Rating: 
Summary: Don't stop writing, Dean
Review: Another great story told with the usual Koontz flair. It grabs you from the start and compels you along without a pause. It will be hard to put down. I do miss the usual trusty, faithful pet dog in this one. I guess one of the characters might fill that void emotionally.
Rating:
Summary: strong suspense thriller
Review: Accompanied by his autistic brother Shep, artist Dylan O'Connor is driving to Santa Fe to attend an arts festival, but stops for the night at an Arizona motel. Also staying at the same facility is comedian Jillian Jackson, but neither knows the other. From out of a B horror movie starring a mad doctor, a stranger injects Dylan and Jilly with a mysterious serum. He informs his guinea pigs that they are carriers with an incredible future or a quick death, but now must flee for his enemies are near.Disbelieving and frightened, Dylan and Jilly realize they must run when her Cadillac explodes. With Shep acting stranger than ever, the trio goes on the lam. Jillian begins seeing visions; Dylan turns obsessed with a need to be the ultimate Good Samaritan; and. Shep teleports himself and others. With the doctor dead, there is no one to guide them and probably no turning back. Also they must deal with their deceased experimenter's enemy who wants them dead too. Dean Koontz is at his scariest (which says a lot) with the suspense thriller BY THE LIGHT OF THE MOON. Mr. Koontz digs deep into the souls of the lead triad enabling the audience to observe the metamorphosis of the trio while understanding their varying motives. The story line is fast-paced, as Jilly and Dylan mostly try to do what they feel is right though not always agreeing. In spite of a climax that sets up sequels rather than closure, genre fans will send the grandmaster back to his usual best selling status, deservedly so. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: A Good Read but A Slight Dip for Dean
Review: After "One Door Away from Heaven", which I consider Dean Koontz' best work ever, "By the Light of the Moon" is a bit of a drop off. It's a good book, but there are aspects that I feel could have been improved, primarily the ending. I also would like to have had more suspense within the chase, a la, when the bad guys are chasing the three protagonists. That said, this is a fine novel, but not quite so fine as I had hoped it would be.
Rating:
Summary: 4 and 1/2 stars...Engaging Characters in a Comic Book Finale
Review: Shame on me. Despite my father's encouragement, I've taken this long to read a Koontz novel. It was worth the wait. "By the Light of the Moon" leaps forward from the first few pages. Clearly, Koontz is one of those writers who knows how to start the story at the right spot--in the middle of the action. Within twenty pages, he thrusts us into an otherworldly and suspenseful setting, where three young people will be altered forever. The story begins when Jilly, Dylan, and Shep's lives collide in a motel where a mad-scientist type character injects them with "stuff" and promises that "it does something different to everyone." Indeed, Dylan begins to feel psychic spoors on objects he touches, Jilly sees visions/mirages, and Shep learns how to "fold" the world around him (read the book to find out more). As they focus their abilities, the characters are bound together in a race to save lives and divert heartache and pain. Koontz masterfully draws his characters, causing us to care for them and their predicament. Shep is an autistic boy, Dylan is the brother committed to caring for him, and Jilly is the stand-up comedian who stumbles into their path. Koontz lets his characters be themselves. He lets us see into their pasts and into their hearts with effective timing and skill. He keeps surprises up his sleeve, and divvies them out at appropriate moments. Although he spices his writing with rich similes and metaphors that add to the mood and direction of the story, I did find the sheer volume of them distracting at times. The climax of the book was my only disappointment. The story moved from fringe characters in a predicament to "The Matrix" meets "X-Men." The scenes are handled deftly, and the bigger issues of fate and free-will are intriguing to contemplate, but Koontz's comic book ending undermined my enjoyment of the themes he explored.
Rating:
Summary: Another winner
Review: It seems Koontz has been on a mission since "Dark Rivers of the Heart" to skewer all forms of elite self-righteousness and woe-is-me victimhood mentalities. "By the Light of the Moon" continues this trend and I am very thankful. Based on conversations with several people who had been long-time Koontz fans, it seems that a dividing line formed has formed since "Fear Nothing." Either you love his latest stuff or you hate it. If you are in the former camp, you will enjoy this one. The story is fast-paced with lots of action and plenty of humor. Koontz continues to have strong female characters. What I find interesting is that they never seem to be strong at the expense of the male character. In Koontz's world-view, it is possible for women and men to be strong side-by-side without a need to dominate the other. My biggest disappointment with this novel, as with his previous three, is that is does not feature Christopher Snow. I keep waiting for a part three of the Moonlight Bay story.
Rating: 
Summary: Quite a surprise
Review: I love Koontz, there are no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Nonetheless, despite enjoying some of recent works, "From the Corner of His Eye" and "One Door Away from Heaven" included, I have noticed that while Koontz's ideas remained fresh, his writing had gotten a little stuffy and verbose. The man can absolutely spend three pages describing the texture of the dew on the thorn of a rose. I enjoyed the quickened pace of this book and the subject matter as well. Though Koontz has shown more brvity in this novel, he has also stayed true to his norm of creating characters that are enjoyable and developing them fully. An absolute must-read.
Rating:
Summary: What is it about Koontz that we like?
Review: I am a dedicated Koontz fan, have been for a few years, but what is it about him that attracts me? I must be perfectly honest: this book seemed fluffy to me, at first. So did his last, and the one before that. But why, then, am I hooked after reading the VERY FIRST WORD. Yes, that's right; it's a cliche, but I was hooked after the first word. He always does that to me, and I can't explain why. Maybe it's the plot and the characters. Here, Koontz presents two people who are as real as you or I: Dylan, an artist travelling the country with his retarded brother Shep; and Jilly, a struggling comedian with a past that causes her to hate men. Two entirely un-related people, perfect strangers, until they are assaulted by the same man--a "Frankenstein" doctor, who injects them both with a mysterious substance. It isn't long before weird things start to happen. Jilly begins to predict a massacre at a church, while Dylan is suddenly overcome by the urge to just GO certain places...and stop the crimes happening there. And Shep is maybe affected the strangest of all...because he has this unique ability to transport himself miles away...and across time... But they are being hunted by enemies of the doctor. But in this guess, the enemy of my enemy is NOT my friend. Pursued by men who do not hesitate in killing, Dylan, Jilly, and Shep must try to survive the guns and bullets...in order to see if they will surive the liquid that flows through their veins. A novel packed with revelation, with characters that jump off the pages and sit next to you, BY THE LIGHT OF THE MOON is perfect Dean Koontz. Maybe that is why I was hooked; because perfect Koontz is as perfect as you can get.
Rating: 
Summary: Reads To Much Like A Comic Book
Review: This book sounded more like a comic book than a novel. And Dean Koontz is getting to caught up in the September 11, terroist .... I mean the climax of the novel in the church was very corny. I won't spoil it for people still reading the novel. (comic book) Watch out, it's a bird, no it's a plane, no, it's the midnight club, with shepherd(the autistic teleporter). No offense, but this book was just horrible and the ending really made me want to toss it out a window.
Rating: 
Summary: Has Stephen King read this?
Review: Having come off the great, one-day, page turning read of "One Door Away from Heaven", I found this book to be tepid and only mildly interesting. Mostly this has to do with Mr. Koontz's on again off again descriptive vomiting. Maybe I am not the sharpest tool in the shed but I can usually pick up on a scene without a ten page description of the current surroundings. Or the ad nauseum thought processes of the characters. However, this trait does not hold true in all of his books so I can't say it is a fatal flaw. It seems to be either book filler or the author exploring his descriptive vocabulary. Either way it is not a constant event. Also, Stephen King fans might note the obvious rip-off of "The Dead Zone" in Dylan O'Conner's special abilities. Hopefully Mr. King is a close friend and won't take exception to the obvious theft of his character! ...and I whole heartly agree with my fellow reviewers in the synergy this book has with Crichton's "Prey". Koontz, with his obvious over the top descriptive desires, could have come up with something better. Maybe Crichton just beat him to press and he didn't feel like revising. Who knows?
Rating:
Summary: One of his best
Review: See book description above. Dean Koontz's last few novels have been somewhat average. This time around he has come out of his rut (not a big rut, of course) and served up some fantastic reading. The subject is the ever popular nanotechnology, though with Koontz you get the nanotech with a big dose of the supernatural. Koontz writes this novel with a certain flare. The prose, as well as the dialogue, is top-notch. Jilly ("I should warn you I know Karaoke"), Dylan, and his autistic brother Shep, make for an original and very likeable group of protagonists. Dean Koontz has written one of his best novels and I highly recommend this to all his fans and to those looking for a fast paced thriller.
| 
