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Rating: 
Summary: Abridged audiobook review - Rating 3.5
Review: 1) Pro: As usual Saul weaves a story around kids. This is his nitch and it is nice to read an author who keeps to what he/she is good at2) Con: The abridged audiobook version of this couldn't create the same level of suspense I suspect the unabridged version or the paperback version would create 3) Pro: The performance by the reader is well done and at no time was I distracted by any shortcomings on her part 4) Con: In the abridge version it seemed like all these killing were happening and no one character was putting the clues together.
Rating: 
Summary: Compelling story of an world with evil in it.
Review: Again, I was drawn into John Saul's web of words. If one reads the first three chapters, one is quite likely hooked. The whole trouble with Saul's writing is that once you're well hooked, you are likely to reach a point where you want to stop, but it is practically impossible. The author really goes a bit over the edge this time, and during the last quarter of the book, I felt that he had gone too far in a downbeat plot development, too sad, too much of a real life nightmare some of us have. However, by the ending, I was a bit more accepting of the worst developments in the story. The ending does leave an opening for a sequel, but I don't expect to find one or that one will be written. The open ending is good as it is because it causes one to speculate about what will happen in future generations. So the bottom line is that, because of good story telling, I will recommend it to those who understand that this is ultra strong and does have some darn unpleasant scenes and developments in it.
Rating:
Summary: Good Biogenetic Werewolf Book
Review: I love reading this book, the story keeps you interested all the time, at first the plot of the book makes you think that is a monster on the mountain, but at the end when you see why he was a monster you will think if that could be possible.
It has two ro three things that you wouldn't do if you were MaryAnne Carpenter, but maybe that is part of the book to keep you interested in the story, apart of that is a very well written book.
Rating: 
Summary: In my opinion....
Review: I would have liked to give this book a lower rating than a 4, however, it is so well written then you can picture the events and during the story you grow to understand and like the characters so much, that it deserves at least a 5 just for that reason. No one can deny that Mr. Saul is a very good writer. The reason I reduced the rating is because of content. As I said, you come to genuinely care about the characters. There are a lot of children in the book, those are the characters I most cared about. The problem is that children start to get killed in particularly horrific manners -- one sweet child who died in the book, could have been spared and the book would have been fabulous. The death, a grisly one, was not necessary to the plot, and did not help in the building of the conclusion. I was so upset by this book at the end that I swore I would never read another book by Mr. Saul.
Rating:
Summary: Easy read, but the story lacks substance.
Review: I've read quite a few of John Saul's novels and I have to say I think I'm growing tired of him. This book just doesn't do it for me. His storytelling skills are remarkable but the plot of this book lacks intensity, interest, and believability. I know Saul can do better than this. If you are looking for a better JS book try God Project or Nathaniel. I give this 2.5 stars.
Rating: 
Summary: A Haunting Tale of Physical and Emotional Isolation
Review: The werewolf is a neglected denizen of the horror genre and when written about at all is usually written about badly. Mr. Saul elevates his subject from comic book level to the level of the serious novel and does it expertly. All books of this sort require some suspension of disbelief, but the tale in this case is told so well that not that much effort is needed to be satisfied, indeed, caught up in it. This is not simply a jumps-at-you-in-the-dark story. The locale, the characters, are all drawn well, not merely sketched, and the author's strategy is very effective. He pulls you in before he scares you, which is quite an accomplishment in horror fiction, one of the most difficult types of fiction to write w-e-l-l. Mr. Saul writes well. A good book to curl up with in the cold of Winter. Even better if it's snowing outside. A haunting tale of isolation, both physical and emotional. A fine novel and a page-turner.
Rating:
Summary: IT COULD HAVE BEEN A CONTENDER...
Review: This is a book that might have had a chance had the author not been so self-indulgent. The book was milked for more than it was worth and stretched to the breaking point. It needed better editing, as it was overlong and repetitive. Though the premise was mildly interesting, it falls far short of its intended mark, due to its overall lack of tension. It is not one of the author's better books. It begins promisingly enough, when MaryAnne Carpenter, who lives in New Jersey with a philandering husband and their two children, Alison and Logan, gets a call telling her that her best friend and her wealthy husband have both died accidentally, leaving an only child, Joey. As he is her godchild, MaryAnne travels with her children to Idaho, where the Wilkensons lived on a magnificent ranch. There she discovers that she has been named as Joey's guardian. While there, she notices that Joey is a loner, a strange child who becomes stranger with every passing moment. Joey himself senses that there is something different about him. here There is even a suspicion that Joey himself may have been responsible in some way for the deaths of his parents. Meanwhile, mysterious murders begin to take place in the rural countryside in which Joey lives. Evil seems to be all around them, as a malevolent force begins to strike at them. Who or what is it? Could it be the mysterious stranger who is spotted from time to time? Or is it someone or someething else? The book seems to degenerate into ludicrousness, as the reader is expected to believe that MaryAnne, knowing what she knows, is allowing her children, with and without Joey, to wander around the ranch where the Wilkensons mysteriously died. She permits this, even after savage murders have taken place very close to the ranch. The book further degenerates when the characters seem to be mere fodder for the predator that is out there in the wilderness, waiting for the moment to strike yet again. This book could have been a contender, had its editor seen fit to pare it down to a point where there might still be some tension left in the book. This audiobook, however, is very well read by David Regal in a somber, somewhat sepulchral, tone that suits the tenor of the book and adds to its ambiance. The pacing of the reading is excellent, and the voice transitions of each character are fairly effective. The sound quality of the audiobook is also excellent. While the narration deserves four stars, the content of the book merits only two. I am, therefore, awarding this book three stars.
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