Customer Reviews

Blackstone Chronicles

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I picked up "Blackstone Chronicles" from a bookstore, not because I had heard anything about it, but because I wanted to read some good horror. Now, having finished the book, I can say that it was well worth the buy. A good idea, an excellent setting and it made the hours pass by rapidly. The downside was however, that the foreshadowing gave the game away from early on. Still, I am now hooked on John Saul and will be on the look-out for his other novels.

At the outset of this six-volume series, author John Saul introduces the major characters, establishes the Gothic setting in small town New Hampshire, creates foreboding about the scheduled conversion of the Blackstone Asylum into a shopping mall, and then introduces the "single dark figure that moves through the ruptured stone wall" into the silent Asylum. There the figure locates a small cubicle containing the artifacts of long-ago inmates. As these artifacts appear, mysteriously, in the lives of the present occupants of Blackstone, death and destruction result. (Plot summaries and reviews for the six separate volumes appear separately on Amazon.)

Saul tells the reader from the outset that the destruction of the Asylum will change everyone's life, then goes about proving it. Because his characters are not fully developed, they do not inspire the reader's sympathy when they change from ordinary citizens to demons or when their lives move from normalcy to chaos, especially at the beginning. The stories move along quickly and inevitably, however, the Gothic shock evolving from the amount of cruelty and the amount of horror, rather than from our knowledge of the individuals and our surprise at their behavior.

Throughout the series, the agonizing tortures (in the name of "cures") at the Asylum fifty years ago are interspersed with modern day life, and occasionally Saul gives us the name of a former employee or resident of the Asylum which enables the reader to tie a contemporary victim to the history of the Asylum. The victims are usually one or two generations removed from the events in the Asylum, however, and not directly responsible for what happened there, so one wonders why the "dark figure" is emphasizing the "sins of the father" by punishing the children or grandchildren.

Filled with blood-drenched rooms, sudden explosions, unexplained attacks on seemingly innocent people, and wholesale destruction, the series does not show clear motivation for all this horror, the shock of which dulls over time. The "dark figure" has little direct involvement in the havoc, once he has given an object from the Asylum to his next victim, and he fails to evolve as a terrifying force. Though the ending answers some of the questions, it does not connect all the victims or answer all the questions. (And many readers will figure out the identity of the "dark figure" by the end of Volume 4.) Ultimately, I was disappointed that the violence and horror exist here for their own sake. There is no accountability for the death and destruction, leaving the reader with the feeling that justice has not been served. n Mary Whipple

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.

My Rating System:
1 star = abysmal; some books deserve to be forgotten
2 star = poor; a total waste of time
3 star = good; worth the effort
4 star = very good; what writing should be
5 star = fantastic; must own it and share it with others

STORY: From back cover...From the top of Blackstone's highest hill the old Blackstone Asylum casts its shadow over the village. Built in the 1890's, the Asylum has stood vacant for decades. But now, the wrecker's ball is about to strike, smashing into stone-and unleashing a terrible evil, an unholy fear long locked with the walls. Soon, strange gifts will begin to appear on the doorsteps of Blackstone's finest citizens.

MY FEEDBACK:
Overall, whenever I read or listen to a John Saul book it is entertaining but not great. There is always some unknown ingredient missing to take the story to the next stage. But with Lee Meriwether portraying the voices in this story, I got the creeps. This was truly a tale of evil and not Saul's normal fixation with only children.

I'm still trying to figure out if I like the ending or not because I felt some things were left unexplained. Maybe this was purposely done by the author. Regardless, overall it was an engaging story that left me feeling disturbed at the potential reality of such evil. I liked it!

The affluent little town of Blackstone appears to be under some kind of curse. For decades, the asylum on the hill was the town's most notable feature, and most everyone alive today either had family members who worked for it or were hospitalized in it. Now, it's being converted into mall space. That is, if it doesn't kill everyone involved in getting rid of it, first - because the town's movers and shakers are being left unique gifts, each of which brings a horrific accident or suicide along with it. And those gifts are being sent by someone at the asylum - which has stood empty for many years.

This was originally a serialized novel in six parts, and compiling the whole into one volume would better have been served by removing the necessary redundancies that format required to keep new readers up to date on the action of preceding chapters, but it's less annoying than it easily could have been. It's packaged like a supernatural horror story - and to a certain extent, it is - but it's really an epic murder mystery, spanning generations. It has some of the flavor of The Omen movies and the Friday the 13th T.V. series, with its "cursed objects" and portentous sins-of-the-father dooms visited on the sons, but these are more the bouquet of the wine than the vintage itself. Jaded readers will figure out the mystery well before the final revelation, but it's still cleverly done and a worthy read.

After Saul's first novel twenty-five years ago, Suffer the Children, I vowed I'd never read him again - that book was an endless parade of sadisms against children, with no socially redeeming value that I could discern - but happily a friend prevailed upon me to undertake The Blackstone Chronicles, which largely redeems the author in my eyes. It has some grisly moments, yes - it is a horror story, after all - but at least any nastiness in its pages has a rhyme and reason behind it, and even a sick kind of poetry.

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.

I read this in the original serial form, and it was lots of fun. I love horror stories about horror connected to inanimate objects, such as dolls and necklaces. Also, I love horror stories that make me feel sympathetic for characters who were mistreated by people who should've loved them.

This reminded me of the books of this type I used to read in high school -- except that it was better written. The characters are much more memorable.

However, I think the story fizzled out in the last couple of editions of the the serial. The ending wasn't as good as it could have been.

I had even more fun with the publisher's original "Blackstone Chronicles" web site. Especially the diner!

Anne M. Marble Reviewer, All About Romance

The Blackstone Chronicles is a serial novel in 6 parts. The story has a lot of potential that is never developed. This may be a method that is too constricting on the author and which does not allow him the space he needs to develop the characters and the story.

Each of the six parts deals with a different family: the Hartwicks, Beckers, Wagners, McGuires, Wards and Metcalf/Connally. Each of these families has strong ties in Blackstone as they have lived there several generations. Also in Blackstone is an Asylum (soon to be turned into a commercial center), and each of the families mentioned has had some connection to the asylum, be it family or staff. The Asylum was run by Dr. Malcolm Metcalf, Oliver Metcalf's father. In each of the books a gift finds its way into the homes of each of these families and it brings havoc and destruction. Each object brings out evil and people either go mad and do unconscionable things or "accidents" happen. The items are delivered, or strategically placed, by a dark figure that moves around the Asylum as if it were his home.

The characters in these books are barely explored and thus we never get to fell a connection nor empathy with any of them (well, maybe Rebecca). We are provided with mere glimpses of who these people. The stories themselves are a bit too quick to conclude providing barely any climax to any of the 6 books. In fact, the end climax for me felt fickle, non-climactic and way to quick to end.

For a horror story, the book has very little horror to it, save for tons of mentions of evil lurking somewhere, dark shadows and ....that's it actually. The villain of this story was far too predictable which made me lose a lot of the interest in the book. This was one of the most predictable books I have read.

I was very disappointed by these series, especially the end. It was unsatisfying and unresolved. I would not have changed the end result though, but it should have been better presented. And, can someone explain to me what was the purpose of the end scene with Edna Burham?!

A quick read nevertheless, buy if you like John Saul.

there was in fact a sequal. It was a computer game, but the sequal none the less. I can't really give you the story here since i don't wanna spoil anything in the novel. I made the mistake of playing the game first, so i was kinda confused. Now i'm reading the books and hoping i'm not totally spoiled.

So, I admit it. I am a HUGE fan of John Saul, I have met him at several book signings, and keep his books on display separate from my other books. I recomend reading earlier works from him BEFORE reading this book. There are references to past characters and stories(i.e. Suffer the Childrens Elizabeth is all grown up) Just make it easy and read ALL his books, they are all excitind and spinetingling and super creepy!