Customer Reviews

Cold Fire

5 star:		(42)
4 star:		(35)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(19)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I don't think that Cold Fire was better than other Koontz favorites such as Intensity or Watchers, but it was good reading for sure! The writer manages to mesh the world or reality with some pure Science-Fiction yet it makes for a believable story.

Basically the book is about two people; Jim Ironheart who somehow is told about future accidents and Holly Thorne, a reporter who had an encounter with him and couldn't get him out of her mind.

Jim was a tough but smart and likable character from the first page while he saved lives and collected female hearts. I perceived him almost as a knight in shining armor who rode on a cool motorcycle and not a white horse; as he was modern and clever while he knew all kinds of martial arts and read books about all religions of the world.

Holly was single and in her thirties, whit a straight head on her shoulders and a cool attitude without trying to hard, and even though through the book you know that Jim doesn't want any distractions as we read how he saves some lives, while Holly was such a great character it was obvious that them coming together would make for more interesting reading.

As we are introduced to Jim, we know he is troubled by something evil that haunts his dreams with the forewarning of The Enemy coming. Where Holly comes in is when she wants to know as much about him as possible, she gets trapped in his nightmares, to the point where she has to dig to the bottom of his mysterious prophecies and disturbing dreams in order to save both their lives.

From the middle of the books, thing turn from fantastic to even weirder. You cannot imagine where the ending takes you. I personally felt gratified by the ending; it was a good one, while not being ordinary at all.

Great read that keeps your attention as the thick plot unravels in delicious tangles of mystery.

Dean Koontz's hard work has definitely paid off with his gripping novel Cold Fire. As is common with many of Koontz's novels, the setting is constantly moving. Jim Ironheart is a masterful character whose realism brings him to life! Ironheart, driven by God, has special abilities that enable him to arrive at the scene of an accident before it occurs, therefore miraculously saving the lives of the "would be" victims. Holly Thorne, a free-lance reporter who is looking for a purpose in her life, witnesses one of Ironheart's heroic rescue and her heart and attention are immediately captivated by his selflessness. She encounters him for a brief moment and then they both go their separate ways. Within the lapse of 24 hours, Holly realizes how intrigued she is by Jim's intellect and heroism. She decides to pursue him while he goes on his adventures. As Thorne progresses through the novel, she becomes infatuated with Ironheart and his extraordinary powers, while he is undergoing the most important fight of his life, a psychological battle with his past. It is not until the ending that you figure out what is happening with Jim Ironheart. The only part of the entire novel that I found disappointing and shocking was the finale. It was not what I had expected or hoped for, but overall this book was exceptionally well written. I highly recommend it to any of you adventurers or amateur psychologists out there.

This book was fantastic. I didn't expect it to turn out the way it did, but I was still very pleased. Dean is one of my favorite authors and he has a big imagination. I couldn't put the book down. The main characters were life like to me, I shared both Jim and Holly's pain. I love reading a book that makes me feel like I am part of the characters.

This book had an interesting premise, with suggestions of a supernatural battle between good and evil, but around the midpoint of the novel it starts to stumble. The overly psycho-analytical therapeutic touchy-feely stuff at the end of the novel feels like it was written by a different author from the more action-oriented gung-ho beginning. The supernatural mystery aspect of this novel also suffered from this disjoint. A good mystery author misdirects the reader but still creates a logical chain of events. The "solution" to the mystery is a borderline deus ex machina that's totally unsatisfying. Many things that were suggested or built up at the beginning of the novel are rendered pointless by the end.

Having said that, Koontz's prose is certainly readable, his characters are interesting, albeit implausible, and the book was such a quick read that I can't feel too bitter about the ending.

While visiting a book shop back in the eighties here in Australia I stumbled across Dean Koontz while searching the Stephen King's. I did what we are told not to do and bought this book because of the cover. I read it cover to cover in two days and loved every moment of it. A superbly suspenseful novel mixing in elements of science fiction. A relatively thick book but somehow Koontz can keep you flipping pages without dead or slow passages. I have since read all of his work on the back of reading this one novel. Still it remains one of my favourites purely because of the seamless blend of science fiction, horror and suspense. Anyone staring at those big letters, "DEAN KOONTZ", on the jacket of novels but not sure if they should spend their hard earned money, my advice would be go for it but be prepared to return for more titles

Wow - I have been blown away by this fast paced novel. Until now, Watchers and From the Corner of His Eye have been my very favorite Koontz works, but I actually think Cold Fire is better - certainly as good as - both.

Cold Fire begins when Jim Ironheart is sent by an unknown force on a mission to save the life of a chosen child. On this journey, he bumps into uninspired reporter, Holly Thorne. Holly develops a deep interest in Jim's activities as her reporting skills discover this is not the first life he has saved. Holly is drawn into Jim's tangled life, where Jim is forced to confront demons from his past which threaten to destroy both he and Holly's future.

An amazing story, which for some reason is utterly believable. This is the greatest skill an author can hope to achieve and one with which Koontz is renowned for - the ability to turn fiction into believable science fiction, despite how far fetched the idea. Koontz has created a novel which you won't be able to put down.

The plane scene section of Cold Fire is totally gripping, fast paced and so real you most certainly won't want to read this part while airborne. I was in fact reading this section while traveling in a plane across turbulent Alaska, and happened to convince myself that the small carrier was going to crash and I was going to die. Fortunately it did not so I am able to write this review and hopefully convince you to pick up a copy of Cold Fire for an incredible read.

If you love Koontz, you will love Cold Fire. It's definitely one of his best ever -In summary, the novel is fast paced, extremely difficult to put down, the characters are very well developed and extremely lovable - flaws and all, for the romantics it contains a love story, its blended with the perfect balance of humor and in its entirity Cold Fire is totally gripping all the way.

Recommended!

Ever notice that when you're getting ready to listen to an audiobook you often choose one to fit your mood? For instance, if you want to be a little cheered up you may choose a comedy or if you would like a bit of history you opt for one that tells exciting stories about the past. Further, you may even select a place or time of day to listen. At our house I do not listen to Dean Koontz when I'm alone at night. This master of the macabre dispenses chills and shivers faster than a surprise winter blizzard.

Cold Fire is a case in point with its frightening dose of the paranormal . It's read with authority and skill yet little of the "performing art." That's not needed - Koontz's story does it all.

Jim Ironhart is a man obsessed - compelled to save people's lives. He's saved a dozen from certain death in the past three months and reporter Holly Thorne knows there's a story here.. What's driving this man? He has strange, unexplainable visions. Holly and Jim look to the past in their effort to find answers.

However, that past is a dark, frightening place. Don't go there (or listen) alone!

- Gail Cooke

This book has it all. If it keeps you up at night reading, you know it's good. I am a huge fan of Koontz and this is a classic of his. If you're looking for something that will pull you in & won't let go- Cold Fire is it!!

Despite the corny aspects (a protagonist named Ironheart? Give me a break!), I found this to be one of Koontz's better novels -- right up to the ending, which has to be the most ludicrous and anticlimactic endings I've read in a Koontz story. I was so disappointed I threw the book across the room. What makes it so annoying is that the first 2/3 of the book is great fun, and leads you to believe that something truly amazing is afoot, but the resolution is trite and lacking in imagination. The way events were building, I expected the book to build to a stunning climax -- but instead it was disappointingly clichéd and a real letdown. It's not a waste of time, but it's not up there with Dean Koontz's best work, in my opinion.

This is the Dean Koontz I love! I listened to this as an audio book a few years ago and was thrilled to re-experience the story in print. Cold Fire was published in 1991, after The Bad Place and before Koontz starting coming out with 2-3 novels each year. Some issues examined in Cold Fire include: Environmentalism, Religion and Mental Illness. Like many Koontz novels, this work crosses over many genres including: Science Fiction, Mystery, Suspense and Adventure.

It appears that Koontz has created a fictional work within his work of fiction: The Black Windmill, reportedly written by Arthur J. Willott. We of course know that Koontz is and expert at creating fictional names and works, claiming they were written by someone else but really the author is Dean R. Koontz. Another example of this is The Book of Counted Sorrows from which the following quote appears twice in Cold Fire to introduce readers to both part one and two of the story:

"In the real world

as in dreams,

nothing is quite

what it seems."

A windmill is a central focal point of this story and the imagery is wonderful :

"Night pressed at the narrow windows, which were almost like castle embrasures in the limestone walls. Rain tapped against the glass. Suddenly, with a creak of unoiled and half-rusted machinery, the four great wooden sails of the mill began to turn outside, faster and faster, cutting like giant scythes through the damp air. The upright shaft, which came out of the ceiling and vanished through a bore in the center of the floor, also began to turn , briefly creating the illusion that the round floor itself were rotating in the manner of a carousel. One level below, the ancient millstones started to roll against each other, producing a soft rumble like distant thunder".

Another great imagery example from four pages earlier in the story (this one much shorter):

"Night floated down like a great tossed cape of almost weightless black silk".

Some of my other favorite quotes:

On Religion: "I'm reluctant to believe that some statue of the Holy Mother wept real tears in a church in Cincinnati or Peoria or Teaneck last week after the Wednesday-night bingo games, witnesses only by two teenagers and the parish cleaning lady. And I'm not ready to believe that a shadow resembling Jesus, cast on someone's garage wall by a yellow bug light, is a sign of impending apocalypse. God works in mysterious ways, but not with bug lights and garage walls."

On Evil: "There's too much darkness in some people, corruption that could never be cleaned out in five lifetimes of rehabilitation. Evil is real, it walks the earth. Sometimes the devil works by persuasion. Sometimes he just sets loose these sociopaths who don't have a gene for empathy or one for compassion."

On Books: " Around her, thousands of times and places, people and worlds, from Mars to Egypt to Yoknapatawpha County, were closed up in the bindings of books like the shine trapped under the tarnished veneer of a brass lamp. She could almost feel them waiting to dazzle with the first turn of a page, come alive with brilliant colors and pungent odors and delicious aromas, with laughter and sobbing and cries and whispers. Books were packaged dreams."

And this bit of conversation:

" 'When we get where we're going, you won't carve me up with a chainsaw and bury me under the windmill, will you?'

Apparently he understood her sense of vulnerability and took no offense, for he said with mock solemnity, 'Oh, no. It's full-up under the mill. I'll have to bury pieces of you all over the farm' ".

My only criticism of Cold Fire, is the occasional bits of overdone horror which seem to be tossed in, not necessarily flowing with the story, following are two examples:

"Sensing something above her head, Holly looked up. A large web had been spun above the door, across the curve where the wall became the ceiling. A fat spider, it's body as big around as her thumbnail and its spindly legs almost as long as her little finger, greasy as a dollop of wax and dark as a drop of blood, was feeding greedily on the pale quivering body of a snared moth."

and

"Without warning, a vision burst in Holly's mind with such force and brilliance that the library vanished for a moment and her inner world became the only reality; she saw herself naked and nailed to a wall in an obscene parody of a crucifix, blood streaming from her hands and feet (a voice whispering : die, die, die), and she opened her mouth to scream but, instead of sound, swarms of cockroaches poured out between her lips, and she realized she was already dead (die, die, die), her putrid innards crawling with pests and vermin -"

All of Koontz novels have a supernatural element and some, like Cold Fire also have a Science Fiction theme. I'm not a big fan of Science Fiction but have really enjoyed Koontz' trademark genre mix. If you enjoyed or are interested in reading Cold Fire, I would also recommend the following Dean Koontz novels: Lightning, The Bad Place, By the Light of the Moon, and Brother Odd (Odd Thomas Novels).