Customer Reviews

Twilight Eyes

5 star:		(66)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(25)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Carl Stanfeuss was born with Twilight Eyes, a color his grandmother said foretold of psychic abilities. After murdering his uncle Denton at the tender age of seventeen, Carl flees Oregon, shedding his name to become Slim MacKenzie, and join up with the Sombra Brothers Carnival. Of course, it wasn't bad that he murdered his uncle ... because his uncle was one of Them. The goblins.

From his psychic abilities, Slim can see the piggish, doggish faces of the goblins hiding underneath the façade of normal humans. They live off the pain and suffering of others, gathering with glee at fires, accidents, shootings, and disasters.

Once with Sombra Brothers, Slim goes to work for concessionaire Rya Raines running the High-Striker, and falls in love with the icy beauty. Among the others he meets is enigmatic freak Joel Tuck (the most compelling character in the book), and after discovering both Joel and Rya can see the "goblins" also, they set a plan in motion to infiltrate one of the horrid monster's nests in the town of Yontsdown. Unsure if they can actually rid the world of the beasts, Slim and Rya plan to extract vengeance from them for the death of Jelly Jordan, one of their friends.

The book has an explosive culmination that won't leave you disappointed. The "goblins" are all too easy to imagine from Koontz's descriptions, and the depictions of carnival life well fleshed out without being overdone. Joel Tuck is my favorite character, Koontz describing the freak's appearance as "God having a bad day" or, worse, "fun with molding flesh".

Koontz doesn't usually write in first person, which makes this a unique novel among all the others he's done. Its also an earlier novel of his, written before he developed a 'Stephen King' predilection for 'verbal diarrhea', overwriting his stories to the point where prose overcame the actual story. 'Twilight Eyes' is an adventuresome novel with a unique storyline and well written enough to keep you up all night long. I highly recommend it. Enjoy!

When I was reading this book, I had contradicting thoughts about it. Sometimes I was extremely impressed, sometimes deeply disappointed. To get the worst out of the way, let me state the disappointing factors first: Dean Koontz needs to read 'The 38 Most Common Fiction Writing Mistakes' and take a good look at the chapter labeled 'Don't Lecture Your Reader'! I cannot totally attack Koontz though, because sometimes the information he lingers on is important for the story, but for God's sake be brief because it disrupts the flow of events!

Now this book is about a gifted young man who can see the evil presence lurking beneath a human disguise. This evil is a physical being - not something of spiritual nature - 'goblins' as he calls them. He stalks them, kills them, and he can also see the misery that they had brought over the earth. Like in all of Dean's books, the story is enhanced by several very real, very compelling characters. And as usual, you'll love and admire the characters. You'll be surprised too, because things will be turned upside down quite a few times, which is what makes this book exciting.

I wouldn't say that it is particularly very scary. It is gripping, yes. Thrilling, yes. Even bizzarre. But not enough to classify it as horror. It can be slow at times, which is why it occured to me to give it 4 stars instead of 5, but the way it ended made it worthy of more than 5 stars. It takes a very emotional turn and suddenly you may find yourself so tuned in that time and place seize to exist. I was touched so deeply by this story, deeper than many of the other books I have read for him.

Dean is also a great thinker. In a way, he carries a message in this book that is close to saying that he wished he could blame all the misery in the world on the 'goblins'. That we, humans, cannot be entirely blamed on the destruction of our world... wishful thinking of course, but an idea on which he built this book.

This is one of Koontz's best books. Although not my all time favourite of his work, this is a masterpiece and Koontz at his most brilliant. Other five star quality brilliant Koontz novels which you definitely have to buy as well are Watchers, Intensity, Night Chills and Mr Murder.

In Twilight Eyes the setting takes place in the era of JFK's death and the prelude of the Vietnam war where a young man under the alias of Slim Mackenzie is fleeing authorities who want him for the murder of his uncle. Only Slim killed him for a reason, as Slim has the gift of Twilight Eyes that give him visions of the future and past as well as allow him to see the through the human disguises that the evil goblins are using to reap terror, murder and mayhem against the human race. His uncle was one of those goblins. Becoming a carnie and joining the nomadic Sombra Brothers Carnival is the only place he can safely hide.

His boss the beautiful Rya is impressed with the way he gets every cent out of the marks, Jelly the manager of the carnival knows his faith in hiring him will pay off and the side show freaks and other carnies know he is a great worker and trustworthy guy. He only knows he has seen visions with Rya and Jelly both covered in blood and that the goblins have a major attack planned for the ferris wheel which he must stop. The war against the goblins will rage on unless he can work out how to stop them all. Sensational novel!

I love this book so much. It's not as heart-poundingly terrifying as some of my favorite Koontz books are, but is such an amazing story nonetheless. Or maybe it's just that it's written so well.

Koontz has a way of making me feel like I have learned an insight into the meaning of life after some of his better novels, none moreso than this one.

The main character, "Slim", though only 17/18 in the book, is the type of person you want to be more like. I am a 26 year old woman and I want to be more like him. Basically it just means that as always, Koontz creates the best characters of any author out there.

The story itself is not overly intense, but very intriguing and thoughtful. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a good story with amazing characters and a great satisfying ending. Those who only want to be freaked out at a fast pace may not enjoy it as much.

This was the first Dean Koontz book I ever picked up, and it's still my favorite. It sparked off a love of Koontz that will probably last till I die. He quickly became my favorite author. Much like King, with a homier, friendlier feel, and not so much weirdness, Koontz cooks up interesting, intelligent and thought provoking stories. And this one especially is rich in characters and plot. The story he wove was so rich that I actually felt like I was there. And the love story was especially nice. Definitely a must read!

I thought Twilight Eyes was one of the best books I have bought and read. I think that Dean Koontz should be recognized more than he does. I like Stephen King, but I LOVE Dean Koontz. Other favorites of mine are The Bad Place, Strange Highways, Sole Survivor, Phantoms, Fear Nothing, Seize the Night, and many others. But Twilight Eyes is my personal favorite. Slim Mackenzie was a exciting, alive, charecter and Rya and Joel Tuck were great, too.

I've read between 20 and 25 of Koontz's books. He's my favorite living fiction writer. But Twilight Eyes is very disappointing. It's the first Koontz book I've put down halfway through, and am having to FORCE myself to finish! For the first time with a Koontz book, I'm not even all that involved with the characters. I think it's because the author's own voice keeps intruding, which puts a distance between story and reader. It feels like Koontz is "trying too hard," maybe enjoying "listening to himself talk."

And, yes, the sex descriptions are a little over the top. This book was written 25 years ago, so maybe at that point in his career, Dean did not yet know that a little erotica goes a long way.

I'm sure I'll finish the book, since I am a very loyal Koontz fan---but I can't recommend it to anyone else. If I'm trying to convince someone to try Dean Koontz for the first time, I would instead recommend Strangers, From the Corner of His Eye, Lightning, Odd Thomas, The Good Guy, or One Door Away from Heaven.

Twilight Eyes was my 16th Dean Koontz book. It was definetely one of his best. The story centers around a 17-year-old guy with the bizarre name of Slim Mackenzie who has a psychic ability called "Twilight Eyes". He can see the goblins, evil, monstrous beings disguised as ordinary, everyday human beings. After murdering his goblin uncle who was terrorizing his family unsuspected, Slim runs away to the Sombra Brothers carnival to work as a carnie. There, he meets and falls in love with a beautiful older girl named Rya Raines. Slim is determined to continue his secret war with the goblins, but is he insane, or do such things really exist? Where did the goblins come from? What are they trying to achieve and why?

If your a Koontz fan this is a must, and if you've never read Kootz before, this is a great place to start. Other favorites of mine include Intensity, Watchers, Whispers, The Door To December, The Funhouse, Phantoms, and Hideaway.

Slim Mackenzie was born with what his grandma refered to as " Twilight Eyes". He has the ability to see what he refers to as Goblins. Goblins are demons that are disguised as humans. As a young boy he had to kill his uncle because he was one. Since no one else can see the Goblins for what they truly are, Slim has been on the run from the law ever since. Over the years his quest to destroy as many Goblins as possible has become an obsession. It is that obsession that eventually leads him into one particular carnival. There he meets the disfigured strong man Joel Truck who can also see the Goblins, and the beautiful Rya who becomes the love of Slim's life. Now together the three must fight to stop the Goblins before it is too late!

Dean Koontz's " Twilight Eyes " is a literary masterpiece that any fan of fiction should read. There are two things about the novel that really set it apart from the rest. The first being the carnival atmosphere and " carnies". The carnies are almost like a seperate society that lives as one big family. Koontz makes you feel like you are a part of it with his beautiful description of the lifestyle. It is also entertaining the way that Koontz describes how the games are run and how they are always looking for easy "marks". This is the second carnival tale that Koontz has written, with "The Funhouse" being the first. "Twilight Eyes" manages to be even better than its predecessor. The novel also provides for some twists and turns that will definately shock you, and the ending is very satisfying unlike the ending in "The Funhouse".

The second thing that I love about this book is the characters themselves. The three main characters are Slim Mackenzie, Joel Truck, and a woman named Rya. Slim Mackenzie is one of the best hero characters I have ever seen. His leadership and overall determination is amazing. Joel Truck is another example of Koontz's masterful character development skills. He is a giant of man that possesses superhuman strength and the ability to see the Goblins. He is however disfigured which is why he seeks refuge in the carnival. Joel and Slim make a great team. Then there is Rya. Koontz's writing is so descriptive, you can almost see how beautiful she is. But Rya also has inner demons that has caused her to spend the majority of her life in the carnival. Koontz paints a beautiful romantic picture between Slim and Rya. You can tell they are meant to be together, but there is many obstacles and nothing is cut and dry.

Dean Koontz is one of the best authors around right now. Twilight Eyes showcases his ability to create realistic and emotional dialogue, an original and entertaining story, and wonderful characters. If you are a fan of Koontz, I highly recommend this book. I also recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed the film "Frailty". Twilight Eyes features a similar theme.

I feel a synopsis of the book has already been done many times in other reviews so I will give my opinion on the book. By unclassifiable horror, I mean this book was not quite horror. Not quite science fiction. Not quite romance. Not quite thriller. It was a combination of these things built around a very down to earth breed of characters that everyone can relate to. I gave this book five stars because I enjoy long, detailed explanations of the tiniest element. The kind of book that just wouldn't be as good as a movie. Much like an Anne Rice book. There's too much subtext and detail to accurately transform to visual. But that's why it's such a good book. I am totally NOT a reader, i can count the novels i've read on one hand. And this being the fifth, (second Koontz) I must say this is the best. You feel the feelings and the thoughts. It is very easy to visualize exactly what is happening. So, do yourself a favor and read Twilight Eyes by Dean Koontz.