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By the Light of the Moon

By the Light of the Moon

List Price: $7.99
Your Price: $7.19
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Couldn't even get halfway through
Review: I have read all but a few of Koontz's books over the past 10+ years and his writing is getting more and more formulaic and less interesting. He forces a kind of humor onto the characters that is embarrassing to read: he is totally off the mark with the humor and it left me groaning. I could only get through about 70 or 80 pages before returning it to the bookstore, but in those pages, the main female character was grinding me and I found her to be unbelievable as someone I would empathize with or tolerate for 400+ pages.
Dean Koontz has continued to disappoint me with his last 3 or 4 novels. His previous release to "By the Light of the Moon" was an improvement over his two before that, but he is nothing like he was in his prime, with "Watchers," "Strangers," and others from the previous decade.
All in all, I think I am done with Koontz, sad to say.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Entertaining but familiar
Review: BY THE LIGHT OF THE MOON will keep you turning its pages to find out where the plot takes you, but it isn't Dean Koontz at his best. I felt the story was a little too reminiscent of Koontz's earlier book, THE BAD PLACE.

BY THE LIGHT OF THE MOON is about a young man and his autistic brother who run afoul of a deranged scientist versed in the cutting-edge field of nanotechnology. After the two brothers are injected with a serum containing microscopic robots that give them unpredictably strange new powers, they soon team up with a young woman who has also been turned into a human guinea pig by the same madman.

Although BY THE LIGHT OF THE MOON mainly sticks to the same "innocents on the run from powerful evil forces" formula that Koontz has used many times over, he should be credited with attempting to break some new ground here. His last couple novels, although not wholly successful, have at least been showing that he's moving in some new directions.

My main problem with BY THE LIGHT OF THE MOON, aside from its similarities to THE BAD PLACE, is that it tends to get a little preachy. The characters wind up a little more goody-goody than is easily palatable.

There are some redeeming qualities to the novel as well, however. Koontz's trademark individualistic humor is readily on display, and despite its shortcomings, the novel manages to be more or less entertaining. When I read a new book by Dean Koontz, I always feel like I'm catching up with an old friend, and I guess that's why I'll always keep reading them.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: not that good
Review: I've read books from Dean Koontz before and always enjoyed them, but "By the Light of the Moon" was a disappointment. I couldn't even finish this book. The 2 main characters(Dylan and Jillian) were annoying, there was too much describing of things and the action took too long to unfold.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Terrific Book
Review: I couldn't put this book down, I ended up reading it in a day.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Koontz has got his groove back
Review: Koontz's last few novels had excellent villains, but the stories had lacked that certain something that makes his novels like Lightning, Fear Nothing, and Intensity so special. By The Light Of the Moon provides that wonderful combination of villainy and interesting and likeable, if totally improbable, characters, a cracking pace, and plenty of humour. It has renewed my interest in is work, and I look forward to the next.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: By the Light of the Moon, audio
Review: When I am traveling I enjoy lisening to books on tape or CD.
By the Light of the Moon was well read and the story was hard to turn off.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Good but could be more
Review: Dean Koontz's by the light of the moon fell short in my book. It had good suspense and action but just lacked overall depth and storyline. I will read more of his books for now i give this one a 3 out of 5 on the star scale. If you like Dean Koontz you might have a different opinion of this book.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Another Non-Stop Ride with Great Characters
Review: Koontz has amazing skills. If you doubt it, read the first three pages and then try to put the book down. (Heck, read just the FIRST page!) Koontz has the ability to drop the reader directly into a situation that's impossible to turn away from. In this tale, a young man named Dylan is traveling with his autistic younger brother Shep. Dylan is abducted by a strange man who injects Dylan with a strange drug. The man tells Dylan that the drug is his life's work and that Dylan will be changed; in what way, even the man doesn't know. Then the man disappears...

Dylan and Shep meet a woman named Jillian, who has also been injected with the drug. Together, they seek to outrun the armed men looking for the doctor and his latest creation. But along the way, Dylan and Jillian discover that they now have strange powers...VERY strange powers. And Shep...he's acting even more unusual than he normally does...And what does all this have to do with images of doves, a church, and ice? You'll have to read the book to find out.

Koontz also has the ability to write likable characters that we feel like we've known all our lives. The theme of the good guy (or girl) overcoming evil is certainly not new, but it takes on a whole new meaning after 9-11. Koontz doesn't exploit that connection, but helps us understand through his characters how ordinary people can make a difference. It's very refreshing, and in a way patriotic.

But Koontz also has a good time with his story. The first meeting and the initial exchanges between Dylan and Jillian are funny, natural, and right on target. Unlike some other critics, I enjoyed the touches of humor. Koontz mixes humor and danger like oil and water, but somehow manages a mixture that works.

The weakness of the book? Others have cited it: the ending. I'll say only this: when you get there, you'll understand why it ends the way it does. Is it satisfying? In a way. Could it have been better? Probably. But Koontz is the author, not me. He knows what he's doing. So sit down, strap yourself in for an exciting, strange ride. Enjoy.

431 pages

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Strange Change for Koontz...
Review: Although I was very taken w/characters and plot I was constantly distracted and pulled out of the story by this inexplicable change in Koontz's writing style- embarrassingly over descriptive, with use of entire paragraphs when a few words would have been much better. Awkward, inappropriately archaic or formal adjectives as if Koontz constantly referred to his Thesauraus. Hackneyed cliches and flowery outpourings slathered on everywhere- made what should have been an excellent read a painful one

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Begs for a Sequel
Review: I enjoy Dean Koontz' books best when they start with action, and "By the Light of the Moon" kicks off with an ominous event. Dylan O'Conner and his brother Shepherd are attacked in a motel by an apparent madman by the name of Proctor. However, the attack is an injection of 'something' that takes us much of the length of the book to discover. Proctor warns Dylan to leave the motel as quickly as possible because there are those who would see Dylan and Shep dead if these others were aware of the injection. Dylan and his brother leave the motel as soon as Dylan is able to escape from being tied in a chair by Proctor.

While hastily departing Dylan meets Jillian Jackson, a struggling standup comedian. Dylan quickly discovers that Jillian has also been injected, and urges her to accompany Dylan and his brother. Let the action begin. The ever-popular men in black SUVs dressed for golf (truly, khaki shorts and golf shirts) show up, and suddenly the motel does not look like a good place to stay; particularly as Jilly's beautiful Cadillac, stolen by Proctor, is blown up shortly thereafter.

As Dylan, Shep and Jillian are making their getaway, Dylan touches a frog he was given at an eatery adjacent to the motel, and suddenly feels a compelling urge to go find the person who gave him the frog. The events that occur at this woman's house make you realize that whatever was in the injection was some powerfully weird stuff.

Koontz' recent predilection for Dickensian plot complexity still shows up in this book, but to a lesser degree than in some of his recent books. Koontz' does a better job in this book of developing believable characters. Jillian would have been easy to portray as an angry comedian, but instead she is a sweet person that tries to make a joke of everything. Her character is allowed the opportunity to provide details of her history, allowing the complexities of her character traits to be explained. Similarly with Dylan; he is an artist, but rather than being the long-haired brooding stereotypical artist, we find that he has been watching over his autistic brother Shep for many years, and while the reader at first thinks that Koontz is going to forego any development of Dylan's character by using Shep to cover for his lack of personality, we find that Dylan has enough angst to keep at least two psychotherapists busy for decades.

Several other reviewers have revealed too many details about the injection and provide too many plot spoilers. Just in case you decide not to read other reviews, I'll not spoil the surprises for you. Suffice it to say that Dylan, Jillian and Shep have at least two other exciting and significant adventures before we reach the end of the book.

My biggest complaint about books by Dean Koontz has always been his endings, and this book is no exception. I think the ending was a bit weak. There was plenty of opportunity for the principal characters to have various revelations, to do more, to do something. On the other hand, the ending is a natural lead-in to a sequel, and I'm hoping that Dean plans a sequel for this book; it's just begging for one.

As far as recent Dean Koontz books, I think "False Memory" was more intense; I think "One Door Away from Heaven" was weaker than this book. Certainly worthy of reading if you are a Koontz fan, but not his best. Coupled with a sequel, this book could later garner a five star rating.


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