Rating: 
Summary: Couldn't get into it
Review: I own every book written by John Saul and have thouroughly enjoyed them but The Presence was hard to follow. As a matter of fact, I was never able to force myself to finish it. Needless to say it was very disappointing. Not up to his normal excellence.
Rating: 
Summary: An Interesting Read
Review: I read The Blackstone Chronicles a few years ago and was very intrigued with his writing style. This book was very thought provoking. It made me think that this could really happen. This book had a very science fiction theme to it which made it a fun read.
Rating: 
Summary: One of Saul's most unusual books--lots of fun!
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this one. I never expected the ending and thought the whole concept was quite unique. Kept me up two nights in a row!
Rating:
Summary: I recently read this book in 1 day and couldn't put it down.
Review: I usually gravitate towards female authors, however I enjoy John Saul's books. This one was no exception. I'm not sure I'll try scuba diving any time soon. It'll make you think for days after you read it!
Rating: 
Summary: Dissapointing
Review: Im glad this was the fourth Saul book that i read, because if it was the first i would not have bothered with his other books.I loved the other three, but this one does not live up to the usuall John Saul quality. I found it difficult to pick up and read, almost an effort.
Rating:
Summary: What was in those tanks?
Review: Imagine you're a good single mother who worries over your teenage son who has a history of asthma. Your son, Michael, says he's going to the movies, but when he comes home late he tells you that he and his new friends decided to play video games instead, and lost track of time. It's a lie. The boys "sort of" broke into a dive shop and went scuba diving at night in a gloomy lagoon. So what? Although it was only Michael's second dive, he's home safe, right? Unfortunately, there was something insidious in those "borrowed" dive tanks that will involve you and your son in a ruthless scheme of such incredible complexity that it takes three scientists and a computer hacker to unravel the mystery and save Michael. The problem is the author builds the complexity gradually until he has enough pages for a book, and then slams out the ending. It's like getting cold runny eggs when you expected an omelet. This plot is billed as suspense - mystery - horror, but Saul has to use science fiction and fantasy themes, or what I call "incredibilities," to try to hold it together. Saul attempts to create dread by giving an apparently normal, upstanding character extraordinary power to do incredibly awful stuff to the nearly defenseless until he's defeated in the last chapter. That doesn't work for me as well as creating incredible characters with human frailties who have to struggle with the good guys throughout the story, so much so that you might doubt who's going to will win. For my idea of a much better tale in this genre, see my review of "Running with the Demon" by Terry Brooks.
Rating:
Summary: What was in those tanks?
Review: Imagine you're a good single mother who worries over your teenage son who has a history of asthma. Your son, Michael, says he's going to the movies, but when he comes home late he tells you that he and his new friends decided to play video games instead, and lost track of time. It's a lie. The boys "sort of" broke into a dive shop and went scuba diving at night in a gloomy lagoon. So what? Although it was only Michael's second dive, he's home safe, right? Unfortunately, there was something insidious in those "borrowed" dive tanks that will involve you and your son in a ruthless scheme of such incredible complexity that it takes three scientists and a computer hacker to unravel the mystery and save Michael. The problem is the author builds the complexity gradually until he has enough pages for a book, and then slams out the ending. It's like getting cold runny eggs when you expected an omelet. This plot is billed as suspense - mystery - horror, but Saul has to use science fiction and fantasy themes, or what I call "incredibilities," to try to hold it together. Saul attempts to create dread by giving an apparently normal, upstanding character extraordinary power to do incredibly awful stuff to the nearly defenseless until he's defeated in the last chapter. That doesn't work for me as well as creating incredible characters with human frailties who have to struggle with the good guys throughout the story, so much so that you might doubt who's going to will win. For my idea of a much better tale in this genre, see my review of "Running with the Demon" by Terry Brooks.
Rating: 
Summary: Entering uncharted waters
Review: John Saul has figured out the future of best selling novels. New ideas, theoretically possible ideas and it affects human kind on a huge scale. While Saul is a typical horror/suspense novelist, this book shows how broad his range has become. "Suffer the Children and "Punish the Sinners" were two of his early white knuckle novels. The Presence keeps you guessing and asking questions. Plus it's a huge bonus if you are interested in Vulcanology, Archeology or Astronomy. Even though he may not have done all his homework, and some items could be better explained, this was a smart story and the main characters were well developed. The only true problem with the book was the title. It really had nothing to do with the story. This is a must read for people interested in scientific novels
Rating:
Summary: Average Twist Makes Above Average Book
Review: John Saul uses his usual plot twists in The Presence to keep the reader spellbound. In his novel, Dr. Katherine Sundquist, an antropologist, moves her asthmatic son, Michael, and herself to Maui after receiving an unrefusable job offer. Despite Michael's refusals to leave New York, the two leave for Hawaii. Unbeknowanced to the Sundquists', a terrible medical horror is about to change their lives forever. I, personally, loved the novel. It was depressing for me to put it down. Saul uses his writing genius to employ several plot twists with tons of crucial information to captivate the reader. It ranks right up there with my other favortie Saul book, The Homing.
Rating:
Summary: Reasonable but strains the credulity and irritates in places
Review: Just to add my short twopennyworth to what's already been said; the general consensus is that there are many better thrillers out there and many a damn site worse. I honestly cannot disagree with that. Whilst I found the characterisation fairly strong (if a tad stereotypical at times), the lush descriptions of Maui very satisfying and the clammy claustrophobia of the breathing theme very effective, there were quite a few gaping holes in the plot that sadly diminish the reader's enjoyment. ** WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD ** For example, Katharine turning ace detective rather than going to the police earlier on is a bit Scooby-Dooish isn't it? The astronomical mathematics of the fading supernova simply don't add up (if it's 15 million light years away, that means it actually went nova 15 MYA, so how long before were the "seeds" despatched then to reach Earth before life appeared?) and the vilain flying his helicopter soooo low over the volcano is just asking for trouble and we all know what's going to happen! There's also a little bit of Darwinian dogma thrown in for good measure, to annoy the creationists out there. But come on frip; fair's fair. Despite the numerous niggles, I still quite enjoyed The Presence. It rattles along at a cracking pace, firing on the majority of its cylinders most of the time. There are worse ways to while away an evening or two and I am looking forward to exploring some other books by this prolific author.
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