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Summary: Shadows is a futuristic Grimms-like tale.
Review: In Shadows, John Saul plays the vulnerability of the gifted child against a modern day mad scientist. The weaving of brilliant children, technology and obsession with power make this story a schematic tapestry of a futuristic Grimms-like fairy tale. Though the book has a slow start, it is well worth the wait as Saul takes the reader from the dusty town of Eden to the beautiful setting of the Barrington Academy, a private school for gifted children. But within the magnificence of the old mansion lie secret rooms and gory experiments. It's a thriller to the end, and will scare any parent with a gifted child into a few sleepless nights
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Summary: I'm only 13 and I think this is the best John Saul book.
Review: It's really gripping. I can't seem to put it down. It has horror, murder, and drama
all twisted in to one book.
P.S.If John is reading this, can I have your auto-
graph
Rating: 
Summary: A decent book that could have been better
Review: John Saul's "Shadows" is decent book, but leaves the reader unsatisfied in some respects. The plot involves an exclusive school for the gifted where a devious technology is used at the expense of the students. One of the downfalls of the book is the lack of character development. The author doesn't seem to know what he wants to do with the roles of several characters. The main character, Josh, plays a somewhat inconsequential role in the climax of the novel. The growth of other characters were left somewhat underdeveloped. Further, the author reveals the primary mystery a little too soon.
However, the novel is cleverly written to touch the emotions of readers (though, I won't elaborate to preserve the mysteries of the novel).
Overall, it was a good (but not great) novel.
Reviewed by Jay A. Goklani
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Summary: It is one of the best!
Review: John Saul's book "Shadows" is one of his best! It it very suspensful and you can't put it down until the very last page, and even then it keeps you at the edge of your seat! I recommend this book to everyone!
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Summary: Fast reading, small plot.
Review: Like most of John Saul's books, this is a fast read - I managed to do it in under 4 hours. Unfortunately, it seems as though that's about all the time it took to actually write the book as well. With very little character development and a plot that goes from "point A" to "point B" with a single twist visible a mile away, this one's better than most, but not as good as it could be.
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Summary: Great plot, weak character development
Review: Overall, I think this was a great read. The plot seemed very original to me, and should appeal to science fiction fans, people interested in artificial intelligence, and horror fans alike. Saul is very good at creating a creepy setting, and building suspense. This is a very hard book to put down. Besides having extremely disturbing subject matter, this book could actually be touching. The sadness, loneliness and fear of what happened to these children after being experimented on by evil genius Dr. Eversol is palpable, and the book also fleshes out the isolation felt by genuius children very well. The only problem is the character development. Josh and his mother are both given much attention in the first third or so of the book, leading you to believe they will be major forces in the book's conclusion. Not so. Instead, Josh becomes mostly an observer of the climactic ending, and his mother virtually disappears. Instead we are introduced to new characters whose backgrounds and circumstances are never as well developed, but who nonetheless become central to the book's plot.
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Summary: Nice little time waster
Review: Regular readers of John Saul usually know what to expect when they pick up one of his novels; A small town setting, teenage protagonists with attitude issues and a malevolent technological experiment that is the work of some out of control corporation that threatens the peacefullness of the small town. Believe you me, Shadows does not stray very far from the formula.Josh MacCallum is a ten year old with an attitude problem. He's constantly getting into fights at school, talks back at teachers and hates the fact he is living in a boring little desert town. His problem is that he is too smart. The curriculum at school is a joke to him and he is excluded and teased by his fellow students because of his superior intellect. His mother and principle decide to send him to a private school called The Barrington Academy for young students with gifted minds like his own. For the first time in his life, Josh feels like he belongs. But then a mysterious series of student suicides leads Josh to believe that the academy may not be all it is cracked up to be. Are all these suicides coincidental or is there something more sinister behind them? Shadows is quite entertaining athough it doesn't offer Saul readers anything new. The book takes a while to get going but once we learn the forces at work behind the child suicides it becomes quite interesting. Fans of Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game and the Harry Potter novels ought to enjoy this one as much as I did.
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Summary: A prime example of a master story teller's work
Review: Saul's orginial work is so well written that it will pull you into the story so fast that before you realize it the afternoon is gone and you're left shocked that the story is over. "Shadows" is about a group of extremely gifted children that at a young age find themselves outcasts from their peer group. They find themselves shipped off to the Academy, a school designed for children like them. But deep in the core of the Academy, hidden behind the every day smiles of the people who run it is a very deadly cause. The cause is the search for artificial intelligence and the doctors are very close to achieving their goal. Outside of those who know about the true purpose of the Academy, people are starting to get suspicious. Eight student deaths in the past five years, seven of which were "suicides". How have the doctors achieved AI? What were the casaulties of this remarkable achievement? This story is an excellent story to curl up with... as long as you have the whole afternoon free because you won't be able to put it down!
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Summary: John Saul had done his homework very well...but I doubt...
Review: Shadows is really great. Every detail in this novel shows that John had prepared well before begin the first line. I appreciate overall of it. I read this book many years ago but it is still alive in my head. But, well, when he said (by means of using his characters) "everyone knows that comitting suicide is wrong, but why?", it's supposed that he should give some answers to it, whether his own preference or something else. Moreover, I doubt whether gifted children are really hated by their classmates...
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Summary: Better than most of his books!
Review: Shadows was the first John Saul book I read, and I hungrily tried to read all of his other books in the library. However, none were as clever or as satisfying as Shadows. Yes, the character development is lacking, but the plot is very exciting and very well written, giving the reader inside knowledge that Josh, the protagonist, only discovers at the end of the story. Mysterious details and character motives are all clarified by the end, without leaving any subplot unfinished. (For an example of such problems, read Orson Scott Card's "Lost Boys.") Saul's other books are all formulaic, with unbelievable events striking innocent teenagers in small towns, who then "turn bad." This one is a bit different. The "evil" encountered at the Academy that Josh attends is actually plausible and even believable, unlike the science-fiction / ghost story elements of most of his stories. It is also fascinating to read this book set (And written?) during the beginning of the computer craze. What would people turn to in order to create a powerful computer? This book explores the possibilities. It is MUCH better than a typical John Saul book.
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