Customer Reviews

The God Project

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Even though this is not horror in the true sense of the word, The God Project holds the distinction of being the first book of its kind that I ever read. If you asked me how and why I became a horror fan, I would point to this novel and credit it with introducing me to the genre I have come to love above all others. Rereading The God Project now, the story still retains a lot of the qualities that gave birth to my fascination with dark fiction all those years ago. This was Saul's sixth published novel, and its medical science fiction theme seems original and well-developed here; later Saul novels built upon a similar plot structure have always seemed rather derivative and thus less compelling in comparison. The medical science Saul builds into this story seems rather impressive and believable, especially given that not too many writers were playing with DNA and genetic manipulation back in 1982. The medical science Saul describes may be utter baloney, but he makes it sound realistic and possible, and that is what makes this book succeed as well as it does.

The basic story is not too complicated. Sally Montgomery refuses to believe that her perfectly healthy little girl's death is due to SIDS. Determined to find out what really killed her baby, she braves the disbelief and worry of her husband and mother to dig into what might have happened. Meanwhile, Lucy Corliss' son Randy mysteriously disappears. As a number of distraught parents of children either missing or dead come together, hints of a terrible conspiracy begin to emerge. All of the children have been secretly studied by a mysterious entity called CHILD, and Sally uses her computer knowledge to dig up some troubling data from the kids' medical files. Suspicion turns on the doctor who delivered all of the children in question, and the action and suspense builds steadily throughout the novel. The reader gets a good idea about what is going on well before the main characters figure everything out, but Saul makes sure the ending is not anticlimactic. There are several twists at the end, one of them masterfully disguised and thus unexpected.

I believe this is one of John Saul's very best novels, but my inability to know the answer to a few questions in my mind keeps me from giving it a perfect rating. There was one element to the story that seemed important and quite fishy, but the story never went down the road I was looking for in that regard. The epilogue, while compelling, is a little rushed, and that is another tiny flaw that I take into account in designating my personal rating. Still, Saul caught be quite off-guard with one gotcha event toward the end, which really impressed me. Just like the children involved in the God Project, this novel is almost perfect. Anyone wanting to read Saul for the first time would do well to select this novel as his/her means of introduction.

If you like edge-of-your-seat thrillers, then this is the book for you! I've read almost all of John Saul's books, but this is the one that will haunt me forever! It's been probably 10 years since I first read it and I still get chills. Hardly any book has ever made me afraid to move when I'm finished, not to mention sleeping with the light on! This one did!

You either love John Saul's work or you hate it. The God Project has an incredible plot. Really, it's a brilliant, and original idea. The problem is that Saul's writing is a heavy as lead. His characters never really come to life and his female characters are just jokes. The pace is snail slow and I was even bored for a couple of chapters. The 3 stars are strictly for the sake of the plot.

THE GOD PROJECT is my first novel by John Saul, and I enjoyed it. I thought this novel had a very interesting plot involving genetic experimentation, that was way ahead of its time (this novel was originally written in the early 1980s). This book also had some great twists and turns toward the end, including a rather shocking ending that I did not expect. I read this novel in a few sittings.

On the downside, I thought the characters in THE GOD PROJECT were kind of bland and cardboard. They never came alive for me, which is a problem that I have with much horror fiction. Also, certain characters are introduced in this novel and then seem to disappear; their fates are never resolved to the satisfaction of the reader.

This book is also somewhat derivative of a Stephen King novel named FIRESTARTER, which came out a few years before this one. Saul has sometimes been accused of copying King's plots, and I think there is some merit to this accusation, based on what I have read here.

In the end, THE GOD PROJECT is worth reading if you have a strong interest in horror fiction. Saul writes in a very straightforward, fast-paced style. I think this novel would probably have its strongest appeal among younger readers, since it is very easy to read. I wouldn't put Saul in the same category as Dean Koontz or Stephen King, but I think this novel is a good entertainment.

I know many people who consider THE GOD PROJECT to be one of Saul's best novels, so perhaps this is a good starting point for someone who is new to his work.

This is one of Saul's first departures from his tried and true small town ghost story formula, and it works on all levels. This page turner is as fresh in its ideas today as when it was first written. Saul shows he is a master of suspense in this excellent novel. While Saul can be hit or miss with his novels, this one is a direct hit.

My mom borrowed this book from a friend (my mom never reads horror!) and when she visited for the weekend, she was busy reading it so she can finish it to loan it to me! I haven't read John Saul since high school (you don't need to know how many years ago that was!). My husband, again, was flabberghasted that I haven't read this one, so I picked it up and read it in a day and a half. WOW!

This is creepy and it's a book that you can't put down since you want to know what happens next. I was up pretty late reading it ~~ I just had to know if my suspicions were correct (some of them were and some of them were so far off that I was surprised!). It's well-written and even though it was written over 20 years ago, the plot still remains current.

Sally Montgomery refuses to believe her perfectly healthy baby girl died of SIDS and set off to find out the answers. She joins the ranks of another young mom whose son had disappeared. Together they found out something so horrorifying that it just didn't seem real ~~ but it was real and it was affecting the children in their town and in their families. They believed that there is a conspiracy going on but no one else believes them till it was too late.

And it definitely will give you chills on your spines as Saul writes so plausibly here. It just preys on your worst nightmare ~~ and it's definitely a suspenseful read! It's a perfect read for anytime of the year, especially in the dog days of summer!

8-14-05

John Saul's writing is 100% compelling, and he creates some characters who you can really care about and some that your absolutely despise.

One extreme difficulty I have though is the downbeat feeling that it's the evil that has control all along. A second extreme difficulty is the emphasis on children in so many of his books.

However, if you start reading this book, chances are you'll finish it, even though you might not want to. This one deals with every parent's nightmare, the loss of a child, and the author does a great job at digging into the guilt feelings of all involved in such an event. And then comes the feeling of something wrong, too many coincidences as the bereaved mother's son exhibits strange abilities to heal, and also when his best friend, a strange boy with no other friends, mysteriously disappears.

This is skillful writing, but readers should be aware that this is strong stuff and that bad things to happen to good people, especially in John Saul's novels.

I read this book back when I was about twelve years old. It has remained my all time favorite. I am just now purchasing it again so I can see if it was as good as I remember!

I've read almost everything by John Saul that's available. Though this is one of his earlier books, I only recently found it. In usual Saul style, children are pivotal to the plot; it could be regarded as another government conspiracy novel, but it does have a style of it's own. It's short, and it's interesting from the first page...and the ending is quite satisfying. Not Saul's best, but still very good.

Okai. I am a huge John Saul fan and after reading a number of his books, I always favored Second Child, the first book I ever read by him, the most. And then, this book came along and REALLY had me deciding which one I liked better. It was fabulous! Most of John Saul's books are of released evil or multiple personalities or something of that nature. This one was not. The God Project was more like something that, after much research and some very intellegent (not to mention psychologically damaged) scientists and doctors can get together and "toy" with peoples' DNA and so forth...affecting future off spring, causing them to become....basically, super human. It was quite the chiller and I could not put it down. I was up all night reading and I could not put the book down until I had finished. If you have never read a John Saul book, this would be a great one to start with. If you are already a John Saul reader, don't forget to squeeze this one in there! You won't be disappointed.