- Mass Market Paperback: 10 pages
- Publisher: Bantam USA; 5th THUS edition (31 Dec 1984)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0553241729
- ISBN-13: 978-0553241723
- Product Dimensions: 17 x 10.4 x 2.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,100,820 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
For a hundred years, the people of Prairie Bend have whispered Nathaniel's name in wonder and fear. Some say he is a folktale, created to frighten children on cold winter nights. Some swear he is a terrifying spirit retumed to avenge the past. But soon . . . very soon . . . some will learn that Nathaniel lives still--that he is darkly, horrifyingly real. Nathaniel--he is the voice that calls to young Michael Hall across the prairie night . . . the voice that draws the boy into the shadowy depths of the old, crumbling, forbidden barn . . . that chanting, compelling voice he will follow faithfully beyond the edge of terror.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organise and find favourite items. |
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
My opinion of this novel vacillated somewhat as I read it, but John Saul pretty much won me over in the end. Initially, I worried that the main characters lacked sufficient depth, and this made me question some of their decisions and actions initially. When Mark Hall mysteriously dies back in the hometown he left years earlier, his widow Janet and son Michael journey to the small farming village of Prairie Bend for the funeral. Mark had never spoken about his home town or family to his wife, so Janet's grief is accompanied by a growing sense of amazement as she discovers things about her husband she never knew. Michael's grandfather Amos is a towering figure in the novel, seemingly loving yet stiff and mysterious, while his wife Anna's importance grows as Janet, Michael, and the reader begin to piece together the events of a night twenty years earlier. Although she is a city girl seemingly oblivious to the obvious weirdness of folks in the rural community, Janet decides to live there on the farm she never knew her husband owned. Her son soon begins to hear a voice calling to him in the night, and he braves the danger of a shotgun-toting hermit to sneak into the man's barn. After meeting the mysterious Nathaniel, a boy regarded by the community as a legend dating back a century, Michael begins to have headaches and begins to change. He sees visions of what happened to his father, and-more importantly-what has been happening for years to a significant number of newborn babies in the creepily quaint village.
The things Michael sees and the confrontations he has with his grandfather are well told, although his whining can get tiresome in places. The grandfather is a menacing figure in the story, one who is more complex than I initially thought. Everything in the plot doesn't hold together perfectly, but there are no holes large enough to really matter. There is more to the story and the legend of Nathaniel than expected, and it is worth the wait to hear the women of the family finally reveal the stories they have kept bottled up inside of them for many years. I was especially pleased by the ending, which featured a twist I did not foresee. I wouldn't consider this one of Saul's best novels, but it does make for very interesting reading once you get past the somewhat dull opening pages. I didn't find any of the characters particularly likeable, but my ambivalence didn't matter much in the end. While the novel intentionally left some questions unanswered, Saul's painstaking attention to detail and commitment to reveal his secrets only in due time makes sure the patient reader's interest is peaked at the very end.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
37 reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
A Lot Better than I expected, oh man!
29 July 1999
Format:Mass Market Paperback
For an author who has been called by some as a "wanna be Stephen King" this was definitely not what I expected. Sincerely chilling and disturbing I don't see how Mr. Saul's fanbase isn't much, much larger than it is. This is a serious case of critics being wrong, (and when I say wrong I mean they missed the freakin' moon on this one) A superb tale of supernatural intrigue in a small town setting. Hands down, if you like horror fiction (I'm not just talkin staples like Dean Koontz and Stephen King, I mean like John Farris and Peter Straub) then don't pass this one up.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
In a tiny town....
10 Oct 2007
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I read this bk. for the 1st time over 20yrs. ago & few times since. Although, it's not quite as good as I remember it's still a good read... As an adult I have a problem w/ 1 thing, the main character - Michael Hall. One might think he is 6 or 7 at times by the way he acts when he is really suppose to be 11. That inconsistency drives me crazy (short drive). That IMO is the only real flaw & doesn't take away from the story itself. From the beginning John Saul hooks you in & the story has a surprise twist at the end. The characters are well developed & Saul describes everything in vivid detail which pulls you into the story. I think what chills me the most is I can relate to this tale growing up in the city & moving to the country. The Halls & Mr. Findley remind me of people around here which makes the story all the more creepy...
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Awesome!
22 Mar 2000
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I was so excited to finally read a great ghost story! The way Saul introduces so many characters and themes and just ties them together at the end is truly awesome. I recommend this book to all ghost story lovers!
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Listmania!
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
