- Audio Cassette
- Publisher: Random House Audio (July 13 1993)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0679437916
- ISBN-13: 978-0679427384
- ASIN: 0679427384
- Product Dimensions: 21.6 x 11.9 x 2 cm
- Shipping Weight: 181 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Despite the high death toll generated by some pretty nasty weapons (claws, fangs, shotgun, fire poker, pitchfork), there's not much terror here because banal details and very ordinary people overwhelm the fear factor. MaryAnne Carpenter, trying to cope with the return of the loutish husband who earlier deserted the family, heads off to Idaho with her 13-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son in order to comfort her recently orphaned godson. Joey Wilkenson's parents have died in mysterious accidents and his mother, MaryAnne's best friend, had named her Joey's guardian. Joey seems an average 13-year-old, if given to understandable bouts of moody withdrawal. But the apparently peaceful mountain valley becomes menacing when a camper is brutally killed, perhaps by an animal, and MaryAnne feels increasingly isolated as winter approaches. Rumors of a wild mountain man or sasquatch circulate, and Joey starts to exhibit strange behavior. Further horrifying events occur, but their final explanation is too pat. A sequel is threatened, but hopefully Saul ( Darkness ) who has done better, will reconsider.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Kirkus Reviews
Saul's 16th horror novel (Shadows, 1992, etc. etc.) finds the author in a less horrific, even speakable mode, since the pivotal plot device seems possible, if definitely unlikely. Maryanne Carpenter was abandoned by her husband for a younger, prettier, richer woman, and now he wants to return to her and young Alison and Logan. Meanwhile, Maryanne is the godmother of Joey Wilkeson, and when Joey's wealthy parents both die in accidents on their fabulous Western mountain retreat, Maryanne flies to Joey to care for him--and discovers that as Joey's guardian, she's now wealthy herself and need never work again. The pubescent Joey, however, is odd, loves to fade into the hills with his dog and stay away for long periods. What's more, townsfolk have a strong aversion to him. At the same time, a shadowy figure haunts the mountain retreat and soon more bodies drop, horribly bloodied. Does Joey have something to do with these deaths? He, in fact, has strangely inhuman characteristics and is turning into the wolfboy son of the shadowy figure--a man to whom government scientists once gave the DNA of a wolf to discover what immunities he might come up with. But the wolf DNA bonded with his own, and his physical structure and appetite changed so drastically that he parted from mankind and for 14 years has lived in the wilderness--a killer. He and Joey's mother, though, had been lovers and now his DNA has bonded with Joey's. Wisely, as with Lon Chaney, Jr.'s, Larry Talbot in The Wolf Man, Saul works up some sympathy for his canine killers who, after all, are victims of the moon as well as of the government and those hunting them down. Bound for bestsellerdom--like many of Saul's others. -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good Biogenetic Werewolf Book,
By A Customer
This review is from: Guardian (Mass Market Paperback)
"Guardian" is one of the least memorable books that I've read by John Saul. I had to flip back through it before I started to remember what it was all about.It starts off in Canaan, New Jersey, where MaryAnne Carpenter lives with her two kids: 13-year-old Alison and 10-year-old Logan--but quickly moves on to Sugarloaf, Idaho, where MaryAnne's 13-year-old godchild (Joey Wilkenson) is suddenly orphaned when his parents die in separate, but suspicious, accidents. Being the godmother, MaryAnne is deemed his guardian, though it's the mysterious man living in the woods with a wolf that the title is referring to, a man Joey unknowingly has a lot in common with. Shortly after MaryAnne and her two kids arrive on the Wilkenson's ranch, several brutal attacks occur which lead everyone to believe a wild animal is loose nearby--though MaryAnne begins to suspect something else from her moody young charge. I'm a sucker for werewolf books, so I enjoyed "Guardian." The biogenetic twist on the mutations was a refreshing take, but a lot of the other twists weren't too surprising. The ending is left open for a possible sequel; but, so far, one hasn't been put out, though I prefer it just the way it is. If you're a Saul fan, then you'll probably enjoy this one.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Quiet good,
By
This review is from: Guardian (Mass Market Paperback)
I love reading this book, the story keeps you interested all the time, at first the plot of the book makes you think that is a monster on the mountain, but at the end when you see why he was a monster you will think if that could be possible.It has two ro three things that you wouldn't do if you were MaryAnne Carpenter, but maybe that is part of the book to keep you interested in the story, apart of that is a very well written book.
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Haunting Tale of Physical and Emotional Isolation,
This review is from: Guardian (Mass Market Paperback)
The werewolf is a neglected denizen of the horror genre and when written about at all is usually written about badly. Mr. Saul elevates his subject from comic book level to the level of the serious novel and does it expertly. All books of this sort require some suspension of disbelief, but the tale in this case is told so well that not that much effort is needed to be satisfied, indeed, caught up in it. This is not simply a jumps-at-you-in-the-dark story. The locale, the characters, are all drawn well, not merely sketched, and the author's strategy is very effective. He pulls you in before he scares you, which is quite an accomplishment in horror fiction, one of the most difficult types of fiction to write w-e-l-l. Mr. Saul writes well. A good book to curl up with in the cold of Winter. Even better if it's snowing outside. A haunting tale of isolation, both physical and emotional. A fine novel and a page-turner.
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