"Darkness Under the Sun" by Dean Koontz

As an early reviewer for “What the Night Knows”, I was eagerly anticipating the novella “Darkness Under the Sun”. It serves as both a prequel and sequel to “What the Night Knows” and delves deeper into the mind and persona of serial killer Alton Turner Blackwood. The childhood and making of the monster that would become a serial killer is chronicled through Blackwood’s journal in “What the Night Knows”. The setting for the novella is before the murderer begins the killing spree that gains him notoriety as the sick, twisted killer that he will come to be known as.

Though “Darkness Under the Sun” can stand on its own as a novella, I found that I had much more insight into the novella having read “What the Night Knows” first. The character of John Calvino, who is introduced toward the end of the novella, is in fact the main character in “What the Night Knows” and the conversations that take place in the novella between its main character and Calvino have much more depth if you understand more about Calvino’s character and what he witnessed and endured at the hands of Blackwood.

Personally, I truly enjoyed “Darkness Under the Sun” and thought that it was eerily spooky, but I wonder if it would have had the same impact if I hadn’t had the insight into Blackwood and Calvino that I did by reading “What the Night Knows” first. It is short — I read it in just over an hour — but it is definitely worth $1.59 and you also get a preview of “What the Night Knows” after the novella.

My advice? Purchase the e-book, go ahead and read it and enjoy it. Then buy “What the Night Knows” when it is released in December and read the novella again once you have had the pleasure of reading it and see how much more you can relate to the characters then.

And for those that are wondering, yes there is a dog in the novella, though it plays a very minor part toward the end of the work almost as an afterthought.

Cheers!
~ Peter West

"What the Night Knows" by Dean Koontz

Dean Koontz has been my favorite author since I first picked up a copy of “The Bad Place” back in 1990. I liked it so well that I subsequently purchased nearly every book he has ever published. When I was selected to be an early reviewer for “What the Night Knows”, I was beside myself with joy and anticipation. Let me just say, the book did NOT disappoint.

Two decades ago as a young boy, John Calvino snuck back into his house only to discover his parents had been brutally murdered. When he hears the strange sound of bells ringing in his sisters’ room, he locates a gun and investigates to find the sinister, hulking, misshapen form of Alton Turner Blackwood standing over his dead sister, his other sister already viciously and violently killed as well. After taunting John and issuing a promise to revisit the atrocities on his future family, Blackwood turns and John shoots him and empties the ammunition into the killer’s face.

Later, John learns that his family was the last of four families that Blackwood intended to kill, 33 days apart. Now a homicide detective, John Calvino learns that impossibly, the murders are somehow happening all over again. With his own family to protect, John has to figure out a way to stop the cycle from repeating and deal with Alton Turner Blackwood once and for all.

“What the Night Knows” is a suspenseful, riveting, pulse-pounding, spine-tingling, creepy, supernatural thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat and checking your closets, mirrors and crawlspaces for things that literally go bump in the night. Never before has Koontz dealt so well with the topic of ghosts, malevolent spirits and demons. This is definitely one of his best works to date and is a must-read, especially if you are looking for a gripping page-turner!

Cheers!
~ Peter West

Short but Sweet

Okay faithful reader, I am super excited to announce that my Advanced Reader’s Copy of What the Night Knows by Dean Koontz arrived in the mail today. I simply can’t wait to get started on it, so I am not going to! My posts will probably be short for the next few days while I am reading it. I will let you all know as soon as I have it finished and what my impressions are of his latest work. It is a ghost story, so it ought to be good!

Cheers!
~ Peter West

Advanced Reader Copies

I have been lucky and fortunate enough over the past couple months to have been selected to receive Advance Reader Copies (ARCs) of Dean Koontz’s “What the Night Knows” and Brian James Freeman’s “The Painted Darkness”. I am currently reading “The Painted Darkness” and will be posting a review once I have finished it. So far, it has been a decent read. I am highly anticipating “What the Night Knows” since Dean Koontz is one of my favorite authors. I first discovered him in the early 90′s when I was a member of a book of the month club and received “The Bad Place” as a monthly selection. I was hooked from the start. I practically read it cover to cover and it left me wanting more, so I purchased “Cold Fire” next and also read it over the course of a few days. That summer, I ended up buying and reading all of the books that Koontz had published to date, which was 21 or 22 books I believe. I couldn’t get enough of his writing. Since then, every time he has published a new book, I have bought it as soon as it is released in paperback. My Dean Koontz collection now encompasses an entire bookcase next to a bookcase with all of my Stephen King books. I appreciate how much of a master Dean Koontz is with language. His stories are vivid and nearly life-like. Reading his books is like watching a movie in my head. I admit that I have had to pull out a dictionary once in a while, but I enjoy doing that as it helps me to expand my vocabulary as a writer. His work has inspired me to be better as a writer. So I simply cannot wait until “What the Night Knows” arrives.

Cheers!
~ Peter West