The Presence

Rating:
Summary: An embarrassment ... don't waste your time or money
Review: The worst! This book is a complete bomb. Someone should remove the exclamation key from his keyboard, as he uses it constantly. (I was reminded of Elaine's editor on Seinfeld, who would have had a field day with this book.) The term "the presence" never appears in the book. How strange. How insulting!! How can I inappropriately use more exclamation marks to thoroughly trash this piece of dreck?!!

Rating:
Summary: John Saul should be ashamed of himself for this dreck!
Review: This book reeks of contract obligation. What point he may be trying to make is totally lost in the mush of the the first 400 pages and made only more confusing by the amateurish, hasty and totally implausable last 20 pages. He is much too good a writer to be turning out this sort of disappointment.

Rating:
Summary: Thin but palpable.
Review: This is my first excursion into Saul and I am compelled to comment that I am a bit dissapointed. While I have to say that I was entertained and it was a very quick read, the plot did not have enough meat. I really had a hard time finding out what motivated the good-guys and the bad-guys. While the idea behind this opus of "speculative fiction" is rather intriguing, he didn't flesh out enough of the "speculation" to quench my curiosity. I wanted to write more to the story and keep it going. This would make a better story-board than novel.

Rating:
Summary: Shallow characters and thin plot but entertaining nonetheles
Review: This is my first John Saul book and, perhaps, not the best one to start with because I really wouldn't recommend it. The plot is extremely thin in places and for "speculative fiction" it doesn't provide enough toeholds in fact or even scientific theory to justify the leap of faith necessary to buy into it. Mr Saul could have at least provided some hypothetical, scientific background for a gas that happens to reverse the roles of oxygen and pollutants in the body's metabolism not to mention conferring some level of heat/fire resistance. I'm happy buying into the alien "seeding" of earth with genetic material but that this same material causes these effects doesn't wash. The character development is as shallow as the plot is thin. We have the 'victims' -- all athletic teens, all (coincidentally) on the track & field team (even the unrelated victim at the start of the book). We have the good guys, all tops in their field and honest, brave, forthright (etc., regular boy scouts). And we have the bad guys, all ruthless and cold. But I never got a sense of what motivated any of these characters. All in all, though, the book was readable, somewhat entertaining, a good evening or two of escape. What can I say, it's an average book -- therefore the 5.

Rating:
Summary: great read!
Review: This is the first time I read anything from John Saul and I found it fast paced and very entertaining. I do not recommend having this book next to you while driving as I tended to pick it up during stop lights and got "honked at too many times". The characters were believable which is hard to find in many thrillers these days. This book has all the ingredents to become a movie. So everyone should check this one out before Hollywood gets it's hands on it. Mr. Saul has a new fan from Japan!

Rating:
Summary: Amateurish and ludicrous
Review: This was a ridiculous and amateurish novel. This is my first John Saul book and will definitely be my last. Failing to be scary, thought-provoking, interesting, or even plausible, this book is a laughable attempt by Saul to move into science fiction. With only the knowledge of ninth grade biology class, I would be able to disprove nearly every scientific speculation in this sorry excuse for a book. Saul also neglected to include any of the basics of writing in The Presence, ie character, suspense, plot,etc. if you want science fiction/ suspense, try reading Michael Crichton or Robin Cook, not this wannabe.

Rating:
Summary: intriguing, but in the end, disappointing
Review: This was my first John Saul book. I found it intriguing, but in the end, disappointing. Though, the plot was interesting enough to keep me going and the pace made it a quick read, there were too many holes in the story for my satisfaction. As mentioned in some of the other comments, the author failed to provide a scientific framework to support the premise. He gives us an alien substance that can apparently transform human physiology. Not only can humans that are exposed to this stuff suddenly survive breathing toxic gases, they can also somehow stand next to a red hot caldron of lava without getting burned. Oh and by the way, this stuff is also the source of all life on earth. Oh and also, its affects are conveniently temporary. Then you have some mutants running around without any purpose other than to involve certain characters into the plot and there's also an evil industrialist who's only solution to any problem seems to be "dispose" of the person causing the problem. It is all very contrived. Nevertheless, I have read far worse and it is not bad if you want a little mind candy. Just don't go looking behind the curtain for the wizard.

Rating:
Summary: Not bad at all
Review: This was my first Saul book, and I was expecting a horror book. What I got was a mystery thriller type of story that didn't disappoint. Saul goes along and gives the reader just as much information as the heroine gets, so you don't know exactly whats going on untill she does. This is about average people being put into a horrible situation, and it works well. If you're looking for a good read, you could do worse than this book!

Rating:
Summary: This would make a great movie
Review: Thought that this is one helluva read. It certainly made me think a lot about how we all got here. Sometimes I think Saul knows some scientific secrets that none of us know.

Rating:
Summary: BIT OF A DISAPPOINTMENT
Review: Touted as a "suspenseful thriller" this book was a disappointment. Saul's early novels were riveting, full of character development and interesting plot lines. This novel, set on an unrealistic premise that people become infected with a strange disease that allows that to breathe toxic substances such as ammonia, and not air. Once again, Saul takes the reader to an exotic location (Hawaii -- where he also happens to live part-time; guess he didn't have to go very far for research -- just out the back door) with a single parent, raising a somewhat troubled teenager (this type of character is getting stale Mr. Saul). After a night dive, the son develops the non-breathing-air problem. How will he be cured? Who is responsible for this deed? Very predictable, very easy to figure out. The charcters showed no depth, emotion or real character development. The novel reminded me of a high school book that I could have wrote. Paying nearly $40.00 for the book, I sure could use the $100 prize to help me re-coup my losses. If you are a really devoted Saul fan, I would suggest you read this book; just to say that you did. If not, wait for the paperback. Arlen