Rating: 
Summary: BLUE MOON
Review: Having read 98% of Koontz' books, I feel a little sad in having to say I find this book one of his worst. For me, the fault lies in the overworking of the autistic young man, Shepherd. So many scenes are drawn out to unreasonable lengths by the redundancy of not only Shep's dialogue, but you know that each scene will go on for a couple of pages and ultimately brother Dylan and friend Jilly will get what they want out of them. Dean has come to be a writer who is getting too involved in his own skills. He overwrites, not only his usual descriptive blabber, but in much of the dialogue. There ARE some wonderful scenes, though: Shep and Dylan revisiting the murder of their mother; Dylan helping out an old cowboy locate his long-missing daughter, and the climactic wedding scene. They're very well done and if the rest of the book had matched this kind of writing, I would have been impressed. Needless to say, it looks like "The Moonlight Club" may be coming? If he can focus a little more on making a tighter narrative and not overdoing his characterization (as with Shep), he may return to his higher level of writing.
Rating: 
Summary: Simply Amazing!!!
Review: I am at awe of Dean Koontz. His stories never cease to continually meet and surpass my expectations. The beauty of his written word is awe-inspiring. "The expired day lay buried in the earth, in the asphalt. Unseen but felt, its ghost haunted the Arizona night..."
As with his last novel "One Door Away From Heaven," Koontz has taken us on a spiritual journey wrapped inside a fast paced, page turner that leaves you with hope for the human race. It introduces us to three unlikely travelers. Dillon O'Connor, an artist who believes there is beauty in everything; his autistic brother, Shepard, who loves puzzles and Charles Dickens; and, Jillian Jackson, a struggling stand-up comedian who believed hope and hard work could win everything she wanted.The trio are thrown together by a set of circumstances that are as terrifying as they are bizarre. They are all infected with an unknown substance that leaves then struggling to understand new and often times scary "powers." Now they must out run a group of highly trained and deadly assailants as they search for the nature and creator of the unknown substance ruling their lives. I wish that I had Mr. Koontz's talent with the written word so that I can convey the impact his novels have on me. I think that the new direction his stories are taking is a breath of fresh air. I hope you too, will love "By The Light Of The Moon." I certainly did!!
Rating: 
Summary: Dean, please put away the hypodermic needle for a change..
Review: Three unsuspecting characters are tackled and injected with a mysterious serum by a seemingly demented character. The trio finds themselves on a high-speed chase to nowhere in attempts to evade the clutches of mercenaries assigned with the task of eliminating them. As the story evolves, the threesome learn that the injection has given them unusual powers to travel through time and see past, present and future. Their alloted fate has given them the instinctual ability to do good for others, with no concern for danger. Koontz attempts to entertain us with yet another saga that involves someone being injected with computer microchips that cause the human race to evolve in some way. Dear reader becomes weary of this oft-told theme and finds himself constantly looking up to see just how many more pages he must endure to finish the book. Koontz hints at forming a sequel as this trio of do-gooders may someday continue their adventures to save the human race from itself. I hope he changes his mind.
Rating:
Summary: It took a while, but became the Koontz we know and love
Review: The newest series in the new and improved and enlightened Dean Koontz at first disappointed me because it took about one half of the book for the plot to come together and make us feel connected to the characters.
Nanotechnology is the latest and greatest science written by the best writers out there (the best being Prey and The Eighth Day), and Koontz puts his touch in a tale of redemption.
The novel sets itself up for a sequel of two and that will be great - now that a premise is set, let's run from the get-to, please? A definite read - just have a little more patience - this is no From the Corner of His Eye, but to me that is the tops he's done in a long time.
(where is the guy who can only get around in the dark?)what happened to those novels? Any more coming?
Rating: 
Summary: As usual, reading long into the night
Review: Not sure whether to give it 4 or 5 stars, because last night I decided to read a chapter of this book to tire my eyes out a bit, and ended up reading until 4 in the morning, having got myself into the condition of being too freaked out to dare to go to sleep! What caused this reaction was the whole part involving visiting the past, and when Shep started going "we're all cold. We're all cold." I found the portrayal of Shep's autism very interesting and, having only seen Rainman and being no expert, it seemed quite believable. Koontz' last book also dealt with different disabilities and mad scientist who thought he knew what's best for the world, and the disability parts I find very interesting. If there's one thing Dean is good at it's building amazing characters. I also found the nanotechnology idea interesting, never having come across that before. I also LOVED the psychic stuff being fascinated with all that, and I don't CARE how many people have written about it, it never gets old with me. I LOVE the new spiritual aspect of his more recent books, however much I love the older stuff too. I have found the newer ones to much more influential and inspirational to my life, and this one is no different. A few criticisms though, to warrant the lack of 5th star...firstly, Dean, what is going through your head with these names? Parish Lantern? Lincoln Merriweather Proctor? Leilani Klonk? Are you feeling quite ok? Secondly, I know Koontz is often critisized for his over-usage of intelligent canines but I love them and there isn't one here. Finally, the ending of this book was, as I have found with most of his others recently, to SILLY! The Moonlight Club?? It sounds like something from Enid Blyton or something! I will say that this ending does not drag on as much as some others, and doesn't seem as rushed, just...pointless. So, getting better. I love you Dean.
Rating:
Summary: By the Light of the Moon
Review: One night in an Arizona motel, he-man artist Dylan O'Conner and stand-up comic Jilly Jackson are forcibly injected with "stuff" by a guy who looks like a mild-mannered doctor or salesman. The assailant tells each of them that guys in black SUVs aim to snuff him and the stuff, and they will kill Dylan and Jilly, too, so they better hit the road in 20 minutes. Since Dylan's autistic brother, Shep, goes wherever Dylan goes, it takes a little pushing, but they hit the asphalt just as Jilly's beloved Coupe de Ville--just stolen--blows up, immolating a driver whom they think is Frankenstein, as Dylan has dubbed the doctor-salesman-whatever. On the lam, Dylan and Jilly discover they have fantastic new powers. He is psychically compelled to track down evildoers, and she can make psychically powered leaps in space. And golly, Shep can leap around in space and time! Seems Frankenstein stuck him, too. Koontz's latest is mostly a chase, with all the principals, including Frankenstein (a stooge was in Jilly's Caddy) and Jilly's favorite broadcaster, a psychic who has also been injected, eventually gathering for a Mexican showdown. The only really startling thing in it is the remark, made of Dylan and Jilly's downtime chitchat about movies, "as though Hollywood-produced entertainments could possibly have serious relevance to them now." Maybe Hollywood isn't relevant to characters in a story, but this story--a real load of laffs, action, schtick, and product placement ops--isn't seriously relevant to anything else.
Rating:
Summary: Dean Koontz--By The Light of the Moon (2002)
Review: With his previous successful string of novels such as "False Memory", "From the Corner of His Eye", and "One Door Away From Heaven", Dean Koontz is writing on a high that all of his reading fans hope he never comes down from. "By the Light of the Moon" is no exception; with his gleaming and terrorizing elucidation of how the increase of technology and science can ultimately lead to our civilization's doom. Koontz has the great aptitude for knowing what truly scares people and develops complex, decipherable pieces of work that illuminate the mind and often move the soul. While staying the night at an innocent-looking motel, Dylan O'Connor and his autistic brother Step are mysteriously injected with a strange substance by a crazed, maniacal doctor. Proclaiming that introducing the weird potion is his last resort and cautioning them that they need to run for their lives from the evil, governmental men that will want to get to them; the scientist is brutally gunned down by a group of agents. Teaming with the frazzled comedian Jillian Jackson, the three set out together in a cat-and-mouse chase from the evil henchmen who want to do more than just chat. As the hunt persists, the effects of the potion kick in, causing Dylan to have an incredible urge to help people, Jillian to have horrific hallucinations, and Step to have the brilliant power that allows him to teleport himself and others throughout space and time. As the government agents get closer and closer to their prey, the trio must learn what their qualities mean, how they use them to survive, and ultimately why fate chose them as the recipients. Much faster paced compared to his two previous novels (which were both well over 600-pages in length), "By the Light of the Moon" explodes from the first page and never stops running. Koontz skillfully depicts the autistic Step in a very honest fashion; using the frustrated Dylan to portray exactly the difficulties of dealing with someone that has such a challenging psychological disorder, but also the love and triumph that comes from the way the two sacrifice for each other. With a middling conclusion that seems slightly rushed (sometimes a common theme with Koontz novels that are so well-written from the initial chapter; it appears as though any conclusion does not fit the bill), "By the Light of the Moon" is not one of his absolute bests, but will certainly thrill his fans and perhaps even draw in a few who have never read his immaculate work.
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down
Review: This book was, without a doubt, one of my absolute favorites from Dean Koontz. The characters are very likeable, and the premise is one that I haven't encountered in fiction before (although I'm sure there are others out there). Given the paranoia that seems to be incorporated into everyday living, and stories of government funded research involving anything that could potentially be used in an offensive rather than defensive manner, it seems entirely plausible that nano-beings could be injected into a person who is later hunted down. Realism mixed with a hint of fantasy makes this book one of the best reads out there.
Rating:
Summary: Just barely 5 because...
Review: I love the older books by Mr. Koontz - always good versus evil, a man, a woman and a dog taking on the evil government employee(s). In past years, I had become bored with his work, everything seemed to be the same plot, but decided to read him to see if he's cycled back to the old style. This is a good read, and I'm giving it 5 stars for that; however, the ending is disappointing and seemed too anticlimatic and a little immature - forming a club? Could this be the first in a series? I hope so. It's a great concept with very likeable characters.
Rating:
Summary: Ending was somewhat disappointing
Review: I liked the whole premise of this book. It had a pretty good foundation. But I was very disappointed in the ending! The whole idea of forming a 'club' seemed childish, in my opinion.
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