Intensity

Rating:
Summary: Not just scary, but utterly horrifying.
Review: I have not read all of Mr. Koontz' books, but I would be very surprised if this was not absolutely the scariest book he has ever written. In typical Koontz style, the story begins with a glimpse of our worst nightmare, Mr. Edglar Vess. Mr. Vess is not just any psychopath, he is a living, breathing nightmare that walks the dark side of the soul with INTENSITY. Everything Mr. Vess does, he does for the sheer sensation of it. Every touch, every smell, every visual, has him in extreme ecstasy, including painful and awful senses. Since Mr. Vess feels he has most certainly "conquered" such human weaknesses as love and honor and friendship, he feels quite free to exercise his taste for various sensations. Murder is just a word to Mr. Vess, slaughter is not even in his mind, yet that is what he does to each and every victim, and there are many. With the exception of one. A sixteen year old girl named Ariel is locked in his basement. He is savoring her because she is so beautiful. He is waiting for her to "ripen" so he can then play at his macabre game. Chyna Shepard has been there before. She plays a young adult woman, vacationing with her only friend and confidante in the world when Edglar Vess decides to slaughter the whole family. Edglar is unaware that Chyna is in the guest bedroom and after his slaughter he is unaware that Chyna has survived. She may well be his one fatal mistake, for Chyna begins to stalk the stalker. She is tired of having been abused as a child and all of her life, tired of being the victim, and desperately intent on avenging the death of her best friend. When Chyna stumbles upon the information that Mr. Vess may be keeping a young girl in his cellar, her quest for vengeance rises even higher and she begins a ruthless search for Ariel, determined to free her from this madman, and in turn, free all who have ever suffered from abuse. It is a battle of fierce wills, and a fight to the death between two insane people, one born that way, and the other driven by a fierce need to survive for all she believes in.

Rating:
Summary: A pathalogical thriller; the epitome of realistic terror...
Review: Dean Koontz once again grabs the attention of many with his thriller Intensity. As his descriptive characters crusade through consternation, he can have your hope fading on one page but just as quickly returning on the next. Though the book's setting takes place all in one night, boredom is not of choice words.
At one point in the book all hope has faded for the main character, yet being the protagonist that she is she never stops fighting.
I have read this book four times through, and beleive that it is one of the best ever written. I reccommend this book to readers of all types. It captures the attention of many different forms of crowds, and keeps them attracted with the twists and turns of suspense. I have taken the lessons that this book gives and applied them in many aspects of my own life. It is definately beneficial to anyone who perceives the message in an optimistic manner: survival is possible no matter how devastating pre or post events may be. Five Stars!

Rating:
Summary: Intensity gets Boring
Review: This is definitely not one of the authors best books. It take place in a twenty four hour period which is depicted in over 400 pages. Some spots are as the title states are "intense". Other parts are just down right dragged out such as the section where Chyna tries to get untied from the table. Would have been a great book if condensed more.

Rating:
Summary: Dean Koontz--Intensity
Review: Copyright: 1995
Pages: 436

Koontz strikes again with this riveting, stylish thriller that jabs readers within the first few pages and then gives them a complete knock-out punch at the end. Chyna Shepherd, a twenty-six year-old pscyhology major with a past she'd rather forget, has her life twisted upside down when a muderous sociopath named Edgler Foreman Vess kills the family she is staying with. Trapped in a deadly orbit and chasing survival, Chyna eventually learns the madness behind Vess and how she can actually save one of his most prized future victims. Koontz does a fine job creating suspense and an eerie atmosphere that will keep readers glued to the pages and looking for that long-lost nightlight. The middle of the novel does tend to drag slightly, mostly because of dialouge between Chyna and Vess. However, the horrific, spine-tingling events leading up to the climax is a roller coaster ride full of terror and courage. All in all, this is one of Koontz's best of the 90s (only behind "Dark Rivers of the Heart" and "Fear Nothing") and shows that he still has a lot of punch still left in him.

Rating:
Summary: For a fairly simple story, this book is indeed Intense...
Review: with a total of about 3 or 4 main characters, depending on who you consider a main character, this story take a basically simple idea and makes it explode... the way a young woman, Chyna, has her life turned upside-down by a mysterious murderer, Vess, is strange enough... then the story turns into a sort of semi-hostage situation... Chyna, who's childhood was riddled in melancholy and hurt, created a character that is very good for a heroin... Vess, the mysterious, dark, savage creature, is a decent villain to say the least... then you throw in a little girl, Ariel, Vess' other capture, and you have a strange, yet incredible rescue story... This was the first book I read by Koontz, and it made me a fan... I haven't yet been let down by him either...

Btw, how many covers does this book have? I have some orange/yellow cover that resembles the chapter markers... I do, however, like the darker cover that I see here...

Rating:
Summary: Intensity is INTENSE!!
Review: This was an awesome and QUICK read!! Chyna finds herself in an unbelievable and seemingly inescapable, terror-filled waking nightmare. After witnessing the murder of her first, best, and only friend's family, she struggles with the decision of following the killer or running in order to remain "untouched and alive." She must find the strength and courage, absent until now, to get through this horror. But it isn't just for herself that she strives to survive. She discovers she isn't the only one being held captive and her captor isn't their ONLY threat. Her captor intensely "feels" every kill, relishes it, savors it. Can aptly-named Chyna overcome her abusive childhood and the fears that have accompanied her to adulthood, before its too late?? Dean Koontz takes you, thrillingly, through Chyna's very personal, past, current, and inner terrors and challenges; through her captor's sick obsession and uncommon link with death and killing. Dean Koontz will scare the heart out of you, then wrench it; he will make you scream and kringe, heighten your fears and bring you to tears. Enjoy...I know you will...Intensely!!

Rating:
Summary: Definitely Intense!!!!!!
Review: Other than the dragging middle, this novel was difficult to put down. Koontz knows how to write 'em. I would recommend this to anyone who loves suspense. He knows exactly how to scare the daylights out of you.

If you think you know what is going to happen next, Koontz makes it even more frightful than you'd imagine. He knows how to keep you on the edge of your seat. He is right up there with Steven King. This book definitely lives up to it's name.

This was my first Koontz book, but it is certainly not the last. It was horrifying and shocking. Absolutely one of the best books I have ever read.

Rating:
Summary: Title Says It All
Review: Hitchcock would have loved this one. It's a non-stop, nail-biting white-knuckler.

A woman staying with new friends over the holidays wakes up to find everyone she's staying with murdered - and the killer still in the house. She ends up hiding out in his van and following him home, putting two and two together about a missing young girl and hoping to be of some assistance. Needless to say, our not-so-friendly neighbor hood eventually detects her, and the nastiness gets nastier.

Somewhat contrived, but workably so. The heroine and the little girl are fabulous characters you can care a great deal for - but when has Koontz not provided at least that, even in his weakest efforts?

The T.V. miniseries is quite good, too.

Rating:
Summary: creepy
Review: I bought this in an airport and read almost the entire thing on the flight home. Scarier than Stephen King, and more action too. This was my first Koontz book, I should read more

Rating:
Summary: where is the motive?
Review: Although Dean Koontz is my favorite author and I do feel bad giving a review of less than four stars, this book was lacking an important quality - a compelling storyline. It was just some sicko dude committing all sorts of atrocities just for the sake of it. The twist at the end was surprising, but not anything fascinating. The characters had no connection to one another, there were no hidden motives... it was just gore.

However, it wasn't a total loss. The book was full of suspense and difficult to put down. So, strange as this may sound, I did enjoy it even though it lacked certain qualities that make a book exceptional.