I simply can not agree with those reviewers who give this novel five stars whilst saying it is "fast paced" because if it is anything, it is most definitely NOT fast paced. You have to wait for it. God, do you have to wait. Too long I'm afraid...I mean, from page 70 to around page 210 you could cut two thirds of Koontz' narrative without losing one shred of the story or the tension or the "Intensity" of the plot. I've said this before of Koontz...he has verbal diaorrhea when it comes to describing the background, the weather, the setting, the character's clothes, whilst all the time his readers are tearing their hair out and shouting at the printed page: "For God's sake, Dean, GET ON WITH IT!!!!!"
Honestly, I was driven to distraction during those pages, almost throwing the damn book away in utter frustration, because I wanted to know what happened, and he simply wouldn't tell me.
Why then, have I given him four stars, and why would I recommend this novel to anyone over the age of 16 as an absolutely compulsory read?
Because it is absolutely brilliant, that's why.
Absolutely, utterly brilliant.
Oh yes, you have to wait for it, and if I was to recommend this to someone unfamiliar with Koontz' style, I would suggest simply scanning pages 70 to 210 to get the drift, because I couldn't possibly expect anyone to plough through that quagmire of narrative self-flagelation and stay sane. Dean, this book should have been 369 pages long, not 469. Why did you make us suffer so much? But you just have to read it. I can't tell you how much, because the depth and length and breadth and height of the tension he creates is quite mind-boggling, once you get there.
As I said, quite brilliant.
Too long, but brilliant.
And worth the wait.
Oh yes.