[Reviews] What the Night Knows by Dean Koontz

[celestineangel]

Koontz, why are you disappointing me lately?

If you read my review of Breathless, you'll know what disappointed me about that book.

What the Night Knows has a very, very different problem.

Comments

[raeraesama]

I stopped picking up Koontz books long, long ago. :C

[celestineangel]

It takes a lot to make me give up on a favorite author. D: I've noticed the thinning plots before (like in Breathless, and honestly in The Good Husband and Velocity before that), but a thinning plot is something I can handle in an author as prolific and who has been around as often as Koontz has.

This? This I cannot handle.

I think I might continue to read the Odd Thomas series, if there are more, but might refrain from picking up anything else.

[raeraesama]

Mm...he was never one of my favorite authors, so I really had less invested, I suppose. I know how you feel, though. It took me a lot to give up on R. A. Salvatore, but I finally did when he ruined a character with the laziest plot device ever.

[celestineangel]

Eh, I never did get into R.A. Salvatore. I tried. But when one of my first thoughts is "I can write better than this," I just don't find myself interested enough to keep reading. ^_^

[rickey_a]

completely OT (haven't read this book) is that now whenever I see 'Dean Koontz' I am hopelessly thinking of Californication and giggling like an idiot. If you don't watch the show this comment makes absolutely no sense. I sort of got addicted to Californication. David Duchovney makes a spectacular train rec.

[celestineangel]

I have not watched Californication, so I have no idea. ^_^ Explain how Dean Koontz connects?

[rickey_a]

The show is very edgy and rather like watching a train wreck of immaturity and self absorbance, but Duchovney's character does have some redeaming feature but he often acts without considering them thus destroying any possibility of redemption. Great show. Very complex and raw. You can get the dvds on netflix. /psa

In the 3rd season Peter Gallagher plays the 'Dean' of a local college where Duchovney's character is guest teaching a writing class and their lives become insanely interwoven and adversarial. Gallagher's character's name is Stacy Koons and Duchovney endlessly plays on the "Dean Koons" always referring to him as "Dean Koons" in any and all conversation when not neccessary. It's beaten to death and yet funny all the time because Duchovney is such a dork about it.

[celestineangel]

Aaaah. XD If I watched the show, that would amuse me, too.

I don't have a Netflix account anymore. :( Can't afford it. Sigh.

[chrisbrad]

Question...

Did it seem to shepherd readers to Christianity in general or Catholicism specifically? (I ask because it may be a fluke influenced by setting. For instance, some places, Boston, for example, are beyond overwhelmingly Catholic. Maybe it was an accidental shift instead of some transformative action on the author's part. Just thinking out loud...)

[celestineangel]

The family in the books were Catholic. Every priest the main character went to were Catholic (or had been). He never looked for help outside the Catholic denomination, even when each of them turned him away for whatever reason. Once the second priest turned him away, he considered himself on his own.

I don't believe its a regional thing, though I can't remember what the region is (or even if Koontz tells the audience). It's a character thing; Koontz's books are extremely character driven. Region matters only so far as "this crime took place here, but now copycat crimes are taking place here, which is far away."

It was definitely something Koontz chose to do, the question is why? Why deviate?

[chrisbrad]

Oh, ok...

That's what I get for looking for the bright side of something... I am such a freaking optimist, as you know.

[celestineangel]

Very optimistic, you. HAHAH.

>.>

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