The Blackstone Chronicles: A Serial Thriller

At the outset of this six-volume series, author John Saul introduces the major characters, establishes the Gothic setting in small town New Hampshire, creates foreboding about the scheduled conversion of the Blackstone Asylum into a shopping mall, and then introduces the "single dark figure that moves through the ruptured stone wall" into the silent Asylum. There the figure locates a small cubicle containing the artifacts of long-ago inmates. As these artifacts appear, mysteriously, in the lives of the present occupants of Blackstone, death and destruction result. (Plot summaries and reviews for the six separate volumes appear separately on Amazon.)

Saul tells the reader from the outset that the destruction of the Asylum will change everyone's life, then goes about proving it. Because his characters are not fully developed, they do not inspire the reader's sympathy when they change from ordinary citizens to demons or when their lives move from normalcy to chaos, especially at the beginning. The stories move along quickly and inevitably, however, the Gothic shock evolving from the amount of cruelty and the amount of horror, rather than from our knowledge of the individuals and our surprise at their behavior.

Throughout the series, the agonizing tortures (in the name of "cures") at the Asylum fifty years ago are interspersed with modern day life, and occasionally Saul gives us the name of a former employee or resident of the Asylum which enables the reader to tie a contemporary victim to the history of the Asylum. The victims are usually one or two generations removed from the events in the Asylum, however, and not directly responsible for what happened there, so one wonders why the "dark figure" is emphasizing the "sins of the father" by punishing the children or grandchildren.

Filled with blood-drenched rooms, sudden explosions, unexplained attacks on seemingly innocent people, and wholesale destruction, the series does not show clear motivation for all this horror, the shock of which dulls over time. The "dark figure" has little direct involvement in the havoc, once he has given an object from the Asylum to his next victim, and he fails to evolve as a terrifying force. Though the ending answers some of the questions, it does not connect all the victims or answer all the questions. (And many readers will figure out the identity of the "dark figure" by the end of Volume 4.) Ultimately, I was disappointed that the violence and horror exist here for their own sake. There is no accountability for the death and destruction, leaving the reader with the feeling that justice has not been served. n Mary Whipple

there was in fact a sequal. It was a computer game, but the sequal none the less. I can't really give you the story here since i don't wanna spoil anything in the novel. I made the mistake of playing the game first, so i was kinda confused. Now i'm reading the books and hoping i'm not totally spoiled.

So, I admit it. I am a HUGE fan of John Saul, I have met him at several book signings, and keep his books on display separate from my other books. I recomend reading earlier works from him BEFORE reading this book. There are references to past characters and stories(i.e. Suffer the Childrens Elizabeth is all grown up) Just make it easy and read ALL his books, they are all excitind and spinetingling and super creepy!

This was a well thought out and written story. This come out shortly after Stephen King's attempt at a serial novel, and I remember thinking that they were ripping off the idea to go retro with the pulp novel series. I have read both and I found Mr. Saul's to be superior to the Green Mile and certainly more suspenseful.

I gave it four stars because it was a good book (six stories in one book), but the ending was disappointing, I think he could have done a much better job. As one reviewer said, tooooooo many loose ends, but I must admit I was hooked until the end.