| 
 enlarge | Author: Dean Koontz
Publisher: Harper
Category: Book
Buy Used: $6.17
Used (6) from $6.17
Rating:  224 reviews
Sales Rank: 466272
Format: Import
Media: Paperback
Pages: 400
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 6.9 x 4.3 x 1.3
ISBN: 0007226624
EAN: 9780007226627
ASIN: 0007226624
Publication Date: July 7, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand New. Delivery is usually 5 - 8 working days from order, International is by Royal Mail Airmail
|
| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 11-15 of 224
 A harrowing, spine-tingling, suspense thriller. November 15, 2008
J. K. Hinton (TX USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This novel is made for dog lovers, so if you are one of those persons, you can't go wrong. Yes, there are references to dog abuse and neglect, because the main protagonist, Amy, is deeply involved with Golden rescue. However, anyone that is a dog advocate knows these situations do occur and that it is actually good for the subject to reach as many as possible. I suspect there have been a few Koontz readers who have been compelled to adopt after reading this novel. It does touch your heart.
As beautifully as Koontz draws out his dog characters and their caregivers, in contrast, he delves into the sociopathic mind of some of the creepiest characters, ever. Their evil deeds are far more frightening than the supernatural aspects of this book. The battle between good and evil that ensues, as the multiple story-lines are expertly drawn together, will leave you squinting through your fingers, fearing to read yet another word. The story of Piggy/Hope, alone, will leave you horrified at the depths of torture that a mother could manifest toward a child.
The individual stories begin to collide into a crescendo of a conclusion, where you may have to suspend some disbelief. But for me, it was refreshing to believe---just for that moment, that we do have Angel warriors on our side fighting such evil and that goodness will prevail.
There Ought to be a Law November 11, 2008
Elliott (L.A.)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
There should be a warning stamped on Dean Koontz's books: "Don't start reading if you have some important unfinished tasks." Perhaps the newly-elected Congress will pass such a measure.
I have read at least five of his novels and have quickly become interested in the stories, putting the books down only with reluctance before reaching the final page. The only complaint I've had is that he sometimes writes himself into a plot corner and chooses to escape by introducing some funky supernatural themes.
This book has a wife beater who also abuses his children and pet dog. You have a soulless sadistic woman and her vicious boyfriend who torture her Down's syndrome daughter. Then there's a merciless hired killer who also murders random strangers for fun.
On the good side you've got a kind woman who takes care of abandoned and abused golden retrievers. There's her loving boyfriend. There are several golden retrievers, one of which seems to have supernatural powers. Koontz thinks highly of golden retrievers and glorifies them in this book.
How all of these elements intersect is the heart of the matter. Koontz's prose is flawless. He shows a profound grasp of human nature, and is fascinated with the existence of evil in a world that can be so wonderful.
Koontz knows exactly how to keep the reader enthralled. The pages keep turning.
Because there was no government-mandated warning on the cover, I started reading. I kept reading, although I had important unfinished tasks.
On second thought, maybe the tasks were not so important.
 Bad- Ending makes no sense- at all! November 11, 2008
Mark Harclerode (Atlanta)
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
I've like some of Koontz's books in the past. But I couldn't even finish this one. It is literally a dog of a book. Boring... boring boring.
I skipped ahead to the end it got so bad, and the ending makes no sense whatsoever.
The dog jumps over the bad girl and guy, and they just... disappear or something???!! Who knows, I surely don't.
 I bought a lemon! November 8, 2008
S. Forsberg (Mason County, WA USA)
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
This is the first book by Dean Koontz I have ever read. I will not spend any more money on his novels. I will get them from the library. This story is far-fetched and pathetic. I gave it two stars because the dogs made the book.
 A slight improvement over recent Koontz books November 3, 2008
mrliteral
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
The nice thing about Dean Koontz is that he rarely disappoints. The bad thing about him is that he rarely wows you over either: he is--in Amazon terms--a consistent four star writer. That means when you pick up one of his books, you know it will be decent. That isn't to say that he is completely without relative clunkers: I consider his recent novel The Good Guy to be subpar Koontz. Fortunately, despite some definite flaws, The Darkest Evening of the Year is an improvement that shows the old Koontz magic is still there.
The heroine in Darkest Evening is Amy Redwing, a typical female protagonist for Koontz: young, beautiful and with a traumatic past. The nature of these traumas will take a while to unfold in the story as she has more pressing issues to contend with. The first issue deals with her rescuing a dog from an abusive owner (and incidentally rescuing the abuser's wife and kids); this golden retriever named Nickie has something special about her that bonds her quickly with Amy and also has a profound effect on her boyfriend Brian (who has his own secrets).
Meanwhile, a couple known as Moongirl and Harrow are up to mischief. Moongirl is a complete sociopath, and Harrow is no better, making them get along in a twisted relationship. When they are not committing random acts of savage violence, they have a plot that will entangle both Brian and Amy in a web of vicious revenge. At first, Brian and Amy will be unaware of this plot as well as the possibly related work of a private eye more interested in his virtual life than his real one and an assassin that likes to take on names of various Vonnegut characters.
Unlike many of Koontz's recent novels (outside his Odd Thomas books), this novel does have a supernatural element, though it remains subdued for the most part. It seems to focus on Nickie, which is not a complete shock: anyone familiar with Koontz knows that he has a particular reverence for dogs. Thematically, I think Koontz is saying that there is enough evil in mankind that occasionally non-human forces are required to balance things out.
Some of the things that hurt Koontz's writing are evident in this novel, notably the banter between characters that is so artificial as to take the reader temporarily out of the story. In addition, things do fall apart towards the end, particularly in the last chapter when something happens that creates a forced reversal in events. On the other hand, this story also reflects Koontz's strengths: a fast-paced, action-filled story with likeable heroes and loathsome villains (Moongirl is one of Koontz's better recent villains). Overall, this is typical Koontz, which is to say a four-star book.
|
|
|