Intensity | Dean Koontz | Horrifically Pleased!

Intensity | Dean Koontz | The Title Says It All

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Intensity

	Intensity Dean Koontz Bantam, 2000 - 464 pages average customer review:based on 478 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Past midnight, Chyna Shepard, twenty-six, gazes out a moonlit window, unable to sleep on her first night in the Napa Valley home of her best friend?s family. Instinct proves reliable. A murderous sociopath, Edgler Foreman Vess, has entered the house, intent on killing everyone inside. A self-proclaimed ?homicidal adventurer,? Vess lives only to satisfy all appetites as they arise, to immerse himself in sensation, to live without fear, remorse or limits, to live with intensity. Chyna is trapped in his deadly orbit.

Chyna is a survivor, toughened by a lifelong struggle for safety and self-respect. Now she will be tested as never before. At first her sole aim is to get out alive?until, by chance, she learns the identity of Vess?s next intended victim, a faraway innocent only she can save. Driven by a newly discovered thirst for meaning beyond mere self-preservation, Chyna musters every inner resource she has to save an endangered girl?as moment by moment, the terrifying threat of Edgler Foreman Vess intensifies.

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Horrifically Pleased!

This book was a roller coaster ride from the beginning until the end and I relished it all. And I'm tough to please! I was cheering for Chyna the little gal that could.
I must say of the books I've read of yours, you do have some seriously dark areas in your mind, my dear. Good thing you write to channel them out! I'm writing true crime, myself, but would like to try fiction when I complete my current obligation. You inspire me!
Sincerely,
Cherie Huyett Achtemeier
Author, Murder By Gravity?

The Title Says It All

This was the first Koontz book I had ever read and it's what got me hooked on his books. Literally, I could not put the book down from the moment I started reading it. It was incredibly intense and suspenseful. Koontz definitely hit the nail on the head with the title. There were plenty of plot twists and turns for even the most experienced thriller readers and after all the years that have past since reading it, I can still remember where I was and what I was feeling during certain parts of the story. It's that good!

BOTTOM LINE: I honestly don't see how anyone can be disappointed with this novel. It's gripping and by far, the best Koontz book I've ever read. I recommend it to any Koontz fans or to those who enjoy a book that'll get your heart racing and make you jump at every bump in the night.

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Top Notch

False Memory WAS my top Koontz book but Intensity takes the cake. There are twists and turns during the whole book and no fluff at all. It keeps you guessing up until the very end!

It's a must add to your list!

Not A Blonde Moment

I'm not squeamish. I've read and seen hundreds of horrors books and movies and have not really been bothered by them. However, there is one part in this one that disturbed me.

Because of that, I almost stopped reading the book less than half way through it. I'm sure it won't affect you the same way, but one of the other parts may. I am going to finish reading Intensity, but only so I can get to the happy ending. I can't wait to put it down so that I can hopefully forget it.

Somehow I feel cheated that the book only covers one day. The book jacket blurb even attempts to downplay this fact. It is an irrational feeling, but it persists. However, the book is really kind of short so that may explain some of it.

Because of the length of the book, the characters are really not `fleshed out' as much as they could be. However, they are described enough so that you do feel empathy for them. At least that holds true for the ones that die early on.

The main character almost reminds you of one of those dumb blondes in those movies that keep on doing stupid things that only gets her into further trouble. Koontz does however explain her actions so that you can see how it was only unfortunate circumstances that lead her deeper and deeper.

If you like unsettling feelings, then go ahead and read the book.

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OK -- with problems

This was my first Koontz book and I listened to it on CD, so the narration may be playing a role in some of my negative opinions. Her voice was phony and grating when she spoke as Vess. I pictured her putting her index finger under her nose like a fake mustache for more "effect". Anyway, my comments.

The story was good enough to keep my going, but as many others have said, I think he spent far too much time on irrelevant details, such as the much talked about escape scene. Chyna's mother and lover were a little too thin and Vess became that way after the first few chapters. We knew who he was and what kept him going ("intensity"). Got it. And yeah, there were some bits of fate or luck that some considered unbelievable, but that adds to the suspense (e.g. narrow escapes in the house, etc). In my opinion, there wasn't anything that was over the top in that regard. Overall, the pacing was the biggest problem with the story.

I may be in the minority here, but I also had a problem with style. Misplaced and overused adverbs (how many things were done "ferociously"?), fancy words ("behemoth" was used to death), over the top metaphors, and descriptions of mechanical devices that seemed to have been pulled straight from technical manuals. Seriously, has anyone ever uttered the words "engaged my safety harness", let alone three or four times in a 24-hour period? What's wrong with "fastened my seat belt"? Or simply turning off a light instead of "extinguishing" it?

And the description of the door hinge was way too technical, as was the compare and contrast between a revolver and semi-automatic pistol and their respective ammunition capacities, which Chyna performed in her mind as bullets whizzed past her head. At times I was convinced he was trying to impress with his deep knowledge of a subject and it felt clumsy. There were many more instances of this that escape me now, but you'll know what I'm talking about when you read it.

Anyway, I'll try more Koontz books in the future, but I was somewhat disappointed in this one.

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