Customer Reviews

Shadow Fires

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(17)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Moments after a heated arguement in the street with her ex husband, Rachael watches in horror as he is brought down by a dump truck. Just an hour ago, they were sitting in his lawyers office finalizing their divorce, and now he is dead, killed before her very eyes. Though Rachael feels horrified by his death, she feels no grief...sorrow, but no sense of loss. Eric, her ex, was lost to her a long time ago. Feeling a sense of relief, but at the same time a queer unease, Rachael heads home to unwind after her wild day. But the day isnt over...she receives a phone call from the morgue...Erics body has gone missing. Soon events spiral out of control and Rachael is on the run from a stalker...a stalker that looks remarkably like her dead Ex husband.

Shadowfires was, at first, hard for me to get into...the story really stretched the limits of my imagination, but eventually, the tension wound so tight and the story and its characters got so interesting, I was willing to let go and just enjoy the ride. All in all, I really enjoyed this book. I love DK's characters. I think he does an amazing job with his villains...they are so 3 dimensional. Even as Im hating them, Koontz allows you in deep to see a softer side that makes them seem so human. I hated Eric, he was a sick twisted pig, but at the same time, there was a part of me that felt sorry for him as DK revealed more and more about his past and his motivations. Truly, Koontz is brilliant.

I'm a huge Dean Koontz fan, and I have read almost all of his fifty plus novels. SHADOWFIRES is mildly entertaining, but it really isn't one of Koontz's strongest efforts. This novel was written in the mid-1980s under the Leigh Nichols pseudonym, and I thought it was the weakest book under that name.

SHADOWFIRES is essentially a long chase story, with a man/woman team on the run from a lot of sinister forces unleashed by a genetic experiment gone wrong. Koontz has explored this territory before in superior novels such as WATCHERS and MR. MURDER. If you're new to Koontz, my advice is to read those novels instead of this one.

In the end, SHADOWFIRES is a bit too long and drawn out, and I think Koontz put too many characters in this book. I also found the two main characters to be kind of boring and cookie-cutter. Koontz also spends too much time on description and exposition in this book; I found myself skipping through paragraphs to reach the end.

This is actually a pretty decent book, but I give it two stars when comparing it to other great novels in Koontz's canon. Try those instead -- WATCHERS, INTENSITY, LIGHTNING, FEAR NOTHING, and ODD THOMAS are the ones that most people consider the best.

"Shadowfires" was another wonderful book in the long line of great Koontz novels, and this one was no different.

We have the story of a woman named Rachel, and her husband, Eric Leben. Eric was a doctor in genetics who was fighting with his wife until he is pushed in front of a bus, by her, and killed. Rachel felt that maybe freedom was at last hers, until hours later, Eric is missing from the morgue, and we learn the awful truth of his secret work.

I felt that this book had action from the very first few pages, and did not stop until the very last word. I was thrilled with the roller coaster of a ride that Koontz took me on, and i could not put the book down once i started on the journey. Koontz makes great use of location, and our fears of within, to give us this great chiller of the experiments of man to be more than human. A definite gem in the Koontz collection, a must have for any collector, and a great place to start for anyone taking a look at his work for the first time. A Masterpiece. My only wish of this book: It should have been made into a movie. -CW

I've been a Dean Koontz fan ever since I wondered what else was out there besides Stephen King and picked up Hideaway at the library. And now, I've just finished number 15, Shadowfires.

Since Rose Madder is my all time favorite Stephen King book, you know that I'd have to be intrigued, to say the least, at Shadowfires' summary. Rose Madder is the story of a psychotic murderous husband chasing his wife across the country, whereas Shadowfires is about a nutty, furious husband rising from the grave and hunting his wife down. But I was a little hesitant, seeing as this book is not very highly rated. But then again, Darkfall is rather unpopular among Koontz fans and is one of his best, so maybe this would be the case with Shadowfires, and it was.

Rachel Leben has just decided to divorce her wealthy husband Eric. Eric is a genius who works at a company called Geneplan where he's in charge of the Wildcard project, which he hopes will be used to prolong human lifespans. Eric is obsessed with immortality, for reasons which we discover later on in the story. Eric is furious when Rachel decides to leave him, and in a fit of rage, accidently gets himself run down and killed by a garbage truck. Now Rachel is free to live in peace with her boyfriend, Benny Shadway. Or is she?

As it turns out, Eric escapes from the morgue. Turns out he's been his own guinea pig for his immortality experiment. Still furious with Rachel, he sets out to track her down and slaughter her and Benny. Unfortunately, the experiment has gone horribly wrong and is transforming him into something unspeakable at a terrifying rate. Now the couple must find and kill Eric before he can do any more damage, while running from men from Geneplan who want to put a bullet in her head to keep her quiet about Wildcard.

At first Eric seems like a generic evil villian, but later on, when we learn more about him and his reasons for his evil ways and his obsession with immortality, we feel some sympathy for him, just as we do with villians from books such as Watchers and Whispers.

Shadowfires, like Darkfall, is extremely underrated. But don't make the mistake of passing them by. I consider both of them to be among Koontz's best. Some of my favorites include Intensity, Watchers, Hideaway, The Door To December and Whispers. I've yet to finish one that I didn't like, but Lightning, Shattered, and Dark Rivers Of The Heart were on the lower quality end for me, although still great books.

ISBN 0425136981 - Koontz is an author who has always walked a weird line for me, with Night Chills a prime example. His writing tends to be great, and his sex scenes tend to be aberrant, making me wary of his books. Shadowfires straddles the same line, but with far more finesse than Night Chills - there are sex scenes which are somewhat repulsive (and to go into greater detail would give away too much) but Koontz includes a more "normal" sex scene between hero and heroine that balances it out a bit.

Talk about an acrimonious divorce... Eric is a self-made man, obsessed with youth, money and all things Eric. Rachel is on the way to becoming his ex-wife and to finding out that she's in a no-win situation. Eric is angered that Rachel has the nerve to reject him by seeking divorce but that's only the half of it. He's also prepared to drag her through bitter court proceedings to fight her for his money - and her willingness to settle for very little only inflames him further. This is just another rejection and Eric is not going to take it lying down.

When he's mowed down in the street by a garbage truck, right in front of Rachel, that whole "not going to take it lying down" thing takes on new meaning. His body goes missing from the morgue and while everyone else is wondering how they could lose a body, Rachel is sure she knows the answer. It's not possible, but it's true nonetheless: Eric is coming after her.

I was rather surprised to find myself wanting to skip pages, not because they weren't good but because the suspense was periodically unbearable! Koontz's characters are superbly written, with even Eric earning some sympathy and understanding from the reader.

- AnnaLovesBooks

OK... KOONTZ HAS WRITTEN ABOUT GENETICS BEFORE (AND CONTINUES TO DO SO...HENCE, THE CHRISTOPHER SNOW BOOKS.) BUT, I PERSONALLY LIKE THIS BOOK EVEN BETTER THAN WATCHERS (TRANSLATION...IT'S SCARIER!) Eric Leben is a truly frightening villain... he wasn't well glued together before his death and self-imposed resurrection, but he becomes (literally) a monster upon his return. The "shadow fires" of the book's title are psychologically chilling. Leben is definitely one of Koontz's best villains...and that says a lot. He's certainly more interesting than Candy, the vilain of The Bad Place...which nonetheless remains my fav Koontz novel. Anyway, if u are looking to get chills, th is is the book for u. Just realize the book is a bit slow in places. it definitely could've been tighter. BUT the supporting characters in this book are great... especially THE STONE and the sadistic federal agent... Sharp, i believe his name was. so pick this one up... and prepare to be spooked. :)

I suppose this book can be overanalyzed and nitpicked till it's reduced to nothing much,but I enjoyed it thoroughly and that's all that matters.There are good guys,who are really good and bad guys,who are totally evil,a lot of genetic-experiment-gone-wrong motive,it's very descriptive and quite graphic at times.Overall,I thought it to be a well paced story with enough thrills to be considered a thriller and enough frights to be concidered a horror novel.It has a realy 80's feel to it,which is hard to describe,but the book was written in that crazy decade of unlimited promises of the future and slightly corny heroes and Shadowfires sorta captures that innocence.
If you're a fan of Dean Koontz or just looking for an easy and fun read,this is your book.

Many of my favorite Koontz novels were originally published under the psuedonym LEIGH NICHOLS. There is something so engaging and suspenseful and passionate about those earlier novels that I really think he was in the top of his form back then. SHADOWFIRES stands out as one of his best. Beautiful and intensely-likeable Rachel Leben has finally escaped the neglect and cruelty of her husband, brilliant genetecist Eric Leben. Or at least she thinks she has. But Eric's hate for her (mainly for leaving him which in turn humiliates him) becomes a force of nature. Nothing will stop him from destroying her. Not even death... I've read this book at least twice now and will probably read it again. It's a classic "chase novel" with a creepy blend of science and horror and suspense. Highly recommended.

This book is another "once-you-start-you-can't-put-it-down" exhilirating reading experience. Dean Koontz has not yet disapointed. His novels are suspense-filled, imaginative, and totally unpredictable. The reader expects ... the unexpected. This novel is exceptionally brilliant, based on plausible genetic engineering principles which are exaggerated to create the impossible yet the reader is riveted and thrilled with the revelation when "the impossible" gradually becomes possible. This book is entertaining, spine-tingling, and utterly terrifying as the possibilities become ever more real ...

The book begins by introducing the reader to Rachael Leben and her husband, Dr. Eric Leben, a former University of California scientist and professor who is a partner in a genetic engineering research firm. This high profile California couple is in the midst of a divorce after seven years of marriage. They
seem like an above average couple whose divorce has all the qualities of turning into a nasty public media type circus event. Right after the meeting at Eric's lawyer's office, he hurls accusations at Rachael in an attempt to gain control over the situation as his masculinity and ego were totally crushed, humiliated when Rachael failed to press for everything she is entitled to under California divorce laws. After this highly charged emotional confrontation, Eric dashed across the street and in a freak accident was hit by a garbage truck. It hurled him in the air like a bomb blast and caused severe head injuries, from all indications killing him instantly. The paramedics could not revive him.

As if witnessing this event was not enough, the following day, Rachael receives a phone call from the Medical Examiner's office where she learns Eric's body had disappeared. After separating from Eric, Rachael had developed a friendship with Benny Lee Shadway, a highly successful real estate developer who was her sole emotional comfort during this horrible ordeal. He noticed she was paranoid and behaving oddly which he initially attributed to witnessing her husband's accident but as time progressed he was to learn her behavior was based on more than his disappearance and death. Rachael starts carrying a gun with her whenever she goes out, she keeps the curtains of her home closed all the time. She is obviously afraid but can not articulate from what ...

Dean Koontz supplies major clues throughout the book to gradually build up the suspense and the plot as the disappearance of Eric becomes connected to factors related to his genetic research. The manner in which Koontz ties together the story, plot and the unusual occurences and events within the book is a mind-boggling but thoroughly satisfying reading experience. As an author Koontz knows just how to reveal more and more personal details about the life and background of each character to create a better understanding of their behavior and viewpoint. Obviously, the reader is free to loath, love, and cheer for specific protaganists as he masterfully and skillfully unravels the murder mystery. Dean Koontz has become my favorite author of this genre. Erika Borsos (pepper flower)

*spoilers*

Once again, typical Koontz.

It started off pretty strong. A middle-aged woman, Rachel, is freed from her awful marriage after her rich husband gets dusted by a garbage truck. She feels relieved, but then learns her husband's body is gone from the morgue.

As it turns out, Mr. Rich Husband was doing research into immortality, and comes back to life. Thing is, he cannot maintain mental stability, and has pretty much reverted into a primal, blood-thirsty killing machine.

Now, as I already said, it started out pretty strong. But can someone, anyone, tell me why Koontz feels so implied to answer all of his plotlines with some sort of rampant, out-of-control government conspiracy? And so, as aforementioned, this is typical Koontz. It worked in The Watchers, and it worked in a few others, but there's a point in time where it just gets old. The man has so many creative, imaginative ideas, but I just don't see why he has to answer all of them with the same jargon.

And more so, every time he does this shpeal, he seems to go out of his way to inject his rants about the apparently terrible state of modern civilization. He's cynical as hell, and he does his in almost every book he writes. Little insights here and there would have been fine, but he does it to the point where it really does distract from the plot.

Character-wise, eh. He's never been too strong with characters (aside from a few - "Life Expectancy" and the Odd Thomas series, to name two), and this is no exception. Generally cardboard characters with corny, cliche'd dialogue you'd never hear a real person say, coupled with overdone romance that really doesn't need to be there.

But while I didn't really enjoy this one, I'm not trying to say that Koontz is a bad author. I absolutely loved "Intensity", "Life Expectancy", and "Odd Thomas". He's a great writer, when he wants to be. But I just wish he'd stop milking the same plot devices over and over again.