Blackstone

I love this series! From beginning to end it never lost an ounce of suspense and even had enough horror in most segments to startle me when I was reading at home alone.

i've read lots of his books. The serial concept totally messed him up. Take my advice...read Stephen Kings instead.

This was fun and spooky! The ending was a little lackluster for me but it was a pretty good ride!

I've read so many mediocre new books in the past month that I decided to revisit some of the oldies. I first read this the year I started at university. Of the six stories, the first four are pretty great, after which it peters out a bit towards the end. But it's still very much worth reading. Abandoned asylums are creepy at the best of times, but when past happenings at such an asylum blow back on an entire town and start destroying families, the intensity is ramped up brilliantly. It's also a pretty great small town horror novel. There is a disturbing scene with a dog that dog lovers will find difficult, but I could skip over it because it wasn't stretched out.

Wow! This book was amazing. I loved every moment of reading this book and I found it very hard to put down. I find this version (the complete series) of the story/stories better than attempting to locate each individual book. Although I found this book for free at a closing thrift store, it is in my top 5 thriller books. It is extraordinarily well-written. The word choice always kept me on my toes and so did the story! I found the story to be thought out and executed perfectly. I also enjoyed viewing the family tree and town map that is located at the front of this version. I recommend this book to anyone that likes a good mystery/thriller.

If you like Stephen King, you will love this one! Like the Green Mile episode books, I waited until all the Blackstone Chronicles were but together. Can't hang around for those series books....don't know why they do them!!!! Great read.

My mother actually suggested I read "The Blackstone Chronicles," but her and I differ in our book tastes so I was hesitant. I tend to agree with her when she told me this book was good, and I enjoyed the story overall! I liked the horror factor, the idea that every story section was based around the Asylum and Blackstone, and I liked the idea of evil presented throughout the story. There were, however, some aspects of the book that just didn't work for me as a reader.

I don't want to give any spoilers away, so I'll sum up my biggest issue with the final section in this book titled Asylum. I guess I was expected some epic showdown ending to really make sense of all the strange things happening around the town, but in the end it kind of fell a bit flat and left way too many questions unanswered, for my liking anyway.

Still, I did enjoy the read, I liked the stories, the plot, the mystery, and the suspense throughout this originally serial series all compacted in one book!

Hey guys! I was looking for a new read to check out while I waited to go back to my local library. While I was browsing the TN reads (Regional Ebook audiobook download system) online library system, this book caught my eye. It is a serial novel called The BlackStone Chronicles by John Saul. This was the first book I have ever read by John Saul in E-book form from the Tennessee Reads (regional e-book and download system) online library system. The Blackstone Chronicles was actually a pretty good read. In each part of this six part serial novel the reader learns of the town's past with the Blackstone Asylum and of the families who receive a mysterious gift that came from the Asylum's evil walls and from the dark presence that resides there like a locket, a doll, a cigarette lighter, a stereoscope, and a razor blade. All of the gifts cause chaos and destruction to the families and this premise reminded me of the "Tales from the dark side" TV series and the Twilight Zone. The storyline was pretty interesting and there were characters that you liked and hated. If you would like to check out this fast-paced read, then definitely check out the BlackStone Chronicles serial novel by John Saul. You'll enjoy it.

The premise of this is interesting, but the execution not so much. The writing is not great. The characters are two-dimensional. The stories felt tropey and full of cliches. It read more like a soap opera, than anything else. I'm glad I've heard people say that this isn't John Saul's best because it's my first book by him and was close to being my last. Two stars because it read like cotton candy and I kept reading for the eye-roll moments.

I played Legend Entertainment's John Saul's Blackstone Chronicles in 1999, and I mainly remember it as being gloomy and confusing. Once I realised it was based on a book, I resolved to read it to see if it made the game any better, but finding specific low-tier English-language thrillers was a lot harder back then, and I eventually forgot about it.

As it turns out, the premise of the novel is that there is an abandoned evil insane asylum scheduled for renovation, which a mysterious occupant is unhappy about; to express this unhappiness, he sends haunted objects associated with specific episodes in the asylum's history to the townsfolk, with deadly results. It was originally published as a serial, with each of the first five episodes dealing with one object and the sixth being a conclusion I didn't expect it would have—it felt like the sort of story the sort of writer John Saul is would leave open-ended, and I'm glad he didn't.
The execution is serviceable if you're prepared to allow it to be, but this was obviously never going to be one of the great classics—I'd call it a poor man's Stephen King, but I'm pretty sure Stephen King is the poor man's Stephen King. Still, it fills a few evenings.

Of course, now that I've read the book the video game is impossible to find (legally) anymore. I'm sure it was just your typical '90s FMV puzzle adventure game, anyway.

Incredible book series - incredible game!

I bought each one of these small novellas when they first came out. I was a preteen then, and the horror genre was my favorite to indulge in. John Saul never disappointed, and certainly kept that trend with this series.

The little-known video game by the same name is also amazing. It's perfectly immersive and atmospheric. One of the most frightening, and fun, games I've ever played!

On a personal note, I once sent this author an e-mail to tell him how much I enjoyed his work, and he sent me a personal message in return. That was one of the moments that inspired me to continue on the path of becoming an author, so thank you for that, John Saul.

If you are after a typical, solid horror read, then this offering from John Saul is one for you. Originally a series of short stories, this novel ties them all together – without the hassle of you having to run out and get the next one! As such, this serialisation is pacey and, whilst the stories are connected, it is chilling enough to remain original and interesting.

All of the stories are linked to the Asylum, long since closed, that overlooks the town of Blackstone. The mysterious artefacts that people suddenly begin to receive, are linked to the murky past of the Asylum and, through flashbacks, readers learn the significance of each item. Each object appears to have supernatural influences over the recipients. Leading to hallucinations, paranoia and excessive feelings of jealousy, the town turns inevitably suspicious of bad luck descending onto their own households. Despite each story focusing on a symbolic object, Saul is still able to ensure the episodes are different and unique. His descriptions build on the intensity of emotions and the fear everybody feels in Blackstone. Whilst I could eventually predict how some of the stories would conclude, it was still a horrific pleasure to read.

However, despite this, I did find myself feeling a little drained in the last quarter of the novel. Yes, I was enjoying the plot development but, personally, it became a little stagnant and obvious how the series would finally unfold. I had remembered the link between all of the stories – despite reading this book for the first time over a decade ago – and this certainly lessened the overall impact that the novel had on me. Being a set of short stories meant it was easy to have a break from reading the book yet, combined with the predictable plot development, it did decrease the tension and horror of everything.

Whilst this is a good example of a decent horror read, and better than the Stephen King novels I have thus far read, it must be remembered that this is a collection of short stories. To appreciate this anthology at its best, readers should approach this with an awareness that as a serialisation, the horror is possibly reduced for some; it is a decent scary, psychological read but repetitive towards the end.