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Blazingice0608 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Blazingice0608 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September/07/2008 at 9:08pm
I went into this with very low hope for it given how much people seem to not care for it, but i was very suprised and loved it, in some ways, one of the better 70's/older novels he wrote imo, although i still have a few left to read.

For starters, i thought the subliminal advertising theme was very neat and unique, had no clue that was what the book was about until i started it, lol. The book obviusly lacks some qualities that the more popular Koontz novels have, but at the same time, it has some that the popular ones dont have. I was shocked and loved that Mark died, i wish he did stuff like that in more of his books, as well as villians having dark pasts and what not, seems like after Whispers that kind of came to a halt for the most part. Salsbury was an awesome villian, the things he did were so appalling and sick, that too kept me shocked, definitly one of the more graphic novels DK has written, at least that i have read. Of course as always the characters were well drawn out as well, especially Paul and Salsbury, but i also liked the love story with Paul and Jenny, didnt feel as rushed and corny as it usually does with Koontz, it felt more authentic. I loved how part 1 was arranged where it would go back in time leading up to the current events, showing you how everything happened, developing the bad guys, etc. as well as the chapter dedicated to learning about Salsbury's own twisted past and how he got to be such a monster. I also liked how Paul and Sam turned the tables by using the key-lock mechanism against the bad guys, pretty nice ploy there, lol.

The downsides i found in this one were for one, the biggest being that i didnt find Paul's reaction to Mark's death to be very moving or authentic, especially given his wifes death and all, that was dissapointing to say the least. I also felt that the ending was a little rushed, maybe rushed isnt the right word, i just felt like more could have been done with what the plot offered, it could have been another 100 pages and still been just as good, if not better imo. The degree that the mind control went to became a little farfetched at times, but i usually dont mind stuff like that in fiction for the most part, its why i loved Midnight so much so its not much of a downside for me, but i can see where it would be for others. Other than that i thought it was awesome.

All in all it was a very good book imo, definitly the darkest i have read so far, i cant say enough how much i wish Koontz kept some of his qualities from his older works into his newer work, but oh well, its his choice i suppose, and he still manages to write great stuff anyway so it doesnt bother me that much.

On a side note i noticed a lot of similarities to Midnight in this one with someone controlling a whole town, etc. since Midnight is one of my favorates so far, couldnt help but appreciate that, lol.
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bubcar View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote bubcar Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September/08/2008 at 4:09pm
I too went into this one with very low expectations, My sister bought it for me and I had seen it was one of the lesser talked about of his books, that said I was so pleasantly surprised with this one....I don't think it's the darkest I've read, I think that's Whispers, but it definitely had shock value that I loved....
"The choice is Yours"--Velocity
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote notkaplan Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October/22/2008 at 9:38am
SPOILERS!

I have to say I was a little disappointed with this one. It started out good and I think the whole subliminal brainashing premise was very promising. The further I got into the book the more enthralled I became and I thought that this just might be one of my favorites; then two things happened. 1- he killed off Mark. That is unlike most of his other works and I didn't like it. Maybe because I have two little boys age 4 and 6, it made me upset. Of course it is just fiction so I figured it's not that bad. Then, further on, I was getting into it again, and the ending started out good. Using Key -Lock against the bad guys was brilliant. But the big showdown went down too quickly and too cleanly with no twists or edge-of-your-seat moments common in his later works.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote notkaplan Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October/22/2008 at 9:44am
Oh I forgot to mention- did anyone notice how unlike in most of hs other books, this one started out giving us the background info in the begginning and the main part of the story in the second half? Usually his books start out with a bang and you're into the horror and action right from the start and somewhere in the middle to the end he explains the how's and why's. In Night Chills, the how's and why's come before the action. I'm not saying I didn't like it, but it was different. It was a nice change of pace.
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