First Saul book I ever read, about ten or so years ago. It kept me up all night. Anything horror involving children has always been terrifying to me and Saul does it best. Since then I’ve read several more from him.

I read Suffer the Children in 1977 when I was 13. It came to my attention again recently so I’m addIng it. Since I don’t recall specific details about the book, I can’t speak about the quality of the writing or the plot. I’m still giving it 4 stars because it put some horrific pictures in my mind that still reside there, especially at night. That’s a good enough endorsement for a horror book, I think.

I think this book just made my “top favorite” list.

A slow-burn book about creepy kids, an old family curse, and lots and lots of blood.

And that ending... I hate it. But I also couldn’t have thought of a better one myself, that’s for sure.

It might be a while before I read another John Saul book, I’ve only read two of his and this one is far superior. Definitely recommending this one to fans of the macabre, and a must-read for horror fans everywhere.

Outgrown!

I had forgotten about John Saul, surprisingly, because I’ve read a lot of his books, back in middle-school. This was about the time l also discovered Stephen King.

His books ascribe to “light” horror, that’s how l describe it. Lots of books about children makes it easier for younger teens to identify with the victims.

I find it really hard to care about the Conger family. They are too unlikeable, no wonder the children have problems.

For some reason, the book appears rushed at the end. Around about the last twenty percent of the book a lot of editing errors appear. The closer near the end, the worse it gets.

Three stars. ✨✨✨

This book was weird af, so I liked that aspect. Lol I don't think there was enough explanation in the end. I may come back and write a complete review of this one later.

3.5 rounded up!

Description: One hundred years ago in Port Arbello a pretty little girl began to scream. And struggle. And die. No one heard. No one saw. Just one man whose guilty heart burst in pain as he dashed himself to death in the sea. Now something peculiar is happening in Port Arbello. The children are disappearing, one by one. An evil history is repeating itself. And one strange, terrified child has ended her silence with a scream that began a hundred years ago.



This is the one that starts with a little girl chasing a bunny in New England in the late 1800s.

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What is it about New England and horror stories? Must be the same way that gothic big house stories work best in a Cornish setting.

It had all the creepy factors. I gave four because I wanted ending with more; too much of a cliffhanger.

What the hell?
Seriously, what the hell?
I bought this at a second hand bookstore on a reccomendation from the owner. She said if I liked King (I do) then I would like this book. And I have to say that I can't fathom how this has almost four stars on this site.
The plot concerns the Congers, a family with a supposed curse on them. Jack, the dad, blacked out a year ago and can't remember what happened in the nearby forest that made his daughter Sarah go mute. This causes strains on his relationship with Rose, his wife, and his oddly mature daughter Elizabeth. When local children go missing, shenanigans ensue.
I love horror. LOVE it. The creepy cover and cheap price sold me on this book and I was severely disappointed. Without giving too much away, the book spins its wheels for almost four hundred pages before leading to an entirely unsatisfying and ambiguous ending. Now, I don't need everything spelled out for me in stories, as long as there's enough to draw your own conclusions from. This book has nothing to "chew on" because there is no mystery. Saul shows the reader every aspect of the story so the ending just leaves the reader with a question of "what" instead of "huh that was interesting."
What's more, Saul's writing is the blandest and most dull thing ever. It's technically sound, but has no spark. It's like reading a really dull essay about something mildly interesting. Oh, and he does numerous things that bug me, like opening his book with irrelevant descriptions of the weather and saying "so and so did this, as if (makes a comparison that is entirely the subtext instead of an actual metaphor)."
The only reason this didn't get one star is that it doesn't feel as much a chore to read as something like Moby Dick. It's pretty close though. Ignore the 4 star rating. This is a bad book and there are hundreds of other horror novels and writers pout there that are far more deserving of your time.

Dejad A Los Niños.- John Saul

"Estoy seguro de que su mente consciente no cree que pueda haber ninguna clase de maldición en su familia. En estos días, en esta época, somos proclives a considerar esas cosas como tonterías. Pero también existe su subconsciente. A menudo descubrimos que las cosas que nuestra mente consciente se rehúsa a tomar en serio, son tomadas muy seriamente por nuestro subconsciente."

Maldiciones familiares. Pasó casi un siglo desde la desaparición de la pequeña Beth Conger en la zona de Port Arbello, llena de acantilados traicioneros, rocas resbaladizas y una caverna que nadie vió que se transformó en leyenda urbana. En la actualidad, en la residencia familiar Conger viven el matrimonio Conger, Jack y Rose, y sus dos hijas, Sarah y Elizabeth. Tras un suceso de tintes aberrantes, el matrimonio Conger se está desmoronando; la pequeña Sarah no habla y Elizabeth parece tener sonambulismo. Al mismo tiempo, el pueblo se ve conmocionado por la desaparición de niños. El terror no tardará en esparcirse.

Dejad A Los Niños (Suffer The Children), es el primer libro publicado por John Saul (1942-) con su nombre real en la portada, anteriormente había publicado bajo seudónimos.

¿Quieren saber que tipo de libro es Dejad A Los Niños? Solamente con leer el prólogo (3 o 4 páginas) van a tener una idea muy aproximada de lo que les espera. El autor desde esas tempranas páginas de la historia, nos da el equivalente literario a una patada en el estómago que no ves venir: directa, fuerte, dolorosa y que deja sin aire.

Durante todo el libro sobrevuela un ambientación gótica, con descripciones de paisajes salvajes y casas grandes que tienen tantas historias oscuras como años sus paredes, habitadas por personajes oscuros y siniestros, que muchas veces no asumen o saben que lo son, y peor aún, estos personajes pueden ser niños.

Dejad A Los Niños es un libro que no puede faltar en la biblioteca del amante del terror más duro, que sin ser perfecto, consigue mantenernos pegados a sus páginas, 45 años después de ser publicado.

You know, I think I prefer the vampire children. At least, then I knew what was wrong and who was the enemy and what to expect.

This book was like being lost in the dark. It was terrifying.

The book is intensely atmospheric. Fear of the unseen and unknown is more potent than fear of something you can understand. The author built up such a climate of suspense and terror, I was afraid the whole time I was reading the stupid book. The writing was good.

I think that book was a tad too long. This opinion only strengthens when you look at how rushed and unfulfilling the ending is. Yes, it chilled me to the bone, reading those last few pages, but it was not enough. There are so many blank spaces that the author didn't fill, and it's not even the kind of mystery you can solve by putting two and two together.

There were many vague elements to the plot, which while adding significantly to the dread and fright already hanging in the air, did not present a clear picture of what actually happened.
The third quarter of the book is a repetition of the second quarter and if the writing hadn't been so good, it would have been a problem.

I was more than halfway convinced that this was a psychological thriller but, well, I couldn't make up my mind. Only the presence of supernatural elements can hope to answer what the ACTUAL DEAL was with this book. Ugh.

I don't recommend it, it'll only instill the monster-under-the-bed fear and won't even give you a satisfying conclusion for your trouble.

Story about a prominent family (the Congers) who live in a New England coastal town (Port Arbello). Eleven-year-old Sarah Conger is mute from a trauma which happened to her a year ago. Her thirteen-year-old sister (Elizabeth) seems like the perfect daughter, or is she? Sarah and Elizabeth’s parents are having marital problems. There is also a family curse on the Congers. Now, children in the community are going missing. And what about the legend of the secret cave?

This story was creepy and disturbing, with some really unpleasant and gruesome moments. But I found this book very hard to put down, it was so captivating. The story was quite atmospheric, I felt like I was in the coastal town by the sea. But I was disappointed with the ending of this book. I felt bad for Sarah. And I didn’t like how crazy Elizabeth seemed to get away with everything and never got caught.

An okay read by John Saul.