Generally speaking, John Saul's writing is the novel equivalent of SyFy original movies. The mix of consistency and inconsistency is amazing. Almost every Saul novel I've read has a ridiculous and cartoonish evil doctor and a crazy conspiracy... but some come off as lame while others come off as wonderfully weird and exciting."Creature" is by far the best I've read from Saul.Okay, his "science" is horrible and unbelievable. in part, this is something I love about novels of that era-- they didn't really focus on research or coming up with plausible explanations... but I think Saul takes this indifference to realism to a higher level. This isn't about nanorobots or aliens or weird diseases, the kinds of things that have wiggle room for weirdness and unknown effects. This is about growth hormones turning kids into monsters.Now let me tell you that this is not nearly as much a middle finger flying on the face of reality as his other wonderfully weird novel "Darkness" but it is close. I realize we probably knew less about growth hormone in '88 than now, but Saul's logic is not far removed from '60s stories where radiation is magic.But this story doesn't rely on weirdness alone the way "Darkness" does.This is the rare novel where Saul actually proves he can create good characters and make us care about them-- especially Chivas; poor, poor Chivas. He makes the relationships believable and what happens to them horrifying.And while the conspiracy-- evil corporation, Stepford-esque town, evil scientist-- borders on pure cheese, it is compelling. This time there is even some meaning beyond Saul's usual screeds against imaginary modern Mengeles.This time Saul makes a point about suffocating small town life, about the way women are patronized and controlled, about our bizarre tribal obsession with sports and our misguided love of making male children into sports heroes. The novel is an attack on modern tribal stupidity and moronic machismo.If you're the sort like me who hates sports and even more the culture of sports, you will love this book.So far, and I haven't read "Suffer the Children" yet, I'd say this is the best of Saul's books.
It's an effective potboiler that manages to be just as relevant today as in 1989. The Tanners have just moved to a company town in Denver. The father Blake has been promoted, and at first it seems a paradise. But it's quickly apparent something is wrong, and Tannertech is researching something that's tied into the local school's football program. It's going to get a lot worse, very quickly.A lot of 90s fiction can feel very dated today; read something like Michael Crichton's Congo for example. But the conceit of Creature if anything is probably even more valid, now that parents see sport as an entry to the best colleges, and are far more concerned with their children's futures than then. Creature isn't the best mystery, and the horror aspects are telegraphed, but there's a certain inexorability in how everything goes to hell.Since its more of a potboiler, it doesn't really examine the premise as much as it could. There's some underlying misogyny as all the men seem prisoners to the status quo and sport as their women perceive the horror and start to pay for it one by one. The idea of sport and work as so dominant that people sacrifice their kids for it isn't explored as much as it could have been either. But as a potboiler it's almost perfect; a timeless issue, decent prose, and an entertaining story.Even more if you dislike sport to begin with, and don't like the arrogance of a lot of tech companies and visionaries. Creature isn't high literature, but it's timeless, isolates a fundamental part of the zeitgeist, and moves briskly enough to forgive a lack of depth. You could do a lot worse than this book for a beach read.
What do You think about Creature (1990)?
Somewhat disturbing...but plausible...sometimes I hated to know what was coming..hated to think ahead. John Saul is an imaginative writer, who sucks you into the story, whether you want to be there or not. A husband is sent to a modern city in the mountains of CO, taking his reluctant family with him. The town is perfect...too perfect. All emphasis in town is on sports, particularly football. Old friends have moved here, but they have changed..maybe NOT for the better. Resolution will be hard on everyone; harder on some.
—Kay Donner
I read this book in college. I've been thinking a lot about it lately (possibly because I'm a huge fan of Scott Sigler's GFL series: The Rookie, The Starter & The All-Pro {coming out in September}), but all I could remember was that it was about a sickly teen who was given experimental "vitamin" treatments that made him big and strong enough to join the football team - until things start to go horribly wrong. I couldn't remember the author or name of the book, so I began checking the bibliographies of some of my preferred authors. When I saw the cover on John Saul's website, I knew I finally found it! I have already ordered it from Amazon and should receive it some time next week. I hope I enjoy it as much as I remember enjoying it when I read it in college.
—Belladonna420
I completely underestimated this book, I must admit. When I first started reading it, I assumed it was going to be an attempt at a Dean Koontz story. I'm sorry, but he's my favorite author so I didn't have high expectations for someone that was writing a story with a similar tone to many of Dean's writings. However, I was pleasantly surprised. It was different enough, and it didn't pull any punches. Some of the "scenes" (as I refer to them, since I see them play out in my mind) were so intense that I had to put the book down for a minute and absorb what happened. It definitely didn't wrap up with what I would call a happy ending, and I admire an author that takes some risks and gives you just enough heartache and pain to appreciate the good moments. It made it vastly clear to me that when humans get greedy and begin to disregard the lives of other humans (and animals) they can head down a road that they might find themselves unable to make it back from. I definitely want to read more from this author now.
—Nikki
