#2 The Darkest Evening of the Year - Dean Koontz
My opinion of Dean Koontz has been slowly slipping over the past decade. I am now content to wait for a discounted paperback rather than buy a newly released hardcover. When the dust jacket announced Darkest Evening of the Year was the novel Koontz had anticipated writing for years, I gave in and purchased the hardcover. I should have taken the time to read the first page or two in the store.
The book itself has rather significant plot and characterization problems. The heroine operates a golden retriever rescue organization and this sub plot dominates much of the novel without really adding value to the larger story. Koontz’s love of dogs can be seen through out his novels, but making this story a tribute to his lost pet completed derailed the character development and plot.
The storyline is contrived and impossibly black and white where the characters are either GOOD GUYS or BAD GUYS. The chapters are short jumping from the “good dog people” to the “bad murders”. The ending climax is rushed, unsatisfactory and rather unbelievable as it was underdeveloped.
Being that the best books I read last year where Rowling’s final HP and Pullman’s Dark Materials series, I am heading back to the young adult section and starting up either Cooper’s Dark is Rising series or Meyer’s Twilight Series.
The book itself has rather significant plot and characterization problems. The heroine operates a golden retriever rescue organization and this sub plot dominates much of the novel without really adding value to the larger story. Koontz’s love of dogs can be seen through out his novels, but making this story a tribute to his lost pet completed derailed the character development and plot.
The storyline is contrived and impossibly black and white where the characters are either GOOD GUYS or BAD GUYS. The chapters are short jumping from the “good dog people” to the “bad murders”. The ending climax is rushed, unsatisfactory and rather unbelievable as it was underdeveloped.
Being that the best books I read last year where Rowling’s final HP and Pullman’s Dark Materials series, I am heading back to the young adult section and starting up either Cooper’s Dark is Rising series or Meyer’s Twilight Series.