Rating: 
Summary: Suspenseful and surprisingly complex
Review: My opinion of this novel vacillated somewhat as I read it, but John Saul pretty much won me over in the end. Initially, I worried that the main characters lacked sufficient depth, and this made me question some of their decisions and actions initially. When Mark Hall mysteriously dies back in the hometown he left years earlier, his widow Janet and son Michael journey to the small farming village of Prairie Bend for the funeral. Mark had never spoken about his home town or family to his wife, so Janet's grief is accompanied by a growing sense of amazement as she discovers things about her husband she never knew. Michael's grandfather Amos is a towering figure in the novel, seemingly loving yet stiff and mysterious, while his wife Anna's importance grows as Janet, Michael, and the reader begin to piece together the events of a night twenty years earlier. Although she is a city girl seemingly oblivious to the obvious weirdness of folks in the rural community, Janet decides to live there on the farm she never knew her husband owned. Her son soon begins to hear a voice calling to him in the night, and he braves the danger of a shotgun-toting hermit to sneak into the man's barn. After meeting the mysterious Nathaniel, a boy regarded by the community as a legend dating back a century, Michael begins to have headaches and begins to change. He sees visions of what happened to his father, and-more importantly-what has been happening for years to a significant number of newborn babies in the creepily quaint village.The things Michael sees and the confrontations he has with his grandfather are well told, although his whining can get tiresome in places. The grandfather is a menacing figure in the story, one who is more complex than I initially thought. Everything in the plot doesn't hold together perfectly, but there are no holes large enough to really matter. There is more to the story and the legend of Nathaniel than expected, and it is worth the wait to hear the women of the family finally reveal the stories they have kept bottled up inside of them for many years. I was especially pleased by the ending, which featured a twist I did not foresee. I wouldn't consider this one of Saul's best novels, but it does make for very interesting reading once you get past the somewhat dull opening pages. I didn't find any of the characters particularly likeable, but my ambivalence didn't matter much in the end. While the novel intentionally left some questions unanswered, Saul's painstaking attention to detail and commitment to reveal his secrets only in due time makes sure the patient reader's interest is peaked at the very end.
Rating: 
Summary: Awesome book!
Review: This book was simply awesome! John Saul hooks you in the beginning of the book (with the cyclone and the child birth) and keeps you interested all the way to the end! I love how he describes the characters, and although I only heard a little about Mark, he, Nathaniel, and Micheal are my favorites! And I LOVE the surprise ending.......
Rating: 
Summary: What a Mess
Review: This is one of his best works!!!I love this book so much I'm going to have to read it again!! The way John Saul writes you can actually feel like your in the story.I get lost in the books losing track of time.If you like campfire tales,urban legends,or folklore, READ THIS BOOK !!!!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down!
Review: This was the first Saul novel I've read and I'm ready for more. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. It was so good - I read it in one sitting. The book will keep you guessing till the end. I disagree with what one reviewer said about the main characters being annoying and/or victims. I thorougly enjoyed it. Where can I get more?!
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