John Saul's House of Reckoning

John Saul's House of Reckoning

Plot: After the untimely death of her mother and the arrest of her father for killing a man in a barroom brawl, fourteen year old Sarah Crane is forced to grow up fast. Left in the cold case of a foster family and alienated at school, Sarah befriends classmate Nick Dunnigan, a former mental patient still plagued by voices and visions, and the eccentric art instructor Bettina Phillips, a mentor eager to nurture Sarah's talent for painting. But within the walls of Bettina's ancestral mansion, Sarah finds that monstrous images from the house's dark history seem to flow unbidden from her paintbrush - images echoed by Nick's chilling hallucinations. It seems the violence and fury of long-dead generations have finally found a gateway from the grave into the world of the living. And Sarah and Nick have found a power they never had: to take control, and take revenge. 

My Review and Thoughts:

This is a wonderful example of a heavy thick plotted book. I want to describe it as very meaty in it's approach. The book gives massive character development letting the reader become apart of the situation and just who the players of the story are. John Saul is a wonderful writer in giving detail and back-story and the rope like storyline that ties the book together in creating everything you need for a good spook filled book. 

He plays the classic style, giving a lot of story and then popping in something weird to further capture the reader in wanting to know what is going on. He gives just enough tease at times that makes the reader turn the page all the more faster to read on into the thick story of characters and ordeals happening. Sarah and Nick grow on you as they become your friends, or family members, you feel close to them, relate to them and understand them, the quality of the writing and the building of there two characters is flawless as the story slowly starts to unfold. 

The foster family and the whole dam town are nothing but quacks and medieval closed minded fools that don't really deserve to grace life itself and that is the emotions the reader grabs because of the flawless story telling, John Saul is able to capture the despicable reality of these people right along with the sanity of the characters you become apart of. The story comes together to create an old school Gothic like tale mixed with tons of mystery and suspense and being fogged over with the likes of the horror world that only John Saul can do. 

A priceless little read of mixing the dark nature of the human mind with the twisted nature of closed minded fools that live off of hysteria and not facts. A perfect example of how horror stories where in the olden days, this is a classic little ghost tale, spooky and terror filled. The best way to describe this book is when your a kid you know something’s there in the closet or under the bed or did that door just move, I swear I placed that over there but now it's over here, that is how this book plays out.

The whole run, run, because something’s chasing you when you took the garbage out at night, and you have to run real fast to get back in the door because you know the boogieman is there. John Saul is able to capture that hair raising and nail biting type of writing reality with this book. 

This is fun, spooky and downright classic style horror for any lover who enjoys the old school story telling of noises, and creepy old houses and secrets being kept. I really enjoyed this book, felt satisfied with it and would recommend it to horror readers. 

Simple, fun, spooky and written in away the characters are flawless, the book flows with massive story and thick back-story to bring forth a perfect little horror read.