What to even say about this book... This is a book that brings the worst nightmares to life. The beginning of the book started out great and slowly it got darker and darker and down right disturbing. I am the type of person that can't start something and not finish it, so I had to continue, but it was tough, as I had no interest in reading more. This may be someone else's cup of tea, but not mine. I don't even know how the author came up with the scenarios in this book.

Me cuenta alguien lo que pasa en esta novela y no me lo creo ni de coña. Con razón es uno de los libros más conocidos (y reconocidos) de John Saul... Esos toques de cifi-body horror son geniales.
Eso sí, tiene momentos peliagudos. Si necesitáis CW/TW, ya sabéis, solo tenéis que pedirlo

Summary: Karen, Julie and Molly Spellman move to Pleasant Valley after Karen's husband dies in LA. She marries Russell Owen and lives with him and his son, Kevin. His Father Otto Owens lives in a little house right beside theirs.

Carl Henderson was abused as a child and has mental problems. He loves insects, particularly bees. He has done many experimentations with the bees in Pleasant Valley and once Joley catches him doing something with them, she gets stung and is taken to the hospital where he gives the doctor some kind of antivenin. Except it's not the right kind.

He hopes this concoction will kill her, but instead it makes her become a Queen Bee. Jeff, Amy, Kevin and later Sara become infected too and become her workers. Further spreading the disease.

Carl is so sick that he has created a torture chamber in his home where he picks up hitchhikers and others (including Otto when he confronts him). He unleashes poisonous insects on them and keeps their bodies as they deteriorate in his basement.

Carl is finally stopped by the Sheriff and locked in his own created cell. Julie and her workers arrive and consume him with the mass of insects who followed the group. The house catches fire and the town thinks it's over. Until a coyote finds Sara, who still houses the parasites inside her own flesh.

The animal attempts to kill her but the swarm of verman consume it and the terror starts again.

Thoughts: I liked how Sual described the run in with the first hitchhiker girl and what Carl did. I think that on it's own could of made a good book, serial killer type edition. I am not a true fan of science fiction type genres so the whole creating a Queen killer Bee wasn't that interesting to me but in general the book was a good read I think.

Are you afraid of bugs? Either way I was creeped out.

John Saul gives a new meaning to Queen Bee.

Read this once about 25 yrs ago. Worth the second read. Great book, John Saul books are never boring. Every detail matters. Highly recommend

Saul is a good writer. However, he broke my rule. It isn't a hard and fast rule, but you just do not kill children. You do not abuse them or I do not read your books. I was fascinated and the book gripped me from the beginning. He attacked human's natural fear of insects. Bees, scorpions, roaches, and ants. These are not one of my fears, but this book would frighten several of my family members. I had to work to read to the end because of the "children issue."

John Saul's at his best when he really lets himself go and let's a book run wild. It may have a week ending, but the Homing goes way off the fucking chain.

3 1/2 stars. Part of me wants to give it 4 because it kept my attention and was pretty easy to read, but there is also a lot of silliness in the book, which makes me unwilling to go to 4. There are some things that don't completely fit together as neatly as I would like, but for a fun, quick read that doesn't take itself too seriously, this book has a unique plot with good tension and not too much excess explanation and exposition.

Well. This is a book with a lot of writing in it. I've had a lot of folks recommend John Saul's stuff to me over the years, so when I saw this at a garage sale for 50 cents, I picked it up.

Not a great book. And it's not for the squeamish. I will say that the writing style is very fluid, and I was able to finish this in an afternoon. I didn't really care for the characters that much, and I wasn't invested in the story, either.

But the author keeps things moving, and the result is what I call a "brain popcorn" book. Not that good for you, but filling.

I really enjoyed the plotting of the book, the immense detail and characters. I must say however that I was extremely disappointed in the ending, but hey that's just me others may find it the only solution writable.

Disappointed .. that is all.