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4.0 out of 5 stars
The novel that turned me into a horror fan, Nov 21 2002
Even though this is not horror in the true sense of the word, The God Project holds the distinction of being the first book of its kind that I ever read. If you asked me how and why I became a horror fan, I would point to this novel and credit it with introducing me to the genre I have come to love above all others. Rereading The God Project now, the story still retains a lot of the qualities that gave birth to my fascination with dark fiction all those years ago. This was Saul's sixth published novel, and its medical science fiction theme seems original and well-developed here; later Saul novels built upon a similar plot structure have always seemed rather derivative and thus less compelling in comparison. The medical science Saul builds into this story seems rather impressive and believable, especially given that not too many writers were playing with DNA and genetic manipulation back in 1982. The medical science Saul describes may be utter baloney, but he makes it sound realistic and possible, and that is what makes this book succeed as well as it does.The basic story is not too complicated. Sally Montgomery refuses to believe that her perfectly healthy little girl's death is due to SIDS. Determined to find out what really killed her baby, she braves the disbelief and worry of her husband and mother to dig into what might have happened. Meanwhile, Lucy Corliss' son Randy mysteriously disappears. As a number of distraught parents of children either missing or dead come together, hints of a terrible conspiracy begin to emerge. All of the children have been secretly studied by a mysterious entity called CHILD, and Sally uses her computer knowledge to dig up some troubling data from the kids' medical files. Suspicion turns on the doctor who delivered all of the children in question, and the action and suspense builds steadily throughout the novel. The reader gets a good idea about what is going on well before the main characters figure everything out, but Saul makes sure the ending is not anticlimactic. There are several twists at the end, one of them masterfully disguised and thus unexpected. I believe this is one of John Saul's very best novels, but my inability to know the answer to a few questions in my mind keeps me from giving it a perfect rating. There was one element to the story that seemed important and quite fishy, but the story never went down the road I was looking for in that regard. The epilogue, while compelling, is a little rushed, and that is another tiny flaw that I take into account in designating my personal rating. Still, Saul caught be quite off-guard with one gotcha event toward the end, which really impressed me. Just like the children involved in the God Project, this novel is almost perfect. Anyone wanting to read Saul for the first time would do well to select this novel as his/her means of introduction.
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