Lightning

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Summary: Lightning
Review: Lightning is a suspense filled thrill ride that will keep you up late and guessing. Dean Koontz shows why he is the master of suspense-thrillers with this book. Lightning is the kind of book that makes you rush to see what happens, then weep when it's over. Dean Koontz mixes all the ingredients needed for a great thriller, perfectly. Lightning is filled with memorable characters, a great plot, and suspenseful writing, making it one of my favorite books.
Laura Shane has had a childhood filled with tragedy and mystery. She was saved from a botched delivery at birth, being murdered during a grocery store robbery and from being molested, all by the same blond haired hero. Every time evil is about to befall Laura, her hero shows up with the sound of lightning, saving only her. Is this mystery man truly her savior, or a demon bringing danger into her life? The truth is far more bizarre which will put Laura in a life or death struggle between her and time traveling "death squads" who are seeking to end her string of good luck. Lightning is a gripping story filled with twists and turns that keep you on your heels the whole way through. I have read Lightning twice now and I loved it just as much the second time over. I can't get enough of this story. It took my imagination places I never remotely expected to go when I first started reading.
The characters and dialogue in Lightning are well written and keep the story moving smoothly. Laura Shane the smart and tough main character was a joy to read about. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the story unfold around her. Laura's guardian angel Stefan is an equally deep character that you can't help but fall in love with. He's struggling to get passed his dark past and do some good in his life. My favorite character by far is Laura's best friend Thelma. Thelma is a boisterous free spirit that loves life and lives it to the fullest. She supports and completely loves Laura and does every thing to help her. I always enjoy Dean Koontz characters they never fail to grab my attention and stay on my mind long after I'm finished with his books.
I have also read From the Corner of His Eye, Watchers, Strangers, Watchers, Phantoms, and Midnight by Dean Koontz. Every time I pick up one of Dean Koontz books the real world seems to fade away and I get lost in his world. I find myself sitting up late, not caring that I have to work in a few hours as long I get to finish the story. I have to admit there is a strong similarity in his characters and on how some of his stories unfold. Fortunately the circumstances and settings are so different that I don't think it takes anything away from his writing in the least. If you haven't read any of Dean Koontz books Lightning is a good one to start with. Lightning is non-stop entertainment that will turn you into a Koontz addict like myself.

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Summary: my first real book
Review: I don't ever read this type of book. my genre is usually fantasy/fiction, but my school librarian told me to. I have the highest esteem for my school librarian so I picked it off the shelves.
I read it in 2 days. 13 at the time, I was so scared I was shaking, but it was extremely well writ, and though it was my first adult book it was the best one I had ever read so far. Dean Koonts puts so much into his books that I didn't have trouble imagining the exact surroundings of the characters, or the timbre of their voices, or the shape, and size of their persons. but he didn't put so much detail that it was boring, and he left just enough out to let my imagination fill in the blanks. I would give this book ten stars if it was allowed. as it is, all I can do is recommend it to everyone who can read.
however, I wouldn't recommend this book to somebody younger than 15, and then only if it's a very mature 15 year old. some of the scenes in this book are not suitable for children any younger. I had to do my own editing sometimes. but, on the whole, this book was the greatest thriller that I have yet to read, and, for those who don't know, I've been looking for a better one for years and have still not found one. hats off to Koonts!

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Summary: Koontz at the Top of his Form
Review: This thriller has everything - perfect mood, perfect cover, great plot, scary effects, evil Nazis, damsel (and son) in distress, lots of action and a good ending.

The hero is a real hero and the villians are bad as can be. Somehow Koontz escaped the problems that have plagued him in his most recent books - repetition, boring characters, dull plots.
This one is a real winner.

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Summary: ONE OF THE BEST KOONTZ!!!! BRILLIANT!!!
Review: This one is definitely in the upper echelon of Koontz!!! I can't recommend this one highly enough! He has several that are really over the top, even for him! Truly outstanding! I almost cried when this book ended, I was so disappointed!! I wish it had been 3000 pages! The plot in this one was a departure from his "usual" (if you can really find a "usual" with him)!! The characters in this one were, I think, the most developed that I've seen in any of his books. This was one of the most satisying novels I have ever read. This one had supernatural (of the science fiction type) and suspense and excitement. It's up there with "One Door Away from Heaven" and "Strangers" and "Watchers." I don't like to give a synopsis for his books; I don't want to spoil anything. One of the best reads ever!!!

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Summary: One of His Best
Review: Lots of suspense, emotional ups and downs, great characters(!), one of the best "time machine" stories I have read, and one of Koontz's best books. I am sorry I skipped it when it came out.

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Summary: The best book ever
Review: This thriller is one of the best pieces of work Dean Koontz has ever mastered. It keeps your eyes glued to the pages and fliping as fast as you can.

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Summary: Old reliable Koontz delivers again
Review: Koontz is one of the undisputed masters of page-turning, finger-blistering, runaway train on a greased up track storytelling. This novel is now one of my favorites.

Our tale starts off with a flash of lightning - literally. A doctor, drinking his scotch, gets a phone call from the hospital informing him that he needs to hurry up and assist in delivering a baby. He's too drunk to perform his duties, but of course he doesn't tell the hospital that... on the way out the door, a man hustles him back into the house, tying the doctor up and preventing him from getting to the hospital.

Flash forward several years, and meet a young girl and her father who run a small convenience store. Lightning flashes again, and soon they two of them are being held up at gunpoint by a robber. Suddenly, a man appears and thwarts the robbery attempt. He isn't nice about it, but seems happy that the child is safe. He leaves, instructing the store owner to not mention that he was ever there.

Twice now, this mysterious person has appeared out of nowhere, and twice has been instrumental in protecting the girl. After another incident years later, the girl starts to regard him as her Guardian Angel.

But is that all there is to it? After all, this man never seems to change his appearance, and doesn't seem to age...

That's enough plot spoilers. The real joy of a book like "Lightning" lies in the skilled cliffhangers, the sharp descriptions of action, the believable characters, the fun of having the rug yanked out from under you, and the thrill of being taken for a ride with no idea how it's all going to work out. When the plot is revealed in "Lightning" about 2/3 of the way through, it's just as exciting as the book's beginnings.

Some people have complained about Koontz. They say all his novels are the same, the characters are the same, and the plots unravel in similar ways. I agree with a lot of that. I also don't care. I never feel his novels are predictable, this one especially. In my opinion, the "sameness" attributed to Koontz can just as easily be identified as a writing STYLE unique to him.

"Lightning" has all the ingredients that work for me as a reader. Action, suspense, mystery, horror, science fiction, and a style and pace that kept me riveted to my seat. This is among the best Koontz had to offer in the 80s, and stands up well against his more recent (and better IMO) works.

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Summary: Great Read
Review: I throughly enjoyed this book!There is a bit of sci-fi to it but it worked well with the plot. Defintely worth reading!!!

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Summary: No matter what the date is today you should buy this
Review: Laura Shane's life is not easy. At different points in her life horrendous crimes against her seem inevitable but a guardian angel named Stefan appears, intervenes and saves the day before disappearing.

Terminator style time travellers (humans not robots) are sent through time to kill her and her son and she does not know why. Stefan has his reasons for intervening in her life and protecting her but can he protect her from these killers?

This is one of the best Koontz novels out there. Koontz deals with paradoxes and other aspects of time travel that if he hadn't would have put holes in his story. This is a great read. You should buy it.

Rating:
Summary: Great until the midpoint...
Review: It's been a long time since I've felt so emotionally invested in a character from a novel. Yet, I was completely enchanted with Laura Shane, the protagonist in Dean Koontz' Lightning. I cheered when she triumped and despaired when she faltered. But something happened during the second half of the novel. As Koontz peeled back the layers of mystery surrounding Stefan, the "guardian angel" that kept reappearing in Laura's life when she was in mortal danger, I became disinterested. Part of the problem was Koontz' bad habit of overexplaining plot points to the point of tedium. After Stefan's final appearance near page 200, Koontz seemed to be writing on autopilot, forgetting about his characters and letting the plot take center stage. It's as if Koontz ran out of ideas. In fact, the second half of the novel seemed to borrow a lot from The Servants of Twilight in which a mother and her son must go on the lam from baddies under the protection of the alpha male leading to the eventual showdown in an outdoor setting. What a shame since the first half of the novel was so well written and captivating. Nevertheless, I mostly enjoyed the book and would grudgingly recommend it.