Let me start by saying that I had never read Koontz until about six months ago. I was looking for a book for my 12 year old to read that was in his "Lexile" range. "Lightening" by Koontz was listed. My first thought, was, there's no way he's reading it before I know what's in there! Its home at B & N is in the adult fiction section. I have decided, that while I thought "Lightening" was great, there's no way my son will be reading any of Koontz's books until at least high school, late high school. Oh, and I definitely will not be using the Lexile list for recommendations ever again.
Back to "Hideaway." It's creepy. It's intense. If you have any hee-bee-gee-bee's about demons or dark subjects, you won't like it. A member of our local library book club said something to the effect of, "I felt like I would be going to hell just by reading it." I chuckled, but understood. Koontz gets into the heads of his antagonists, which in this case is a mass murderer who started his career at 12...it's dark.
But wait, there's more! I had to read this book in small segments, probably no more than 20 minutes at a time because of the intensity and my brain shouting at me, "Where is this guy going with this???" It was like brain aerobics. This is a good attribute of thrillers and one I enjoy.
One thing that I noticed about Koontz's writings is that he has a persistent notion that we can invite evil into our lives by our thoughts and emotional responses. Is this true? No idea. It's an interesting thought, but, if I look at the handbook for all things God, i.e., the Bible, there would be no mention of how evil enters into peoples lives, just that is exists in the world and does affect people. I reject his premises based on my knowledge of what the Bible says about evil. It is an interesting thought though. I, personally, believe that God is much bigger than my thoughts, actions, and emotions and, I trust Him, so I don't have to be afraid of anything...hence, the ability to read books like this without getting all freaked out.
The ending of the book was surprising in a good way. I had a hunch here or there, but I like how he strung it out until the last chapter to reveal what was actually going on. The commentary after the story, I think, was my favorite. I am always interested in peoples thoughts and what motivates them to do what they do. I really enjoyed Koontz's explanation of what stands his books apart from the other books in this genre. Light and dark. Good and evil. I happen to agree with him on these points. Books (and movies) that are evil vs. evil are really hard to take. I had a really hard time with the Harry Potter movies because of this. Of course, this was my ignorance (I didn't read the series before I watched the first four movies) by not reading the books first. The movies didn't do the books justice, which, of course and unfortunately, is the norm. The best books and movies, I mean THE BEST, all have plots where good and evil are clearly delineated and you can root for the good guys through the whole thing and share in the glory of their triumph when they overcome their adversary. This is probably why I don't enjoy horror or slasher stuff. Well, first, the people on the receiving end are usually just stupid (seriously, why do they always turn their backs to the closets or go into the houses where they know the killer is!) and, secondly, evil always appears to have the upper hand. Where's the use in that? Where's the hope stringing you along, making you anticipate the point where good will triumph and save the day? Give me a good old fashioned tale where the hero, the good hero, triumphs, and chances are that I'll love it no matter what the package it is put in looks like.
So, in conclusion, if you can handle intense creepy, it's a good book. It's well written and the characters are well developed and likable, with the exception of the antagonist whom I loathed because I'm pretty sure I was supposed to loathe him.
I have two other books I'm reading, so I'll have more reviews shortly. Happy reading.
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