John Saul's Blackstone Chronicles is a classic in terror fiction (as are many of Saul's novels and  and short stories) and now one of his most popular efforts has been brought to the computer world in a richly illustrated adventure that will challenge you while it teaches you as well.
  We don't want to spoil the plot, but The Blackstone Chronicles takes place in a former insane asylum which is soon to open as a museum of phychiatric history. You have to investigate the asylum, and rescue your little boy, while learning a great deal about the history of the treatment of mental illness.
   We were greatly impressed by the rich graphics in the Blackstone Chronicles (see above) and the easy controls for movement. This Mindscape production rivals Myst and Riven for graphic excellence and there are two CDs in the box to accomodate greater and lesser graphic capabilities!
   You will enjoy The Blackstone Chronicles. Its a well-playing game and, in addition, you will learn a great deal about how mental illness was treated as recently as the early parts of the 20th Century. I was fully imersed in the Blackstone Chronicles almost from the moment I began playing and you will be, too.
   Let's hope this program will encourage other successful novelists to not only allow their works to be adapted for computer gaming, but to also become involved in the process. Saul, in a forward, says he has been a gamer since the days of the original Zork and, in our opinion, it shows in the game itself.

   Link to the Blackstone Chrionicles Web site.