Customer Reviews

Lightning

5 star:		(248)
4 star:		(65)
3 star:		(17)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

Laura Shane has been a haunted woman all her life. From a violent delivery in a stunning thunderstorm, to her mortifying days in the orphanage. Someone has been looking out for her, keeping her safe and out of danger, from the womb...but what are these stranger's intentions? Does he really mean her well? Just where does he come from, and why doesn't he seem to age?

Now, Laura is a happily married woman with a somewhat happy life. But that's all about to change, because now someone has come to kill her...and the stranger, her guardian angel, will expose himself for who he really is. Will Laura believe him? Can she trust him? Will he actually keep her safe this time?

Dean Koontz scores yet again. "Lightning" is a science fiction/suspense/romance thriller to top all others. No one writes like Koontz, no one can hope to write like Koontz, and "Lightning" is a perfect example of his craftsmanship. A rivetting novel that'll leave you glued to the pages and wanting more.

I'm a big fan of Dean Koontz, and some people consider LIGHTNING to be one of his best novels. I've seen some people even describe this book as the best Koontz novel ever. I respectfully disagree.

LIGHTNING starts off very well. Laura Shane, the protagonist of the book, is one of Koontz' most likable characters, and her remarkably tough childhood makes her very sympathetic. But she changes pretty dramatically in the second half of the book, and becomes more of an two-dimensional action hero.

The second part of this novel is basically one large chase scene with a lot of shootouts. It's reasonably entertaining, but I didn't feel it measured up to the first half of the book.

I also found much of the dialogue in this book to be remarkably unrealistic, especially from the children. There is an eight-year old child in this novel, for example, who talks like a miniature adult. Koontz injects a lot of humor in the dialogue, but much of it seems forced and unrealistic. I like humor in a novel, but I don't like characters that talk like stand-up comedians.

Again, I love Koontz, and strongly recommend books like WATCHERS, MR. MURDER, INTENSITY, ODD THOMAS, VELOCITY, and THE HUSBAND. This book is reasonably entertaining, but I wouldn't recommend it as your first Koontz novel.

Please keep in mind, though, that some people just adore this novel, so it just shows how tastes can differ. The great thing about Koontz is that not all of his books are the same, so you never know what to expect.

I got two Dean Koontz books for X-mas, because I heard he was a good Suspense/Horror writer, and I was tired of just reading Stephen King. I am sure glad I took a chance on this guy! The first book I read was Intensity, which is still my favorite of the two. The very day I finished that book, I opened up my second gift, Lightning, and got sucked into the characters and the mystery surrounding them. I read this book in about 8 days which is very fast for me, and I had trouble putting it down most nights. Some of the reviews here state that the second half wasn't nearly as good as the first, but I actually liked the second half better. Not only was it more action oriented (I'm a guy!), but it took the time travel ideas to a whole new level that I didn't see coming. Some of the time traveling issues did get so confusing that I found myself re-reading certain sections over again to finally make some sense of it. The characters are fleshed out extremely well, especially Laura and Stefan. I agree that most pre-teen girls and eight-year-old boys are not gonna talk in the manner or the intelligence of these kids, but the dialogue is so amusing I can overlook these minor flaws. Since reading these two novels, I now consider myself a Koontz fan and have bought four more of his most popular novels. If your into Sci-Fi, Action, Drama, Romance, or WWII history, give this novel a try. Its got a bit of everything for everyone. And go read Intensity if you haven't yet. Now it's time for me to start my third Koontz novel, Phantoms.

...and it doesn't stop there! This book is one of the many Koontz books I've read, and it is one of the best. It deals with several issues: time travel, the human emotions, and motivation.

In the midst of it all is an intriguing love-story between a mysterious character--who's always at the right place at the right time!--and the lady who is so innocent of her fate. It is about believing in what can be done, and finding the will to change it, however impossible it may seem.

The book is a success in itself, and luminates many fields of science, too. It demonstrates Koontz's fabulous knack at writing great fiction, even if the book isn't one of his longer novels.

If you don't like this book because you listened to it on audio, wrong choice! You have to read the books. It is completely different in your mind. If you're not a regular Koontz fanatic, try this one on for size, and you'll be hooked.

The characters are excellent, the dialogue is fantastic, and the plot is astounding. It divulges the evils of Man, and what we're capable of.

And about the ending? Well, read it and find out!

.

...which is to say Fantastic.

What would you do if you could move through time and create the ideal future? Here is one take.

One of the things I really liked about this book is that I have lived in many of the areas where the story unfolds, and even came down from Big Bear by way of a dirt road....it's more of a deer track than a road, but still....

It's been a while since I've read Lightning, but I couldn't help myself to write this review. Though it is not my favorite Koontz book, it is probably in my top ten. The book has well-developed characters, a complex and often mind-bending plot, and a satisfying conclusion. The complex plot, in my opinion, is probably the best aspect of the book. It forces you to think, and it gets your mind going. Personally, I was still thinking about it for days after I had completed it. This is definitely Koontz at his best, though Watchers, Seize the Night, and Dark Rivers of the Heart truly display Koontz's great writing ability.

This is the first Koontz novel I have read, and I must say that I am positively impressed. Before I was finished reading "Lightning" I was browsing through a bargain book store and came across a hardcover of "Intensity" for only $8. Now that I'm finished with the book I'm still happy about my purchase and looking forward to starting it.

I didn't really know this book was going to be sci-fi. The only part I knew was about a girl who has a guardian angel that appears from time to time to save her life. The time travel aspect was neat, and I'm glad Koontz didn't give it anymore sci-fi than that, else the book may have been overloaded. This book has a nice balance to it, it's never hard to follow and never boring. Some of the time travel explanations are a bit tricky, but the mind-boggling is what's part of the fun.

What I didn't like about the book was the dialogue. It wasn't bad, but unrealistic. There are characters we see develop from childhood to near middle-age. And if you randomly sample their words you'd have no idea whether they were preteens or in their thirties - it all sounds the same. And that goes for Chris too, have you ever heard an 8 year old talk like that? I can swallow brilliant boys and girls or even a child prodigy, but these kids have wisdom too.

Although a minor technicality, there is a problem with these "jaunts" that the time travellers go on. The book explains how in the present day of the travellers that there are no computers that can pinpoint the exact time and location when jaunted into the future, which is fine, but the book provides us with the convenient setting of the mountains of southern California, so that if you're a few hundred yards away from your destination you're still in somewhat of a rural area. What if you were being jaunted near the city and you ended up on a busy street, materializing in front of a Mack truck just seconds before it plows into you? Surely all of their jaunts didn't have woods nearby to plot and plan before you jumped in to the real action.

But I fear I am being too critical now. This book is very satisfying, it makes us care about the main characters and want destruction for the bad guys. The ending does fall into an action cliche, but I have to believe that the events portrayed in the book could reasonably lead to this type of split-second showdown, so I deemed it excusable. Dean Koontz has basically hooked me into reading more and more of what he has to offer. And seeing that he is the author of dozens of books, it looks like I have quite a bit of catching up to do.

There's nothing I can say in this review that hasn't been said already. Having said that, Dean Koontz has become my favorite author through the years. Lightning was the second book I read of his, but has become my all-time favorite book, period. There is something about the character of Laura Shane that seems to speak to the idea that people really can haul themselves far above their station or circumstances in life to become successful. She learned not to rely on a guardian for protection and figured out how to rely on herself. That she became a writer is not surprising- one of the single most fundamental rules to telling a good story is to write what you know.
The interrelationship between Laura and the Ackerson twins- I've had those exact relationships. It doesn't matter if anyone else finds our little jokes funny- we do, and that's all that counts. The love story is secondary, and serves mostly to explain Krieger's motivations. Those who would complain about the dialogue of a character like Chris need to understand that there are kids out there who develop an avid interest in something that goes way beyond a hobby, even as early as 8, and in doing so learn about aspects or language of their interests that the adults around them would probably have no idea about. (I used to be one of them- I know of which I speak.) Kids understand a lot more than adults ever give them credit for.
What I have loved for years about Koontz's work is that he may be 'rehashing old ideas' but somehow seems to find a new spin that maybe not many people have heard of, especially those like me that get easily lost when a sci-fi/fantasy story has no basis in reality. What makes his writing so compelling is his ability to bring utterly believable characters to life even in implausible situations.
People who have read a lot of his works will note that there is usually a happy ... ending to his stories, but the ride to getting there is always different, often scary ..., and exciting. Predictable endings? Maybe. But that's entertainment. Therein lies the escape from our real lives. Think about it-what's the point of emotionally investing in a character that is irretrievably destroyed at the end of the story or beginning of the sequel? The problem with that is that it just doesn't work, and leaves readers feeling horribly cheated. ... I want to learn for myself what the characters have figured out or resolved at the end of the story.
The bottom line? The characters created here are people I know (yes, I'm probably the biggest geek in the world, but it's okay with me. I've had a long time to get used to it.) and an intriguing plot line that I can guarantee hadn't been done before, and probably nowhere near as well since. I like a good book with extremely well-developed characters, edge of your seat nail-biting-I-can't-put-this-book-down-even-if-I-wanted-to suspense, the sense of 'what if this could really happen to someone- what would i do?' that makes me think. Dean Koontz is amazing, and this is one of his best.

Yeah, yeah, some of the characters in Lightning were a little hard to fathom, and they seemed to be just too lucky, too many times. But...this is a wonderful story, with time travel at the heart of it. Usually, time travel stories don't really get me, and I don't want to read them. But a lot of people recommended this book to me, and I thank them wholeheartedly for doing so. This story is about Laura Shane, who all through her life, has seemed to have had a "guardian angel". No matter what awful situation she has been in, a mysterious stranger has saved her, starting with the stormy night she was born, when he stopped a drunk doctor from delivering her. Through most of the book, you are left wondering, who is this man? Why does he follow Laura? When his reasoning is discovered, it is a wonderful reason, and just makes the book all that much better. This book is just different from other books. It has more "meat" to it. You can really tell when an author puts a lot of time and effort into a book, and this is one of them. Dean Koontz never fails to intrigue, scare, or just plain terrify readers, but in this book he will enthrall you. Until the very last page, you are hooked to this story of a woman's struggles in life and the man who is desperate to save her, though it could put him in grave danger. This is a must read, pick it up fast! I wish I could tell everyone to read this book, but those of you who are reading this review, read Lightning, it has fast become one of my favorites of all time!

This is the best novel from Dean Koontz, and he has written so many. Most range from fair to good, but many are boring, silly and juvenile. If you pick this novel to read first, you will probably be let down by most of his other work. But definitely give him a chance with this one, even if you've hated his others. 'Lightning' is very good and worth a read (or two or three, in my case).

The story's shining light is the main character of Laura Shane. We start out with her birth, follow her through her terrible childhood, and finish with her adult years. She is a thoroughly drawn character, from start to finish, and you won't regret spending time getting so into her life. A mysterious "guardian angel" shows up at all important points in her path, and the reasons behind this soon become clear.

The plot has many twists and turns, dark moments, sadness and joy. All of the characters are written so well, from Laura's beloved father, to her husband Danny and son Chris, to her hilarious best friend Thelma, to the mysterious stranger, that we just end up loving them all. The action is tight and involving, the poignant moments of girlhood and life-long friendship and love are touching and the ending is satisfying.

Koontz has not done anything before or since as well as he does 'Lightning'. A completely entertaining and exciting read, you won't want to put it down until you're done. And then you are left wanting more. If all his books were this good, he'd be my favorite author. Unfortunately, his other novels pale in comparison. Try this and enjoy it. There's not much more like it in his collection.