Lightning

Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: I read this book years ago, and reread it when it was returned to me. It's very enjoyable and not predictable in the least. One of his best works.

Rating:
Summary: EXCELLENT!!
Review: This is the first Dean Koontz book I've ever read. I avoided his books in the past because I thought they were purely horror. Then a friend advised me to read this one. What a great book!

The main character in this book is Laura. When this book opens we are at the moment of her birth -- a handsome stranger appears and stops a drunk doctor from going to the hospital to assist in her delivery. He is very polite and kind to the drunk doctor as he ties him to a chair and calls the hospital to let them know he won't be going there to deliver her. As a result she is delivered by other doctors, mother dies in childbirth, and a sweet wonderful father is the only remaining family she has. Through her life a few major incidents occur where this kind stranger appears and saves her from danger. Who is this man who arrives in a flash of lightening? Laura begins to think of him as her guardian angel.

Throughout this well written tale we see Laura wed and have a wonderful little boy. The guardian angel appears sporatically in her lifetime. As an adult she begins to wonder just where he comes from.

I won't tell you more as it would spoil the rest of the plot. The book had lots of twists and turns, an enormous amount of suspense, a love story, and an element of science fiction/fantasy that'll keep you glued to your seat. Once you start reading you won't want to stop. This is a great story no one should miss. After you finish reading it you'll find yourself saying to your friends as I have: "you've GOT to read this book!"

Rating:
Summary: Good start, then downhill
Review: "Lighting" starts out with a bang, and then fades like diminishing thunder. The book is riddled with cliches, stereotypical characters, non sequiturs, and an astonishingly embarassing number of product placements: Smith & Wesson, Disney, McDonald's, Ralph's, Goodwill, Mark Cross, Ray Ban, IBM, etc. etc. Parts of the book are laughable; Laura becoming upset at Chris's use of profanity after Laura has "blown away" several of the assassins, Laura's concern about the nutritional value of the food Chris is eating.

However, if television shows like "Survivor", "Oprah", and "One Life To Live" appeal to you, this may be the book for you.

Rating:
Summary: The concept of the book ...
Review: ... To me, it's my favorite of all, in meaning of not so much horror, as The Bad Place, or evil as Hideaway(which is my favorite of the scaring to another level one would never expect), and I won't get into the demolition done to his books in movies. Lightning is unique from his other books. You can sense the humor in Dean Koontz and he's definitely a Disney fan. I felt the concept of the entire story was near the end, and depicted in one sentence. If one thinks about it, you'll see the truth of what was meant be *the moral of the story*.

Rating:
Summary: The concept of the book left out in other reviews
Review: Everything of what I've read of these reviews are all accurate. To me, it's my favorite of all, in meaning of not so much horror, as The Bad Place, or evil as Hideaway(which is my favorite of the scaring to another level one would never expect), and I won't get into the demolition done to his books in movies. Lightning is unique from his other books. You can sense the humor in Dean Koontz and he's definitely a Disney fan. I felt the concept of the entire story was near the end, and depicted in one sentence. If one thinks about it, you'll see the truth of what was meant be *the moral of the story*.

Rating:
Summary: Mind blowing
Review: Dean Koontz never dissapoints. This older book came to me via a friend and I lapped it up in a few days. He has such an interesting way of weaving together concepts you'd never suspect into once story. In this case time travel, romance and high stakes drama. Great read!

Rating:
Summary: Time Tunnel Travels
Review: In 'Lightning', the reader has all the elements of many Koontz novels: violence, romance, death and sorrow, and unusual twists that can surprise you, even if you suspect something strange is about to happen. The plot concerns the life of Laura Shane, who seems to be 'protected' from most of the violent events in her life by a tall, blonde man who appears out of nowhere, usually accompanied by lightning (with no storm in sight). Losing her mother at birth, and her father while a child, Laura overcomes the traumas of her early life to fall in love with a good man and bear a son, Chris. However, this brief happiness is cut short when the mysterious blonde man appears, and while saving the family, also invites new tragedy into Laura's life. Without giving too much away, the last third of the book is action-packed, with gun battles, car chases, and the usual. There is, of course, the Koontz twist on the overdone subject of time travel which raised more questions than it answered; also, the whole idea of time travel and the explanation of it seems to be dismissed with one word: "paradox". In addition, the ending falls a little flat and occurs too abruptly. However, on the whole, an entertaining book that kept me guessing on how it would end.

Rating:
Summary: The best book I have EVER read
Review: This is the best book i have ever read. Period. hands down. It is faced paced and addictive. You will love the characters. I laughed, i cried and i got angry with them. It was pure fun. Unbelievable. Koontz at his best and enjoyable by everyone.
Please read it !!!

Rating:
Summary: The Best Early Koontz Novel
Review: Well okay, it's not 70's early but still....early or 'old' style Koontz. Anyway, Lightning is just awesome. Start with what I thought was the best story line Koontz has had (...), add TONS of humor, action, suspense, great characters, and wonderful writing. This is just a really fun read. One of the few of his that I've wanted to read more than once.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: Not the masterpiece I remember reading in the 80s, but still a solid story with nicely developed characters, and a thoroughly executed complex plot. Koontz remains a master of language, but in this case some descriptions felt a bit repetitious.

This was the first Koontz book I ever read back in 1988 and I can see why it stuck in my memory as an excellent read. This second go around wasn't quite the same experience.