Darkness

fantastic!

From the location, to the characters to the flow, John Saul absolutely hit this out of the park.
extremely well developed characters, that you just cant help but root for. Villians that you hate, but empathize with so deeply.

Twists and turns in the story and the ability to jump from a growing develping town to the heart of the swamp are just a few reasons why this book is an absolute MUST read.

(3.5 stars) I've said it before and I'll likely say it again: I love that John Saul's books have a timeless feel to them due to his leaving out references that would "date" when the stories take place. Though published in 1991, this could have just as easily been published last week.

Unlike a lot of his other stories which tend to take place in sleepy hamlets in New England, this one takes place in Villejuene, Florida, a sleepy town surrounded by swampland. Ted, a native of Villejuene, and his wife, Mary, agree to leave the life they have built in Atlanta and return to Villejuene following a suicide attempt by their adopted daughter, Kelly, and lack of job prospects for Ted, who has been offered a partnership with his father's booming construction business, aimed at the growing retiree community Villejuene is becoming.

Plagued by nightmares of an old man, Kelly has never felt she fit in with the other kids - that she's somehow different -until she meets Michael Sheffield, who feels the same way, right down to having grown up seeing images of the old man himself. Drawn to the swamp, they become initiated into the "Circle" of other children who are "governed" by the Dark Man - the scary man of their nightmares. Knowing that something has happened to them and these other children that sets them apart, they set out to discover what it is.

Meanwhile, "swamp rat" (local jargon for those living in the swamp) Amelie Coulton gives birth to a baby boy who she is told died at birth but never gets to see before he's buried. Convinced that her baby is still alive, she turns to Barbara Sheffield (Michael's adoptive mom and town social worker), hoping that having lost a baby of her own, Barbara will believe her knowing no one else is likely to believe an uneducated swamp rat. Barbara tries to counsel her through her grief, but the more she gets to know Kelly, the more similarities she sees to her niece which makes her wonder if her own baby DID die or if Kelly could possibly be her, even though the Andersons adopted Kelly in Atlanta, and her daughter was stillborn in Villejuene. She becomes even more suspicious that something is going on in Villejuene, and that it's connected with the mysteries of the swamp, when looking through old pictures, she realizes that several of the men in town haven't aged at all in the past 20 years.

Having read several other books of his, I am familiar with his formula and kept waiting for the children to start dying so it was a fun change of pace that that didn't happen in this one, but rather the children conquered in the end. The pace was a bit slow in places but the climax of the book made up for it in that I had a hard time putting it down wondering how it would all come together. It was a bit more far-fetched and unrealistic than some of his books but not quite enough to make it too cheesy and unreadable. I can't imagine it's easy to come up with plot line after plot line year after year and continue to churn out bestseller after bestseller so I'm willing to cut him some slack here. (Though I did downgrade from a 4.0 to 3.5 because of it).

Every time I finish one of his books, I'm eager to read another; this was no exception. Even though I know they follow a formula, they are just such great books!

Not bad. Ending seemed it could have been a bit more enthusiastic, maybe a little,less abrupt but it was still an enjoyable read.

This was my first John Saul, I read it some 8-10 years ago when I was in high school, I don't remember specifics at all, I do remember liking his writing style, but it wasn't so good that I picked up another of his books right away, I'm just now exploring his other works and hope to read some in the future.

If you want an out of the ordinary, eerie, yet action packed book, then Darkness by John Saul will be the book for you. The author’s purpose in writing this book is to teach a lesson that our greatest enemies and fears can be hidden right next to us. Throughout the story the “Dark Man” is an image of fear and an enemy to all of his “children.” An example of the fear he brought to the characters is: “In her dreams, his face would come to her out of the darkness of sleep, leering at her, horrible features twisted into a malicious smile, his fingers— the clawed talons of a carnivorous bird . . .” (Saul 5). In this case it is as if the Dark Man is right next to the main character Kelly Anderson. The Dark Man is leering at her making him seem nearly inches away. The fear is obvious and seems like it is right in place. We are described a twisted and disgusting feature. This is true about the Dark Man outside as well as inside.
The theme of this book is to never give up. Throughout, the characters are faced with unique problems, and they fight them in a way that is not read in many books. “At last, after all the years of struggle, she closed her eyes for the last time and surrendered herself to the welcome darkness” (Saul 275). From this quote the reader can assume that something was been won or has come to a resolution. The quote physically tells us that there had been a struggle, for a long time. With these two elements the reader can understand the theme. Another example of the theme is as follows: “Though she shouted at the top of her voice, even to herself the words sounded pitifully weak” (Saul 161). In this quote the main character is fighting as hard as she can for anyone to hear her. Unfortunately she is not loud enough. Her voice is weak, and the character seems to be in a bad situation. However, if a reader were to read on they would know the character keeps fighting just like in the theme.
John Saul writes Darkness as a narrative. It follows the story of Kelly Anderson and a handful of other characters. It starts in Atlanta, Georgia, and travels to a town called Villejeune, Florida. Many events happen like Kelly getting lost in the swamp. Fights, chases, searches, darkness, suspense, and murder all are included in Darkness’s storyline. Everything in the book happens in chronological order except for few far in between flashbacks. The effectiveness of the way Saul wrote his book was one of great impression. An exposition would have been very ineffective; it would have eliminated any suspense and the book would be very dry. Because it is a narrative you can't see into the future. This adds to the suspense and makes you want to know what will happen next. It seems Saul wanted you to think anything could be lurking around any corner, or in any mangrove. This couldn't have been done as anything else other than a narrative. An example of the suspense is on page 158 “But even as she spoke the words silently to herself, she knew she didn't believe them. Deep in her heart, she wasn't sure she would ever get out at all” (Saul). As a narrative we don't know what will happen, so the suspense makes us read more. We wonder: what is going to happen to our character? Saul’s way of writing is very effective and there is not a style that could have made it don't better.
This is by far my favorite fiction book I have read. I give it a definite five stars. I love the detail and suspense that make you feel there, but also fear what will happen next. “Two days later, when he'd gotten up in the morning and seen himself in the mirror, he'd felt a cold wave of fear he never wanted to experience again” ( Saul 203). It quotes like this one that make me like this book so much, the detail, the suspense all add up to something amazing. I wouldn't change a thing about this book. And the plot is truly unique, it's a must read, it's like no other.

Great book that I read way back in 7th grade. The thing took me damn near all year, but a lot of those cryptic and eerie scenes in the swamps stayed with me.

For some reason I thought the main character cutting off all her pink hair was a bit odd too.

Anyways, for some conspiracy stuff with rich people and swamp folk, this is your bet!

Young Kelly has been haunted for her entire life by the image of an ancient man who seems to want her for some horrible purpose. When her fear finally drives her to brink of suicide, her parents decide that a change of environment is the best thing for their troubled daughter. Little do they know that moving back to their hometown will bring Kelly face to face with her vision, and reveal a twisted medical experiment 40 years in the making.
tSaul has the knack for taking bizarre and hypothetical diseases or medical procedures, adding a dose of the supernatural, and coming up with a tale that will keep a reader turning pages far past their bedtime. He usually deals with children younger than teenagers in his writing, but his magic is still potent in this one, nonetheless. This is highly recommended for a rainy afternoon, preferably with the lights on.

This book wasn't terrible, but there was nothing much there. Kind of boring story and repetitive prose. He never explained the old woman's role in the story well so that was kind of a huge loose end.