Customer Reviews

The House of Thunder

5 star:		(46)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

This book to me is a classic. Koontz brilliantly constructs this plot and makes it a joy to see unfold. I read this book a few years back and I still remember the pleasure I got from it. A couple months ago I gave this book to my girlfriend to read I got her hooked on Koontz now I am like her Koontz supplier hehehe. Anyways I dared her to figure out the plot before books end and to tell me. She had quite the imagination but could never come up with the plot. After she finsihed she was astounded by the sheer brilliance of this book. So why did I give this book 5 stars quite simply because it was a hard book to put down. I seen from other reviews some were disappointed with the ending but I bet for that moment of time when they were reading it all were captivated just as I was!!!

This book was first released in the early 80s under one of Koontz' pseudonyms. Susan wakes up in the hospital after a car accident. At first she can't remember anything about herself but her memory gradually returns. In the hospital, she starts to see what appears to be the ghosts of four fraternity boys who killed her boyfriend thirteen years ago. Are they really ghosts, or is she losing her sanity?

The premise is a good one and it keeps you interested. But the buildup is a bit too long compared to the ending. She encounters her tormentors several times, but it never feels like there's any imminent threat to her until the last half of the book. About 100 pages before the ending, the story really takes off and it's a great read until the somewhat too abrupt ending.

Not one of Koontz' best, but still definately an entertaining read. A weak 4 stars.

I read this Koontz book after some procrastination. The title and back cover synopsis just did not appeal much to me. Despite the irrelevance of the cover picture, the book was uniformly outstanding. The story progressed at a good pace with none of the drab repetitiveness of the more recent Koontz novels I have read. The characters are believable and the plot line for the first 3/4ths of the book keeps you riveted. The absolutely unexpected ending in the last 1/4th of the book makes this one of the best I have read. Not necessarily due to the written subject of the plot twist, but the hairpin turn into another completely different realm of story line. Overall, this book rates as one of the best I have read and I have already recommended it to another Koontz reader.

This is a very interesting book to say the least. It's one that you never truly know whats going on. You may think you do but you really don't. At one point I thought I knew and I was close or partially right. Then when it was done I realized that is was so much larger than I had thought. If you like books that throws you curves all the time; ones that you never really on what's going on; ones that at the ending you have to laugh and go wow, I didn't quite see that comming than go get this book and enjoy.

This is absolutely one of his best books. The title is fitting too- House of Thunder.

The house in this book is not one I've forgotten- even though I read this book years ago. And the characters, the ones that aren't on the good side, have left lasting impressions. I know I'll read the book again, I'm betting it will freak me out as much as the first time around.

The best part of this book was the ending- it gave me a bit of a surprise.

Koontz is a master of the psychological thriller. The House of Thunder twists and turns with alarming ease, leading the reader down a darkened funhouse maze, never letting on where he is going with the story.

I could not put this book down once I began reading it, finally finishing it at 3am, after starting around midnight. I was captivated by the storyline, and had no clue that all the things that were happening were part of a big sham. However, I thoroughly enjoyed being fooled by Koontz, as this made the entire book so engaging and entertaining. I just couldn't put the book down 'til I knew what the outcome was!

Good story! Would like to see this one made into a movie!

Peace Out.

Susan Thornton is the main character in this book. After a car crash she wakes up in a hospital and can't remember various parts of her life. What she does remember is a murder she witnessed when she was younger. Then anytime someone mentions her employer, who she can't remember panic sets in.

This was a great fast paced book. I read it in one day. Like most of the books by Mr. Koontz, the characters are colorful and well written. At times this book is a little far fetched but that's fiction.

If your looking for a book that is part medical thriller, espionage thriller, supernatural and just a lot of fun to read, then this is for you.

I gave this book 5 stars and have recommended it to many of my friends.

Pick it up and enjoy.

I have read about 25 of Dean Koontz' books in the past few years and "The House of Thunder" is deffinatly one of my favourites so far. Extremely gripping and difficult to put down. Also, I have never read a book so filled with mysetery and suspence, I couldn't wait to find out what was happening to Susan - was it minor brain damaged caused by her accident? Or are these four dead men really extracting revenge from beyond the grave? Is she suffering from paranoid delusions? Part of some elaborate consipracy? These are questions you will be asking yourself throughout the book.

These mysteries, and the suspence and terror built up in Susan's hallucinations (or are they?), are alone enough to make a five-star, fast-paced read but from around page 300 (the book has 438 pages) Koontz creates several ingenious plot twist and mysteries, some of which had me gasping out loud, they were so fantastic.

This book has my highest recomendations to anybody looking for a good horror/mystery/thriller novels or fans of Dean Koontz - and if you have never read one of his books before, give this one a read and see for yourself the extent of his talent as a writer.

The House Of Thunder,
This being an older novel by Mr. Koontz, originally penned under the pseudonym Leigh Nichols, is not in my opinion his best work. Although I liked the book, I felt I couldn't connect with the characters. Susan is an enigma, not only her past but her present conditions are thin, lacking the depth needed to actually care about her character. The same is said about most of the characters that make appearances in this novel. It's very hard to care about characters you literally know nothing about.
Susan wakes from a coma, then the story moves on. We learn a little about her as she begins to remember, just not nearly enough to care about her. A handsome doctor, a friendly nurse and faces from her past are all encountered, but then again we learn very little about these people.
In all fairness the book is a mystery, leaving the reader the task of figuring out the plot. I do feel Koontz has done much better than this with great works such as `Dark Rivers Of The Heart' and `The Servants Of The Twilight'.
I did like the book, but not enough to recommend it as a must read to would be Koontz fans.

This is the best book I've ever read. There's so many twists in it you really don't know where it's going next and keeps you scared right until the last moment. I have only read it once, about 2 years ago and I still think about it now and about where it would have gone from there, will they be able to con the russians? I really enjoy all Koontz's books but this is his best.