Read Dean Koontz's Newest
I just completed The Darkest Evening of the Year by my pal Dean Koontz. It is very good; a thriller in the classic Koontz mold that really gets taut in the last 30 pages.
But there is more here than a very good thrill ride--although that would be enough. Dean also mounts some well aimed social criticisms, including a couple of references to the importance of human exceptionalism, Second Life, nihilism, purposefulness versus purposelessness, and the consequences of pure hedonism. More than that, he continues his exploration of the nature of evil--and while there are many villains in the book, one is the most purely malevolent that he has yet conjured. And he also shows the true meaning of intrinsic human dignity through a very vividly drawn character who is completely under the control of the evilist villain. And here's a bonus: If you love dogs, you will really love this book. Prepare to shed a few tears, too.
Predictably, the NYT reviewer hated it. (Warning before hitting the link: The reviewer is a little too heavy on describing the plot. And one correction to an assumption she seems to have made: Dean did not write this book because his dog Trixie died. He was in the middle of writing the book when that event befell the Koontz household.)
Dean's writing in Darkest Evening is as tight as a drum. And ironically, as his characters live (and die) through their darkest evening of the year, Dean's optimism shines through. It's a very entertaining read. Check it out.
Labels: Dean Koontz
posted by Wesley J. Smith @ 1:14 PM
3 Comments
3 Comments:
I work at a deli in a grocery store, and when I passed the book aisle, it was there! I was so hyped, I told everybody 'cause we were having a "Secret Santa" exchange, just in case my "Secret Santa" wanted to know what to get me (with our reward cards and employee discount it would only cost $12 and change, less than the $15 spending cap).
She got me a lovely box set of photo albums and a diary.
I adore the gift but dang it, I *wanted* that book. Le sigh.
Oh well - I'll pick it up later when I get my paycheck this week. Right now I'm re-reading THE GOOD GUY.
Hope, patience, and faith are always the strongest emotions in his novels. I was working on ODD THOMAS for a bit but got too emotionally involved in the characters and had to put it down. I'll come back to it before I move on to DARKEST EVENING OF THE YEAR.
Wesley, you ought to have another blog where we can openly discuss popular culture and its effect on or how it's affected by current political and social attitudes. Koontz is one of the few authors I've read willing to tackle human dignity (DOOR TO DECEMBER, LIGHTNING), the importance of human stewardship over the earth and animals (anything that has dogs in it), the right to life (VELOCITY), and the need to hold on to hope (THE GOOD GUY).
But it always feels a little awkward to discuss his writing here because, while what he has to say does tie in to bioethics (come on, in VELOCITY he has the main character actually talking with a doctor about a comatose patient's diagnosis, thinking how he's glad the doctor is up front about wanting to starve her to death because he can moniter this guy's actions and stop him short, and the same kind of treatemnt is in ONE DOOR AWAY FROM HEAVEN), it's not the same as talking about policy that directly deals with things happening in the world today.
At the same time, I do think that discussing popular culture is necessary 'cause it's a great look at what people think is right or fair. Koontz is the only author I know of that my store (Krogers here in Texas) ran video and audio ads for because he stirred up a lot of people with his latest books.
And, being the humble chick that I am, I admit that blogs defeate me. I humbly bow in submission as I have no idea how to run or organize one, which is why I don't actually have one.
So. Opinions?
Thanks, Tabs: SHS takes an hour to a couple of hours a day. Not just the posting, which sometimes are op/ed size essays, but also the cruising through relevant stories, fielding e-mail from people who send me stories, responding to posts, etc. I just don't have the time, and frankly the expertise, to do a blog on popular culture. Besides, I'm a throwback, not exactly cutting edge.
I met Dean because he boosted CULTURE OF DEATH in ONE DOOR AWAY FROM HEAVEN in the author's notes. That doubled my sales and led first to correspondence between us, arising from my gushing thank you note, to a close friendship between he and Gerda and Debra and I. One of the great perquisites of this job!
Yeah, I know - I shouldn't hound on you. Oh well, maybe sometime in the future I'll figure out how to blog and acutally do something productive with it and do a social commentary in pop culture blog, but I probably would delete my hard drive at least twice in the process. Anyway, it's something to strive for before 2008 is over!
As for ONE DOOR AWAY FROM HEAVEN, that's one of his best books and very much fun to read - I've always had a thing for aliens and he did an awesome job. And I didn't know he was pimping your book *before* you two knew each other! That's very awesome.
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