The Darkest Evening of the Year by Dean Koontz
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Book Reviews of The Darkest Evening of the Year
Book Review: Bland
Summary: 3 Stars
I have been a Koontz fan for about 15 years and have read every book he has published. Some are better than others, but this book was extremely dull. I had to force myself to get through the first half of the book before getting into it. The book was enjoyable in Koontz fashion, but rather lackluster in it's entirety.Book Review: Disappointing.....
Summary: 2 Stars
I'm writing this review for readers -- like myself -- who loved Dean
Koontz's earlier novel "Watchers" and may find themselves enticed by
the canine angle of this new book (as marketed in the front cover art and back cover synopsis). Mr. Koontz has an admirable
affection for dogs in general and Golden Retrievers in particular, but
in the case of "The Darkest Evening of the Year" that affinity unfortunately does not translate into a good read.
If you were hoping for or expecting another "Watchers", you will be
sorely disappointed. This book is overwritten, overwrought, and overly
preachy with regard to the beneficent qualities of dogs and our
relationships with them (according to Mr. Koontz - dogs have been an intimate part of our family for over 30 years, and I found the author's bully pulpit attitude in that regard to be irritatingly condescending). The two main protagonists are flat and
uninteresting and, ultimately, unengaging. I didn't care about
them, as individuals or as a couple, and their conversational "repartee" quickly becomes annoying. (Perversely -- or perhaps not -- the one character who does display some depth is the "freak" of the novel.)
The cast of villains is so overdrawn as to strain credulity that such a Grand Guignol assortment of psychos and predators could co-exist in
the same storyline. (Think Vince Nasco from "Watchers" split into multiple
personalities and weirded up to the max. And I thought that character was a bit over the top....) The confrontation at
the book's end is weak and unconvincing, with bad guys getting a sudden case of the terminal stupids and good guys magically morphing into deadly adversaries. The subjective "supernatural" thread that
wends throughout (did that really happen or did I just imagine it?) leads to a climactic deus ex machina that would be laughable if it didn't undermine any credulity the author might previously have established. Seriously. I really couldn't believe that
was how the book ended, and felt like I'd been played for a sap. And let's not forget the writing. There is a passage where the author presents a character who is caught up in a "stupid simile", yet Mr. Koontz flings his
own tortured text at the reader without mercy. One
example should suffice (of fog approaching the Golden Gate Bridge): "An inifinite army all in white marshaled in the west and rolled eastward on silent caissons, seizing the great bridge without sound or shot." The problem is that this book doesn't work as a straight thriller, sci-fi, or fantasy. And the ending is perhaps the worst cop-out I have ever read. I
forced myself to finish it because I was hoping against hope that
it would somehow redeem itself. I wish I hadn't, because it didn't.
Book Review: UN-SCARY AND ULTIMATELY UNENJOYABLE
Summary: 2 Stars
I read THE DARKEST EVENING OF THE YEAR for a book club challenge. although admittedly it had been sitting on my TBR shelf for a couple of years, I was happy to finally find a reason to stop passing it over (in favour of vampire romance and testosterone filled Navy Seals) and get into a good horror novel. Unfortunately I now wished I'd left it sitting on the shelf because this was not in any way an enjoyable read and ultimately a real struggle to finish.
To start with I didn't enjoy Koontz's style of writing, he seemed to take for-ever and a whole lot of adjectives to get across what he was trying to say and I found myself skimming almost immediately just to get on with the story;
"The pleasantly warm morning was freshened by a breeze as light as a caress, and the feathery fronds of queen palms cast shadows that resembled the plumed tails of the Golden's." Um, yeah.
For something in the horror genre I also found this to be very un-scary, the plot revolving more around reincarnation and weird feelings then anything truly horrifying. Thankfully the chapters were short, containing several alternating POV's most of which involved hit men who were all trying to kill each other. The main antagonist, Moongirl was a nasty piece of work and our hero Amy Redwing had an interesting past that slowly got revealed however I never truly got a feel for her. So I kept plugging along thinking this has to improve, Koontz is hugely popular, what am I missing? Well upon completion I came away rather underwhelmed and realized I wasn't missing anything.
The only good thing in this story would have to be the Golden Retrievers that Koontz knows well and obviously loves. His dog descriptions and mannerisms of the breed were spot on. However I couldn't in good conscience recommend this book even to dog lovers, because the story was so convoluted and just plain painful to read. Koontz also tended to get a little preachy when it came to describing abused dogs, euthanasia and puppy mills. I'm a dog owner and lover (That's originally why I bought the book, for the dog on the cover) And I understood the message he was trying to get across, however I didn't want these facts thrown in my face every couple of chapters. I get it, puppy mills bad, adopt from the pound, move on.
I also didn't appreciate the storyline involving a 10 year old girl with Down syndrome who's abused, called "Piggy" and threatened with being lit on fire. That was WAY out of my comfort zone. Although maybe meant to be the horror aspect I kept waiting for? In the end I just wanted this to be over.
Book Review: The Ending is Lots of Fun.....But it takes too long to get there
Summary: 2 Stars
As an avid Koontz reader, it came as no surprise that "Darkest Evening of the Year" features a canine hero. Koontz has a long history of placing dogs in his novels, from "Watchers" to "Dragon Tears" dogs have played pivotal roles in many Koontz novels.
The basic storyline is that our human protagonists, Amy Redwing and Brian McCarthy, are trying to create new lives with each other, while trying to bury seperate, but horrific pasts. Amy and Brian rescue a Golden Retriever from a drunken wife-beater. Things begin to quickly unravel for Amy and Brian soon after saving the unusual dog and their haunting pasts begin to catch up to them.
The Good: The villains in this Koontz offering are top-notch. The vile, remorseless "Moongirl" is truly frightening. She is simply an awesome character. Watching her manipulate the people around her is the true highlight of the novel. Almost of the villains presented here are really good, the hitman of many names, the private investigator Bobby Onions (love that name!!), all help carry the novel along.
The Bad: Amy and Brian are just too bland for my taste. Once you get Brian and Amy's backstories, things pick up a bit and garner more interest in their characters, but it arrives too late. I understand shrouding characters in mystery to a degree, but I think a bit more of a revelation up front would have served to make the protagonists a good deal more interesting.
The Ugly: Nickie, Fred, Ethyl and the other dogs. Sure I love dogs, I have 3 myself, but the passages written about the hounds are soooo heavy handed and corny. Devoting a couple pages to describing how Nickie tries to get some recently rescued dogs interested in playing with squeak toys just smacked of goofiness. Also, the character of "Piggy/Hope", just felt like a repackaged version of Thomas from "The Bad Place", even down to cutting out pictures from magazines.
So if you don't mind some genuine corn with your novels, you may like this, or if you have a soft spot for Golden Retrievers, you may enjoy this tale. I thought that while the last 60 pages or so were top notch classic Koontz, getting there was too much of a trial.
Book Review: Disappointing and weak
Summary: 2 Stars
I put off reading Koontz for a long time because I was afraid this book was what his work would be like. Koontz publishes a lot of books; most writers who do that write formulaic stories that are rushed and weak. Which isn't a bad description of this book.
Fortunately, I started my Koontz reading with Brother Odd, so I do know the man can write, but this book is more like what I was afraid Koontz would be like. It's just not good writing.
The story isn't that compelling and has some ridiculous plot fixes built in. It's also got a "trying too hard" feel in the humor department. The characters are, at times, dumb enough to be in a Friday the 13th movie, and then can be quite brilliant a moment later. And the bad guys are just a tad too bad. I have to admit, sometimes I wonder about people who can create characters that are that disgusting.
In short, it's a rather unpleasant book about very unpleasant people trying to harm some people who should be a bit smarter than they come across in the book.