Rating: 
Summary: A fascinating tale of mass disappearances
Review: "Phantoms" is just one of Koontz's many fine horror stories. It offers an imaginative explanation for a tantalizing historical mystery: the mass disappearance (such as the famous Roanoke colony in the early seventeenth century). Koontz tells the story of the almost instantaneous depopulation of an isolated California mountain village, discovered by the town's doctor and her teenaged sister upon their return from attending their mother's funeral some miles away. These two find a terrifyingly quiet Snowfield, devoid of residents, dining room tables set with still-warm suppers. The mystery deepens when the county sheriff and deputies arrive and discover a few dreadfully bruised bodies sprawled lifeless in tightly locked rooms. As dark falls, it becomes clear that something is stalking the entire town of Snowfield--and its would-be rescuers--and that this hunter delights in savoring every morsel of fear it can extract from its prey. I do not want to give away any more of the plot, because Koontz paces the story of the discovery of the identity of the murderous "Ancient Enemy" so well that reading the book is a rollercoaster of an experience. A word about my rating: Koontz is one of my favorite authors, and I have read quite a few of his books. Phantoms is one of his early novels and is imaginative and entertaining. Compared to some of his later stories, however ("Dark Rivers of the Heart" and "Twilight Eyes" immediately spring to mind), it is not as richly characterized and the level of suspense is not quite as nightmarish. It is like comparing two tornadoes from the movie "Twister": one may suck up cows, but the other swallows cows and barn whole. Each is a frightening experience, but the one is a more intense--and deadly--event. Thus, the seven. Judith Abendschei
Rating: 
Summary: Riviting and fast-paced. Better than King
Review: This book was scary and fast-paced;something that King couldn't do. king never scared me with a book. he just bored me. Phantoms was the first Koontz book i've read (and so far the only) but it was great. I read it in 4 days. i couldn't put it down. I strongly reccomend it.
Rating:
Summary: Spooooooky read!!!
Review: I am a Dean Koontz fan and have been for about 17 years. This was the first book of his I read it was given to me by a boyfriend at the time. At the time I wasnt very interested in reading because I always hated having to read through all the "fluff" stuff until getting to something good, but this book started right off with the "something good" and got right into the story...Since then I have been hooked. I have just about all of his books from then & although I loved this book, Watchers I think was my favorite, because of the dog!!
Rating:
Summary: Spooky read, anticlimatic ending
Review: Let me start by saying, I am not a Dean Koontz fan. I tried to be, after reading everything by King, Barker, and Rice that I could find, I needed a new author and Koontz was everywhere. I picked up about 5 or 6 Koontz books and went to work. Phantoms was my favorite of them.
I love the set up, the characters, the feeling of abandonment and dread that surrounds the town, and the allusions of the "Ancient Evil" having been a cause of historical mass dissapearences; however, I was left with the same hollow feeling that I had after reading "It" when I found that the clown was scarier then the spider.
After all the build up, it lets you down a little. But, overall, I liked it. Like I say, I'm not a Koontz fan so I'm not sure what the average Koontz fan looks for in his work. Try this one if you aren't really into him.
Rating:
Summary: A classic Horror Story
Review: I just finished Phantoms last night and am so glad that I read it. This is a true horror story, plain and simple! The characters were great. Even the ones you did not like played great roles in the story. The ancient Evil was great to. Some feel the book draged on a bit to long, peronally I feel it could have been a bit longer. Dean does a great job giving the book a truly eerie feeling. This is my second favorite book by Koontz, second only to Whispers.
Rating:
Summary: Koontz's best, for what it's worth
Review: Most "customer reviews" tend to be a case of the tail wagging the dog; the reviewer either likes the author or he doesn't, and his reviews tend not to deviate from that party line. Reviews in this vein tend to resemble the following: "I like Dean Koontz and he wrote this book so I like this book yay Dean Koontz!"
It's often difficult for a "fan" to admit that a favorite artists' work may be subpar (I like Stanley Kubrick, but "Eyes Wide Shut" was lame, am I right or am I right?). It's even more difficult, I think, to admit that a particular effort by an artist that one generally doesn't care for might actually have some merit.
Such is the case with "Phantoms." While in general I don't care for Koontz's work, this story somehow stands above the rest (not that that's hard to do). Snowfield, California, becomes a seemingly deserted ghost town overnight. The few residents who weren't home during the mass disappearance begin searching for their neighbors (who, naturally, wind up being very, very dead). And then the culprit is revealed. Where this story largely succeeds, I think, is in two areas: First, the setup is gripping, which in itself is an unusual achievement for Koontz: for a supposed horror writer, most of his books are remarkably effective cures for insomnia. Second, when the closet door is finally thrown wide and the boogeyman jumps out, it's actually pretty cool. How many stories have you read in toe-curling anticipation, only to have the bad guy finally revealed, and you say to yourself "oh, it's just zombies? I can handle zombies...I thought it was going to be something SCARY," or "of course it was aliens, I saw that coming a mile away!" Phantoms shows you the boogeyman up close, and, as happens all too seldom in this genre, the story still keeps a full head of steam.
The story has some graphically violent parts, which manage to add to the horror, rather than --as is often the case-- detract from it in a pitiful, self-parodying manner. The characters are all echoes of other characters from other Koontz books, but if you haven't read a lot of his books, then you won't notice, and if you're already a fan, this is obviously not the kind of thing that matters to you. Overall, though, this book is an example of how good Koontz CAN be--it's a shame he so seldom is.
Even if you don't normally care for Dean Koontz, at least give this one a try.
Rating:
Summary: A Fun Read!
Review: I really enjoyed this book, though others seem to have found it a little 'classic horror movie' -ish, I thought it was a really fun read. It has LOTS of detail and pulls you into feeling like you're there with the characters. It does follow more of a movie-script lay-out, but that just makes you wonder all the more what the evil is that's behind everything. The movie they made of this doesn't parallel the book at all (what else is new?) so don't base your opinion on that. Overall, a fun, really creepy, grissly horror! I recommend!
Rating: 
Summary: Average Koontz thriller
Review: The popularity of Phantoms compared to more deserving Koontz novels isn't something I can explain, but it does have the same ingrediants as a number of other Koontz novels. It's really pretty standard "save the world from the supernatural being" fare, done with the standard cast of characters.
The town of Snowfield, California, has all of its residents disappear overnight. The kindly sheriff, a handful of doubtful deputies, the pretty lady doctor, her wise-beyond-her-years 14-year old sister, a mad professor type, and the brave cop who is the personification of heroism must bring an ancient monster to its death. It, naturally, can take pretty much whatever form that it wants to, making the job somewhat more difficult.
Once our gang gets suitably barricaded in a local inn and reinforcements are called, there's little to do but wander around town presenting unlikely theories about the monster and watching the occasional member of the group die.
I can't say that I disliked Phantoms...I keep on reading Koontz's books, and this is pretty much the template for so many that would follow. The characters are stereotypes and we've seen both the setting and the evil force before, but it's still a good late night read that you don't have to think too hard about.
Rating:
Summary: Another Great Book by Deen Koontz
Review: This book is a great book because it got the well deserved 5 stars as you can see, but it does have a few flaws. The flaws it does have are very small so don't worry its still a perfect horror story. Well the main flaw I saw is that at times it got very predictable because in Koontz's efforts to hide a glimpse of the future he does it badly sometimes and you can easily predict what's happening. That takes away nothing from the story because the gore and shock still hits you just as hard even if you have predicted it. Another flaw is that it has a good bit of cliches, perhaps too many, but still it doesnt take away from the read unless you are some nitpicky moron who is out there to criticize every book written. I feel kind of nitpicky but I'm just looking at flaws for the sake of the Reader. Now the positive side is that for the first time I read a book that was really exciting from page 1 all the way to the end. And, I mean that literally. Right when Jenny and Lisa notice something is wrong with the town the tension only builds and it has no stupid scenes that slow the book down(which is the downfall of many horror stories). IT, itself is a great monster as well, but my favorite monster or enemy, whatever you call it would have to be Pennywise The Dancing Clown(IT, what a coincidence). I'm not a person to easily get scared from a book, but this one did scare me and it scared me a LOT. This is an almost perfect book as far as literature goes, but it is a perfect read which is all that most readers are concerned about not the little details.
Rating: 
Summary: Yet Again, Dean Koontz Has The Knack...
Review: ...for wrecking yet another good story.
"Phantoms" is Dean Koontz best book. It is about a small town that suddenly gets taken over by an evil force. Mr. Koontz writes some of his most truly creepy passages of his whole career in this book.
However, as with all Dean Koontz books his characters are as interesting as the prospect of eating rice cakes for the next ten years. I can NEVER, ever remember that name or a quirky trait of any Koontz characters in any of his books.
But that is not what gives this book two stars. Mr. Koontz commits the horror author's ultimate sin in this book - he reveals, in minute detail, what the nature of the horror that is terrorizing the town. That is what a pathetic hack does! Because hacks possess no skill in writing! You do not canel out the reader's suspension of disbelief! The disbelief is what makes the reader forget that none of this can really happen.
Too bad because Dean Koontz almost made it with this book.
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