The Taking by Dean Koontz

The Taking by Dean Koontz 

Bantam Dell

a division of Random House

Paperback 2005

410 pages

 One dark and stormy night (do you see where this review is going?) the survival of mankind hangs by a thread as aliens invade earth. Only a few people have the fine qualities necessary to save the children and thus to insure the survival of human beings. Semen scented rain, dead bodies brought back to life zombie fashion, frightened wolves, and giant killer insects present the puzzles and obstacles faced by the righteous few. All is not lost since they have the aid of super intelligent dogs to guide them through the horrors they face. None of this was believable. The only thing I can't believe is that I read this to its very preachy ending.

In order to make a sci-fi horror story work, the author has to make the reader suspend belief. Stephen King is a master at pulling the reader into the most unbelievable stories. Dean Koontz failed miserably at pulling me in. After all these unbelievable twists and turns - ok, slight bends and veers  -  the ending which, read more like a sermon, was so disconnected from a horror story that it was laughable.

I've enjoyed reading many of Koontz' mystery/suspense books. But when it comes to horror stories penned by Koontz, I will spare myself a lot of misery by leaving those books safely on the bookshelf.

The Time Traveler's Wife - A Short Book Review

On October 26, 1991 twenty-year-old Clare Abshire met the love of her life at the Newberry Library in Chicago. She planned the meeting. She had spent endless hours with Henry DeTamble since she was a child. Yet, on that fall day Henry did not know Clare. He would not meet her until he was older and she much younger. Henry suffered from a new genetic disorder of the 20th century - time traveling.

Despite the distinctive science fiction premise of time traveling, Henry was not on a quest to change the past or the future in order to save the planet. This is not your traditional science fiction thriller. It's a love story, but not in the romance novel vein, either. Rather it is a well told story of enduring love.

Since each section begins with a subtitle stating the date and ages of Henry and Clare, the reader is not confused as the story unfolds in a most nonchronological order. The author uses this device well to pull the reader into the story, to make the reader care about Clare and Henry - warts and all. As the story unfolds, Clare and Henry and the reader seem like old friends and time traveling ceases to be a strange concept.

Time traveling does have its logistical problems. One in particular is that Henry can't bring anything with him, including the clothes on his back. This creates humorous as well as serious complications for him. It has also created a serious complication for some readers. Henry, the grown man, repeatedly travels to a meadow near Clare's house visiting her when she was a child. Sadly, some readers decided not to read the book once they realized this. Rest assured that there is nothing to worry about. Henry is not a pedophile. So go ahead and read this book. Get lost in the lives of Henry and Clare. Their story is intriguing, maddening, and poignant. You will want to discuss it with your friends. I invite you to discuss it here. Finally, you may well find yourself reading it a second time. I did.

The Time Traveler's Wife
By Audrey Niffeneger
A Harvest Book/ Harcourt, Inc
New York 2004
546 pages
Paperback - $14.00