I must confess, before I read this book I had never heard of Dean R. Koontz. I hate to admit this, but I am not well read. I often pick a handful of authors and focus on them, often ignoring others. I have decided it is time to read books from as many authors as possible. I decided I wanted to read a book that includes time travel. As a science fiction nerd, I find time travel fascinating. Lightning includes time travel done in an interesting and unpredictable way. To that end, I found Lightning to be an interesting read.
The story revolves on a woman named Laura Shane, born in 1955. From the moment of her birth we find a mysterious stranger is interested in her, and watches her throughout her life. This stranger, using time travel, is able to visit multiple points in her life to help save her from being a cripple, raped, and even killed. Who this stranger is, and why he is interested in Laura is one of the main mysteries of this book. As the reader progresses we find not only Laura’s life is of interest, but the lives of everyone in the free world. Koontz does a good job focusing on Laura, and later, how it all relates to the big picture.
The aspect of time travel is impressive. There are set rules, which cannot be broken. These rules help to avoid paradoxes, which are the bane of time travel. Koontz does a good job, may it be cheesy, explaining this to the reader, by explaining the grandfather paradox. The avoidance of paradox is a central theme of this book, in which Koontz does for the most part well.
The book is divided into two different themes. The first half is more of a mystery theme, while the second is more action focused. The first half is by far the most interesting, as the reader is left with many questions to explore. The second half, while still good, is not as strong.
The book’s structure may be hard for some to get used to. Instead of many chapters, there are only a handful. Some chapters can go close to 100 pages before ending. This may annoy some (like me) who like to end reading at a chapter. To me, chapters help break up the action, and allow areas for the reader to stop and ponder what was written. There is little space for that in this book.
The biggest weakness in this book is the ending. I mentioned that for the most part, Koontz does well at preventing paradoxes. There is a paragraph near the end of the book that is such a paradox it breaks all rules and thus, taints the book. I believe Koontz was trying to make the book have a happy ending, however in doing so he almost ruined his work. If you read the book, you will understand to what I speak.
Overall, I felt the book was good, but not great. The ending hurt, and thus brought down the rating. Will I read another book by Koontz? I do not know, it all depends on my mood and if I find something of his interesting.
Pros:
Intelligent use of time travel.
Excellent beginning.
Strong characters.
Cons:
Second half of book is to action packed.
Book structure is unusual.
Paradox shattering ending.
Rating: 5.5 Out of 10
Purchase Lighting Here.
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Tags: Dean Koontz, Ligntning, Science Fiction, Time Travel
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This book is a must read. Could not put it down. My husband read it in 3 days. Time travel, intrigue, suspense, horror, love story all rolled up in one book.
LOVED IT!!!!!!