This book was pretty good, definitely spooky at times, if it was a movie I probably couldn't watch it, but it was a fun read. Fast-paced and attention grabbing!
This was written like a young adult novel. Once I start a book, I soldier through until I finish it; otherwise, I would have stopped reading it after the prologue and chapter 1. On the plus side, it was a joy to read a book without curse words every other sentence.
Michelle moves to her new home in Paradise Point with her family, shortly starting at her new school. A happy and loving child, Michelle appears to be settling well into her new life.
At home she finds an old doll, christening it Amanda. But Amanda is no mere doll. Once, she was flesh and blood, a sweet, blind girl who suffered at the hands of bullies and met her death on the treacherous cliffs.
Amanda reaches out to Michelle through the mists from beyond the veil. Amanda's soul has been twisted by pain, intent on vengeance, and all will feel her wrath.
'Comes the Blind Fury' is a 1980 horror novel by John Saul, set in the US East Coast village of Paradise Point, a small community seemingly on the edge of civilisation. On one level, the novel is a light and breezy read, drawing you gently into the narrative, while the horrors linger beneath the surface in an intense and emotive plot; I love horror with psychological depth and an authentic feel, driven by the characters and slowly unravelling the mystery behind supernatural events.
Haunting every page is what remains of a sweet, tormented child, desolate and alone for decades in her death, becoming consumed by hatred and a desire for vengeance. Through another innocent, and living, child who is just looking for a friend, she wreaks her havoc. The characters of the children are all captured and developed brilliantly, driving the story while the adults fail to grasp the true nature of what's happening around them until it's too late. Michelle and even Amanda are especially relatable, the sting and the isolation as a result of bullying embedded in many of our psyches. The devastating impact of their actions, juxtaposed with this innocence warped and twisted out of shape by suffering, is tragic.
I adored the coastal setting, the rugged beauty of the cliffs and the ocean perfectly realised, while a deliciously gothic atmosphere pervades each chapter - through the creeping paranormal events and vivid settings, while secrets of the past threaten to reach from the grave. This is the sort of vintage horror story that may have made you fall in love with the genre in the first place, blended effortlessly with mystery and the macabre, building suspense and momentum until we dive headlong into a treacherous finale, secrets revealed and more tragedy unfolding before the final chilling moments.
The majority of Saul's books are now out of print. Discovering a long lost book feels like uncovering something from the past, much like the relics of the fiction itself. Digital publishing now lets you enjoy many of these, but there is nothing quite like the magic of the printed word. This certainly won't be the last I read of John Saul's work.
Devastating and thrilling, 'Comes the Blind Fury' is an example of paranormal horror at its finest.
I don’t remember how old I was the first time I read “Comes The Blind Fury”. It was published in 1980 and was one of my Mom’s Doubleday Book Club picks. Her copy was a hardcover, so she must have bought it within a year of it being published. I saw it sitting on the shelf, in all its purple glory, and was immediately drawn to the image on the cover. This book had a huge impact on me. So much so that I have re-read it almost every year since.
The only fault I found when reading it this time around was the use of the word “cripple” by the adults in the story. It’s one thing to read it used as a taunt by the other children, but to have the adults refer to someone as a “cripple” was a bit jarring. I had to remind myself that when this book was written, the language used in situations such as the one that character was facing was not what we would use today.
This is a classic ghost story and what John Saul has become famous for. I have always found myself returning to his books, enjoying them over and over. It’s like visiting an old friend who happens to have a ghost living in their beautiful yet spooky Victorian home by the sea.
Did you know John Saul was actually two people? And his contract states that he does all the publicity and his husband does most of the actual writing? And they've been doing it this way since they got married in a secret ceremony at midnight in a church back in the 1970's? Saul's life is more interesting than anything in this book.
I read this when I was teenager and remember it as one of the scariest books I ever read. 1st 100 or so pages dedicated to describing a wonderful family before horror besets them. Great character development
Great ghost story! I read a book when I was 9 or 10 called Wait Till Helen Comesand it scared me to pieces! However, I will always love ghost stories because of it! (I read it again recently and, although a children's book, I thought it still had sufficient creepy factor!) Comes the Blind Fury was similar, but for adults. Having a 12 year old child be the victim of the ghost's wrath created excellent tension and build-up throughout as we saw her innocence be manipulated and twisted by the ghost. The ghost, herself, having a very sad story containing innocence lost. I recommend for the creepy horror fans!
Haven't read early John Saul since I was a teenager. Can't remember hardly a thing other than they scared me at the time and contributed to my love of horror. I can't imagine any of his books would have the same effect on me now. John Saul just isn't that good of a writer, even all these years later, I don't think he's gotten any better.
Amanda net twaalf jaar. Ze was een klein, tenger meisje. Altijd in het zwart gekleed. Het belangrijkste ze was blind. Ze liep met haar stok tastend over het pad langs de kust over de rotsen. Toen kwamen de kinderen. Ze treiterden haar en Amanda wilde daar weg. Ze vluchtte en toen was er niets meer. Geen grond niets...
Honderd jaar later verhuist Michelle met haar stiefouders naar Paradise Point. Ze is twaalf en altijd vrolijk. En verheugd zich op haar nieuwe bestaan in een nieuwe omgeving. Maar dan komt de mist op en op raadselachtige wijze de kinderen van Paradise point om het leven komen. Michelle weet niet wat er gebeurt, maar weet dat iets haar in zijn greep houdt. --- Een boek met spanning en verrassing vanaf het begin. Het einde laat een open einde achter waardoor je met vragen achterblijft. Het boek in het Nederlands gelezen. Het is zeker een aanwinst voor mijn boekenkast. Zoals de meeste boeken van John Saul. De vier sterren zijn omdat de spanning oploopt, het verhaal lekker leest en het verhaal je in zijn greep houdt. De personages leer je oppervlakkig maar genoeg kennen om emoties te voelen. --- John Saul is geboren in 1942 in Pasadena, Californië. Hij groeide op in Whittier en haalde zijn diploma in 1959 van de Whittier High School. Na verschillende opleidingen aan net zoveel beroepsopleidingen te hebben gevolgd zonder het behalen van een diploma of graad, besloot hij van school te gaan en auteur te worden. In de daarop 15 jaar schreef Saul verschillende manuscripten en had hij verschillende baantjes. geen enkele uitgever zag iets in zijn verhalen, totdat zijn agent bij Dell terecht kwam. Daar wilden ze niets kopen, maar vroegen ze hem of hij een psychologische thriller kon schrijven. Saul maakte een verhaallijn, schreef het uit en hoopte dat het goed genoeg was. Zowel zijn agent als Dell waren laaiend enthusiast en zagen in dit verhaal een bestseller. Dell pakte groots uit. Advertenties en TV spots voor deze onbekende auteur werden gemaakt. En het slaagde. Saul werd in een klap wereldberoemd. Suffer the Children was geboren. Alle boeken die erna kwamen kwamen wel in de Bestsellerlijsten en zijn boeken werden wereldwijd uitgebracht en in verschillende talen vertaalt. De boeken werden uitgegeven door uitgeverijen die zijn verbonden aan Random House. Naast auteur is Saul ook acteur, scriptschrijver en is 1 van zijn boeken in 1984 uitgebracht als film. Meer informatie over John Saul is te vinden op een van de onderstaande sites. http://www.johnsaul.com/index.html https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0766657/ --- Boekinformatie Uitgeverij Phoenix ISBN: 90.6879.004.8 240 pagina's; paperback
I like John Saul. This was not my favorite, but I appreciate how he makes things intense and scary without being gory or having bad language. I think this would have scared me a LOT as a tween! (A good kind of scared!) John Saul is who I credit with my love of horror!