Customer Reviews

Fear Nothing

5 star:		(179)
4 star:		(116)
3 star:		(67)
2 star:		(54)
1 star:		(64)

 

 

As a long time Dean Koontz fan, I can attest to the fact that he can be very hit or miss. While I wouldn't necessarily call Fear Nothing a total hit/blockbuster, it was one of the best Koontz that I have read in a while. Those familiar with Koontz, but leery of his irregularity will not be disappointed with this novel.

I won't bother going through the plot again, as so many other reviewers have done quite well. I will just say that the plot was sufficiently suspenseful to keep me turning pages and happily entertained. The characters in this book, though, are really the best parts. Christopher Snow, a man with a serious disease that makes him deathly allergic to light is not only sweet, but funny as well. His friend Bobby, the coolest of all possible surfer dudes, is hysterical and philisophical at the same time. You really won't be able to help liking these characters.

Unlike in some other novels, Koontz maintains his talent for strong description and backstory, without getting into long-winded tangents that put readers to sleep.

Overall, I say Fear Nothing was quite fun, entertaining, and a pleasure to read. I cannot wait to get my hands on a copy of Seize the Night, the next book in the Christoper Snow saga. I highly recommend this book to all who enjoy suspenseful reading and likable, funny characters.

This books is one of D.K's greatest, along with it's sequal, Seize the Night. I highly reccomend these novels, although you may have to heavily rely on the suspension of disbelief to get through it. The commradare between these three friends, (four, if you count the dog) is wonderfully entertaining. The writing in this book is funnier than in most of Koontz's others. I found myself laughing out loud on several occasions. Thats not to say anything about the suspense this book is filled with. My work performance suffered after late nights with this book. An incredible read!

Although not as suspenseful as "Midnight", "Fear Nothing" is a great addition to the Koontz Moonlight Bay saga. The basic plot concerns Christopher Snow, who suffers from a pigmentation disorder ('XP') that prevents him from venturing outside in the daylight. This disorder confines Snow to a nocturnal existance (described poetically in several sections by Snow) and limits his contact with the 'normal' people in his community. However, if you read "Midnight", Koontz's 1980s novel, you know that very few people are 'normal' in Moonlight Bay! Snow's parents die separately but mysteriously, and when Snow witnesses his father's body in the hospital"s "cold room" being replaced with that of a transient -- sans eyes and badly beaten -- he knows something's terribly wrong. What follows is a fast-paced nighttime adventure that introduces the reader to Orson, Snow's very intelligent dog (more intelligent than we think, due to some 'enhancement' done at a supposedly closed military base); Bobby, his 'surfer dude' friend who is so laid back that it takes the "monkeys of the apocalypse" to worry him; and Sasha, Snow's girlfriend who is more than she seems, especially when the aforementioned monkeys attack Bobby's beachfront house at the end of the novel. The only criticism I have is that Koontz makes no mention of the previous events of his central coast community -- some reference to the other biological experiments of "Midnight" would have been nice. "Fear Nothing" does not go into the depth of the genetic research that "Midnight" does, but makes up for it with a protagonist who is funny, intelligent, poetic, and very human. My suggestion for reading this novel is to do what I did: read "Fear Nothing", then go straight into "Seize the Night", which takes place only a month after the events in "Fear Nothing" conclude. The stories make more sense, and frankly, could have been combined into one novel.

Chris Snow suffers from xeroderma pigmentosum, aka XP, a condition which makes him vulnerable to skin cancer and eye problems. He cannot be in the light, especially the sun, cannot go out during the day. You might say he is allergic to the light. He is a night person. His father is dying from cancer and his mother was killed in a auto accident two years ago.

He keeps his house dark, lights with candles. When he goes over to the few friends he has, they dim their lights. It is by candlelight in the hospial that he visits his father just before his death. Later he wants to bury a picture of his mother with his dad and in the morgue he happens on a couple guys switching his dad's body before it was supposed to go to the funeral home.

Thus begins an adventure that is typical Dean Koontz, with Koontzian characters that are sometimes bizarre, sometimes crazy, sometimes shady and always very real. So real that you feel like you are running from the bad guys right along with Chris and his friends. And then there is Chris' highly intelligent dog Orsen and a whole passel (troup actually) of very bad monkees. How does Dean Koontz do it, write books as good as this?

Dean Koontz became my favorite author after reading my first book by him book several years ago. I have read most of his books by now, sidestepping some of his very early works, when he was using some other name.

I haven't finished reading Fear Nothing, but so far, about 2/3's of the way through, I am enjoying it very much. The surfer lingo is neat, and the hero is very easy to relate to...no, I dont have XP too. I hesitate reading all the reviews here, at this site, because I would like to see how Fear Nothing is to be resolved myself.

Koontz's previous two books, Intensity and Sole Survivor were less than great,,,which is the yardstick by which I gauge this author's novels: he is so good. Intensity had me wanting to smack Chyna for her procrastination, and Sole Survivor was so bundled up and contrived at the end that it didn't do much for me.

If you have never read Koontz before, you might want to give Fear Nothing a shot,,,then, go back and read some of his best, like Lightning, Watchers, and my favorite, Strangers...of course, there is also Twilight Eyes (a sleeper, but a great one), Phantoms, The Bad Place, Dark Rivers of the Heart, and dont' forget his minor stuff that's good too, like Darkfall and Cold Fire (which, although lacking much action, is very well balanced and contrived),,,All in all, between Koontz, Crieghton, Clancey, Cook and Clark, one could have a prety good time.

Any horror, mystery or thriller fans who have not yet read "Fear Nothing" should give serious consideration to getting this gem now. Starting out as the intriguing story of a young man named Christopher Snow with a potentially fatal weakness to sunlight, and the glimmer of secrets concerning why he's the way he is that begin to come out the night his father dies, this superbly written conspiracy-like tale quickly evolves into something much more. One of the few, possibly the only book written in first person by a single narrator where you get to know the full compliment of main and supporting characters just as well as you do the 'point-of-view' character (which is an impressive writing acomplishment in and of itself) "Fear Nothing" has one of the best ensembles of characters possible within itself to go through the smooth and mysterious labyrinth of events and secrets and shock revelations and mind-stirring possibilities. Vividly imagined and fully realized with a truly genuine feel to it; easily one of Koontz's best books.

It may not, however, be the best place to start if you've never read a Koontz novel before. While not wanting to say any more than necessary, I think one might be glad if they were to go and read a few of Koontz's other books that were written prior to this one (1998), particularly the better known ones from that time, before embarking on this particular journey as it kind of follows up on ideas and concepts previously introduced. I can say no more.

Highest recommendation; 10/10+

I was a big fan of Dean Koontz throughout most of my teen years up till now. I first picked up a book of his when I was suspended from school for a few days and I finished that book within that time frame. The book I picked up was Dark Rivers of the Heart and it was a gripping book full of suspense and anxiety. From then on, I had read every single one of his books, loving most of them. His novels just were better suited for me, unlike Stephen Kings erratic pace and massive storyline crossovers, Dean Koontz novels followed a straight line, most of the time anyway.
I was waiting patiently when I heard about Fear Nothing coming out on paperback. I bought it the day it came out and read it in 3 days. The story was just awesome and the characters were easy to like and love. As any Dean Koontz fan knows, he loves dogs and they often become a bigger character then most people would expect. Orson, the black lab in Fear Nothing was probably the main character behind only Chris Snow. Chris's medical condition was also a unique one to me, I had never heard of it before this book (well Michael Jackson doesn't count) and it added another form of desperation for the heroes of this saga.
Another interesting thing about this book was that it was the beginning of the Apocalypse. The enemy was an unseen one, the worst kind that you could imagine. A threat of nuclear bombs and meteors are always going to be there, but what about something that changed you from within and you didn't even know it? It was a scary thought to behold and Koontz mastered the compulsive anxiety of the characters.
The pace is good, the story is good, the characters are good, and it even has a part II called Seize the Night. This is still one of my personal favorites and it is a compelling read. If you haven't read it yet, I suggest you do, it's a great book.
5 out of 5.

One of my favorite authors, he captures the book and maks it feel as if your there. I was shaking as I turned and flipped through each page. The book shows you what things look like from the dark side. And what happens when an experiment goes extremely wrong.... The ending is wonderfull! I have never looked at monkeys the same way either... This book was far better than any of King's work that I've read! - Mindy, age 12

This is a great book, and most people say it's bad because "it ends just about where it gets good", but no, the second book is out already, "Seize the Night" and "False Memory" is coming out soon. Seize the Night is Much Much better than Fear Nothing, and I thought Fear Nothing was amazing when I read it, Koontz' best, next to Lightning and Sole Survivor, atleast.

A huge fan of Dean Koontz (while I haven't read all those out-of-print books, I do own every book listed on the title page of Fear Nothing), I couldn't wait to read Fear Nothing, especially after Dean called it his favorite. Well, I'm still a big fan of Dean Koontz, but I have to say he has bad taste in books. Fear Nothing was just awful. The characters were pretty good (Chris was fine, Bobby was OK, and I really liked Sasha). The plot was shaky and derivative, but could have made for enjoyable if less-than-stellar Koontz fare a la Sole Survivor. But the writing--and it hurts me to say this, for I count Lightning and Dark Rivers of the Heart among my favorite books--was painful to read. For some reason, Koontz has got the impression that readers enjoy at least one long and unnecessary metaphor per paragraph. We're talking grating, here. Like fingernails on a chalk board. The reason he is able to write almost 400 pages about one night is that he compares the night to approximately 2,532,937 different things. As Jack Nicholson said in 'As Good As It Gets,' "People who speak in metaphors ought to shampoo my crotch." This combined with uninspired dialogue, thoroughly uninteresting minor characters, and a superfluous canine (in Watchers, a dog was essential; in Fear Nothing it's there to gain female readership, pardon my sexism) equals one big mistake. Whatever you do, don't buy this book on hardcover. If you really want it, send me five bucks and I'll send it to you. It's just taking up space on my shelf right now, and every time I look at it I get even more annoyed.