Vision [Paperback]

Dean Koontz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1990

Mary Bergen is a clairvoyant, able to forsee murders that will happen in the near future, but unable to prevent them from taking place. And now she is up against a power that is stronger than her own, a power that is taking her over, a power that is trying to kill her before she can identify it...

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Dean Koontz was born into a very poor family and learned early on to escape into fiction. His novels have sold over 200 million copies worldwide and more than thirty have appeared on national and international bestseller lists. He lives in southern California with his wife, Gerda and a vivid imagination.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Headline Feature (June 1, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 074723518X
• ISBN-13: 978-0747235187
• Product Dimensions: 4.4 x 0.8 x 7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (50 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,924,079 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

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I wouldn't want to be psychic..., December 30, 2003

By 

Theresa W (mi, usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Vision (Mass Market Paperback)

Yes, this book explains why I would never want to be psychic. Too much stress!! However, psychics make for great stories & good reading!

This book is about a woman who basically spends most of her time helping the police catch criminals using her psychic powers. It's not something she even really enjoys, it keeps her up at night & it's stressful on her marriage- however, she can't stop the visions. Especially the one, the one that seems to be trying to tell her something, the one leading her to evil...to someone she is close to.

This book is a quick read, only about 300 pages, which is small for Koontz. It goes by in a flash, it'll keep you guessing until the end. I'll admit- I had two guesses on who I thought the "bad guy" was, one was right, but the ending still surprised me.

35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Has Its Moments, April 27, 2003

By 

Tracy Davis (California, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Vision (Mass Market Paperback)

In this slim novel, originally written in the late 1970s, many of the standard elements of Koontz's better work appear: psychic ability, a romantic element, gripping prose. However -- and maybe this is because I have read several other, recent novels -- I found this one predictable. The story revolves around psychic Mary Bergen's vision of several murders that seem to have familiar victims (although she can't nail down why the victims are familiar to her). She is also torn between loyalty to her brother, Alan, and her new husband, Max, who don't get along. The setting is the Christmas season, and this provides the right weather conditions -- rain and cold -- and the right contrast -- happy season v. grisly murders -- to keep the reader's interest to see what will happen next. Unfortunately -- at least for me -- I pretty much guessed 'whodunit' in the beginning, so although I doubted myself a couple of times (kudos to Koontz), I enjoyed the 'why' more than the 'who'. The end is gripping, and the fate of the core characters is up in the air. Good, but not his best.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A perfectly gruesome book for a rainy afternoon!, March 2, 2003

By 

Mary Chrapliwy (NJ, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Vision (Mass Market Paperback)

This book completely took over my rainy afternoon and turned into a study in facinating mystery! The central character of this book is Mary Bergen, a sweet, sensitive, psychic. She endured a torture at the tender age of 6 that she can't remember. Through the physical and emotional trauma at that tender age, she developed psychic ability. She uses that psychic ability to help police solve homicide cases and find the killers.

With her during these endeavors is her devoted brother Alan, always at her side, pained with concern over her. Also there is her tough, but tender husband, Max. Max is depicted as a tough character with eyes of cold steel that only show tenderness when he is with Mary. Of course Alan and Max don't get along, each hating the other.

Soon a series of brutal murders begin to take place. Mary sees the crimes committed, can feel the pain of the young women who are murdered, but never manages to develop a vision of the killer's face. Soon, she knows, this killer is going to come after her. Can she solve this series of brutal crimes before she becomes the next victim?

This story is well written but short enough to read in a single day. Koontz crafts characters that you genuinely care about, and some fearsome, evil chracters as well. None are comic book, stereotype characters, which makes them all the more believable. The story is so well told that it'll draw you in and keep you held in it's grip until the brutal end.