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Lightning (Paperback)

~ (Author) "A storm struck on the night Laura Shane was born, and there was a strangeness about the weather that people would remember for years..." (more)
Key Phrases: white eel, programming board, red curb, Fat Jack, Palm Springs, Stefan Krieger (more...)
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (281 customer reviews)
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Laura Shane leads a troubled life: she is orphaned, nearly molested twice and loses one of her closest friends in a tragic accident, all before her 13th birthday. Even worse events would have befallen Laura if not for the mysterious guardian angel who periodically appears with a bolt of lightning to miraculously rescue her. The "angel," Stefan, is in fact a time traveler who rides the "lightning road" through time to follow Laura throughout her adult life; unfortunately, Stefan himself is being chased through time by a pack of equally mysterious villains, and their pursuit of Stefan and Laura spans the second half of the novel. The secret of the lightning road provides an intriguing mystery early on, but once it is revealed midway through the book as a complicated hybrid of borrowed science-fiction and political-thriller conceits, the narrative runs out of ideas. In the lightning road, Koontz has created the kind of sci-fi puzzle whose convoluted logic must be explained at every turn, and the momentum of the central, fairly standard chase suffers thereby. The drama of an innocent bystander forced by events to run for his or her life is familiar to Koontz readers, but this time he leaves out a vital ingredient; while his evil predators are often his most interesting characters (as in this year's Watchers, or the earlier Whispers), the villains of Lightning tend toward cliches. The reader senses that the author got too caught up in the trick of the lightning, and inadvertently stole the thunder from the rest of this potentially intriguing tale.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.


From Library Journal

On the night of Laura Shane's birth, a stranger appears from the lightning to prevent her delivery's being botched by an alcoholic physician. Throughout Laura's childhood the stranger reappears at times of danger. He protects rather than threatens, yet menace seems to follow him. Thirty years later another storm flashes and the stranger collapses, shot, at Laura's door. Now Laura protects her erstwhile guardian from mysterious hunters. He reveals that he and the hunters are time travelers. Laura, quick-witted and brave, leads the way to a bloody showdown. The paradox in time travel's tampering with history provides an interesting twist in this gripping thriller by a popular writer. Literary Guild selection.A.M.B. Amantia, Population Crisis Committee Lib., Washington,
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Product Details

  • Paperback: 384 pages
  • Publisher: Berkley (September 2, 2003)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0425192032
  • ISBN-13: 978-0425192030
  • Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (281 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #25,635 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Dean Koontz
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Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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First Sentence:
A storm struck on the night Laura Shane was born, and there was a strangeness about the weather that people would remember for years. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
white eel, programming board, red curb, main lab
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Fat Jack, Palm Springs, Stefan Krieger, Big Bear, Willy Sheener, Lightning Road, Bob Shane, Laura Shane, San Bernardino, Miss Keist, Sir Tommy, Aunt Thelma, Thelma Ackerson, Orange County, Chief's Special, Beverly Hills, Santa Claus, Caswell Hall, Danny Packard, Carter Brenkshaw, New York, Third Reich, Spencer Keene, Colt Commander, Heinrich Kokoschka
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Dean Koontz by Joan G. Kotker
 

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281 Reviews
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4.5 out of 5 stars (281 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Is it fate...destiny...or something much more dangerous?, August 5, 2004
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.
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18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars My Second Koontz Novel..and a Great One!, January 8, 2004
By Monkdude (Hampton, Virginia) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)      
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.
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24 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Good, not Great, August 8, 2006
By Thriller Lover (Las Vegas, Nevada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)      
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.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Hard to express...
I have now read about a dozen Koonz novels as well as of course many other books/novels by other authors. Read more
Published 7 days ago by A. Ross

4.0 out of 5 stars Awesome!
Time travel, a love story, guns, violence and Nazis... Where can you go wrong?
All joking aside, this is one of my favorite books. Read more
Published 1 month ago by John

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book to read
This is a great book. You pick it up
and you will not want to put it down.
Published 1 month ago by Sherri Morris

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent escapism with social commenary
In Lightning Dean Koontz does what few writers can. He delivers a highly entertaining novel - original in concept - but which also makes a socially -redeeming statement. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Brandt Dodson

2.0 out of 5 stars Time-travelling Nazis? Come one!
I love Dean Koontz books--usually. In such books as Watchers, Winter Moon and the Christopher Snow books, he brilliantly combines believable horror with suspense and adventure... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Colette T. Bezio

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow
I have recently started reading and I only read Dean Koontz books, his books are the only ones that interest me. Lightning is pretty intense especially towards the end. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Jessica R. Weaver

5.0 out of 5 stars A page-turning, gripping treat!
Dean Koontz's novel combines mystery, time-travel, alternative history, romance, and suspense, and the result is a book you will not be able to put down. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Steve

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Little Page-Turner
This one by Koontz started out a bit slow. I wasn't quite sure I was going to like it much. But, as the story developed, it became more interesting as it went along and turned... Read more
Published 5 months ago by G. Hockenberry

4.0 out of 5 stars Sci-fi Koontz
This is one of his earlier books from the 80's, not horror and not yet quite as philosophical. Nevertheless, a very original story, and hard to characterize completely. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Gina K

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Momentum!
It only has a couple "slow parts", but they're the main character thinking his way through what's going on, so they're necessary.
The last 100 pages or so FLY BY!! Read more
Published 6 months ago by Brian A. Baird

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