Rating: 
Summary: Horrors, crafting credibility out of the incredible
Review: I'm not a fan of horror fiction; it's not my genre. I read The Blackstone Chronicles as part of a project to read twenty novels, two by each of ten selected authors. Chronicles is the fourth of the twenty, and the first ever by John Saul.By my side, as I write this, is a flyer that tells me John Saul has written 30 straight N.Y. Times bestsellers, including...his six part serial novel The Blackstone Chronicles...." So how, I wonder, could I be so audacious, brazen and insolent to rate this tale a "three..." I've gotten old, however, opinionated, and it's a three. The writer of good horror fiction takes the incredible and weaves it into a cloak of credibility. The author's job is to make the reader believe, or at least vicariously wonder for awhile, if the absurd is possible. To accomplish this, the novelist must create characters that we identify with, and then suck us in to take possession of them in an improbable scene. We ought to cringe, sweat and fear the next sentence, yet have to read on despite our better judgment. I'm sorry Mr. Saul; I read Chronicles in the middle of the night by a lone 75-watt bulb and not once was I afraid of going to the toilet. I liked the town, though. At the beginning of the combined version of the six part series, in the "Dear Reader" section, Mr. Saul admits "I have been living in the fictional town of Blackstone in my head." Me too. I was raised in a small New England town. Although the place where I grew up is not quite like Blackstone, it's close enough. And from the perspective of a young boy, we had some neighbors that were as quirky and scary as the lost souls in the imaginary Blackstone are supposed to be. Still, in the end, especially in the end, the tale didn't work for me. Perhaps the series structure is at fault. Each of the six parts deals with a "gift" that causes mayhem. So designed, the author had to deal with six improbabilities and make them credible enough to make us scared. As I recall, even Steven King will tackle only one implausibility per novel. In the afterword, Mr. Saul mentions that he might again write about the citizens of Blackstone. If he does, I hope it's about just one book-length incredibility, and that his maniacs stay true to character.
Rating:
Summary: Horrors, crafting credibility out of the incredible
Review: I'm not a fan of horror fiction; it's not my genre. I read The Blackstone Chronicles as part of a project to read twenty novels, two by each of ten selected authors. Chronicles is the fourth of the twenty, and the first ever by John Saul. By my side, as I write this, is a flyer that tells me John Saul has written 30 straight N.Y. Times bestsellers, including...his six part serial novel The Blackstone Chronicles...." So how, I wonder, could I be so audacious, brazen and insolent to rate this tale a "three..." I've gotten old, however, opinionated, and it's a three. The writer of good horror fiction takes the incredible and weaves it into a cloak of credibility. The author's job is to make the reader believe, or at least vicariously wonder for awhile, if the absurd is possible. To accomplish this, the novelist must create characters that we identify with, and then suck us in to take possession of them in an improbable scene. We ought to cringe, sweat and fear the next sentence, yet have to read on despite our better judgment. I'm sorry Mr. Saul; I read Chronicles in the middle of the night by a lone 75-watt bulb and not once was I afraid of going to the toilet. I liked the town, though. At the beginning of the combined version of the six part series, in the "Dear Reader" section, Mr. Saul admits "I have been living in the fictional town of Blackstone in my head." Me too. I was raised in a small New England town. Although the place where I grew up is not quite like Blackstone, it's close enough. And from the perspective of a young boy, we had some neighbors that were as quirky and scary as the lost souls in the imaginary Blackstone are supposed to be. Still, in the end, especially in the end, the tale didn't work for me. Perhaps the series structure is at fault. Each of the six parts deals with a "gift" that causes mayhem. So designed, the author had to deal with six improbabilities and make them credible enough to make us scared. As I recall, even Steven King will tackle only one implausibility per novel. In the afterword, Mr. Saul mentions that he might again write about the citizens of Blackstone. If he does, I hope it's about just one book-length incredibility, and that his maniacs stay true to character.
Rating: 
Summary: An excellent book!
Review: In The Blackstone Chronicles, Saul did what should be done: he kept the reader waiting for more. Now, the entire series is available in one book. It shows only very few similarities to The Green Mile, especially in that in this series, the perspective continually changes. If you haven't read the series, pick up this book and enjoy! Anyone who is interested, E-mail me, and I'd be happy to discuss John Saul books. I plan to pick up "The Presence" next week.
Rating:
Summary: Best Ever!
Review: Its twilight zone in print, it was great! Couldn't put it down. Suspenseful and Creppy!!!!!!! A Must Read
Rating: 
Summary: A good read
Review: John Saul does a good job with this serial, and developing his characters. The town of Blackstone doesn't take much imagination to make it seem real and one has to wonder what kind of atrocities might have been comitted in the early days when people were committed to asylums and forgotten. I enjoyed this book as much as The Green Mile by King.
Rating:
Summary: good book...great use of series rollout
Review: John Saul does a wonderful job of keeping the story lines consistent across all six parts. The story zigs when you expect it to zag, which kept my interest throughout. For anyone who has read Stephen King's "The Green Mile" series, this one ranks right up there.
Rating:
Summary: John Saul is truly a master of horror.
Review: John Saul does it again!!! He brings us a lively cast of characters, a town filled with eerie secrets, and a plot that takes us through the book like gangbusters to find out all the answers. He takes us into the heart and soul of Blackstone, a cozy little town with a menacing one-time asylum overseeing every movement of the key characters in the book. With twists and turns and even some romance we attempt to solve this mystery of who is behind the cursed gifts bestowed upon the unsuspecting recepients. Truly a page turner!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Addictive Page Turner
Review: John Saul is clearly among the many great writers to date. Saul knows what his readers want.
Rating:
Summary: GREAT!!!
Review: John Saul is great for following in the footsteps of Stephen King. The Blackstone Chronicles was one of John Saul's best works to date. He starts by focusing on a place of utter terror for the residents of a small town and helps the reader to follow the history of that "place" by combining the past with the present. John Saul actually makes you feel as if you are right in the town of Blackstone living the life of "a fly on the wall". You go through the 'feeling-bad-stage" of being the young woman who was taken in by her "overly religious" aunt after her parent's fatal accident,you feel sympathy for the faithful wife who is wrongly accused of wrongful doings and you feel doubbled over in pain for the man who lost not only his new born son, but his wife in a tragic, calculated murder and by whom will surpise amy reader. John Saul's chronicalogical way of telling this tale of horror is both exciting and scary. I await "The Blackstone Chronicles II".
Rating:
Summary: Great!
Review: John Saul is great for following in the footsteps of Stephen King. The Blackstone Chronicles was one of John Sauls Best works to date. He starts by focusing on a place of utter terror for the residents of a small town and helps the reader to follow the history of that "place" by conbining the past with the present. John Saul actually makes you feel as if you are right in the town of Blackstone living the life of "a fly on the wall". You go through the "feeling bad stage" of being the young woman who was taken in by her "overly religios" aunt after her parent's fatal accident,you feel sympathy for the faithful wife who is wrongly accused of wrongful doings and you feel doubled over in pain for the man who lost not only his new born son, but his wife in a tragic, calculated murder and by whom will surpise any reader. John Saul's chronicalogical way of telling this tale of horror is both exciting and scary.I await "The Blackstone Chronicles II".
| 
