good book with quite the dark undertone to it. Something that feels like it was only recently written.

Read this in middle school back in 1990. Remember thinking it was much simpler than the Clive Barker and Stephen King books I’d been reading...suppose it could be considered YA if it came out today.

I read this when I was a preteen and remember really liking it. So I decided it would be a fun reread.
It certainly holds up. An exciting and interesting story.

Rounding up from 3.5.

Pop Sugar Reading Challenge-a book that takes place during the 1980s.

Suspensful and creepy, but I felt unsatisfied at the end. There was a character I wanted to know about what happened to after.

And this has nothing to do with the enjoyment level of the book, but I found it odd that there was a character named Phil Collins. This book was written in 1989. Phil Collins was well known back then. And the character was constantly referred to by his first and last name.

It's hard to write a review of John Saul. He's the ultimate time killer author. What I mean is, his books are all similar, and while they rarely rise to greatness, yet, except for one time he's never let me down. I'm never disappointed in one of his books. You see one at a thrift store or a used book store, you grab it, you read it, time killed. But because you go in knowing what to expect and getting it, it's also hard to write a rave review about, they're mildly enjoyable one time reads. Creature is, in its way, the perfect John Saul novel.

I had this as a required reading in early high school and really loved it. it seemed way more intense back then, and when I bought it i was hoping it would still evoke the same feelings. unfortunately it didn’t, and felt more like it targeted young adults. i very much enjoyed it and it had me gasping at parts I had forgotten, but wasn’t as good as I thought it would be.

I didn't know what to expect from John Saul. Or from this book. The synopsis on back was somewhat vague. It was interesting. I liked the overall story told in Creature, and I like Saul's writing style. I just think this might not be what I should have introduced myself to him with.
The whole time I was reading it,I felt like it was a Christopher Pike book. I love Pike; it isn't a jab. I was just expecting...more. It reads like teen horror from the 90s. Also something I like. I'm not sure exactly how I feel about it, other than it was a fun read. Give it a shot.

Review to come after buddy read is completed. Follow along on Instagram #creaturebuddyread
Another John Saul buddy read will happen in April.

Die Geschichte an und für sich war atmosphärisch und hat mir gut gefallen. Man durchschaut relativ früh, wohin die Reise geht, aber das hat mich nicht gestört. Leider war jedoch die Übersetzung einfach Müll. Da ersteigt man treppen, fliegt in Jacken und so weiter. Mich persönlich hat das immer wieder aus dem Lesefluss gerissen, daher auch nur drei Sterne.

I remember reading this somewhere during 8th grade, everybody was reading John Saul, Dean Koontz and Stephen King, I called it The Dark Trinity. Although Koontz tends to have happier endings, Saul was darker in his endings and I always wonder why do the children have to suffer? But I remember this book from way back and it's kinda short and it was a creepy read and loved it at the time of my creep fest LOL. Dark and enjoyable for those who love to read in the shadows.

Definitely not one of John Sauls better works. But if you are a fan of 'werewolf' or creature features, this is a MUST read.

Check out my video book review of this book here from my YouTube Channel; AreYouIntoHorror here:
https://youtu.be/m5VRIQWQHX4

I originally read this back in 1990, and did not like it at all, however now that I am older and thoughts have changed about what is creepy, scary or disturbing, I gave this a 3.4 star read. Saul has always been one of if not my favorite horror / suspense horror writers and this would have been and or seemed like his homage to the old 'Wolfman' and 'Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde' movies that we grew up on.

Silverdale Colorado is a small and PERFECT town.....so perfect that their high school football and sports teams NEVER lose a game. The Tanner family move to Silverdale from Southern California due to 16 year old Mark's father has gotten a work promotion to work at Turren Tech, the company that owns most of and literally runs the town of Silverdale. Mark was stricken with a childhood illness that left him shorter and more weakened than other kids his age, and not being an outgoing young boy, he is the perfect victim of shool bullying......and I mean to the MAX! Once they move to Silverdale, and Mark's dad starts working, he is started to get bullied by his father and hassled to 'go out for sports, why not even the Football team!!?' Nope. Mark would rather take care of his rabbits and his large dog Chivas.....his lifelong best friend.

The football season opens for the fall year, and at the first game one of Silverdales teammates goes out of control and gets into a fight and injures another team mate so badly that the boy is put upon life support, and Mark and his mother start to notice everything is not normal and Perfect in Silverdale.

This book is very well written, and disturbing in parts of gruesome murders and of the depiction of the pathetic 'Creature' of its title. It deals with the extreme consequences of the use of Anabolic Steroids and growth hormones used in high school sports, which was extremely and widely used in the 80's and 90's. But this is taken to the point of creating monsters. It moves extremely fast and the pages fly as fast as you can turn them, however dont expect a horrifyingly creepy ghost story or serial killer in the making book as Saul was so expertly and well known for, this is a very sad and disturbing look at human evil and the acceptance in today's society.

Great creature feature!! First John Saul book and I will def be picking up more from his extensive backlist, loved the writing and the pacing kept me engaged. Creepy experimentation in a "perfect" town - great mix for a horror background!