What the Night Knows by Dean Koontz

The book's synopsis from the author's website:

In the late summer of a long ago year, a killer arrived in a small city. His name was Alton Turner Blackwood, and in the space of a few months he brutally murdered four families. His savage spree ended only when he himself was killed by the last survivor of the last family, a fourteen-year-old boy.
Half a continent away and two decades later, someone is murdering families again, recreating in detail Blackwood’s crimes. Homicide detective John Calvino is certain that his own family—his wife and three children—will be targets in the fourth crime, just as his parents and sisters were victims on that distant night when he was fourteen and killed their slayer.
As a detective, John is a man of reason who deals in cold facts. But an extraordinary experience convinces him that sometimes death is not a one-way journey, that sometimes the dead return.

 This is definitely one of the better Koontz books. Granted, I haven't read all of them yet but I have a fair amount and What the Night Knows belongs to the group that will definitely satisfy the old fans and has a good chance of attracting new ones as well. It's a straight ghost story with demonic possession and even a little bit of exorcism involved. Which is exactly how I like it, even though nothing scares me more than ghosts.

I got into the story right away. The action develops quickly without really much introductory descriptions (which is otherwise quite common for the larger of Koontz's novels). The gruesome murders are the intro so you now you're in for quite a thrill ride. Unfortunately, it all somehow comes to a stop in the middle of the book and we get to learn details about the main character that maybe we should have learned in the beginning. But then again, it's probably a smart strategy because by the time I got to the middle, I was too much into the whole story to quit and to be honest, the slowdown in action wasn't annoying enough to warrant giving up on the whole novel.

Besides, even with all that said, Mr. Koontz still writes extremely well and it's a pleasure to read yet again some important existential questions hidden between the pages of this horror story. What makes people susceptible to evil? Is there evil that sometimes cannot be fought merely with guns, prisons and justice? Or, what is more evil, the supernatural that lurks in the night or the human that may be just around the corner? This is signature Koontz and I've come to expect it, and I wasn't disappointed when I read What the Night Knows. Don't be put off by the slower parts either because they pick up as well and the third part of the book is just smooth sailing. The only thing you need to be aware of is that may need to sleep with your lights on for a night or two.

FTC: I received an ARC of What The Night Knows from a GoodReads First Reads giveaway.

The hardcover copy of What The Night Knows by Dean Koontz will be released on December 28, 2010 by Bantam Dell.

2-in-1: A Winter Haunting by Dan Simmons & Cabal by Clive Barker

1. A Winter Haunting by Dan Simmons

A book synopsis from the publisher's website:

A once-respected college professor and novelist, Dale Stewart has sabotaged his career and his marriage -- and now darkness is closing in on him. In the last hours of Halloween he has returned to the dying town of Elm Haven, his boyhood home, where he hopes to find peace in isolation. But moving into a long-deserted farmhouse on the far outskirts of town -- the one-time residence of a strange and brilliant friend who lost his young life in a grisly "accident" back in the terrible summer of 1960 -- is only the latest in his long succession of recent mistakes. Because Dale is not alone here. He has been followed to this house of shadows by private demons who are now twisting his reality into horrifying new forms. And a thick, blanketing early snow is starting to fall ...

This was my first book by Dan Simmons and to sound as cliche as possible, it will not be the last. I was very surprised by the lyrical quality of A Winter Haunting, which really made this horror/ghost story a little more special. And also a little more frightening. It's a modern Gothic story in my opinion and even though there are a lot of descriptive passages and mostly the main character's ruminations, it reads smoothly and is not boring at all. One little fact you should know, A Winter Haunting is apparently a sequel to Summer of Night. I didn't know that previous to reading the book but it made no difference. A Winter Haunting can easily be read as a stand-alone. If you want a nice, spooky ghost story with Gothic in it, I think you should try this one. It's not long and windy and is probably a good introduction to Dan Simmons's style of writing.

2. Cabal by Clive Barker

The book's synopsis from GoodReads:

Is he a madman or an innocent? A mass-murderer or a fugitive from injustice? Aaron Boone-wracked by unbearable guilt for crimes he cannot remember; loved by a woman who will stop at nothing to save him; and pursued by a twisted killer-is driven into a netherworld of the living dead, a world of creatures who thrive on darkness and flesh. 

I didn't like this story too much. It was very bizarre and granted, there were some gory scenes in there, but something just didn't click for me. Maybe the length of the novel is to blame (it really was a novella). I am thinking that Mr. Barker is not very good at writing short stories or I'm just not the type of person to like them. There simply was no time for me to develop any kind of feelings for the main character, let alone all the supporting cast. Everything felt rushed and I felt detached from the story. I also am growing a little bit bored with the general theme permeating the horror novels I read showing the reader how people are the real monsters capable of horrible evil and the imagined monsters or creatures that live underground are really not that bad in comparison. I thought it original the first time but Cabal had the misfortune of being the third or fourth one in a row. I know Mr. Barker has a strong following in the horror world but I will not belong to it, I'm afraid.

FTC: I bought both books.

'Salem's Lot by Stephen King

The book's synopsis from the publisher's website:

Stephen King's second novel, the classic vampire bestseller 'SALEM'S LOT, tells the story of evil in small-town America.
 
'Salem's Lot is a small New England town with white clapboard houses, tree-lined streets, and solid church steeples. That summer in 'salem's Lot was a summer of homecoming and return; spring burned out and the land lying dry, crackling underfoot. Late that summer, Ben Mears returned to 'salem's Lot hoping to cast out his own devils and found instead a new, unspeakable horror.

A stranger had also come to the Lot, a stranger with a secret as old as evil, a secret that would wreak irreparable harm on those he touched and in turn on those they loved.

All would be changed forever: Susan, whose love for Ben could not protect her; Father Callahan, the bad priest who put his eroded faith to one last test; and Mark, a young boy who sees his fantasy world become reality and ironically proves the best equipped to handle the relentless nightmare of 'Salem's Lot.

This is a rare novel, almost hypnotic in its unyielding suspense, which builds to a climax of classic terror. You will not forget the town of 'salem's Lot nor any of the people who used to live here.

I liked 'Salem's Lot. That's it. I just liked it. I didn't love it and I didn't fall head over heels for it, which is what I expected my reaction to be. I think that all the positive things I had heard before I read it made my expectations impossibly high and that was one of the problems. I kept hearing how scary it was, what a piece of classic horror it was and then it wasn't scary for me at all, didn't have that atmosphere of reality that I always find in King's books. By that I mean, no matter how impossible a story Mr. King tells, he somehow always manages to make it seem very probable indeed. And that's what makes his books scary for me. With 'Salem's Lot, I just didn't get that vibe at all. I suppose that the book didn't scare the pants off of me was my main source of disappointment. Otherwise, it is still a fine, gritty vampire tale.

The characters in 'Salem's Lot are developed beautifully. We already (it's one of the author's earliest novels) encounter King's signature scene with multitude of personalities. The beautiful thing is, you never get confused as to who is who and who did what. Some of the people there were simply bad without any supernatural influence and I wished a little that some horrible end would meet them but that didn't happen. I suppose in real life justice rarely does arrive and Mr. King simply tried to imitate this nitty, gritty reality of ours as closely as possible to make the whole vampire story seem possible as well. The writing is of course superb. I write of course because I never expect anything less from this writer. He really knows his craft. Sentences are clean, sharp and to the point. You will find no beautifying or overly longish paragraphs with unnecessary descriptions of every minute thing in here. Which makes 'Salem's Lot a pleasurable, quick read despite its length (roughly 550 pages).

If you're looking for some nice, traditional vampire action, this read is a must. Just like Stoker's Dracula, even if 'Salem's Lot is not the best of King (and it's just my humble opinion anyway), it belongs to the vampire canon that needs to be on the shelves of any self-respecting horror and the Undead fan.

Disclosure: I bought 'Salem's Lot.

2-in-1: The Right Hand of Evil by John Saul & Blood Games by Richard Laymon

1. The Right Hand of Evil by John Saul

The book's description from the author's website:

When the Conways move into their ancestral home in Louisiana after the death of an estranged aunt, it is with the promise of a new beginning. But the house has a life of its own. Abandoned for the last forty years, surrounded by thick trees and a stifling sense of melancholy, the sprawling Victorian house seems to swallow up the sunlight. Deep within the cold cellar and etched into the very walls is a long, dark history of the Conway name--a grim bloodline poisoned by suicide, strange disappearances, voodoo rituals and rumors of murder. But the family knows nothing of the soul-shattering secrets that snake through generations of their past.They do not know that terror awaits them. For with each generation of the Conways comes a hellish day of reckoning...

Simply put, if you're looking for a scary book, this is it. I have to say that I don't get spooked easily but The Right Hand of Evil came pretty close to doing just that. Granted, it's not an awesome, scariest book I've ever read but it was a nice read that sent some chills up my spine. And I think it will do the same for you, especially if you like stories with haunted houses in them, because there is a haunted house in this story. haunted by pure evil as a matter of fact.

2. Blood Games by Richard Laymon

The book's description from the publisher's website:

They meet for one week every year, five young women, best friends since college, in search of fun and thrills. Each year they choose a different place for their reunion. This year it's Helen's choice, and she chooses the Totem Pole Lodge. Bad choice. The Totem Pole Lodge is a deserted resort hotel deep in the woods with a gory, shocking past. Helen has a macabre streak and she can't wait to tell her friends all about what happened at the lodge and why it's now abandoned. But Helen and the others are in for a nasty surprise. The resort isn't quite as deserted as they think. And not all the gruesome events at the Totem Pole Lodge are in its past. The worst are still to come....

It's my first Richard Laymon experience and I have to tell you, if you really want to get creep-ed out, this is the author for you and this is the book for you. Nothing supernatural here, just plain, pure human evil . Mix the movies Descent with Hills Have Eyes and you get the idea of what you'll be reading in Blood Games. I felt like I was reading the whole time on an inhale, thinking I won't come up for air again. It's definitely a fun book. The only thing that spoiled it for me were the sexual overtures between the girl friends. I think Mr. Laymon's imagination as to how a few girlfriends spend quality time together went really wild. But other than that (at least for me), it's a solid horror story and I'll definitely be reading more of his books.

The Passage by Justin Cronin

I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say that almost everyone has heard about The Passage by Justin Cronin by now. At least  the people in the booking world have. And for good reason now that I’ve read it myself. I’m not kidding when I say, I have been waiting for this book my whole life. Well, maybe I’m over the top a little bit :), but The Passage is such a book that will make you feel like this is it, you have found what you were looking for in the reading department.

Project NOAH was supposed to make U.S. soldiers invincible. The virus found in the jungles of Bolivia turns humans into powerful, indestructible beings but it also kills them shortly afterward. One scientist, with the help of U.S. Army is determined to make this deadly virus work for humans, not against them. The experiment conducted on twelve death row inmates takes a tragically wrong turn when the twelve subjects, who are now fully functioning virus carriers and no longer humans but vampires from your worst nightmares, escape and devour every living creature in their way.  Soon, the human species faces extinction and the only person that can save people from this fate is a six-year-old girl, Amy with the help of an FBI agent, Wolgast and a nun from Sierra Leone, Lacey.  Will Amy succeed and will humanity persevere or will the consequences of  trying to tame what cannot be tamed be finally too high a price to pay? Well, you just have to read The Passage to find out :).

I think I already made it pretty clear that I loved this book. I will say it again though, just for the effect, I LOVE THE PASSAGE!!!!! I have been on the lookout for mean, nasty and bloodthirsty vampires for the longest time. I will be honest with you here, I got really sick of the noble, out-of-this world beautiful creatures who drink blood only to survive but really are our best friends. This is not what you’ll find in The Passage. The vampires, or virals as they are called by some, are some mean SOB’s whose hunger takes over every other instinct and who are nearly indestructible. I guess I have a mean streak in me but I really enjoyed myself reading about them.  This book is actually pretty scary and I don’t say it lightly. I have read my shares of horrors and not much can scare me but Mr. Cronin did a pretty good job doing just that. I suppose, it’s mainly because all the time while reading The Passage, I kept thinking how the story might not be as far fetched as it seems on the surface. That possibility plus awesome action that stops only to allow a reader to take a short breath kept me literally on the edge of my seat. I swear to you, I had The Passage-related dream every night while reading it.

The Passage however, is not all vampires, action and nightmares. It is also a novel with some beautiful writing, sometimes almost lyrical prose that you normally wouldn’t look for in a horror novel. That’s why I even hesitate to label the book and categorize it in any one way. It’s a study of characters, of what people are really made of, it’s a scary look into what our future might be (whether the cause are vampires or some other nasty things we dabble in unnecessarily) , and finally it’s an enthralling ride that will take you places you never thought you wanted to go until you got there and will put in your path people you’ll love, hate and feel sorry for until you’ll realize you don’t want to part ways with any of them. And guess what, you won’t have to. At least not for long because The Passage is actually book one of a trilogy (YAY!). I am very happy that there gets to be more of Amy and a few other people that I can’t reveal here. Let me just say that I was very happy with the way things ended for now. Thank goodness, the ending was just as good as the whole novel and didn’t ruin the experience for me (it sadly happens more often than I care to admit). That’s that, I won’t sing any more praises and will just ask you to go and dive into The Passage yourself.

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I received a copy of this book for review from the publisher, Ballantine Books.

2-in-1: Cell & From a Whisper to a Scream

I rather like this 2-in-1 idea and decided to give it a regular appearance in my blog. It’s a way of still giving my opinion along with a short summary of books I read without writing an in-depth review. Sometimes I just don’t think I have enough to say about a book to warrant a review, but I still want this book to be mentioned in expressing my ‘bookish thoughts’ on it.

1. Cell by Stephen King

It’s no secret that I am a huge fan of King’s writing. I like not only his creativity in the horror and fantasy departments, but his writing skills as well. Cell, therefore, was no disappointment. It is another kind of the-end-is-coming novel but definitely more gritty, brutal and therefore more believable than what the book market is flooded with nowadays. Clay Riddell, a graphic artist who is finally on the verge of becoming noticed and somewhat successful in his career, witnesses some strange happenings one day after signing his first deal. The happenings turn into a full blown apocalypse when it turns out that all the cell phones transmit a message that resets human brains and turns people into bloodthirsty, murderous creatures. They all act like zombies and the only thing they have in common is a drive to eat and kill all remaining people unaffected by this ‘disease’. Clay, together with others who did not use their cell phones, are now fighting for their survival.

What can I say? I enjoyed this book from the first to the last page. It is scary mainly because, as I read more and more, I started to think that all this may very well happen one day, as crazy as it sounds. But that’s just the way Stephen King writes his horrors. No matter how unbelievable the premise may sound, I invariably find myself believing every bit of it. One thing that may disappoint the readers is the ending which does not deliver a closure. Personally, I didn’t mind that at all. Instead, I saw it as a way of giving a reader a free hand in imagining whether this end-of-the-world would truly be the end or not. If you are looking for a hard-core post-apocalyptic tale, with nightmarish reality, King is always your man.

2. From a Whisper to a Scream by Charles de Lint

Here’s a different kind of horror but just as engaging as the previous one. Thomas Morningstar, a Newford policeman ends up shooting to death a man, who did not stop to pull over. It soon becomes something more than a traffic violation turned tragic. Officer Morningstar killed a serial child murderer. However, things did not end there. Evil merely began. A few years later, Morningstar is a detective and has the case of his life on his hands. Young girls are being murdered in a red-light district of Newford and the police do not have a thread of lead. All of a sudden, a crime photographer, the killed child molester’s daughter and detective Morningstar discover that they have a lot in common and it all has to do with the shooting that had happened a few years back. And it turns out to be evil beyond anybody’s imagination and that evil might as well be too much even for people well-versed in spiritual world.

I was surprised to find out that From a Whisper to a Scream was a horror novel. All the previous de Lint’s books I had read were sci-fi and you know how it is with expectations. I must say however, it was a darn good horror. Charles de Lint has been compared to Stephen King actually and I can see why. The turn of events is unexpected, the characters in this book are nicely developed and yet again, even though I knew it was fiction, I caught myself thinking about the actual possibility of such events happening. The author’s writing is very convincing and he definitely has enough skills to keep a reader up at night.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

Okay, I'll just come right out and say that this book was a big disappointment to me. I know that it puts me in the minority, probably somewhere right at the bottom of the list but I just could not make myself care for the story and the characters at all.

Let me first go over the plot, which is probably not necessary as most of the readers out there already have heard about it. But the plot summary is always in order. As the story begins, we meet Mary who lives in a tiny village surrounded by the Unconsecrated (another word for zombies) and the only thing that separates the world of zombies from the world of the living is chain link fence (ahem, how tall is that fence or how strong that it kept the zombies at bay for generations?). Mary is a teenager ready to be married and start her own family when her mother goes out too far into the Forest of Hands and Teeth (where zombies reign supreme) and gets bitten by one of the Unconsecrated. At this moment Mary's world as she knew it ceases to exist. Her brother Jeb, who can't forgive Mary for letting their mother live and become one of the zombies, gives her away to the Sisterhood, who have more secrets that the author bothers to share with the readers. Mary is miserable, she loves a person who cannot be with her and his brother is the one who finally speaks for her (proposes to her), but she doesn't love him and she wants to get away from the village and find the ocean her mother had talked about. Mary finally gets her chance when the village is breached, the Unconsecrated turn or kill all the inhabitants, apart from, of course the most important characters: Mary, Harry, Mary's brother Jeb, Mary's love Travis and her former best friend, Cas, plus a little boy Jacob (why he's thrown in there I have no idea, maybe to help preserve the human species in the future). Okay my head hurts already. The rest is history...or future.

To be fair to the author, I think that the story is interesting and her portrayal of Mary's despair and unhappiness engaging. To a point. But when I realized that Mary was going to be the only character described in depth and all others might as well have been zombies for all the insight given the reader, I lost interest completely. I am not sure whether Mary was supposed to come off as a self-absorbed, egocentric young woman or not. If it was intentional, then it has definitely been achieved. Then again, if I have to wonder about it then one way or another something just isn't right.

Another thing going against this book was that I listened to it on audio and the narrator killed the story. The whole book was read in a monotonous tone of reading the telephone book. I actually think that the person reading the introduction about who recorded the book, the title, the author and the narrator put more intonation and emotion into her voice than the narrator. I simply could not tell when Mary was happy, sad or horrified. All and all, the narration was very robotic and the only reason I kept listening to it was because I hoped that it would get better. It didn't.

Lastly, I am not a die-hard fan of Young Adult fiction. I do enjoy some books (The Book Thief, Hunger Games, Inkheart, to name a few) but because I do not love it, it's probably difficult to fully satisfy me and what faults I can justify in genres I love, I cannot overlook in this one. As far as the dystopian theme that is resurfacing in contemporary fiction goes, if it's done well I love it. But, yet again, I am more of a King's The Stand girl than The Forest of Hands and Teeth one.

Book Info:

Author: Carrie Ryan

Title: The Forest of Hands and Teeth

Published By: Random House

In: 2009

Recorded by: Listening Library

Narrator: Vane Millon

Worst Nightmares by Shane Briant

From time to time I really like to read something that will truly scare me. That’s why early Koontz and King are my favorites. I also like it when a horror fiction doesn’t involve supernatural beings but instead is very much grounded in reality because it then makes it so much scarier. As I read these kinds of book, I think that what’s written in there may very well happen or has already happened. Worst Nightmares by Shane Briant is that kind of book.

The main character, Dermot Nolan, is an accomplished, award-winning writer who is also struggling with a writer’s block. He and his wife have pretty much spent the fortune that his previous bestseller earned him and Dermot cannot deliver another smashing work of fiction. Things are looking really gloom for him as his agent and publisher growing impatient and the million-dollar advance is gone without one page to show for it. Only Dermot’s beautiful wife Neela and his best friend Nick know the desperate condition Dermot is in. Therefore, when a mysterious manuscript lands in Dermot’s hands, they all see it as a possible means to end the financial and creative troubles. The manuscript, titled My Worst Nightmares – My Delicious Memoirs, is truly horrifying and gives gory, nightmarish descriptions of each victim’s death based on his/her worst nightmare. The author’s mind is truly sick and twisted but that’s not what’s bothering Dermot and Neela the most. The whole memoir is written in a crude but strangely authentic voice. So authentic that they decide to dig a bit deeper and see if by any chance all those deaths are not imaginative but real. What they discover is at once chilling and inconclusive. Dermot finally decides that the incidences were not real and goes ahead and submits the improved manuscript to the publisher as his own. And that’s when all hell breaks loose.

Let me just get what I didn’t like about Worst Nightmares out of the way. I figured out who the murderer was one third of the way. In that sense, it was unfortunately pretty predictable. The most disappointing thing about it was not even that I figured out who it was so soon, but why it happened shortly after (probably half-way through the novel). I don’t know whether it was due to the way the book was written or the fact that I read so many horror/suspense books that it’s very difficult to get a shock reaction from me.

Now that that’s done, let me move on to what I really enjoyed. Mr. Briant is a very skilled writer as far as character development and portrayal go. He managed to put the main character, who we are supposed to sympathize with, as really bad things happen to him, in a very bad light. Maybe I am just a little sick in the head, but I couldn’t help thinking that maybe Dermot deserved what he got in the end. He is a self-absorbed, greedy and egotistic person who at the core will do what it takes to get to the finish line. On the surface he might seem to be struggling emotionally and morally with what he’s about to do, but it’s really all superficial. I have to say that I wasn’t prepared to dislike and not sympathize with the main character so much. That was my element of surprise and I loved it. Besides that main factor, Worst Nightmares is really good. The premise is, in my opinion, fresh and quite shocking. The book starts off fast and the action doesn’t slow down until the end and it’s all written very convincingly. Suffice it to say that, while reading it, I decided that I better not have any worst nightmares (even though I do) that I could tell anyone of just in case…

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Special Thanks to Imran J. for sending me a copy of this book.

Book Info:

Title: Worst Nightmares

Author: Shane Briant

Published in: 2009

By: Vanguard Press

'Afraid' by Jack Kilborn

I have to be honest and admit that I am a ‘scaredy cat’. I never watch horror movies, I do not like darkness, it makes me borderline paranoid and therefore I always sleep with a light on. With that said, I absolutely love horror books! Talk about the case in contradictions. I can’t explain it, but then again, things I read about in horror books are inexplicable as well so I guess we go together :D. Unfortunately, because I have read tons of horror books, there are not very many of them that can truly scare me or shock me out of my socks. That is, until I read Afraid by Jack Kilborn. This guy definitely has what it takes to write a great horror novel: a deliciously twisted imagination.


Safe Haven, Wisconsin is a secluded place with one road in and out. The residents all know one another because there are so few of them. All and all, it is a peaceful town. One night and one helicopter crash changes the serenity of the town and its residents forever. A powerfully evil force is unleashed upon Safe Haven and it is bent on annihilating the whole town. But before that happens, the residents will face the fate much, much worse than death and they will be begging to be killed instead.



Jack Kilborn certainly knows how to deliver the thrills of your life. Things started happening from the first page of the book. I was sucker-punched and didn’t get the chance to draw a breath until the book was over. Just when I thought that there couldn’t possibly be any more ideas turned into a horrifying read, Afraid came along and I was proved wrong. Mr. Kilborn is a very talented writer who created a horror/thriller that will certainly give many sleepless nights to many a reader. The idea is very original, at least to me, and probably the scariest part is that all the time reading Afraid I couldn’t help thinking that this might very well happen one day. There are no ghosts, ghouls or bogey monsters here, only people. But these “people” and what they can do will get into your head and make you want to stop and wonder whether or not at some point we will have to witness evil in its purest and most terrifying form, and how much trust exactly should people put into science and what it can do. Jack Kilborn might have written one heck of a scary book but his nightmare may one day become a reality and then people should be very Afraid.

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Special Thanks to Miriam P. from Hachette Book Group for sending me a copy of this book.

If you want to know more about Afraid go to Jack Kilborn's official website.

'Dragon Tears' by Dean Koontz

Dean Koontz has been one of my favorite horror authors for quite a few years now. Since I hadn’t discovered him until after he was an accomplished writer, I am excited to know that I still have many books of his to read. The funniest part is I usually wait a few months in between reading his books and after I read them, I wonder why I waited so long. Unfortunately it wasn’t the case with Dragon Tears.

The story starts with five different people being visited by a man, who can’t be real and who appears to each one of them in a form of their biggest fears. Harry Lyon and Connie Gulliver are cop partners, Sammy is a homeless guy who lost his fortune due to his drug addiction, Janet and Danny are a mom and son running away from their horrible lives with Janet’s abusive husband. They all are brought together by a dog that can sense they are threatened by the same person. The man haunting them, dubbed Ticktock, gives these people sixteen hours to live, during which time he plays mercilessly with their fears and their psyche.

The story is, by all means a good one. Once again, Koontz delivers a tale that cannot possibly ever happen and yet somehow, I found myself believing the unbelievable and not once questioning the premise of it. Koontz has the uncanny ability to create the most outrageous characters and turn them into people that might very well be living among us. His writing style is commendable as well. It’s sharp, quick and to the point with some surprisingly profound thoughts and ideas. Dragon Tears has all that. What it doesn’t have, is the usual shocking twist to the story. The evil character was quite predictable, maybe even a little boring at times. Where the storytelling exceeded, the action lacked a few sparks here and there. The book wasn’t altogether bad, just not among Koontz’s best.

It didn’t leave me disappointed or frustrated, however. Dean Koontz is still a master at his craft. Dragon Tears, as any other of Koontz’s books, left me with some deep truths to ponder upon and an appreciation of his writing skills.

Favorite quote:

"Everyone’s a victim these days. No one’s a victimizer. No matter what atrocity you commit, you can stake a claim for sympathy, moan about being a victim of racism, sexism, ageism, classism, prejudice against fat people, ugly people, dumb people, smart people. That’s why you robbed a bank or blew away that cop, because you’re a victim, there’re a million ways to be a victim. Yeah, sure, you devalue the honest complaints of real victims, but what the hell, we only go around once, might as well get your piece of the action, and who cares about those real victims anyway, for God’s sake, they’re losers."

CHALLENGES: 100+ Reading Challenge, 999 Challenge, Winter Challenge, 2009 Ban On Spending Challenge

'Mr. X' by Peter Straub

Even though Peter Straub is considered a contemporary horror fiction writer, I would not call Mr. X a typical horror (if there even is such a thing). It is a story told by Ned Dunstan, who on his every birthday experiences seizures during which he witnesses gory murders committed by Mr. X. As Ned’s next birthday approaches, his mother dies and his own death is knocking on Ned’s door. In a short span of time Ned also finds out there’s his doppelganger lurking in shadows. He sets out on a quest to find out the true history of his mysterious family and gets into a lot of trouble on the way.
Mr. Straub has a superb skill in crafting both hilarious and scary characters. I found myself laughing at his clever humor several times. Straub’s real talent however lies in his ability to make a reader believe in the unbelievable. I was finding out one crazy twist after another, yet I never once questioned the probability of them happening in the real life. Despite the fact that I was not necessarily scared witless, I will gladly read many more of Straub’s books. Mr. X read like a perfect mystery/adventure novel with a twisted murderer, psychological suspense and even a little bit of romance. Before having read Mr. X I had always associated Straub with Stephen King, since I read two novels written by both authors (Black House & Talisman), but now I realize that Peter Straub is a great writer of his own, with his own, individual style.

CHALLENGES: WINTER CHALLENGE, 2009 100+ READING CHALLENGE, 2009 BAN ON SPENDING CHALLENGE, 999 CHALLENGE