Uhhhhh, evil doctors with evil plans and evil experiments. So original.
Oh, wait, I just read that on "Shadows"... Yeah, I'm not impressed...

Otra lograda novela de John Saul, un escritor del que trato de conseguir toda su obra. Siempre me parece interesante más allá de que tiene novelas más mediocre (bueno, como todos los autores).
Lo meritorio es que trata de no caer de lleno en lo sobrenatural, intenta mezclarlo con avances tecnológicos desconocidos, pero con cierta lógica científica. Lo Fantástico acá es el remanido argumento de una ciudad construida sobre una antigua población indigena, cuya tradición y misticismo lo mezcla con un mensaje ecológico. Pero después agrega una empresa, con la critica al capitalismo voraz, y como es costumbre en este autor, los más jóvenes son los que mas sufren.
Mas allá de esto, confieso que la primer parte me resultó mediocre, y la acción es muy lenta, por momentos se empantana sin que pase nada, pero le puse 3 estrellas por el final, que es casi apocalíptico, quedaría muy bien en una película como gran clímax. Habría que mejorar la primer parte. Esta en la línea de sus obras Proyecto Diabólico y Tinieblas.

It got pretty predictable towards the end.

It was really good. I really wished that Frank didn’t die. I was hoping for an ending where atleast Judith and Jed lived together after losing Frank and she would raise him. Still pretty good book but distressing

SLEEPWALK was my second John Saul novel, and although I had intended to read his second book second, I felt this one—something like his fourteenth—calling to me from the bookshelf instead. I'm glad I read it, as I really did enjoy it, especially early on. Saul has a way of drawing you in with his cast of characters, layering enough detail to make the wild concepts feel believable enough at first.

I did feel it dragged in the middle. The revelations slowed down, and so did their impact as the twists mellowed. Conspiracy theorists will have a field day with this one if they discover its existence.

The ending brought me back. It was wrapped up nicely with a bit of wonder and amazement left for the reader.

Overall, Saul definitely has a talent. I really enjoyed Jed and his experiences with being both Native American and white, and feeling like he wasn't being accepted by people. Very much wanting to read more Saul soon!

Edit: Increased to a 4/5 because the more I think about this one, the more I remember how much I loved it. The characters were golden.

This is another solid novel from John Saul. It kept me interested the entire time and finished with an unexpected, not-so-happy ending, which seems to be a theme with Saul.

Well, this is still the worse of all of John Sauls books, but since I am re reading them all in publishing order.....i had to trudge thru it. So, here goes my review of 'Sleepwalk'.

First off, those of you who follow me know that I am a HUGE John Saul fan and have been since he was first published in the mid 70's. Now, he can usually scare the living hell INTO me with his exceptional writing skills and telling ghost and stories of pure real horror! Not this time.

26 year old Judith Sheffield living in Southern California is asked to come back to Borrego New Mexico where she grew up to teach high school. She accepts the job, and when she arrives she runs into a 17 year old student that she used to babysit for when she was 16 years old......his name is Jed Arnold and his father works at the refinery. With Jed growing up as what the local townspeople refer to as a 'Breed', he is used to being looked down upon for his mother beaing Cocati Indian. The town is the center of upheaval in the form of Unatech Oil Refinery and the company losing profits and readying for sale of the property. As in any Saul story that is where the eeriness and scares start and with this one, one of Jed's high school friends walks up to the ridge along the quarry in the middle of the night and 'sleepwalks to her death' 1000 feet below, smashing on the rocks.

The town starts to talk about what could have caused this 'well to do, and smart girl' to do just a thing, and this leads to another weird death, after death. Most of them after are older people that had either worked at the oil plant, or had something to do with the local Indian people in the past.

When the high school states to all the parents that the students will all be getting 'mandatory flu shots' Judith starts thinking why and who is behind this weird out of the blue thing. Now, this was published in 1990 and flu shots were not 'Mandatory' as they kind of are in todays times.....so this is as creepy as this story got. Yes, there are a couple more minor deaths, but there in nothing really supernatural to this book which is where Saul always excelled. This is more of a Sci Fi medical revenge thriller........I am glad that I dont have to read it again, as it had been since 1990 that i read it the first time.

Thanks for taking the time to read this review.

Trippy trip into the desert heat

I’ve had such a good time reading lately that I haven’t realized I was falling behind on my reviews so here we go…
This particular title from good ole’ Saul was a fun little romp that crossed a suspense thriller with a sci-fish mystery, I found it at my local library in the beginning of December - the shiny brand new copy beckoning to be read so I took it, somehow it was almost forgotten but in the end I saw it again two weeks later by my bed and just picked it up, I was glued to the page and engrossed the whole time, not the best book I ever read but kinda cool, who knew? Saul is well known for his suspense mixed with a bit of terror, and that’s certainly what he delivered here, I saw the reviews were mixed about this one but I just read it with an open mind one page at a time, and I all ready knew that if I hated it all I had to do was stop, but somehow the book asked to be picked up so I personally liked it, not exactly pulled together at the end but it was fun for an early Saul, prefect library rental as I call it.

A small and quiet New Mexico town is the perfect set up for this story; Borrego seems pretty ordinary at first but upon closer look something is going on, this is no sleeping town; something is brewing under that dry sand and heat. Located near an oil refinery with an Indian reservation close by it seems very boring until someone decides to shake things up, the teens are restless and up to no good and something or someone finally decides to take the matter into their own hands and deliver justice as it seems fit. Girls walking off the cliff, teens and adults meeting early and unexplained deaths seem connected to a plan that doesn’t want to be solved. When Judith Sheffield comes back this time as a grown up and as a teacher to escape all the violence and noise of LA she has no idea that she has stepped into a bigger pool of pain and fear than the one she was trying to escape. Along with some old friends and new students she is plunged into a situation that tries her sanity and in the end her life, she was a great character that made the book so fast moving, her interaction with Jed and his father propelled the story right into my head and I had a hard time putting it down. Personal and professional lives at stake, the town is starting to feel a strange push, flu shots don’t even seem safe as a controlling force is clamping a dark hand on anyone living in Borrego with a purpose, its up to our friends to find out what is going on before being deleted from the equation by the very forces they are trying to uncover. The ending was pretty awesome and intense even though it didn’t wrap all the ends. Fun read, like I said not perfect but enjoyable.

Kasia S.

I really enjoyed this book. I was riveted to it almost from the very beginning!

Good Saul novel

Can John Saul even write a bad book? I don't think I have read one by him I didn't give at least 4 stars. Anyway, Sleepwalk is about a quiet New Mexico town with some restless troublemaking teenagers and a newly appointed teacher named Judith. After the old teacher dies of what seems to be a massive stroke, and after Judith takes her place, she begins to discover some odd things about happens in the town. For one, the manditory flu shots don't contain a flu vaccine but something much more synister. Jed, one of the unruley teens, begins helping Judith discover the mystery behind the shots as well as a strange take over of the local oil refinery. I know i didn't do a great describing this novel, but that's because it's a complex story that you must read to understand fully. Another classic John Saul novel that is good enough to reread several times over. It was good enough to keep me reading almost constantly from start to finished. It's one of those books that you read in a day but remember a year later.

This book was slow to get going. Once it did, the concept and story was good.