Starred Review. Of all bestselling authors, Koontz may be the most
underestimated by the literary establishment. Book after book, year
after year, this author climbs to the top of the charts. Why? His
readers know: because he is a master storyteller and a daring
writer, and because, in his novels, he gives readers bright hope in a
dark world. His new book is an examplar of his extraordinary work.
Suspense is difficult to sustain; suspense that's buoyed steadily by
humor, even as it deals with the most desperate of circumstances, is
nearly impossible—yet Koontz manages it here. As in last year's
brilliant Odd Thomas, Koontz writes again in the first person,
employing a cleaner, more instantly accessible line than in some of his
other work (e.g., this year's The Taking). His narrator is
Jimmy Tock, a pastry chef in a Colorado resort town. On the day he was
born, Jimmy's dying grandfather predicted five future dates that would
be terrible for Jimmy; he might have mentioned, but didn't, the birth
day itself, which sees a mass slaying by a bitter, deranged circus
clown in the hospital where Jimmy is born. The bulk of the narrative
concerns the first terrible day, about 20 years later, when the
vengeful son of that clown takes Jimmy and a lovely young woman, Lorrie
Hicks, hostage in the local library, with an eye toward destroying the
town; Jimmy and the woman live to marry, but will they and their family
survive the four subsequent terrible days? Like most of Koontz's
novels, this one pits good versus evil and carries a persuasive
spiritual message, about the power of love and family and the miracle
of existence. As such it deals with serious, perennial themes, yet with
its steady drizzle of jokes and witty repartee, it does so with a
lightness of touch that few other authors can match. Koontz is a true
original and this novel, one of his most unusual yet, will leave
readers aglow and be a major bestseller. If the literary establishment
would only catch on to him, it might be an award-winner too.
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