Customer Reviews

The Door to December

5 star:		(89)
4 star:		(30)
3 star:		(19)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

The Door To December

Nathan Fuller 510 pages

The book, Door To December, is a suspenseful novel. Dean Koontz does a remarkable job in explaining the detailed events of the story. The story is about a little girl named Melanie who was kidnapped by her father at the age of three. During her time with her father, Melanie was subject to tortures beyond imagination. The story takes place the morning of three brutal murders at the house where Melanie and her father were residing. Melanie's mother, Laura, had just been notified of the homicides and had arrived at the house. There, a police officer named Dan Haldane informed her of what had happened. He also told her that a girl, around the age of nine, had been found wandering the streets nude and oblivious to world around. Melanie's mother told the officer to take her immediately to the place where she was after they were finished at the house. While there Melanie's mother identified her brutalized husband and toured the house until she came to the Gray Room. This room was filled with a sensory deprivation chamber, an electric chair, and other forms of torture. After the house, Laura went to the place where Melanie was and was reunited with her. One thing was wrong though, Melanie was in an autistic, almost catatonic state. From there, Laura, Dan, Melanie and a bodygaurd named Earl, search for the truth behind Melanie's lost past. Along the way, they are being chased by an invisible creature that has been committing all of these murders. They soon find that the answers to this troubling mystery lies within the unknown Door to December.

THE DOOR TO DECEMBER, published in 1985, is one of the last books written by Dean Koontz under another name ("Richard Paige"). This psychological suspense novel was written a few years before Koontz became a major superstar in the book world. This book was re-released and updated in the 1990s under Koontz's own name; this re-released version is what you will find on the shelf.

This book is an enjoyable one. Koontz is fond of the topic of mind control, and there is a lot of interesting subject matter here about psychology and even the occult. My major criticism about this book is that it's too long and drags a bit in the middle. The big revelation toward the end is also somewhat predictable. Still, THE DOOR TO DECEMBER is well written and very suspenseful toward the end.

I would rank this novel in the top half of Koontz' body of work. Enjoyable, but not one of his best.

If you like this novel, you may want to try THE KEY TO MIDNIGHT, which deals with a somewhat similar theme. If you've never tried Koontz before, I would strongly recommend trying some of Koontz's best books first, such as WATCHERS, ODD THOMAS, PHANTOMS and INTENSITY.

This book was very good.. it was the best I have ever read byDean Koontz. Never have I read another book by him with the amount of suspense like _The Door to December_. I was basically bolted to my seat for 2 days while reading the 800 page book. This is also the fastest I have ever read a book over 500 pages. That is to say, I was so engrossed in the book that I was able to finish it in record time! The suspense and thrills of the action kept me reading until all hours of the day and night. Highly reccommended from this corner of the web. :)

I am a huge fan of Dean Koontz and though some of his books have fallen short of his usual greatness, Door to December is one of the best books he has written. The entire book kept me on the edge of my seat, the dialogue between the characters was well written and the plot was so out there. Sometimes I wonder where he gets these ideas. YOU MUST READ THIS!

I say that as it does give the reader the chills.

It is an excellent book, and Koontz does a great job at bringing the characters to life, helping us understanding them and their motivations, especially on the part of Dan Haldane, the detective investingating the murders, and who is desperately trying to save the life of the girl caught up in the macabre plot, and who has obvious feelings for the girl's mother.

While it is an excellent read, and one I'd recommend, I couldn't help but feel a little let down - I had pretty much figured it out at least half-way through the book....although that didn't stop me from having difficulty in putting the book down *grins*

I saw it pointed out that astute readers will pick up on what's really happening early on. This is true. But that doesn't make the book any less interesting to read. Koontz gives these characters life and you really start to care for them. The first chapters really hook you in, starting with hardly any preamble. We're wisked away into the story right out and it's hard to put down afterwards. I guess the main plot of this story is Laura and the little girl being reunited and trying to find out what's wrong. This is all interesting and everything, it provides the chills and the emotional punch the story needs. However, it's the detective story that's the real meat of the story.

When our characters branch off, the detective, Dan Haldane goes into Sam Spade territory. He races against time to get to the bottom of this plot and we're with him every step of the way. He keeps his wits about him and is witty. The character is a joy to read, especially when he spars with his boss. The rain sets up a terrific detective yarn atmosphere and this is where most of the interesting reading is.

But, like I said, it's the stuff with the little girl that provides the scares and some interesting insights. This part of the story, though, mostly deals with the love of a mother for a daughter that is literally lost in every way. The heart of the story, when you get right down to it.

Koontz weaves a masterful tale that meshes in all the right ways. The switching from Dan to Laura's story, the themes that play throughout the entire book and the sense of and impending.... something. Mr. Koontz has essentially hit all the right notes to write one of the more entertaining books I've read in a while. Once you start this baby, you won't want to stop.

Melanie McCaffrey was kidnapped at the age of three by her scientist father. At age nine, she is found again, rescued from a hideous laboratory...full of bodies...

Melanie was involved in some kind of project. And now something is stalking all those involved. First, it'll go after the researchers and those who financed the project. Then it'll come after young Melanie...

Dean Koontz scored big time with this one. Containing large doses of suspense, romance, thrills, and humor--the four main ingredients for a good Koontz novel--it is unique and unforgettable. "The Door to December" is an incredible novel that will leave you glued to the pages and wanting more.

I have read just about all of Koontz's works. I think I would only give a small handful over three stars. So I definitely have my issues with his writing style. Door to December is one of Koontz's better books. It doesn't fall into the overly preachy tone that his stories over the last decade have taken on. It has some good suspenseful passages, and interesting idea, no talking dogs, and an evil character almost unique to Koontz's work.

Koontz in my mind is at his best when he is setting up a scenario. His writing here lends itself towards the better Twilight Zone episodes. Here he is pushing some nice territory in that genre. A young girl is reunited with her mother after being gone for several years. Her father had kidnapped her after her parents were getting divorced. She spent the following years being used as a lab rat for occult science.

Pretty soon the mom, the daughter, a PI and a cop are rushing to find out what the heck is happening and why this super natural stuff is occurring. Its a good bit of fun and a page turner. What you hope for when you pick up one of the Koontz Mans books. But no more.

Faults... How could this decent woman have married a monster like that in the first place? Koontz tries to answer this question, doesn't do a good enough job in my mind. I think it could have been handled better. The ending, as all ways, is wrapped up way too neatly. Yawn. Would like to see Koontz break the mold some day and surprise me. If you like Koontz, you will like this book.

ISBN 0451181379 - Well, I'm not sure if these kudos should go to Koontz or Stephen King, so I'll say kudos to both. First, to King (to get him out of the way), for so making the title of "It" his own that, when Koontz repeatedly refers to his "bad guy" in The Door to December, it is impossible to not think of King. But kudos to Koontz for using this phrase, despite the King character in It: "He was a bizarre and demented clown in whose eyes one could see the crimson fires of Hell...".

Melanie was kidnapped by her father six years ago. Her mother, Laura, has never given up hope that she will be found, and Melanie is never far from her mother's thoughts - so the middle of the night phone call that brings her to a gory crime scene has her very worried about her child. Laura has no idea, even when she thinks she's imagining the worst, how truly worried she ought to be. Killed were Melanie's father and two associates, beaten to death by someone of unimaginable strength, and they're just the first. Someone - or something - is killing men who are connected to Melanie and, most likely, eventually, Melanie herself. Keeping Melanie safe becomes the sole objective of Laura, hired bodyguard Earl and cop Dan Haldane.

The killer seems obvious from the very first chapter, at least for readers of the genre, who perhaps anticipate the strange and/or horrifying. Still, The Door is a better book to me than Koontz's Night Chills, yet another title from the author about mind control. There are a few small things about The Door that are bothersome. For one, Dylan kidnapped Melanie and Laura hated him - but Dylan is referred to as her husband throughout. It is nearly impossible to believe that their divorce was never finalized and even more impossible to believe that she'd not constantly correct people who called him her husband. Then, having gotten her missing daughter back, Laura calls no one. She doesn't seem to have friends or family with whom to share this miraculous moment. The character is a good, smart and successful woman - wouldn't she have friends?

The greatest flaw seems to be the catch-22 built into the story. Melanie was held in a single windowless room, never allowed out, except to use the bathroom, from age 3 to age 9. She attends no school and is not taught anything other than what will further the experiments being done. How, then, is it possible for her to imagine December, let alone the door to it? How can she know what July is like, to use it in her imaginings, or a cat, or a flight of stairs?

Last, thumbs down for the proofreader who missed this error: Page 295 "I knew an Ernie, but I don't know if it was Cooper." Page 300 "One of them was Andy, and you've told me his last name was Cooper." And this one: Page 457 "...pouring away like floodwater through the broken breast of a damn [dam]"

Still, a very good book and a surprisingly quick read, considering its 510 pages.

- AnnaLovesBooks

Obie award winner George Guidall is a premier voice performer. Although active on Broadway, in films and on television, he still has found time to narrate some 800 unabridged novels. He's versatile - tackling comedy, drama, and dark thrillers, such as The Door to December.
Suspense novels tend to produce a maximum number of goose bumps when a child is involved, and that is certainly the case with this fiendish tale from Dean Koontz.

Melanie is just three-years-old when she's abducted by her father and taken to a laboratory where she is forced to participate in ghastly experimentation. Her mother, a psychiatrist, is distraught but does not see her daughter again until six years later when now nine-year-old Melanie is found on the streets of L.A.

It's obvious that something diabolical has happened to the girl. Yet whatever dire damage done to her is not enough as soon those involved in the experimentation are killed and it seems that the final one to lose her life will be Melanie. Who is committing the murders and why?

This is Dean Koontz at his best abetted by the talented George Guidall - don't miss it!

- Gail Cooke