Dean R. Koontz - The Taking

Pros: The very beginning is so creepy and atmospheric.....
Cons: .....only to be sunk by the other 90% of the book.

I don’t ask for much. Really, I don’t. Some Blood. A Knife. A touch of the paranormal if I’m feeling frisky. And that’s really it. I don’t even technically require the Knife in order to enjoy almost any crappy Bloody Knife* novel I pick up. The ...

Pros: The dogs and aliens
Cons: Predictable ending

Dean Koontz, master of suspense and the supernatural, does it again! What does he do? Writes an average book. The Taking Hmmmm...this is a hard book to review without giving the main reason some people are harvested and others ...

Pros: Interesting, creepy plot
Cons: Ending was a let down. Characters not fully developed.

Last year, I was surprised to see a new Dean Koontz book, T he Face, in May. This year, I found out a few weeks ahead of time that he had a new book, The Taking, coming out this May. I headed off and got ...

Pros: Well, it's Koontz.
Cons: Not typical Koontz and certainly not even approaching his best.

Anyone who reads my reviews with any regularity knows that I have a thing for Dean Koontz. No, not a ‘physical’ thing because who could be attracted to a man who sported a balding head on his first twenty book jackets, then suddenly started ...

Pros: A real page-turner, engaging characters, real-world morals and introspective main character dialog.
Cons: Rather short for a Koontz book, too many esoteric phrases and convoluted words.

WARNING!!! Very minor plot spoilers contained in this review, if you don’t want to know ANYTHING other than the book jacket, you’d best avoid my review. All others that want to know a little about the book before purchasing read on! ...

Pros: Written by Dean Koontz.
Cons: Not his usual style of horror which may turn off some fans.

The Author: Dean Koontz is a bestselling author of numerous thriller and horror books. Publishing Info: Bantam Dell- A Division of Random House, Inc.Hardcover edition published in May 2004 - Paperback edition published in ...

Pros: Koontz's name is on the pretty shiny cover.
Cons: Flat and unengaging characters! Doofus plot! Way too much white space! Take it away please!

I can't believe that I (a lowly barely published writer) am about to give DEAN KOONTZ, my writing idol, a poor review! He is - seriously - my favorite writer, and I always enjoy his books. This is the first of AT LEAST 42 of his books that I've read ...

Pros: A capable wordsmith, Koontz can draw you in even when his story falters.
Cons: Slow-moving, repetitive, and just not good. Can anybody say, "deus ex machina"?.

For those Dean Koontz fans that love every word he's ever written, my apologies. This review will not warm your heart and I dread the angry rebuttals to follow. You see, I'm a fan but not a rabid one. I thought I'd warn those readers that aren't Koontz ...

Pros: Neil was an interesting character.
Cons: Too bad he was the only one, and the focus was never on him.

Back in the late 80s, early 90s, I enjoyed many of Koontz' books. for the last decade I was pretty much avoiding them like the plague, and to be honest, I can't give you a good reason why. Finally, breaking down at the library recently, I picked up The ...

Pros: Has elements of both science-fiction and horror. Some imaginative parts.
Cons: Is neither science-fiction nor horror. Story never really goes anywhere.

I guess you can tell from the title of my review that I wasn't overly thrilled with The Taking, and I'm not. Even so, I won't say I was completely surprised; I've been less than thrilled with some of Koontz's other books. The Taking ...

Pros: Buy it cheap and enjoy
Cons: You may be bored if supernatural stories are not your cup of tea.

I don't like all of the Dean Koontz books. I'm not sure what it is but for me its usually hit or miss. Some years ago I read several of his books and liked it but his recent stuff left me cold. I love to read however, and tend to frequent used book ...

Pros: Riveting story, creepiness worthy of Koontz
Cons: No cohesion, no wrap-up of storyline.

I was so eager to find out what happened next in Dean Koontz's the Taking, that I read it in a day and a half. And as a Mom of two and a half year old twins, I do not often get through a book so quickly. I found the plot fascinating, probably for two ...

Pros: Rich atmosphere, good characterization, absorbing plot, and much more!
Cons: None.

A superbly phantasmagoric novel filled with edge of the seat suspense and gripping horror. I particularly appreciated the religious aspects of this novel; I felt that this added believability and significance to the theme. The characters were well presented inspiring empathy and interest. The intriguing history of the main character, Molly, was slowly revealed throughout the novel in tantalizing segments causing the reader to have an absorbing interest in her personal story. Her husband, Neil, and most of the other characters were not as well characterized since it was mainly presented through Molly's viewpoint. The aliens proved to be terrifying nemeses surpassing the fears of the reader. The beginning of the novel concentrates mostly on the paranoia that is inspired by the luminous rain and the inexplicable events that occur world wide. The second half concentrates more on actually observing the aliens and experiencing the horrors and atrocities they enact. The descriptions were so vivid that I was able to visualize the fog shrouded streets overhung with mysterious mosses and the unspeakable horrors that lurked within. The ending was dramatic, surprising, unexpected, and hopeful. An incredible novel filled with ingenious concepts, terrifying suspense filled scenes,phantasmagoric occurrences,and much more!

Countess_Eva

Pros: Had potential - a good idea for a novel.
Cons: Not well developed - almost seemed rushed.

I was very disappointed, as a Dean Koontz reader, in this book. It was the equivalent of a 4-hour feature film that should have been condensed to 90 minutes. The plot did not seem as thought out and original as many of his books, with a poor and unimaginative ending. As a reader, it was very difficult to feel for the 2-dimensional characters, and all too often you were caught up in ridiculously verbose description that tended to go nowhere.

Pros: Good story
Cons: Bad narration

The story is fairly good. The narrator (Ari Meyers) is horrible. Actually, I like her voice when shes just reading, but when she changes her voice to try to sound like the characters, it almost ruins the story. Her impression of men's voices is awful and her impressions of children's voices is worse. Her attempt at a young girl is so overdone and overacted, its almost comical.

At one point, she does the voice of a doll and its so high and annoying, I actually had to fast forward through it. It literally hurt my ears to listen to it.

She should've just stuck to reading the story and not tried to add her interpretations of what she thought the characters should sound like. It would've been 100% better.