"The Taking" by Dean Koontz

Well written, but constantly changing. -- 3 Stars (Originally written June 6, 2006)

I am a big Dean Koontz fan, and I WANTED to like this book. The concept intrigued me. I was told by a friend that it was too much like Stephen King's "The Mist," but since I am not the world's biggest King fan, I had not read "The Mist," and thought that maybe I would enjoy "The Taking" more because of that lack of comparison.

First, I have no complaint against Koontz's writing style. He is usually a very good story teller, and that remains true here.

Second, we are treated to Koontz's usual, standard Male and Female characters here. As always, they are well written, though not quite as three dimensional here as in some of his other books. I have accepted that he is essentially writing the same characters over and over in different story situations. If I am going to keep reading Koontz, I HAVE to accept that. So again, no complaint.

The problem I had with the book was that its THEME seemed to keep shifting. During the very effective and creepy beginning, it seems very much like the movie "Signs". Then, as Koontz moves into the middle of the book, it shifts into more of a "Twilight Zone" feel (or, granted, King's "The Mist," as it has been described to me). And as it moves towards the rather flat finale, it ends up being very BIBLICAL of all things. Or at least "religious," as it puts an all new spin a specific bible story.

If Koontz had just chosen and stuck with any ONE of these themes, I would probably have enjoyed it even more. Each portion was interesting, but squeezed together like this, they just didn't seem to FIT very well.

My second favorite author, Christopher Andrews, has been threatening Koontz's hold on the number one spot ever since I read his book "Paranormals" (which I highly recommend if you enjoyed the "X-Men" movie that just came out). With "The Taking" being the next Koontz book I've read since then, they are coming that much closer to changing positions for me. No disrespect, Mr. Andrews, but I hope that the next Koontz book I read is more up to his usual standards.