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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
After their mother's death, Jenny thought that a fresh start in Snowfield is exactly what her little sister, Lisa, needs. But when all they find is a deserted town, with strange shadows lurking about, they realise that something horrible is happening in Snowfield. Something so evil, that even reinforcements are stumped. As they try to uncover as many clues as they could about the strange presence, one thing is clear: Whatever it is is hellbent on taking out all survivors.
I don't understand how reading this could take so long. But it did. And I have to say, my mind is warped. To read the rest of this review, visit A Reading Kabocha @ http://areadingkabocha.blogspot.com
I don't understand how reading this could take so long. But it did. And I have to say, my mind is warped. To read the rest of this review, visit A Reading Kabocha @ http://areadingkabocha.blogspot.com
Strong character development:
No
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Too long winded for me.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
After reading my first Koontz I can definitively say.. I am a Stephen King girlie. Maybe it's the age of this novel, but this is not my brand of horror/suspense.
The novel opens with Dr. Jenny and Lisa, two sisters with a fairly large age gap. Their mother has passed away, and Lisa is coming to live with Jenny. They're driving into the small town of Snowfield and.. talking about boys. For several pages. This is our first impression of them.
Not long after, the action starts. Mysterious deaths! A silent town! Missing people! Locked rooms! Pools of water! But it just.. drags. I liked the mystery, but for whatever reason it felt like it wasn't really moving.
Eventually we get more characters.. and many of them really only show up to be killed, despite the big buildup with the cops and the secret government science team. Also, there's a gross pedo cop who creeps on 14 year old Lisa, talks about his attraction to the girl to another cop.. who's just like "oh yeah that creepy guy, classic."
There's a big build up for a mysterious science team.. who don't do much before they're killed off screen (off page?). The final one lives long enough to come up with a plan.. but the "real heroes" are the ones who enact it for some reason.
There's also a side plot about a family murderer on drugs and a biker dude who is described like he's a pirate (6'4", wild hair, bandana around the forehead, tattoos, and a single gold earring) that happens completely separately from the main story and feels like it's added in at the very end as a way to justify all those pages. I like when stories are interwoven like that, but I've seen it done better.
I don't have an itch to read any more Koontz. To be honest, I only read Phantoms because a friend said it was one of his best books. I'm going to stick to my Stephen King, I find his stories more readable, fast paced, and fun.
The novel opens with Dr. Jenny and Lisa, two sisters with a fairly large age gap. Their mother has passed away, and Lisa is coming to live with Jenny. They're driving into the small town of Snowfield and.. talking about boys. For several pages. This is our first impression of them.
Not long after, the action starts. Mysterious deaths! A silent town! Missing people! Locked rooms! Pools of water! But it just.. drags. I liked the mystery, but for whatever reason it felt like it wasn't really moving.
Eventually we get more characters.. and many of them really only show up to be killed, despite the big buildup with the cops and the secret government science team. Also, there's a gross pedo cop who creeps on 14 year old Lisa, talks about his attraction to the girl to another cop.. who's just like "oh yeah that creepy guy, classic."
There's a big build up for a mysterious science team.. who don't do much before they're killed off screen (off page?). The final one lives long enough to come up with a plan.. but the "real heroes" are the ones who enact it for some reason.
There's also a side plot about a family murderer on drugs and a biker dude who is described like he's a pirate (6'4", wild hair, bandana around the forehead, tattoos, and a single gold earring) that happens completely separately from the main story and feels like it's added in at the very end as a way to justify all those pages. I like when stories are interwoven like that, but I've seen it done better.
I don't have an itch to read any more Koontz. To be honest, I only read Phantoms because a friend said it was one of his best books. I'm going to stick to my Stephen King, I find his stories more readable, fast paced, and fun.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Lisa is deathly allergic to not spitting facts.
Light spoilers: Nothing specific, but I vaguely talk about a few points throughout, including the ending.
Really enjoyed this book, very impressed that this whole thing for the most part spanned over such a short amount of time. The mystery of the town and what happened was good, and the pace in which bits of information was fed kept me going. Also appreaciated the cast of characters keeping things interesting, and the different POV's that gave us little hints were some of my favourite parts (specifically the fox).
I didn't have too many gripes with this book, with only a couple crossing my mind. While I appreciated skipping info dumps (characters updating other characters), there were some larger ones that I felt wouldn't have hurt to shown the reaction to. Also, while the finale was good, it wasn't as big of a climax as the chapter titles, or everything I learned previous to it would suggest.
Light spoilers: Nothing specific, but I vaguely talk about a few points throughout, including the ending.
Really enjoyed this book, very impressed that this whole thing for the most part spanned over such a short amount of time. The mystery of the town and what happened was good, and the pace in which bits of information was fed kept me going. Also appreaciated the cast of characters keeping things interesting, and the different POV's that gave us little hints were some of my favourite parts (specifically the fox).
I didn't have too many gripes with this book, with only a couple crossing my mind. While I appreciated skipping info dumps (characters updating other characters), there were some larger ones that I felt wouldn't have hurt to shown the reaction to. Also, while the finale was good, it wasn't as big of a climax as the chapter titles, or everything I learned previous to it would suggest.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
4 STARS
"An ancient, awesome force has spirited away almost the entire population of Snowfield, a small town in California. The bodies of those remaining have been bizarrely disfigured. What hope can there be for the few people still alive?" (From Amazon)
A great thriller that had me on the edge of my seat! Loved it.
"An ancient, awesome force has spirited away almost the entire population of Snowfield, a small town in California. The bodies of those remaining have been bizarrely disfigured. What hope can there be for the few people still alive?" (From Amazon)
A great thriller that had me on the edge of my seat! Loved it.