the Dark of the Night was the worst he ever wrote though... ever. Horrible. I hated it sooo much and nearly stopped reading any of his new work. His facts were wrong AND anyone who knows even a little bit about serial killers will know what's happening instantly. I knew every single twist just from the stupid list of "strange objects" they found in the beginning. I'm a huge serial killer buff, so it made me ill and angry in equal measure to see such drivel from an author I enjoy. I will never reread it, whereas I would consider rereading MHC sometime... though the idea of doing it doesn't thrill me.

All of his other books are alright in their way, but some didn't quite hold up for me: Midnight Voices, well, everything since Nightshade has been lackluster. Darkness, Cry for the Strangers, The Homing, Black Lightning. There are lots of them that I've only read two or three times just because they didn't thrill me. They're still readable and fun, but they don't compare to the ones that I really love.

Occasionally, I will reread one and decide that it's far better than I thought previously (that happens in reverse as well). Most recently, I reread Hellfire for the third time and LOVED it. Like, I was shocked that I thought it was anything but stellar on the first two reads. Go figure, huh? On the flip side, I reread Second Child for the fourth time and just thought it was lame and not very cohesive. I really liked it the first time, but it went downhill on the rereads.

I've read all of his books at least twice EXCEPT for MHC, In the Dark of the Night, and his two newest (which I read for the first time a pretty recently).... so I'm fine with choosing from whichever you can get on audiobook. I own all but a few of his novels, so they're all equally easy for me, and what's one more read at this point? ;)

I'm about to reread The Other by Thomas Tryon again for the... umm... I dunno, 20th time at least. I bought a new copy, since mine keep falling apart.

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado]

I think it's great that you can still be a fan of John Saul without loving all his books :-) I am like that with Dean Koontz too. I re-read an re-read and sometimes I end up finding the book better than I remembered. Maybe there is a reason John Saul has stopped writing. I found John Saul before I found Dean Koontz, so Saul has a special place in my reading history. I'll post some more ideas after I search for available audiobooks. Soon. :-)

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado]

Here is a list of older John Saul books available on unabridged audio:
Brainchild
Darkness
Guardian
Hell Fire
The Homing
Sleepwalk.

I will probably create a poll so we can choose one. When do you want to start reading? How long do you want the group read to last?
Thanks!

[Julie]

I didn't like the homing that much.

[Julie]

darkness was good. I haven't read the others. btw I'm slow on reading too. I think the most I h ab e done is maybe 6 books in a year. The Blackstone chronicles has taken me almost two years. The fastest I read one was a week once. so I don't mind if we take a while to read a book.

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado]

Julie wrote: "darkness was good. I haven't read the others. btw I'm slow on reading too. I think the most I h ab e done is maybe 6 books in a year. The Blackstone chronicles has taken me almost two years. The f..."

The one I would really like to read is John Saul's first - Suffer The Children. We can feature it has a Summer Group Read. I will be reading the print version because it is not available on unabridged Audiobook. I tried to read it a few times before but I just haven't gotten very far. We can feature it for 3 months this Summer :-)

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado]

Julie wrote: "I didn't like the homing that much."

I enjoyed it as a teenager. The Homing was one of my first John Saul Books along with Nathaniel, Shadows, and The Blackstone Chronicles. I remember borrowing The Homing, Nathaniel and Shadows from the Bookmobile that would come to my town each month. I have really great memories of reading these as a teenager and I will probably revisit The Homing this year since it is now available on Unabridged Audiobook :-)

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado]

I just suggest Suffer the Children because it is one that is highly rated, his first book and one that I would actually read in print.

With any of the titles I listed above, I would get an audiobook to help me and it would take me less than a week to go through :-)

If you are okay with Suffer the Children, I will feature it on the group page, but of course if you have any other suggestions, I am open to them. Thanks!

[Julie]

I can't remember if I have read suffer the children yet. I'll check. When do you want it finished by?

[Julie]

Or I would go for the Guardian. just a suggestion.

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado]

Julie wrote: "I can't remember if I have read suffer the children yet. I'll check. When do you want it finished by?"

We can feature Suffer the Children during the months of June, July & August if that works. You can read & join the discussion anytime.

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado]

Julie wrote: "Or I would go for the Guardian. just a suggestion."

We can do Guardian too. Once I tried Guardian on Audiobook but it was an abridged version and cut too much out. I won't do abridged audiobooks anymore - I don't know why they even make them. I want the whole story. There is an unabridged recording of Guardian available so I would use that and would be open to having that as a group read anytime - just be aware that once I start the audiobook, I will most likely be done in less than a week :-)

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado]

Have you tried audiobooks? I get through tons of books that way and I can be out walking, commuting, doing chores around the house at the same time. I still read books with my eyes when there isn't an audiobook available - it just takes me much longer - weeks or months :-)

[Julie]

I attempted to once. I couldn't find the right narrator. so I couldn't get the right feel of the book. I read on my phone or tablet through nook.

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado]

Julie wrote: "I attempted to once. I couldn't find the right narrator. so I couldn't get the right feel of the book. I read on my phone or tablet through nook."

The narrator does make a big difference :-) Some are better than others. I am starting to recognize the same voices from listening to so many audiobooks.

I am old school so I like to have a printed copy of the book whenever possible. I haven't read many ebooks, but I've read a few books that way. I visit the library at least once a week :-)

[Nathan (ON HIATUS AND]

Is this group still active?

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado]

Nathan wrote: "Is this group still active?"

Just you and me kid :-) ha ha

The person who started this group goes away for years at a time. When she started the group, I helped with it even though I expressed concern that there wasn't enough interest. John Saul has not released any new books in ten years.

I enjoyed John Saul as a teenager - this was my introduction to the horror genre. I most recently revisited Black Lightning this past Winter.

[Nathan (ON HIATUS AND]

Oh, OK. I read him a long time ago and I am rereading books from my youth. Thank you for your reply Dustin.

[Nathan (ON HIATUS AND]

He was 1 of my first introduction to horror and scifi and demons and curses. I liked Nathaniel. Recently reread that. It was very good. I also recently reread the homing. I had forgotten them and enjoyed both.

[Nathan (ON HIATUS AND]

I love Audiobooks! That's mostly how I "read" now!

[Nathan (ON HIATUS AND]

Why does she go away for years at a time? That sounds like a first line of a book. "The woman who started this group goes away for years at a time." You could go so many places with that line. Lol.

[Nathan (ON HIATUS AND]

I'm sorry, "The person who started this group goes away for years at a time."

[Blanca]

its been years since I've reread any of these but I fell in love with him in high school. hello!