An okay plot for mass-produced horror... however, most of the story is given from childrens' point-of-view. Reads more like YA than adult. Some of the storylines tend to lean more toward cheesy than devious.

This was a decent story. Last 75 pages kept me in somewhat suspense.
I may be growing out of this genre though. Just couldn't get
totally into it.

This book was the beginning of my love for suspense. John Saul had his pulse on A.I. before it was a real thing.

Definitely different from other john saul books I've read. This book took more of a sci fi horror approach. The first half of the book started off slow, not really going into anything too crazy, but once you get past that, the pace really picks up, and gets very interesting. Not my favorite John Saul book, but definitely a good read.

Before I go on my little I rant would like to clarify that I believe the book is a 3.5/5 in my eyes. The story was definitely well told as most books written by accomplished writers are, but this story just didn't keep me as involved as I first hoped. I did enjoy the ending as it came quick and provided quite the punch.

This book was creepy & what made it even creepier is that somewhere this might actually be happening. Makes me glad I’m not a genius

Took me 4 days to read
Slow start. Couldn't get into the storyline but after about 200 pages, I couldn't put it down. In the book, the kids were about 12 years in age but their characters seemed much older.
Weird storyline. Sort of like the movie" Get out"
Great writing but not so great storyline if that makes sense

This book will take you to a world you wish you never heard of ... while it seems far fetched...even more so when written sadly I can see this happening .

As a young reader John Saul grabbed me and I always credit him for my love of reading the different.

Loved revisiting him and may just have to do more visiting.

4,5 Stars****

If I would describe this book in one word, I would call it: bizarre!
This is the second John Saul book that I've read and I'm pleased to say that I'm really enjoying his books quite a lot!

His books are full of excitement en tension that has been building up from page one. I really needed to know what was going on this strange school. I bet you can't put this book down once you started it.

Without saying any spoilers, I need to say that I never read a horror book with this concept. I have never read anything about it, although it has been cover in Science-Fiction a lot. Never thought that this concept could frighten me so much.

And that ending though! That was scarily realistic.

Rating: 8,8/10

Meh with a touch of OMG, this could be so real.
Poor writing developed around an interesting idea - transfering human brains into computers to make the brain-computers smarter and help them develop continuously.

¡Estremecedoramente bueno! me perturbó y mantuvo a la expectativa. ¡Todo lo que uno espera de un libro de terror!

10-year old Josh MacCallum is a child genius, but he sees it as a curse. His intelligence creates problems at school & subsequently, at home. Things reach their lowest for Josh when he attempts suicide. When separate individuals suggest help in the form of a no-cost boarding school for kids who have the same social problems & are as gifted as Josh, his mother jumps at it.

He fits in well there, making friends & is more comfortable in the environment. But a week into his stay, things begin to happen to some of the children at the Academy, beginning with a bizarre suicide of one child related to a special "seminar" reserved for certain students. Some of the leadership at the Academy are manipulating the students & taking advantage of their emotional vulnerabilities to achieve scientific aims & have no concern for ethics. However, they may have underestimated the intelligence of their student subjects & Josh, who becomes curious about the death of friends.

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Pros
1. Well-described/solid characters.
2. Saul makes it easy to sympathize with the child characters & what they have to go through. Especially Amy when the Academy's Dr. Mengele-wannabe is humiliating her in front of everybody. As well as playing to the emotional goodbye with Amy & her parents at the end.
3. Saul really hikes the creepy factor with the last 2 or so pages. Made me seriously consider disconnecting my WiFi.

Cons
1. The dialogue: A lot of it is bland, awkward & in a few instances, repetitive. Also, some of it doesn't match the personalities of the characters.

Overall opinion: A fairly good psychological thriller. Not very suspenseful but it still has it's moments (especially near the end with the "final confrontation").