Lightning

Rating:
Summary: Fast Paced and Highly Entertaining
Review: I picked up my first Dean Koontz novel in high school, after seeing his name on an old bookmark that said "If you like Stephen King, try these authors ..." It's been more than a decade since then and I've now read all of Koontz's novels. And, while I don't think he's in the same league as King, he continues to entertain me most of the time (which is all I'm really looking for when I sit down with a book).

"Lightening" remains my favorite Koontz work, and one of my all-time favorite, pure pleasure reads. It's definitely more of a thriller than a horror novel, though there is a bit of fantasy thrown in. "Lightening" won't change your life, but it's a great action-packed story with a super twist that perks up what could have been a typical action/thriller genre storyline.

A great beach book or perfect for a rainy day, "Lightening" will keep you involved and entertained.

Rating:
Summary: One of Koont'z Best....VERY GOOD!
Review: This book dose not lack anything. It has love, friendship, affection, action...and most of all SUSPENSE! This was one of the first books I have read by this author, WATCHERS being the first...and it was one of the best also! It is perhaps the most thoughtful Dean Koontz book ever..and it is no wonder that everyone it calling it their 'favorite Koontz book'. I never wanted to read this book from the things I heard about It I said to myself "Time travel..oh please come on"...but it astonished me with it's logic...Koontz has a gift for letting his readers believe things that they would never belive in real life....after you read this book, you might be asking yourself the same question i asked myself after I finished it.."Hmm I wonder if there has been anyone that actually did travel in time"...it is that realistic!

Once agian I have to urge you to pick up this novel next time you decide to buy some books! You will love it. Anyone with an imagination and a heart will fall in love with this book!

What is this book about? It is about a 'guardian angel' who saves the person he is watching over time and time agian by going into the future to anticipate anything that might hurt the person he is guarding..I can't tell you more because it would give the novel away!!! Once agian...READ IT!

Rating:
Summary: Koontz Authors Sci-Fi Love Story
Review: Who is the tall blonde, blue eyed stranger that keeps popping up in Laura's life?

Where does he come from?

Most importantly, Why?

These are the things that you need to listen to or read the book to find out. This was a wonderful audio book. I listened to it while making a 3-hour drive. I started it just as I left and it finished about 10 miles from my home.

Yes I do have some negative input. This was the abridged version and I feel it was abridged just a little too much. It was rather obvious where large portions are missing. However; it was still a good audio book. Mr. Mariner (narrator) did a wonderful job.

I have read and listened to many books by Mr. Koontz. This was a great book and I am considering reading it. Typically I don't read a book after listening to the audio book, but this may be the exception.

If you like Koontz, Sci-Fi or Love Stories, then this is a book for you. I guarantee, it will have you wanting to read other books by this author.

Rating:
Summary: Why Couldn't They All Be Like This
Review: I wholeheartedly agree with the reviewer who noted that this was not only Koontz' best work, but it was really very much superior to most of his other stuff -- which is really quite bad, and getting worse as he seems to now want to preach rather than write. Koontz should be required to go back and re-read this work before he starts each new book. From the very first page, I couldn't put this book down, and it never let up for a second. The only other Koontz book that comes close was watchers. If you read only one Koontz, read Lightning.

Rating:
Summary: Telescopic, yes. Gripping, not really.
Review: My girlfriend and I have recently decided to share books that both of us enjoy. She is a proclaimed Dean Koontz fan and I decided to follow suit. When I asked which one might be a good one to get me hooked, she suggested, "Lightning."

This book grabbed me at first, I was interested in the protagonist from the outset. However, the first third of the book afterwards seemed ridiculous. The speech of the main character, Laura, (at age 8) and some of her roommates at the orphanage is not indicative of how children speak. Exceptional children...maybe one or two. Three as roommates...highly unlikely. With the way the twins spoke, I could have mistaken them for businesswomen discussing their stock portfolios. Afterwards, the child Chris is born. I felt similarly for his character, that a normal eight-year-old would not speak this way (a superior one maybe, but to be almost completely immune from childhood misunderstandings? Unlikely!)

Determined to finish it, I persisted on. The book is telescopic (which is a feature I like). You begin to understand more of the situations surrounding the story. The talk of time travel and paradox is masterfully executed. The elements of foreshadowing are also well in place. However, neither the jacket nor the title implicate time travel. If this is a subject area that interests you, you not only have to wait on peer recommendation, but also plod through the first half of the book.

So four stars for content (the second half was really excellent), two stars for dialogue that seems very unrealistic of the characters portrayed, yielding an average of three. Will I read Dean again? Let's just say this book has indicated that he is worth another try, provided there are no books I am very eager to read at that point in time.

Rating:
Summary: The Koontz Method
Review: This was a good book, but the protagonists in Kootz's stories always bother me for reasons I can't quite explain. They get to be very corny, and somehow they all seem the same after a while. Howerever, I don't really read his books for character exploration anyway. I read his books because they all use a similiar method which is so simple and yet so captivating of the reader's attention. At the core of each Koontz book lies a bizarre and often supernatural revelation. The stories all travel an oblique route to arrive at this revelation, carefully dishing out tid-bits of information here and there, supplying early mysterious scenes that beg for explanation, and following characters who are progressively drawn away from normal lives and into surreal realms that test their basic assumptions. All of the books of his which I have read have followed this pattern, and the strength and weakness of each story rests on it. If a book fails it is either because the revelation didn't live up to all the set-up and suspense (as in Phantoms), or because the book didn't handle the method itself properly (as in Tick Tock. I was barely into the story when the villian started stopping time. I put the book down right there. When you START with the villian being able to stop time, where do you go from there?) On the other hand, when the method is handled properly and the revelation is worth the effort to reach, Koontz's books can be very entertaining although superficial. Lightning is such a book. The truth about Krieger is revealed slowly and subtly, making the story very compelling. Laura Shane's troubled life story is somewhat touching through out the first half of the book, but I doubt that has enough dramatic impact to have been able to stand on it's own without all the time traveling that supplements it, even though Kootz has obviously gone to great lengths to try to jerk the audience's tears.

Rating:
Summary: His best work
Review: This was the second Dean Koontz book I read after mindnight, almost 10 years ago, and I still can remeber how much it effected me. This is by far his best book, and I have read every single book he has written. The story of time travel, and how one single minute can change our entire future was cleverly written. I admit there were some problems with the time travel explantation, but they weren't bad enough to ruin the book.

Rating:
Summary: Lightning Strikes Down
Review: After Intensity, and Dragon Tears once again, I was amazed by Dean Koontz' ability to write. He has the ability to incorporate several super exceptional story lines into one great book. He adds wicked twist and turns without the confusions of tying together two story lines. Koontz has a way of developing realistic characters that you could possibly relate to or develop sympathetic feelings for. However, in this particular work he gives a supernatural time travelling power to a few of the characters. He gives so much reality and authenticity to the other few characters that when he does throw in a twist of sci-fi, it balances out to a nice equilibrium. The whole story was really told well. Koontz gives the story a sense of completeness. The whole story basically is travel through time with the main character Laura Shane from birth to young adulthood. Many people are put through some odd twists by a stranger, or Laura's guardian angel who turns out to be the time traveler. He ultimately saves the main character Laura Shane many times. The supernatural experience is fun. It also adds action to the story. In the begging of the story the reader is left thinking, "Why does the stranger want to keep Laura alive so bad?" then finally the question is answered. This book is extremely well written and should be read by every thrill seeker. Each reader may have a different theme that could fit with this story. When reading this book so many meanings can be pulled out of it. Everyone has a special purpose just as Laura Shane had. In a way I think it saying that each person has a place in this world from birth until death and a reason for being born.

Rating:
Summary: Better than S. K.
Review: Excellent book. It has all the best elements of a good mystery and science fiction - my two favorites. I certainly would not have filed it under "Horror".

The mystery builds throughout the book - other reviewers have described it in enough detail, and it's hard to discuss the science-fiction aspect of the book without spoiling it. Let's just say that the story is thoroughly worked out and all "paradoxes" are resolved cleanly.

The book is a page-turner and I'm sorry there won't be a sequel as it is all wrapped up neatly - no pesky lingering questions.

I agree with many of the reviews which stated that this would make a great movie. It's a lot like a good Steven King novel without the ridiculous ending (no clowns, no spiders, etc.).

Rating:
Summary: class assignment
Review: I just read the book Lightening by Dean R Koontz. This book was very long, but there was not one boring moment throughout the book. This book is about following the life of a young girl, named Laura, and how her gurdian angel saves her life sevral times throughout the book. Except it turns out he is not her guradian angel, but a time traveler sent to help her. Throughout the book they are chased by hit men also sent from the past trying to kill the man, named Stephen, because they are scared he will reveal secrets about time travel and their aspirations of winning world war II. This book was extremely well written. There were several climaxes instead of just one, the characters were beleivable, the plot was intense and the book was mostly fast reading. "A chill pierced her, freezing her heart, numbing her hands. She dropped the book and raced into the hallway, startling the girls." "When was the fire?" this was one of the very intense parts of the book. She just found out that there was a fire in her old boarding school, and she is wondering if her two best friends in the whole world were killed in it. The thing is going back to that school means she would have to see the man who killed her step mom and tried to rape her. The down sides to this book were that there were lots of slow parts which were necessary to set up the climaxes. It was also hard to keep track of all the characters, because it follows her whole life. All in all this book was great. I might even go as far to say that it was the best book I have ever read. It is long, but it is so hard to put down. I finished it in two days. This book should be read by everyone. If you like thrillers this is the book for you.