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Dejad a los niños

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Dejad a los niños es una obra que descubre situaciones fantásticas y extrañas. Desde que John y la niña Beth desaparecieron en los roquedales, cerca del mar, en Port Arbello, los arrecifes de Congers Point se convirtieron en un lugar trágico. Ahora, una fuerza extraña seguí acyuando allí. "Niños, no se acerquen al embarcadero!", una advertencia que la familia Conger había repetido a sus hijos durante varias generaciones, se ha vuelto leyenda, ¿Habrá algo negativo, extremadamente tenebroso y perverso de por medio en la prevención que encierra esa voz de alerta?

Ya han pasado cien años desde que John y la inocente Beth desaparecieron, sin dejar rastro alguno de su paradero, y ahora en pleno siglo XX, algo que raya en el mas inescrutable misterio está ocurriendo en Port Arbello: existe otro Jack Conger que vive con Rose, su mujer y con sus dos hijas Sarah y Eliabeth; uno por uno los niños de Port Arbello desaparcen; la nueva pequeña Elizabeth tiene las mismas facciones de su homónima Beth, según un antiguo retrato de ésa última, hallado en una vieja bodega.
La casa de los Conger parece embrujada; los niños que desaparecen han estado antes allí; nadie puede descifrar el enigma; crece la tensión y la pequeña Elizabeth que actúa impulsada por una fuerza extraña, siempre sabe explicar e empleo de su tiempo.

Dejad a los niños, su primera novela, ha sido un gran éxito en Estados Unidos, donde, seis meses después de su aparición, se vendieron mas de dos millones de ejemplares.

312 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1977

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About the author

John Saul

148 books2,809 followers
John Saul is an American author best known for his bestselling suspense and horror novels, many of which have appeared on The New York Times Best Seller list. Born in Pasadena and raised in Whittier, California, Saul attended several universities without earning a degree. He spent years honing his craft, writing under pen names before finding mainstream success. His breakout novel, Suffer the Children (1977), launched a prolific career, with over 60 million copies of his books in print. Saul’s work includes Cry for the Strangers, later adapted into a TV movie, and The Blackstone Chronicles series. He is also a playwright, with one-act plays produced in Los Angeles and Seattle. In 2023, he received the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement. Openly gay, he has lived with his partner—also his creative collaborator—for nearly 50 years. Saul divides his time between Seattle, the San Juan Islands, and Hawaii, and frequently speaks at writers’ conferences, including the Maui Writers' Conference. His enduring popularity in the horror genre stems from a blend of psychological tension, supernatural elements, and deep emotional undercurrents that have resonated with readers for decades.

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 643 reviews
Profile Image for Zain.
1,878 reviews275 followers
August 10, 2024
Outgrown!

I had forgotten about John Saul, surprisingly, because I’ve read a lot of his books, back in middle-school. This was about the time l also discovered Stephen King.

His books ascribe to “light” horror, that’s how l describe it. Lots of books about children makes it easier for younger teens to identify with the victims.

I find it really hard to care about the Conger family. They are too unlikeable, no wonder the children have problems.

For some reason, the book appears rushed at the end. Around about the last twenty percent of the book a lot of editing errors appear. The closer near the end, the worse it gets.

Three stars. ✨✨✨
Profile Image for Sandra.
743 reviews6 followers
February 26, 2020
Story about a prominent family (the Congers) who live in a New England coastal town (Port Arbello). Eleven-year-old Sarah Conger is mute from a trauma which happened to her a year ago. Her thirteen-year-old sister (Elizabeth) seems like the perfect daughter, or is she? Sarah and Elizabeth’s parents are having marital problems. There is also a family curse on the Congers. Now, children in the community are going missing. And what about the legend of the secret cave?

This story was creepy and disturbing, with some really unpleasant and gruesome moments. But I found this book very hard to put down, it was so captivating. The story was quite atmospheric, I felt like I was in the coastal town by the sea. But I was disappointed with the ending of this book. I felt bad for Sarah.

An okay read by John Saul.
Profile Image for Tammy Walton Grant.
417 reviews300 followers
February 20, 2012
“I recognize terror as the finest emotion and so I will try to terrorize the reader. But if I find that I cannot terrify, I will try to horrify, and if I find that I cannot horrify, I'll go for the gross-out. I'm not proud.”
Stephen King, Danse Macabre


DON'T READ THIS REVIEW IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE BOOK -- I WILL COMPLETELY WRECK IT FOR YOU WITH SPOILERS. SORRY, I CAN'T HELP MYSELF.

I read a couple of John Saul books when I was around 12. I don't remember much about them other than the undertone of forboding that completely permeated his books, and that I had to stop reading them because of it.

The book started off well enough -- pulled me right in and I felt like a 1970s horror movie was unspooling in my head (I was picturing Karen Black and Christopher George as the parents).

The story takes place in a small New England town, where no one locks their doors and there hasn't been a murder in almost 100 years. Hardly anyone from the outside ever moves to town. The small population looks after its own. (cue the ominous music...)

Our hapless adults are the Congers - the whole damn town was practically named after them, and they are a stereotypical old name no money family. They live in a huge old house on Conger Road, Jack is the editor of the local newspaper and Rose is unhappily (for Jack, anyway) out-earning her husband selling real estate. Now that I think about it, I'm not sure who she was selling to, as hardly anyone new ever moves there.

Anyway, Jack and Rose have two children. Elizabeth is 13 and the perfect daughter. She is beautiful, patient, kind, mature, obedient, and spends all of her time taking care of her younger sister Sarah. Sarah was perfectly fine until about a year before our story begins; one day she went for a walk in the woods with her father and has never been the same. He pounded the C-R-A-P out of her, almost killed her, and she hasn't spoken since. She goes to a "special" school and her father, who can't remember the incident at all, spends lots of time in the library of his big old house drinking. Needless to say, Rose and Jack don't rub along very nicely together - he can't get it up and she's pretty cranky about it. They both snipe at each other, drink lots and completely ignore their children. Rose feels inadequate when Elizabeth is around and barely speaks to her except to talk to her about Sarah, she's always worrying about Sarah and Jack - well, who cares what he thinks. Neither parent is sympathetic in the slightest. Then there's the old housekeeper Mrs. Whazhername. I'm not sure why she's in the book. She's supposed to have been around since Jack was a kid, but she doesn't do much but sleep in her chair and complain about the dirty laundry (from the girls running around the countryside in the middle of the night). She offers no insight into the family curse, their history or, well, anything. To top it all off she's a pretty crappy babysitter.

By chapter three it wasn't hard to tell who the baddie was going to be, and in case any of us hadn't figured it out yet there was even more heavy-handed foreshadowing, then some genuinely creepy, gut-clenching scary writing. This skipped along ominously for a while and then the bad child finds a skeleton in a cave hidden in the bluffs, then kills her cat, dresses it in a doll's outfit and has a tea party. Shortly after that, the bad child leads a perfectly nice little friend of hers to the cave, makes her join the tea party (and put the cat's head back on after she cuts it off in a fit of rage) and leaves her in the pit in the dark. All of this is witnessed by the other sister, who conveniently can't tell on her because she can't/won't speak.

Holy Christ, I thought to myself. I really read this as a kid? Where were my parents? What kind of librarian lets a kid check this book out??

Anyway, back to the fucked up stuff. The bad kid becomes even more unhinged while still fooling her idiot parents back at the house. She takes knives from the kitchen, tricks another child (this one an even younger little boy) into coming with her to the cave, and throws him down into the pit with the first kid. Another disgusting tea party follows. This time she rubs the putrid cat's corpse in the little boy's crotch after she makes him take off his clothes, she bashes at least one of them in the head with a rock and leaves them there again, in the dark.

At this point I'm totally squicked out and it has become crystal clear to me why I quit reading John Saul. His books are disturbing and gross - and in a way that is completely unnecessary.

I soldier on and slog through the hapless parents meeting with the equally clueless psychiatrist discussing Sarah's increasingly crazy behaviour - her clothes are covered with mud in the morning, she screams for no reason and she's acting weirder than usual. And what about those missing kids, they ask. Perhaps Sarah is behind the disappearances. (Oh for fuck's sakes, you idiots, those are her sister's clothes, not hers, why can't you see she's only upset around HER!?) Then the psychiatrist wants to know about Dad's amnesia surrounding his beating his daughter almost to death. Have you talked to anyone about this? Dad's response is, "No, why should I?" (I know the 70s were kinda loose compared to today's standards, but...)

Hmmm, what next. Oh! Creepy older sister talks cute neighbour boy (who is on to how crazy she is but won't live long enough to tell anyone) into trying to find the cave with her. It's a local legend, you see, about a Conger ancestor who killed his cat then jumped off the cliff, and his daughter went missing at the same time. The legend had it that she was in a cave on the bluff but no one had been able to find it. (Heh-heh chuckles the Cryptkeeper, who knew there was a tea party already in progress there!) Of course, they find it, with mute little sister bringing up the rear. Cute neighbour boy gets thrown in the pit and batshit crazy sister has a complete family for her tea party, until she gets angry and stabs the little boy to death, dismembers him completely and bashes the others on the head with rocks. (See what I mean about unnecessary ? That scene was disturbing enough without all the blood and chopping.) I tell you, if the Mad Hatter had been at this tea party he'd have run screaming for the hills.

After Sarah trudges out of the woods dragging a severed arm and covered with blood the bad parents have the good child committed, the bad child becomes an only child and everything is right with the world. Life returns to normal. The missing children are forgotten except by the old policeman who still checks the woods for them every year.

Now the book skips ahead 15 years. The good committed child is being released from the hospital on a weekend pass for the first time and going to visit her sister. The old policeman stops in at the Conger house to visit Elizabeth and we are treated to a HEE-YOOOGE info dump by both of them, letting us know that over the past 15 years Jack and Rose have died (together in a boating accident, and am I the only one who finds this just a little convenient?), Sarah hasn't been home since the day she brought the arm home, the cute neighbour boy's parents moved away and the other missing kids' parents are virtual pariahs. Elizabeth is selling the woods in order to keep paying for Sarah's care. The old cop is on the verge of retirement, and wants to take one final look for the cave before the woods are razed.

Well, we all know what's going to happen now -- the earth collapses on top of the cave, and the workmen and police discover the skeletons of the kids and the cat. Ooops, crazy Sarah is in trouble again, back to the hospital she goes, only after she starts screaming and her eyes roll back in her head and she goes mute. Elizabeth wanders around the house, grabs her old doll and her new kitty cat and walks out the front door. The camera (oops, sorry, I meant the author) pans us back to a diary sitting on a desk - an old diary with entries about "why is my daddy hurting me" and a cryptic quote "Suffer the children to come to me".

THE END.

What the heck?

I finished this book and thought to myself, self, this was stupid. And disturbing, and violent and gross. I used to read a lot of Stephen King as a kid and while his stuff sometimes scared the crap out of me, it never disturbed me on the level that John Saul did. Reading this book brought to mind the quote I posted at the top of this review. John Saul was definitely a write of the "gross-out" variety. Something about Saul's theme's bother me - probably the use of children (which bothered me even when I was little more than a child myself) would be the big thing, and IIRC they figure prominently in quite a few of his books. The disturbing gross out factor is another.

Or maybe I'm just getting old. The same way the Tilt-a-Whirl makes me upchuck when I used to be able to ride that thing all day, perhaps I just don't have the stomach for this type of horror anymore.

3 stars - before it got gross and disturbing, it was actually pretty good.
Profile Image for Ron.
475 reviews138 followers
March 29, 2025
I'm not going to say this book's ending is the best ever written, but it did change my attitude. I finally understood the characters, and therefore my believability in the story changed. It can be especially hard to buy into the situation of children in a horror novel. I was never bored prior to the ending, meaning the book as a whole was not bad. Missing were the little things that make a decent story better, and if horror is to be believable the little things really are needed – likable characters with thoughts that make sense, bridge the gaps, etc.

Granted this was John Saul's first book, published in 1977. Does that mean his later books will be better? I don't know, but I'm willing to try with the five other paperbacks I currently own (found in used book shops). Prior to this I've read only one other, “Nathaniel” and I cannot recall a thing. Hey, it was a long time ago. Next up from those I own will be his tenth book: ”The Unwanted” published in 1987.
Profile Image for JasonA.
383 reviews63 followers
May 2, 2021
Well, that was definitely fucked up.

I've sat on this one for a couple days and still don't know how I feel about it. I keep going back and forth between 2 and 4 stars, so I'll just split the difference and call it a day.

I usually don't bother with trigger warnings, but I'll just throw out that this pretty much has them all.
Profile Image for Eli Easton.
Author 89 books2,797 followers
March 8, 2017
I read this book for my Lifetime Challenge (year 1977).

When I was in high school in the late 70's, I read horror novels incessantly. Horror was very big at the time, and I was fully into the craze. If it had a black or metallic shiny cover, I probably read it.

Horror books have certainly changed, and I miss the old-school horror of that golden era. So I wanted to add some horror books into my 1970's reading challenge. I might have read this book by John Saul back when it was first published, but as I read it just now, I didn't remember anything about it. Which was a good thing in terms of not having the plot spoiled.

The story centers around a small town where children begin to disappear. The disappearances seem located near the home of the Congers, the rich family in town, who have a big house and lots of land by the sea. There are woods and an "embankment"--plenty of places for children to go missing. There are some horrible happenings in the Conger family's past and a curse. The current Conger family seems nice enough and has two little girls. But one of the little girls, Sarah, had something terrible happen to her a year ago (involving her father) and no longer speaks. Her older sister, Elizabeth, cares for Sarah with great maturity and patience.

Or does she? What happened to Sarah, and how does it relate to the current disappearances of three other children?

I read this book straight through in 2 days. It really kept my attention and kept me wanting to know what was going to happen. We're pretty much told early on who the guilty party is. But the thing that kept me reading was wanting to see how and when this person would get caught (please!) and if the missing children would survive. I won't spoil it for you except to say this is a true horror novel, so don't expect a Happily Ever After.

What you will get, however, is a considerable amount of gore and horrible happenings involving children. So if that's a trigger for you, beware. Seriously. There's also a strong paranormal element with ghosts and people acting out old curses. I appreciated that there was an actual story here and it wasn't just a grue-fest like Saw. There's stuff involving Sarah's medical care, small town politics, how the parents are coping with Sarah's problems, what's going on with the parents of the missing children, the cop in town, etc. I found it a nice mix of elements. But the horror, when it's there, is definitely very horrific. There are a few scenes that had me grimacing. (In case it's not clear, that's a good thing.)

I really enjoyed this trip back to 70's paranormal horror novels and want to read some more. It was refreshing that the story wasn't about zombies, the apocalypse, or a dystopian future!

Recommended to anyone who enjoys horror.



Profile Image for Marianneboss.
229 reviews11 followers
October 12, 2020
WORST.PARENTS.EVER
description

I know this is John Saul's first book and I've only read Comes the blind fury besides this, but I'm starting to notice a pattern here:
-100 years ago some heavy stuff happened to a little girl...
-A deadly cliff near the main character's house where bad things happen.
-Another little girl in the 'present' day starts acting weird under the shadow of that one from the past, shit goes down and people start to die.
-Adults are oblivious and unable to outsmart a kid.
-Dolls resembling the kids they belonged to.
-Father figure totally useless and the main reason all that shit happens in the first place.
-EVIL KIDS ARE EVIL.

Also, I just can't believe how everyone underreacts at the fact that the father may have done something to his own daughter, and even let him still be around her. Heck! Even when he admits to his wife that he remembered beating his daughter and having sudden desires to rape her, she doesn't do the most rational thing and take her kids and get the hell out of there sending the bastard to prison, no! She stays there and even teases him because he can't get it up with her since the incident with the daughter! WHAT THE HELL, WOMAN?? WHAT ARE YOU MADE OF??
description
Profile Image for Ana Lopes Miura.
310 reviews129 followers
October 9, 2022
This was pretty engaging and disturbing, but the unlikable, toxic, immature and idiotic adult characters with a deadly case of It’s Probably Nothing Syndrome (particularly the reaction to the father’s assault on his 10 year old daughter- he thinks he RAPED her, but his secretary’s like “Nah, you just beat her into a pulp, s’okay”) make this a just okay read, when it could have been a great horror.
Profile Image for Craig.
279 reviews23 followers
October 7, 2022
Warning, this book is what some may classify as a slow burn. It did not bother my reading experience. It did have some super squeamish moments that made me super uncomfortable. It also had some bizarre shit going on with this one that you don't typically see in modern horror. That's why folks, I loved it!
Profile Image for Matthew.
1,221 reviews10.2k followers
September 21, 2013
This book was just okay. I did not believe the characters or their relationships. I may think twice before reading more John Saul. This was his first effort, so maybe the books will improve after this one.
Profile Image for Noeli Cobaya Debiblioteca.
209 reviews18 followers
December 26, 2021
Dejad a los niños John Saúl
Editorial círculo de lectores, edición pasta dura año 1977 título original "suffer the children" 👼 312 páginas. Esta es la primer edición, letra súper pequeña , páginas amarillas , olor a celulosa y tiempo. Encontré esta edición en una feria de libros usados de mí ciudad. Si bien es un autor el cual había escuchado nombrar,nunca había tenía un acceso a sus libros en físico y no tenía muchas espectativas, después de leerlo me sorprendió, quedé anonadada y me di cuenta que tengo una joya de libro y una edición hermosa que salió 150 pesos argentinos. (Una ganga)

Ufff tengo mucho para decir; termine este libro📖 en abril 2021 desde entonces no puedo dejar de comprar y buscar todo lo relacionado a este autor 😱se volvió en uno de mis autores del top 5, este libro fue mí adiccion inicial por qué desde entonces estoy obsesionada con conseguir sus libros y ejemplares 📚.
John Saúl se carectiza por escribir historias macabras en donde sus personajes son niños. Este libro no es la excepción, quede sin palabras. Imaginé cada sensación y circunstancia , es un libro muy creepy , es la primer novela del autor. Fue censurada por los temas que trata al igual que muchas de sus obras y por ende es difícil hoy día conseguir sus libros.

La familia Conger vive en un pueblo llamado Port Arbello en donde desaparecen niños, la sospecha  principal está en la casa de la familia Conger la cual es grande, antigua  y perteneciente a sus antepasados familiares, así mismo parece embrujada y en la mayoría de los casos , los niños suelen verse allí en su último escenario antes de su desaparición. La familia está compuesta por Jack Conger , su esposa y sus dos hijas . Elizabeth y Sara. Elizabeth es una niña muy hermosa, descripta como una niña rubia de rulos hermosos feliz y extrovertida , pero siguiendo la trama parece actuar impulsada por una extraña fuerza sin explicacion.por su parte su hermana menor Sara es una niña que luego de un incidente queda sin poder hablar y mantiene un perfil introvertido. Existe un oscuro pasado familiar que ronda cien años antes de lo relatado en la historia lo cual aparece en el primer capitulo .
La lectura es bastante lenta , va generando un clima para cada situación una fórmula de escritura atrapante , a su vez el libro posee elementos clásicos de la literatura de terror. Casa embrujada, apariciones, tabla ouija, descripciones macabras y aterradoras. De nuevo advertir que no es apto para personas sensibles o niños, contiene también escenas de violencia. Si lo ven por ahí rondando en algún puesto de libros viejos no duden en comprarlo y leerlo. seguramente haga una relectura por qué este libro me gustó muchisimo.
Profile Image for Bettie.
9,981 reviews5 followers
April 18, 2015


Description: One hundred years ago in Port Arbello a pretty little girl began to scream. And struggle. And die. No one heard. No one saw. Just one man whose guilty heart burst in pain as he dashed himself to death in the sea. Now something peculiar is happening in Port Arbello. The children are disappearing, one by one. An evil history is repeating itself. And one strange, terrified child has ended her silence with a scream that began a hundred years ago.



This is the one that starts with a little girl chasing a bunny in New England in the late 1800s.

□ □ □ □ □ □ □

What is it about New England and horror stories? Must be the same way that gothic big house stories work best in a Cornish setting.

Profile Image for Dave Edmunds.
338 reviews243 followers
April 21, 2020
4.5 out of 5. What an introduction to this author for me. Well written and very creepy. Loved the premise and found the characters engaging and well developed. I will most certainly be reading more...
Profile Image for Manish Meshram.
196 reviews51 followers
May 3, 2010
The first book that I had picked up of John Saul was "The Right hand of Evil".It was very dark book and it impressed me.So I thought let's go back to from where Johhn Saul started it all.And thats how a picked up a copy of "Suffer the Children".
After reading the book it left me totally numbed. There are just no words to decribe the emotional roller coaster ride that this book took me on.
The best part of this book is the ending..it just shatters you completely and stays with you for a very long time.
Recommend all to pick up this masterpiece.
Profile Image for Bren fall in love with the sea..
1,928 reviews461 followers
January 31, 2020

I will be honest. This book..is one of the most genuinely frightening, creepiest, darkest and most terrifying books I have ever read.

I first read it back in the back when horror was almost all I read! Well..not really but it was a big part of my reading materials. That has changed through the years.

I still dig Saul though. I grew up with him. But TO THIS DAY..I cannot reread this. It is so SO SOO scary.

My lovely mamacita turned me onto this book. She could not sleep with the lights off after she read this.

Basic plot? No..I will give you snippets..two sisters..in a rural small town..Elizabeth and Sara..Elizabeth is beautiful and charming. Sara has some issues.

Parents have marital issues..many.

Children are going missing.

Does not sound much different from what you've read right? Well..it is!

I cannot say why without spoilers.

SPOILERS;

A hole. In the ground. Living people. Animals. A cat. A cat gruesomely murdered. Children emotionally tortured while forced to hold..and dance..with said cat.

That's just about five percent of it.

I doubt I will ever read this again because of the fear factor and the horrific animal violence which went over my head when I first read this. Well hey when your ten everything goes over your head. If you never want to sleep again and do not mind horrific animal violence read this book. Oh man Saul you really went overboard on this one.
Profile Image for Brendon Lowe.
393 reviews95 followers
July 6, 2023
What an awesome traditional horror novel this is! The opening chapter which reveals a past crime of the Conger family and the set up for the story is horrific, sadistic and had me on the edge of my seat.

We settle into the book in present day and meet the current Congers which consist of mom, dad, Elizabeth who is 13 and Sarah a small child. A legend of an old curse and a cave in the woods has plagued the family for years. The Conger children over the generations have been forbidden to enter the woods surrounding their home.

However it appears as past history is coming back to haunt the family, children of the town are disappearing, Sarah is a victim of an attack which she can not remember and has become withdrawn into herself and no longer speaks or interacts, a strange portrait of a young girl is found in the attic of the home which looks exactly like Elizabeth.

The woods start calling, the curse of the Congers may not be an old made up tale after all passed down from generation to generation. Something wants the children to suffer.....

An absolutely beautifully woven story full of intrigue and twists. We slowly learn more and more of the family as it progresses and what supernatural elements may be lurking within the woods. This is what I love about vintage and traditional horror books. They take there time luring you in keeping you in suspense and offer brutal descriptions of terror. The ending is effective and actually left me with goosebumps. Amazing!
19 reviews3 followers
March 10, 2012
Few books have struck me with such ferocious intensity as Suffer the Children by John Saul. A lot of horror books tempt you with their promises of monsters so horrible they could not possibly exist in the real world. What are truly horrifying are the monsters that do exist here in our everyday lives. They may even exist inside of us.

This is the tale of a haunting. While some may have taken this book as a ghost story, I instead saw a story about generational violence and the inherited shame of incest. Like many victims of childhood abuse I related strongly to the overwhelming desire to recreate our abuse in order to gain mastery of our emotions during that which made us most powerless. This book exposed those desires to their most raw point. The monster isn’t the abuser but the chaos the abuse creates. There is no victory to be had in this fight. None shall escape unscathed.
Profile Image for Laurel.
21 reviews29 followers
September 10, 2011
After hearing so much about this particular novel, I chanced upon it at the local used bookstore. I finished it in two days. This is the first Saul novel I've read, and I have to say that I enjoyed it. The writing was fast-paced, the characters were tolerable, even though Elizabeth annoyed me in whatever characterization she appeared. Normally I am able to read through most disturbing scenes in novels. I'm somehow built up a tolerance to them. But whether it was because of the inclusion of children or just the overall situation, I found myself utterly grossed out and disturbed by certain parts of the novel. Still, it's a fast read and keeps you holding on until the end. And that's where my main complaint comes in. I felt horribly let down by the ending. And I know I'm not the only one. After everything that happened, the novel ended on such a blank and unsatisfying note. I felt no closure. But I did feel an overwhelming sense of dread as I closed the book. So I guess the ending worked on that note. Overall, the novel is great for fans of horror and thriller fiction.
Profile Image for EL LIBRERO DE JUDE.
241 reviews36 followers
April 22, 2021
DEJAD A LOS NIÑOS... Lo acabo de terminar de leer y aún me encuentro en shock. Aún no puedo sacar de mi cabeza tantas escenas perturbadoras y un final de los más inesperado.
No recuerdo otro libro que me haya hecho sentir sofocado y con una especie de presión mientras avanzaba en la lectura. Definitivamente esta novela me ha dejado marcado para siempre.
No sé si ser padre de una niña de 3 años sea factor para que me haya causado tanto miedo y desesperación. Creo que sí.

De igual forma creo que es una joya de la literatura de horror contemporánea y
definitivamente me ha quedado claro porque los libros de JOHN SAUL no son aptos para cualquier persona.

Léelo bajo tu propio riesgo.

Yo por mi parte me he prometido volver a leerlo algún día. Pero para eso tendrán que pasar muchos, muchos años. Estas huellas no se borrarán pronto.
Profile Image for Vicki.
30 reviews8 followers
April 28, 2022
The setting made for a perfect eerie feeling. The small town vibe is something I’m familiar with personally, the location of the cave is thrilling to me to say the least. It makes me want to go explore to find that cave and go search inside.

The characters, I have a love-hate with. But I’m fairly certain that’s the point. It seems like the author wants you to have hatred and disgust while thinking of some of the characters, while also feeling sympathetic towards them at other times. It makes you question if that person even deserves those feelings from you. I’m talking about mainly Jack and Elizabeth. sometimes Jack’s secretary and sometimes Rose. The author definitely is capable of showing you multiple sides to people. The good and the ugly.

All the abuse going on in this book required me to read a not- so-horror book afterwards to lighten my mood. I’m thankful the book wasn’t overly heavy on that, there’s “just enough”. But when it’s there it makes me uncomfortable in my skin. I blame my empathy. But I still always go back for more.

The plot in the book I loved. I was interested the entire time. The main plot with the family curse at first had me scoffing, until you notice the subtle places he places information relevant to that. ( I.e. how Elizabeth’s footing would change in the woods when she was Elizabeth vs Beth. Or her voice .) he didn’t flat out say “and now Beth said this”. It was subtle and seemed more realistic instead if he said something more dramatic like “and then she started to glow and out of the glow she transformed to Beth”. I like how he did it and it made the whole family curse more real and interesting to me.
They mix was good with the side stories not being too much for me to forget the main plot as well. It has enough information for me to make me feel like I was a part of it all.





The only reason I didn’t give this book 5 stars is I was disappointed that I wasn’t able to have more from Sarah. Even if it was the ending chapters when she was more lucid. I’d love to have been in her thoughts a bit more. This poor girl I loved the entire time. But over all, definitely a book I loved. Possibly could reread in the future.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Matias Cerizola.
557 reviews33 followers
October 31, 2022
Dejad A Los Niños.- John Saul

"Estoy seguro de que su mente consciente no cree que pueda haber ninguna clase de maldición en su familia. En estos días, en esta época, somos proclives a considerar esas cosas como tonterías. Pero también existe su subconsciente. A menudo descubrimos que las cosas que nuestra mente consciente se rehúsa a tomar en serio, son tomadas muy seriamente por nuestro subconsciente."

Maldiciones familiares. Pasó casi un siglo desde la desaparición de la pequeña Beth Conger en la zona de Port Arbello, llena de acantilados traicioneros, rocas resbaladizas y una caverna que nadie vió que se transformó en leyenda urbana. En la actualidad, en la residencia familiar Conger viven el matrimonio Conger, Jack y Rose, y sus dos hijas, Sarah y Elizabeth. Tras un suceso de tintes aberrantes, el matrimonio Conger se está desmoronando; la pequeña Sarah no habla y Elizabeth parece tener sonambulismo. Al mismo tiempo, el pueblo se ve conmocionado por la desaparición de niños. El terror no tardará en esparcirse.

Dejad A Los Niños (Suffer The Children), es el primer libro publicado por John Saul (1942-) con su nombre real en la portada, anteriormente había publicado bajo seudónimos.

¿Quieren saber que tipo de libro es Dejad A Los Niños? Solamente con leer el prólogo (3 o 4 páginas) van a tener una idea muy aproximada de lo que les espera. El autor desde esas tempranas páginas de la historia, nos da el equivalente literario a una patada en el estómago que no ves venir: directa, fuerte, dolorosa y que deja sin aire.

Durante todo el libro sobrevuela un ambientación gótica, con descripciones de paisajes salvajes y casas grandes que tienen tantas historias oscuras como años sus paredes, habitadas por personajes oscuros y siniestros, que muchas veces no asumen o saben que lo son, y peor aún, estos personajes pueden ser niños.

Dejad A Los Niños es un libro que no puede faltar en la biblioteca del amante del terror más duro, que sin ser perfecto, consigue mantenernos pegados a sus páginas, 45 años después de ser publicado.

🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘
Profile Image for Sara Saif.
571 reviews235 followers
May 18, 2020

You know, I think I prefer the vampire children. At least, then I knew what was wrong and who was the enemy and what to expect.


This book was like being lost in the dark. It was terrifying.

The book is intensely atmospheric. Fear of the unseen and unknown is more potent than fear of something you can understand. The author built up such a climate of suspense and terror, I was afraid the whole time I was reading the stupid book. The writing was good.


I think that book was a tad too long. This opinion only strengthens when you look at how rushed and unfulfilling the ending is. Yes, it chilled me to the bone, reading those last few pages, but it was not enough. There are so many blank spaces that the author didn't fill, and it's not even the kind of mystery you can solve by putting two and two together.

There were many vague elements to the plot, which while adding significantly to the dread and fright already hanging in the air, did not present a clear picture of what actually happened.
The third quarter of the book is a repetition of the second quarter and if the writing hadn't been so good, it would have been a problem.


I was more than halfway convinced that this was a psychological thriller but, well, I couldn't make up my mind. Only the presence of supernatural elements can hope to answer what the ACTUAL DEAL was with this book. Ugh.

I don't recommend it, it'll only instill the monster-under-the-bed fear and won't even give you a satisfying conclusion for your trouble.

Profile Image for Juancho Books.
99 reviews2 followers
October 22, 2017
Ufff que historia tan tremenda me acabo de leer, no había leído algo tan grotesco, tan fuerte, en este libro vamos a conocer una familia llamada los Conger una familia muy adinerada, pero con una oscura leyenda, y un oscuro pasado.

En esta historia vamos a saber desde un principio quien es el asesino, y de como va a ir la trama el resto de la historia, pero no se vuelve nada tediosa al contrario se vuelve intensa por que vamos a ver asesinatos tan crueles y desgarradores que me hicieron poner la piel de gallina.

Los personajes son tremendos, el personaje principal no titubea a la hora de matar, de burlarse y de torturar a sus presas.

me gustaría ver una adaptación de este libro por que la historia vale la pena verla en la pantalla grande, les recomiendo demasiado este libro.

PUEDEN VER LA RESEÑA MAS COMPLETA AQUI:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62Aah...
Profile Image for Anto Tilio.
432 reviews55 followers
May 28, 2017
La relectura no fue tan traumática... maduré!
O no dejé pasar mucho tiempo, aunque lo debo haber leído por primera vez hace como 6/7 años.
Aún así sigue siendo una lectura bastante fuerte, con momentos bien creepys y ese final me va a poner los pelos de punta siempre.
Profile Image for Rocio Voncina.
556 reviews160 followers
October 31, 2023
Titulo: Dejad a los niños
Autor: John Saul
Motivo de lectura: #Horror52Weeks
Lectura / Relectura: Lectura
Mi edicion: Electronico
Puntuacion: -10000/5

Este libro contiene violacion, incesto, abuso infantil, y un nivel de crueldad animal que me revuelve el estomago, las cosas que se describen que repetidamente le hacen al cadaver de un gato es una salvajada (gato que en vida fue mascota de la familia).

El dia que yo normalice o disfrute esta clase de lectura dejo de leer.
Ni siquiera voy a perder el tiempo en reseñar esta basura que algunos llamaran libro..
Profile Image for Trudi.
615 reviews1,695 followers
September 10, 2008
I read this book when I was a teenager and can hardly remember a thing about it other than that it scared the crap out of me at the time. Small town, evil kid, and a horrible, dreadful scene involving a cat that I've completely blocked from my mind.
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