The Servants of Twilight [Hardcover]

Dean Koontz (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 418 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Books; Book Club (BCE/BOMC) edition (1990)
• Language: English
• ASIN: B000NPSC9I
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (95 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,797,628 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

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best Koontz book among the old ones, February 1, 2000

By 

Marco Aurelio - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Servants of Twilight (Mass Market Paperback)

Impossible to put down. That's how you could define that book if asked to define it in one sentece. But more than this, the book is beyond any other kind of entertainment. I tried reading this book 'cause I was trying to get used to reading books in English. And that was the best book by Dean Koontz I've ever read. You'll never be able to forget the mother and the child, that soon start to get into a sea of deadly problems. The plot comes up as one of the best ever written, and the author just doesn't allows you to do any other thing but read the book, because that's all you want to do when you start page one of THE SERVANTS OF TWILIGHT. Since then, I never read other book by Dean to like as much as I liked that. But that may change from reader to reader. Only one thing is certain: the plot will make you be on the edge of you seat the whole time.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Captivating Read, March 6, 2001

By 

pomuzak (NJ USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Servants of Twilight (Mass Market Paperback)

I am a huge Dean Koontz fan, and I have thoroughly enjoyed most of the books I have read of his, but I thought this one stood out among them. In all of Koontz's books that I have read, I have found myself saying "Yeah right, this is ridiculous and could never happen". Even in my personal favorite Koontz novel, Lightning, i found many things unbelievable. But in The Servants of Twilight, Dean Koontz crafts a believable AND enjoyable storyline.

Christine Scavello has a young son, Joey, who is an exceptional little boy who is very well behaved, and never gets into trouble. That is until one day, after a routine trip to the supermarket, a crazed old woman begins following Joey, believing that he is the Antichrist. At first this sounds insane, but then you realize that religious cults can indeed be as crazy as this particular villain, Grace Spivey. Christine hires a PI, Charlie, to help her escape the looney woman, and as in all other Koontz novels, they fall in love. It's very interesting to see the story unfold from all angles. You see the book from the point of view of the villain and the victims, so it is much more interesting. The book has many twists and turns to bring you to the end, and believe me, it's worth it. I highly recommend this book to any Koontz fan!

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Cheated, July 6, 2006

By 

Steve Kowalski "I'm A Beer Man" (Southern CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Servants of Twilight (Mass Market Paperback)

Dean Koontz has remarked that he'd rather be known as a suspense writer than as a horror writer. I think he manages that very well.

The reason I like Koontz books is because they begin so mysteriously; odd events unexpectedly cropping up in the lives of ordinary people. The author engages the reader, immersing him/her in the world of the characters, unfolding the story with skill.

Koontz books are page-turners, certainly, and this one is no exception. But, for my money, a suspense book should end leaving me satisfied that the mystery I was plunged into from page one has now been explained.

Disappointingly, this was not the case with The Servants of Twilight. Oh, yes, it has a protagonist, an antagonist, and a climax, as novels do. (I won't spoil the story for you here as some other reviews have done, either.) I read most of it in two days; it was that interesting and gripping. In fact, all through The Servants of Twilight there is an absolutely terrific tension, one that I have rarely encountered in fiction, a tension driving you to keep reading to discover the truth. I was waiting for its resolution up until the final page--and it never came.

This novel falls squarely into that genre of story that leave "what really happened" entirely up to the reader. There is ample evidence throughout so that a number of opposing conclusions could be argued for and supported by the story. This was clearly intended by Koontz, but it left me with a hollow, cheated feeling. Is the glass half full, or half empty? You decide. The author didn't.

I have given the book only 2 stars in the rating because I don't like this kind of "choose your own interpretation" in a suspense book. Your mileage may vary. If you don't mind it, you'll probably rate it higher. But at least you've been forewarned. In every other way, it was a great book.

Thanks for reading my review.