The purpose of The Homing is to entertain. This is evident in telling of a fictional story. John Saul presents all the classical components, including setting, plot, and conflict. This book was written as a narration. It is told from a third person omniscient perspective. The theme is not to let personal trauma turn towards others. If the antagonist had sought a way to properly handle their emotional issues and impulses, the biggest conflict in this story would be a love triangle.

I appreciate the extensive character development often not shown in books of this length. For instance, Julie remains stubborn, even when she would prefer to go along with what her mother is suggesting. I did not like how much Karen’s description to the reader was similar to Dawn’s. It seemed at first that Karen was Dawn from the future, returning to the town she had left in the prelude. If I could change something about this book, I would better the placement of Dawn’s story between other chapters so that the timelines are easier to straighten out. This novel is quite different from any other I have read. I have read a few murder mysteries, but this is my first accidental-kind of-murder story. Also, The Homing leaves a curious cliffhanger which is unlike most conclusions.

It's said Saul is in 3rd place behind Koontz and King for horror. That's no bad thing as I tore through this one! Couldn't put it down.

The story of what happens when you try to change nature.

DNF. Got about 120 pages in and realized I absolutely didn't care about any of the characters or the mystery/serial killer.

Whose homing is it? In this chills a plenty novel Karen marries a new husband. He's a farmer. As his daughter Julie is stung by bees she nearly dies. A new antivenin provided by a strange scientist helps her. But soon after the young girl begins to change. Then other children vanish from their homes... what is going on in the quiet countryside? How is Carl Sanderson, the scientist, involved? What about the missing runaway? This is a classic John Saul thrillfest with a strong supernatural touch. The building up of tension is a bit slow at the beginning but then haunting moments en masse follow. Really recommended!

I would give this book a 3 1/2.The beginning is slow but it picks up in the middle. Easy, quick read.

this book is hard to put down

The story was a little far-fetched but still a very interesting story.

A bit of a long winded book with some genuinely creepy moments. The ending completely dropped the ball though… maybe the author got bored of the story too.

One of the best book I ever read. Horror, suspense and subtle psychological analysis. John Saul is definitely one of my favorite authors. The Homing is the third book I read from him.

I guess it was fine. The writing itself was good and the descriptions were interesting, but the horror just wasn't there. There were points where I could feel the potential: becoming part of the mindless colony and feeling your sanity and independence leave you, the terror of so many insects all over.

But it left me unsatisfied. Especially the ending. Why would it end there? Why wouldn't the colony just keep getting bigger and bigger? There was a certain point where I realized the plot couldn't be solved in a satisfying way, but I finished anyway and i was right.

Honestly, unless you're already a fan of this author, I'd just pass.

I wanted desperately to scream, "Oh, God! This book sucks! This book really, really sucks!" but the only words I could find were, "It's fine. It's totally fine." And then I finished it. As I closed in on 10 pages I thought to myself, "How the hell is John Saul going to end this story with 10 pages. He did. Which was a giant relief. I then closed the book on the metro, heading into DC, looked over at the guy sitting next to me and punched him in the face from frustration.

Okay, I didn't do that last bit. But I did tuck the book back into my bookbag to later donate to my local bookstore for some other poor son of a bitch to read. Hopefully you see this review first!

This book would be good if it didn't repeat the same thing over and over and over and over. After reading about the 2nd teen in the book, you understand the plot. Move on, Saul. We get it. If you don't like bugs and spiders, move on. Saul does do very well painting horrific scenes in your head with these things. The ending was rushed. Obviously rushed. If he had wrote the rest of the book like the last 50 pages the book would have been just over 100 pages long and probably a good read.

I'm not saying I wouldn't pick up another John Saul book, but if I were you and hadn't read this book, I would find another one first.