"The God Project" By John Saul

Title: The God Project
Author: John Saul
Published Year: 1982
Pages: 340

I am so happy that I rediscovered how awesome John Saul is. I am going to have to put him in my favorite author list along with Dean Koontz, Stephen King, Bentley Little and Laurell K. Hamilton. Just that little list alone should give you a little insight into what my favorite types of books are. If you've read my blog before though, you'll know that I read pretty much anything I can get my hands on.

In The God Project Saul focuses on a little New England town where children are dying in their sleep of SIDs while others there and across the nation are disappearing or turning up dead too. At first it doesn't seem like these kids could have any connection at all until the story really gets rolling. Genetics and the Department of Defense all have a role to play and its still shocking all the way til the end of the book.

Saul writes a futuristic tale for the time that this was written, and it is fast paced and hard to put down. Just when you think you have it all figured out, he pulls another card out and plays a fast one on you. Things keep getting interesting and it left me wondering all the way til the end.

"Bobby Singer's Guide to Hunting" By David Reed

Title: Supernatural: Bobby Singer's Guide to Hunting
Author: David Reed
Published Year: 2011
Pages: 260 pages
Genre: Fiction/Movie Tie In

If you have read some of my other blog postings, you may have come across another review of s "Supernatual" related book. And if this is the case, then you may remember that I am absolutely in love with the show. This of course led me to this book. The more things I discover about the paranormal, the more interested and curious about the topic I become.

This book is described as fiction, and it is rightfully called so. It brings in a character from the show and brings a story that has happened due to the outcome of one of the "hunts" that the characters from the show go on. Bobby Singer is the go-to man for the Winchester boys when they need to find out what they are hunting and how to kill it. On one of these hunts that takes place in the book  Bobby gets back to his house without knowing how he got there. The premise of this book is for him to try and recall how he made it back to his house and since he thinks he is losing his memory, he begins frantically writing down every known creature and hunt he has encountered, at least the ones he can still remember.

Despite the way that this book kind of wanders from story to story with no real correlation, it is meant to be that way and as you read it it makes complete sense. When reading this book you need to keep in mind that the view point that you are reading comes from a character who is rapidly losing their memory and is writing his life story accordingly.

"Sleep Walk" By John Saul

Title: Sleep Walk
Author: John Saul
Published Year: 1990
Pages: 449 pages

Saul has a way of grabbing the reader's attention in just the first few pages and keeping that attention throughout his entire novels. Each one of his books brings a new story of some of humankind's greatest fears and Sleep Walk is no exception. He is also able to introduce new fears into a world that is already full of them. I wish I could only know where he comes up with the fantastic tales of terror and horror that he is able to weave into a perfect story.

Sleep Walk takes place in a small town in the desert of America. Strange things have been happening as they always seem to do in stories that thrill and terrify the reader. A former resident comes back to the small town to teach in the school she grew up in. Not much has changed since she left and has come back, and the longer she stays in the town, this starts to change. Kids that have normally been trouble makers are suddenly complacent and follow orders no matter the order given to them. Other members of the town start dying and have medical issues that there is no pre-warning for. To top it all off a big oil company comes in and buys out the smaller one that hosts the majority of the jobs in the small town and things get even weirder than that.

Saul's books are ones that I need to read more of. I find them easy to get into and they keep me reading page after page until the book is finished or my eyes are drooping. Just when you think you have the plot and the ending figured out, he likes to throw another curve ball at you.

"Strange Highways" By Dean Koontz

Title: Strange Highways
Author: Dean Koontz
Published Year: 1995
Pages: 614

Instead of a novel, Koontz presents us with short stories and novellas in this edition of his work. I have never read anything of his that wasn't a full length novel and had no idea of what I was picking up when I grabbed this to read. I like to kind of walk into books without knowing too much about them so I can discover them with no pre-conceived notions, as long as they are from an author I have read before. Since I have read numerous other Koontz books, I thought I knew what I was getting into. I do have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by what I found and I thoroughly enjoyed the entire book.

Koontz doesn't stick to just one genre in this collections, nor does he stick to one type of story. Each story is vast and different from the others preceding it and following it. There are tales of mutants, creative children and time warps just to name a few. Science fiction and horror are the majority of the short stories you'll find here, but some of the cunning stories do not really have a niche that they fit into in my opinion.

For those of you that are looking for a specific story of his, here is the entire list of what is present in this book:

• Strange Highways
• The Black Pumpkin
• Miss Attila the Hun
• Down in the Darkness
• Ollie's Hands
• Snatcher
• Trapped
• Bruno
• We Three
• Hardshell
• Kittens
• The Night of the Storm
• Twilight of the Dawn
• Chase