Fear Nothing

Rating:
Summary: LOVED IT!
Review: A fantastic book. And I loved Seize the Night even better. Koontz's wonderful imagination made my mind soar! Keep them coming.

Rating:
Summary: Truly unsettling...
Review: I've often overlooked Dean Koontz novels, with the flawed thinking that an author with his popularity certainly can't be of any real quality. A friend recommended that I try the Chris Snow series, starting here with Fear Nothing, and I was surprised at how entertained that I was.

Since our hero, Chris, suffers from a rare affliction that keeps him from almost any light source, every page of the book takes place in relative (and sometimes total) darkness. When his town begins its horrific change at the hands of the evil experiments conducted at the nearby military base...well, monkeys just aren't as much fun as we're led to believe.

The few friends that Chris can count on (including Orson, the too-smart canine) are all fantastic characters that repeatedly lighten the storyline from its morbid undercurrents. Surfer Bobby is such a joy to read about that I found myself wishing he was in more of the book than he was.

Finally, I was a little shaken by some of the more suspenseful passages...and there are a few. Chris' nighttime world is exposed bit by bit, oftentimes building anxiety over a number of pages. There is a time or two that it's handled a little clumsily or drawn-out, but more often than not the edginess is very effective.

As an introduction to Koontz, Fear Nothing was successful, as well as being a fantastic start to what will surely be a great series.

Rating:
Summary: Decent.. but not Great
Review: I'm a HUGE Dean Koontz fan but this book didn't quite do it for me. The beginning was good but then I just don't know what happened. And this being part of a trilogy.. I don't have time for that. Being that I'm a fan of Koontz, I will try other books by him but this one, nah! Time to give it away to charity.

Rating:
Summary: Good Beginning But....
Review: something went wrong, and I'm not quite sure what, either. My favorite part of the book was where Chris was being chased through the woods after leaving the mortuary. I thought, this is gonna be great. I kept waiting for it to get that great again, and it didn't, and eventually I started skipping pages, which may be why I still have this nagging question at the end: WHY DIDN'T THEY JUST CREMATE HIS DAD? I still don't know.

This was my very first Koontz book, and I was pleased enough that I will probably read another. But I wasn't blown away either. I think he has a great deal of talent, but needs to spend more time polishing his work.

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining, good characters
Review: As a long time Dean Koontz fan, I can attest to the fact that he can be very hit or miss. While I wouldn't necessarily call Fear Nothing a total hit/blockbuster, it was one of the best Koontz that I have read in a while. Those familiar with Koontz, but leery of his irregularity will not be disappointed with this novel.

I won't bother going through the plot again, as so many other reviewers have done quite well. I will just say that the plot was sufficiently suspenseful to keep me turning pages and happily entertained. The characters in this book, though, are really the best parts. Christopher Snow, a man with a serious disease that makes him deathly allergic to light is not only sweet, but funny as well. His friend Bobby, the coolest of all possible surfer dudes, is hysterical and philisophical at the same time. You really won't be able to help liking these characters.

Unlike in some other novels, Koontz maintains his talent for strong description and backstory, without getting into long-winded tangents that put readers to sleep.

Overall, I say Fear Nothing was quite fun, entertaining, and a pleasure to read. I cannot wait to get my hands on a copy of Seize the Night, the next book in the Christoper Snow saga. I highly recommend this book to all who enjoy suspenseful reading and likable, funny characters.

Rating:
Summary: Great fun.
Review: I've been a fan of Koontz for many years but I've been a little annoyed with his more recent works. I get the impression that his success has intimidated his editor and Koontz "unplugged" is a bit over the top, melodramatic, and a little self indulgent. It almost-but not quite-- derails some of the enjoyment of his recent books for me. But Koontz has an amazing talent for storytelling and he is always compulsively readable and entertaining. FEAR NOTHING is a great ride; part thriller, part sci fi, and part horror. There were a few things that I found a little distracting about it, but overall it's a classic Koontz thrill ride. (The scene with the police chief was a real nail-biter. I could not turn the pages fast enough to see what happened.) The day I finished this book I immediately picked up the next in the series. I'm looking forward to more adventures with Snow, Sasha, Orson, and Bobby. Don't leave us hanging on the third book, Dean!

Rating:
Summary: Freaky.
Review: A bit more into the conspiracy theory than I would have liked, but Dean Koontz hooks you and holds on fast to the end.

Rating:
Summary: Dean Koontz' Fear Nothing: Not your ordinary hero!
Review: Prologue:

Because I have a 45 - 60 minute commute to work each way, and because I have lost time to read with each child I've had, I have become a huge fan of Recorded Books. I'm still able to read an average of 3 books a week. Being a huge fan of the horror genre (Stephen King especially), and being out of books within the scope of my normal authors, I moved on to Dean Koontz after I read an Epinion. Fear Nothing is about the fifth Koontz novel I read. I'd moderately enjoyed the previous four. Nothing spectacular, but entertaining nonetheless. Browsing through his books in my library's Recorded Book section, I picked up Fear Nothing because I was intrigued by the stark white cover with the hint of a man in sunglasses on it. It reminded me of the movie Powder. I thought I'd give it a try.

Plot (without Spoilers):

In Fear Nothing , Koontz introduces Christopher Snow, a 28 year old man who had been born with the bizarre genetic disorder xeroderma pigmentosum (XP). Victims of XP are extremely sensitive to cancers of the skin and eyes, and even momentary exposure to light is cumulative, so eventually could prove fatal. Because of this Chris continually avoids the light of day, and leads the vampire's life in the dark of night. He lives in a small and seemingly peaceful California town. Yet events he witnesses on the night of his father's death force him to look behind the façade of Moonlight Bay in a desperate attempt to discover the truth beneath the city's darkness.

The novel begins at a fast pace. After Chris stumbles upon a group of men intent on switching his father's corpse with that of a murdered hitchhiker, he sets out on a mission to discover the conspiracy in his hometown. Chris attempts to untangle this mystery in the dark of night. He is aided by his closest friends, Bobby the surfer (whose surfer lingo did get somewhat annoying), Sasha the beautiful disc jockey and Orson, the unusually intelligent canine (I want a genetically engineered dog - oops, that comes close to a spoiler!). Along the way, the group becomes involved in a shadowy government cover-up, an animal psychic friends network, and a deadly game of hide-and-seek.

As the story continues, Chris spends the rest of the night unraveling the increasingly bizarre secret. It quickly becomes clear, however, that nothing here is as it appears. Seemingly upstanding citizens are becoming engulfed by primal desires. Most of the night is spent with Chris and Orson going from one Moonlight Bay citizen to another, talking to each to piece together the puzzle. This made for a slow read at times, though there was enough action in between the interviews to make up for it. I did feel like I was being lead towards an amazing and wild climax, that the book never actually achieved.

Writing Style, Motif etc.:

What was most notable about Koontz's writing in Fear Nothing is that he uses a first-person narrative from Chris Snow's point of view. This brings us into the hero's head, which was interesting as Chris is definitely not your ordinary hero. He lives life with very different philosophies, which we hear in great detail. At times, I wondered if I wasn't hearing Koontz' own philosophy on the human race. Chris is a very sensitive, well versed man. I was impressed with Koontz' complete change in writing style from the style found in his previous books.

End Note:

I do recommend this book. I loved the audio version, read by Keith Szarabajka. He read with a strong voice, portraying parts of Chris's personality that the written word alone may have missed. Fear Nothing was an enjoyable and entertaining book. Not in the same way as Mr. Koontz' other novels, but enough so that the book in my car now is it's sequel, Seize the Night. Happy reading!

Rating:
Summary: What is This Small Town Hiding? More than you Know....
Review: They're hiding stuff only in your worst nightmares. The typical Koontz thriller with stuff that will send chills down your spine and told from first person point of view it made it much more real.
This is from a trilogy that I haven't read otherwise, but found it easy to follow and the main character of Christopher Snow very interesting. He has a rare disease called XP, which makes him prone to skin cancer. He cannot go into the sun at all and must live his life at night or by candlelight.

The story is about him trying to find out how his parents died. They seemed to die of mysterious circumstances and the things he sees while roaming the night after his father's death sets the tone for the book. It all takes place in 48 hours. His entire life as he knew it will change. The town he loves so much is hiding a deep and dark secret that could distroy him and everything he loves.
The only people he can trust are his surfer best friend Bobby and his midnight dee-jay girlfriend Sasha and his beer lapping-almost-human dog Orson. Everyone else seems to have some kind of link to this madness and is determined to silence anyone getting in the way.
Can Chris save them all from this threat? Will his XP be a blessing in disguise or a curse far worse than he can imagine? The town of Moonlight Bay is about to become an Eden full of snakes of every size and shape.

I love how Mr. Koontz makes animals so real in his stories and almost human in a sense. Not alot of authors do this and its a nice change of pace. Orson was a blast and became one of the main characters that we cheered for. The plot was also very different and unique. Alot of reviewers had problems with the action, but I loved it and became engrossed in the story quickly. Very surprising and weird, a true Koontz book :)

Tracy Talley~@

Rating:
Summary: AWESOME!!!
Review: I read this book, and i LOVED IT! i had the hardest time putting it down. i think this is one of the Best books Dean Koontz has written. the story was awesome and totally original, and so were the characters. i am currently halfway through the sequel, and im enjoying it as well! amazing book, amazing author....highly recommend to all!