Creature : A Novel

From Publishers Weekly The latest horror novel from consistently bestselling Saul ( Suffer the Children ; Hellfire ) is set in Silverdale, Colo., a company-town variation on Spielberg surburbia. There, conglomerate TarrenTech provides the high school teams with every advantage, including a high-tech sports clinic. Dr. Martin Ames beefs up the brawny, aggressive teenagers, and it's to him that newcomer Sharon Tanner goes for answers when her gentle son Mark turns into a belligerent jock overnight. This slick, high-concept thriller, which might have been titled Stepford High , won't surprise anyone, but it should please the author's fans as it continues Saul's focus on children as the vehicles and victims of unnatural forces. 100,000 first printing; $100,000 ad/promo; Literary Guild selection. Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. From School Library Journal YA-- An excellent example of the horror genre, although not as extreme as Stephen King. When Craig Tanner is offered a promotion by TarrenTech and the family moves to Silverdale, Colorado, everything seems perfect. It is a company town with quaint houses, little commercialization, and a community that supports its sports teams. Mark Tanner develops dramatically as an athlete after several sessions at the Rocky Mountain High sports center where the football players are given workouts. This is only the beginning of a training program that has some terrifying results. Creature will be widely read by athletes and sports fans. - Anne Paget, Episcopal High School, Bellaire, Tex. Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

A powerful high-tech company. A postcard-pretty  company town. Families. Children. Sunshine.  Happiness. A high school football team that never-ever  loses. And something else. Something horrible ...  Now, there is a new family in town. A shy,  nature-loving teenager. A new hometown. A new set of  bullies. Maybe the team's sports clinic can help him.  Rebuild him. They won't hurt him again. They won't  dare.

Publishers Weekly

The latest horror novel from consistently bestselling Saul ( Suffer the Children ; Hellfire ) is set in Silverdale, Colo., a company-town variation on Spielberg surburbia. There, conglomerate TarrenTech provides the high school teams with every advantage, including a high-tech sports clinic. Dr. Martin Ames beefs up the brawny, aggressive teenagers, and it's to him that newcomer Sharon Tanner goes for answers when her gentle son Mark turns into a belligerent jock overnight. This slick, high-concept thriller, which might have been titled Stepford High , won't surprise anyone, but it should please the author's fans as it continues Saul's focus on children as the vehicles and victims of unnatural forces. 100,000 first printing; $100,000 ad/promo; Literary Guild selection. (Apr.)

"When his family moves to idyllic Silverlake, Colorado, made over into a company town by his father Blake's high-tech employer, Mark Tanner is a puny 16-year-old stunted by a childhood illness. The town hosts an experimental sports center that amazingly converts weaklings into hulking jocks, and what's more, the company pushes its execs to get their boys into the program. Blake's dreams for Mark are within reach. Of course, there are some risks: a few athletes have gone berserk and, after attacking their parents, have had to be locked up. Despite his wife's misgivings -- she thinks the whole town's fishy -- Blake signs Mark up, and risk becomes reality." Booklist A powerful high-tech company. A postcard-pretty company town. Families. Children. Sunshine. Happiness. A high school football team that never-ever loses. And something else. Something horrible ... Now, there is a new family in town. A shy, nature-loving teenager. A new hometown. A new set of bullies. Maybe the team's sports clinic can help him. Rebuild him. They won't hurt him again. They won't dare. **"Saul has the instincts of a natural storyteller." -- "People"** The Tanner family discovers that beneath the perfect facade of the town of Silverdale there is a monstrous evil harbored