Product Description

The new thriller from Dean Koontz is a novel of stunning suspense and visceral terror as doomsday dawns.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #48683 in Books
• Published on: 2005-01-03
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 432 pages

The Times
'Dean Koontz is not just a master of our darkest dreams, but also a literary juggler'

Synopsis
The new thriller from Dean Koontz is a novel of stunning suspense and visceral terror as doomsday dawns. On the morning that will mark the end of the world they have known, Molly and Niel Sloan awaken to the drumbeat of rain. It has haunted their dreams through the night, and now they find an eerily luminous and silver downpour that drenches their small Californian mountain town. As hours pass they hear news of extreme weather phenomena across the globe. An obscuring fog turns once familiar streets into a ghostly labyrinth. By evening, the town has lost all communication with the outside world. First TV and radio go dead, then the Internet and phone lines. The young couple gathers together with some neighbours, sensing a threat they cannot identify or even imagine. The night brings strange noises, and mysterious lights drift among the trees. The rain diminishes with the dawn but a moody grey-purple twilight prevails. Within the misty gloom the small band will encounter something that reveals in a terrifying instant what is happening to the world -- something that is hunting them with ruthless efficiency.

Epic in scope, searingly intimate and immediate in its perspective, The Taking is a story of a strangely changed and changing world as apocalypse comes to Main Street.

From the Publisher
On the morning that will mark the end of the world they have known, Molly and Niel Sloan awaken to the drumbeat of rain. It has haunted their dreams through the night, and now they find an eerily luminous and silver downpour that drenches their small Californian mountain town. As hours pass they hear news of extreme weather phenomena across the globe. An obscuring fog turns once familiar streets into a ghostly labyrinth. By evening, the town has lost all communication with the outside world. First TV and radio go dead, then the Internet and phone lines. The young couple gathers together with some neighbours, sensing a threat they cannot identify or even imagine. The night brings strange noises, and mysterious lights drift among the trees. The rain diminishes with the dawn but a moody grey-purple twilight prevails. Within the misty gloom the small band will encounter something that reveals in a terrifying instant what is happening to the world – something that is hunting them with ruthless efficiency. Epic in scope, searingly intimate and immediate in its perspective, The Taking is a story of a strangely changed and changing world as apocalypse comes to Main Street.

Customer Reviews

Typical Koontz
I've read a few Koontz novels now, and I think I'm getting a feel for what to expect. There is a definite pattern to his work. Heroes (both male and female) who utterly blameless "good" people. Villains who hide some dark or supernatural mystery throughout the story. Couples - usually spouses - who leap to each others defense in adversity. Weird and fascinating concepts that come from the blurred edges of science fact vs. science fiction. Great buildup of story, and - every time - a slightly disappointing ending.

The Taking is a prime example. A husband/wife couple try to be heroes in the face of Armageddon itself, trying to make sense of the unknowable weirdness that engulfs the world overnight, and trying to rescue children (and animals) from the unknown forces crushing humanity.

The ending of this novel left me cold, and although it was a more provocative ending than War of The Worlds, it was no less annoying. You will see what I mean when you read it.

Great story. Gripping and fascinating in equal measure, but Koontz managed to blow it in the last three chapters. I can forgive that, however, since I enjoyed the ride so much.

Nothing To Shout About
Dean Koontz's books are usually unputdownable and I've read them by then end of the day, but The Taking just didn't seem to grip me. As I read it it seemed like all the words were just there and not fitting into any order. It didnt create a world for me like his others do. And it hasnt left a slice of it in my mind. If you want that to happen try reading Life Expectancy or Velocity by Dean Koontz. It just didnt seem to sparkle as much as his others do.

Could have been so much better!
When Koontz is on form his books are well worth the time it takes to read them(Watchers,Intensity)unfortunately he seems to be churning out novels at a fair rate these days and I feel that his quality has slipped.

And in this novel it starts off great,Koontz builds the tension like he use to in his best days but as I read on, the story got more and more boring and as the norm for Koontz now, got preachy near the end,also like a few of his books I found myself thinking that he had run out of ideas and had just finished the story to beat his deadline,just like From The Corner Of His Eye a good start very badly let down by the ending leaving me frustrated as it could of been one of his best.