The Eyes of Darkness [Mass Market Paperback]

Dean Koontz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 1996

One year after her little boy Danny dies, his mother swears that she sees him in a stranger's car, and becoming obsessed with the mystery, she journeys to Las Vegas and the High Sierras in search of the truth. Reissue."

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

The books of Dean Koontz are published in 38 languages, and worldwide sales top 400 million copies. Eleven of his novels have risen to number one on the New York Times hardcover bestseller list, and several have been adapted into feature films and TV miniseries. Dean and Gerda Koontz live in southern California with their golden retriever, Anna, grand-niece of the famous and beloved Trixie. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Berkley; 1St Edition edition (July 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425153975
• ISBN-13: 978-0425153970
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (73 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,244,075 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I was born and raised in Pennsylvania where I graduated from Shippensburg State College (now Shippensburg University). When I was a senior in college, I won an Atlantic Monthly fiction competition and have been writing ever since. My first job after graduation was with the Appalachian Poverty Program, where I was expected to counsel and tutor underprivileged children on a one-to-one basis. During my first day on the job, I discovered that the previous occupier of my position had been beaten up by the very kids he had been trying to help and had landed in the hospital for several weeks. The following year was filled with challenge but also tension, and I was more highly motivated than ever to build a career as a writer. I wrote nights and weekends, which I continued to do after leaving the poverty program and going to work as an English teacher in a suburban school district outside Harrisburg. After a year and a half in that position, my wife, Gerda, made me an offer I couldn't refuse: "I'll support you for five years," she said, "and if you can't make it as a writer in that time, you'll never make it." By the end of those five years, Gerda had quit her job to run the business end of my writing career. Gerda and I, along with our dog, Trixie, live in southern California.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Early Work by Koontz, July 11, 2006

By 

Tracy Davis (California, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Eyes of Darkness (Mass Market Paperback)

Dean Koontz is an author of recurring themes: in most of his books, children play a prominent role. The love of a parent for a child is part of this, and The Eyes of Darkness, while flawed, aptly depicts the length a mother will go to find a child. Tina Evans, former Vegas showgirl and now a theatrical producer, lost her son Danny in a auto wreck in the mountains. Although she has put her life back together professionally, she hasn't begun the process of letting go personally - in fact, Danny's room is still as he left it. Tina's decision to rectify that is interrupted by strange phenomena: a chill in the air, messages written on his chalkboard (`NOT DEAD'), and objects moved in his room lead her to investigate exactly what happened during the fateful camping trip that ended in tragedy. However, by reopening old wounds, she also attracts the notice of a secretive government agency (is there any other kind in these stories?) who is determined to hide the truth. There's also a little romance for Tina in the person of Elliot Stryker (what a perfect name for a book like this!), a lawyer who is, of course, well trained in self-defense. One of the nice touches is Tina's former husband, a real jerk who is shallow and self-centered, and, you could argue, gets exactly what's coming to him. The ending is a bit abrupt, and in the Afterward, Koontz relates that this is an early novel, which answers a lot of questions - this story doesn't have the depth of his later work. Still, it is a good summer read, and does hold your interest.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Koontz at his Best, June 11, 2000

By 

Anon - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Eyes of Darkness (Mass Market Paperback)

This is the Koontz I love--this is the Koontz that wrote Intensity, not Fear Nothing. Why can't he always right this well? The premise is a staple to Koontz--a government science lab and the results of their expierements. The result is a strong novel of suspense and horror set in vegas and packed with emotion. This is the first "adult horror" novel I ever read and I still think it is a particularly good one. It is the book that helped me bridge the gap between Young Adult and Adult years ago (no, not R.L. Stine... I started reading the better end of YA Fiction early on.) The story opens with a mother still grieving the loss of her son a year ago in a scouting accident; after thinking she sees him in a car, strange things start to happen which point to the possibility that he's still alive.

A good read.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed in this book, November 15, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Eyes of Darkness (Mass Market Paperback)

I love a good bone chiller but this certainly was not it. This reminded me of a summer read a young teen would enjoy. The book was actually too easy to read. I guess I like a little bit more of a challenging book that keeps you guessing and makes you think. It starts off as a story of a mother's hope of the possibility of her son being alive then explodes into this action adventure and then science fiction. A lot of it was plain out ridiculous. Especially, when the son is sending his mother messages telepathically.
The end of the book was a simple ending compared to all the action going on. It was almost like the author couldn't make up his mind how he wanted to write his book. The book was a quick read that's what I did like about it but kept hoping it was going to get better. Of course, my favorite read is "Lovely Bones", and so reading this afterwards may have spoiled it for me. This book was not a well written book. I was very disappointed