Lightning

Rating:
Summary: A surprising disappointment
Review: This was my first Dean Koontz book--and will probably be my last. It was recommended to me by one of his millions of fans. I was mildly curious at first, but the book quickly became childish. The only thing that kept a tiny bit of my interest was the main character's evolving writing career. The whole time-travel debacle wasn't worthy of print. I found Koontz's characters shallow attempts to imitate the interesting and believable people you find in a better horror story--like any of Stephen King's.

Rating:
Summary: Dean Koontz's Major High Point
Review: Yeah, yeah, some of the characters in Lightning were a little hard to fathom, and they seemed to be just too lucky, too many times. But...this is a wonderful story, with time travel at the heart of it. Usually, time travel stories don't really get me, and I don't want to read them. But a lot of people recommended this book to me, and I thank them wholeheartedly for doing so. This story is about Laura Shane, who all through her life, has seemed to have had a "guardian angel". No matter what awful situation she has been in, a mysterious stranger has saved her, starting with the stormy night she was born, when he stopped a drunk doctor from delivering her. Through most of the book, you are left wondering, who is this man? Why does he follow Laura? When his reasoning is discovered, it is a wonderful reason, and just makes the book all that much better. This book is just different from other books. It has more "meat" to it. You can really tell when an author puts a lot of time and effort into a book, and this is one of them. Dean Koontz never fails to intrigue, scare, or just plain terrify readers, but in this book he will enthrall you. Until the very last page, you are hooked to this story of a woman's struggles in life and the man who is desperate to save her, though it could put him in grave danger. This is a must read, pick it up fast! I wish I could tell everyone to read this book, but those of you who are reading this review, read Lightning, it has fast become one of my favorites of all time!

Rating:
Summary: Simply The Best
Review: I have read all but a few of Koontz' books. This is the best. Definitely a good starting point to get to know Mr. Koontz. I have met and corresponded with him on a few occasions and find him a very gracious and soft-spoken gentleman who is very good to his fans. Check it out. I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

Rating:
Summary: What are those editors talking about???
Review: I don't know about those editorial reviews above...but I will say this...Lightning is one of the best Koontz books ever written! It is fast paced, engrossing and heart-wrenching. I loved every minute of it. I read it years ago as a teenager, then again as a married mother. This is one of Koontz's best books because it's not bogged down in over-fleshed characters and superfluous descriptions. I had great sympathy for the protagonists, and literally felt my heart racing as I read it. A good read...I guarantee! Smooches!

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic
Review: This is the first Koontz novel I have read, and I must say that I am positively impressed. Before I was finished reading "Lightning" I was browsing through a bargain book store and came across a hardcover of "Intensity" for only $8. Now that I'm finished with the book I'm still happy about my purchase and looking forward to starting it.

I didn't really know this book was going to be sci-fi. The only part I knew was about a girl who has a guardian angel that appears from time to time to save her life. The time travel aspect was neat, and I'm glad Koontz didn't give it anymore sci-fi than that, else the book may have been overloaded. This book has a nice balance to it, it's never hard to follow and never boring. Some of the time travel explanations are a bit tricky, but the mind-boggling is what's part of the fun.

What I didn't like about the book was the dialogue. It wasn't bad, but unrealistic. There are characters we see develop from childhood to near middle-age. And if you randomly sample their words you'd have no idea whether they were preteens or in their thirties - it all sounds the same. And that goes for Chris too, have you ever heard an 8 year old talk like that? I can swallow brilliant boys and girls or even a child prodigy, but these kids have wisdom too.

Although a minor technicality, there is a problem with these "jaunts" that the time travellers go on. The book explains how in the present day of the travellers that there are no computers that can pinpoint the exact time and location when jaunted into the future, which is fine, but the book provides us with the convenient setting of the mountains of southern California, so that if you're a few hundred yards away from your destination you're still in somewhat of a rural area. What if you were being jaunted near the city and you ended up on a busy street, materializing in front of a Mack truck just seconds before it plows into you? Surely all of their jaunts didn't have woods nearby to plot and plan before you jumped in to the real action.

But I fear I am being too critical now. This book is very satisfying, it makes us care about the main characters and want destruction for the bad guys. The ending does fall into an action cliche, but I have to believe that the events portrayed in the book could reasonably lead to this type of split-second showdown, so I deemed it excusable. Dean Koontz has basically hooked me into reading more and more of what he has to offer. And seeing that he is the author of dozens of books, it looks like I have quite a bit of catching up to do.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best Koontz books!
Review: I read this book a long time ago and I still recommend it to friends who've never read Koontz; they always get hooked. I re-read it every so often when I find myself sadly bookless.

I thought this was his best book ever until I read Fear Nothing and Seize the Night (I can't wait for the third Christopher Snow book!).

I highly recommend Lightning.

Rating:
Summary: THE best Koontz book ever (until now)
Review: This is, as stated many times here, definitely the best Dean Koontz there is - and I've read them all!

The story takes you from the past to the future; it twists, turns, makes you shiver and touches you. Sounds like a lot of blabla, but I do not want to give anything away. Let's just say that the theme is : whoever tries to change the course of history will find that the world tries to go back to the fate that was decided for you in the first place. But imagine that you could go back, and change important world events....what if? Also, the love described in the book between Danny and Laura is amazing. Not in the sexual sense, though; it describes two true soulmates. I have read it at least 10 times... Great book. Do not hesitate: buy this!

Rating:
Summary: Great book!
Review: Imagine having an admirer. Pretty easy...now imagine having an admirer from another time who magically appears at the times when you need him most!

This Koontz book is a wild speed ride with a mind boggling plot and a killer ending! This book is quite different, but nonetheless a GREAT Koontz read.

Rating:
Summary: One of Koontz's best...A twist of the story will draw you in
Review: This is one of my favorite Dean Koontz novel. I was immediately drawn in the story from the very beginning. From the little girl who finds her self in very bad situations to the "guardian angel" who always saves her in the nick of time. As she grows older, you find out more about how she thinks and who her guardian angel is. I was quite suprized and really give Koontz a thumbs up on how he changes the storyline. This is a book I pick up every couple of years and read over again, I seldomly do that with books, even one's that I enjoyed in the past. Highly recommended to Koontz fans and readers of a good mystery/sci-fi twist.

Rating:
Summary: The Best Dean Koontz Book
Review: This is BY FAR the best Dean Koontz book I have read. I have read all of them except for Seize the Night, which is in my book pile ready to be read. I know what you're probably thinking. "What a nutzo! How can it be better than Watchers or Whispers?" Well, it is! Lightning reflects the way that Dean Koontz looks at life. He is constantly poking fun at it, trying to make the reader realize how silly and strange life really is! Stefan, is by far the best character Koontz has come up with except for Christopher Snow. Stefan is at first, really mysterious and Koontz almost makes him seem like the bad guy, but then we find out more and more about him. Dean has also made an attempt to create this little girl who almost seems perfect. He suceeded! So what's the connection between Stefan and this sweet, innocent little girl? Find out when you read Lightning for yourself! [NOTE: Dean Koontz says that his third favorite book that he has written is Lightning]