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From the Corner of His Eye

From the Corner of His Eye

List Price: $44.95
Your Price: $29.67
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A Heart-Wrenching Tale
Review: Whether you're a long-time fan, occasional reader of his books,or picking one of his titles up for the first time, you won't bedisappointed with Dean Koontz's heart-wrenching tale, From The CornerOf His Eye. Other than being completely involving on many differentlevels, From The Corner Of His Eye is hard to define. Yes, it is asuspense novel. Yes, it is a friend and family drama of epicproportions. Yes, there are elements of the supernatural to be foundwithin the pages. Yes, there are elements of horror that are all themore chilling because of their grounding in reality (as opposed to,say, Stephen King's or Anne Rice's unique brands of horror). Koontzweaves all of these themes together in From The Corner Of His Eye andnever fails to be anything less than compelling as he does so. Thereare three main storylines in From The Corner Of His Eye. The firstbegins with the birth of Bartholomew Lampion, an event filled with asmuch joy as truly heartbreaking tragedy in the small, southernCalifornia coastal town of Bright Beach. Here, Koontz demonstratesyet again his remarkable ability as a writer to create characters youcome to care deeply about with in mere sentences, so that you findyourself unconsciously empathizing with them, laughing with them,cheering them on and, of course, crying with them when bad thingshappen as they inevitably do. Despite almost unbearable loss, littleBarty's (Bartholomew) mother manages to go on because of her love forher son, who's birth brings with it great portent, most of which isgood, some of which is bad, as far as his future is concerned. Thesecond story-line in From The Corner Of His Eye deals with a man bythe rather appropriate name of Junior Cain (i.e. the Cain of Biblicalfame). Within paragraphs of his introduction, Junior Cain's descentinto murderous psychosis begins in a scene that is as frightening asit is riveting. Though he is decidedly an unsavory character, Cainis, nevertheless, always absolutely fascinating to read about. Hisactions and thoughts are as egocentric, convoluted and downright weirdas you'd expect a psychotic's to be. In a lot of ways, I found JuniorCain's story reminiscent of Alfie's from Koontz's Mr. Murder; Alfiewho needed to be someone, who needed to be Martin Stillwater.Regardless, for mysterious reasons, Cain comes to believe he has amortal enemy that he must eliminate before he can know true peace andhave the kind of life he truly desires and deserves. This mortalenemy's name happens to be Bartholomew, and though Cain is beingdoggedly pursued by an almost inhumanly persistent detective namedThomas Vanadium, he sets out on a quest to find the Bartholomew thatis such a threat to his ultimate happiness. The third storyline inFrom The Corner Of His Eye involves a little girl named Angel, who,like little Barty, is also brought into this world under the specterof nearly unspeakable tragedy. Raised by the sister of her mother,Seraphim, Angel and her family, who are linked to the Lampions as wellas Junior Cain, have their individual stories of tragedy and triumphas the drama unfolds in Koontz's skilled hands. I won't say how theauthor braids the three storylines together because it would give toomuch of the plot away, but braid them together he does, and the resultis a reading experience uniquely different from any other Dean Koontznovel I have read so far. Throughout the narrative, Koontz's writingis elegant, thought-provoking and, at times, lyrically poetic.Curiously though, and the reason I didn't give this book five stars, Ithought the climax - the big scene near the end - was a bit of aletdown after the well-crafted, suspenseful buildup. I guess I wasexpecting something a little more dramatic, a little more drawn out.Not that the climax was bad by any means, it just wasn't what I wasexpecting. And, I have to say, I shed a few tears by the time Iturned the last page. I think you'll enjoy every one of the nearlysix-hundred pages of this novel as I did. By the end, Koontz haswritten a story where love and the brotherhood of man shines asbrightly and poignantly as the stars do in the nighttime sky. Inaddition to From The Corner Of His Eye, I would also highly recommendKoontz's Fear Nothing, Seize the Night, The Door to December, SoleSurvivor, Dark Rivers of the Heart, Intensity and False Memory titles;all of which are well worth your reading time. Enjoy!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Couldn't put it down
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book, although it did get a teeny bit slow in some areas. The way all of the lives of the people intertwined seamlessly really captured me and the secrets that lie in "other worlds" made me think and view the world around me in a different way.

Was disappointed that Junior Cain was dealt with to what seemed to me as "easily" ........ Didn't feel the characters were too good or insipid.

Way different to most other Koontz I've read but extremely enjoyable. Would be interesting to see the life and discoveries of young Mary Lampion in a sequel book.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: From the Corner of His Eye
Review: A riveting novel in the classic Koontz style. This book rates up there with Cold Fire and Lightning. He combines a believable story with a chilling villian and scientific insight to make this novel a real page turner. His best in a long time.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Another Great Koontz Novel!
Review: I loved this book. I hated for it to end. I could hardly make myself put this book down. Just the thought of the powers that Bartholemew possesed - it amazed me. This book was so well written. Mr. Koontz once again kept many stories going at once so that the reader can't wait to turn the pages. I recommend this book to anyone that likes a good story with a little suspence thrown in.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: from the corner of his eye
Review: HE'S BACK! After what I considered a sub par performance with the writing of False Memory, Dean Koontz returns to his usual top form. Koontz has assembled a cast of werid and colorful characters. The book is full of surprises and moves at a much better pace than some of his other recent works.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Koontz cooks up a little stew.
Review: This is a good Koontz novel, but not a great Koontz novel. Like a Chinese meal you enjoy it, but it leaves you hungry. Koontz throws in a little quantum physics to spice up what is otherwise a pretty well written, but somewhat bland murder story. He takes a dash of psycho killer. Adds a pinch of mystic cop. Stirs in two babies, one vanila one chocolate, a lady who bakes pies, a black artist (not a black arts artist which would have been interesting) with various and sundry minor characters in walk on parts. He serves you a fine appetizer, but not much of a meal. I enjoyed the novel. I'll read more Koontz even though the ending left me feeling hungry for a Stephen King main course.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: NOT a welcome change!!
Review: Apparently Dean Koontz has fallen prey to the same malady that has afflicted James Patterson twice now, a need to prove that even though they have dark imaginations and are capable of thrilling suspense, they need you to know that they have a spiritual side, too. Koontz's self-indulgence is particularly heavy handed, with subtle-as-a-brick name choices for his characters, ie Seraphim, Celestina, Grace and Angel for one family of women, Cain as the bad guy and Paul Damascus as a man wandering in the wilderness after the death of his first wife. As a few of the other reviewers have pointed out, the book starts strong but quickly deteriorates. A writer of Koontz's talent can be pardoned a strike-out once in a while-let's just hope he's not going through a long drawn-out crisis of faith or whatever this represents!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Riveting
Review: From the Corner of His Eye is not as action packed as many of Koontz is other works. But the depth of the characters and the deep concepts that he brings to the novel make it a riveting experience. Only Sole Survivor compares for the richness of the story. You may have to go back to Strangers to actually find as well defined characters as you have here.

There are times when the pace does hold up to the Koontz standard, although that standard can be matched by very few. Still after books like Intensity, Dragon Tears and False Memory, you come to expect being at the edge of your seat from beginning to end.

If you like Koontz you will love this book. If you like to open your mind to possibilities and look for insightful commentaries on life, while being thrilled, then you will love this book. In fact, unless you can not read, you probably will find this book worth reading.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Koontz evolves from querky to profound
Review: Good vs evil with the kind of twists only Koontz, of present day writers, can muster. Plenty to keep you turning pages but more than a page turner, a philosophy bringing in quantum mechanics as a scientific basis for the miraculous. Requires an open mind and a good imagination and is not for those offended by references to God. As a scientist and a Christian, I loved the book.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Angels Dancing on Pinheads
Review: There is an old philosophy/theology question about "How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?" According to the characters in Dean Koontz's new novel, From the Corner of His Eye, the answer might be: as many as there are, or might be, here and in all of the other places where the pin is. Koontz has a magnificent talent for description and for interweaving story lines about different people in different places, then bringing them all together in a logical and entertaining fashion. He does this again in From the Corner of His Eye. The three different story lines in this novel are: (1) Agnes Lampion, the Pie Lady, in Southern California, who loses her husband in a traffic accident on the way to the hospital to give birth to son Bartholomew, who turns out to be a prodigy; (2) Celestina White, a young, aspiring artist in San Francisco who takes on the task of raising her little sister Seraphim's illegitimate child, Angel (also a prodigy), after her sister dies giving birth to this product of rape; and (3) Junior (Enoch) Cain, an amoral self-improvement enthusiast who kills his wife on impulse while they are on a picnic. Junior is pursued by homicide detective Thomas Vanadium. These names are carefully selected, as in much older morality tales, where the name of the actor gives you immediate insight into their character. There is a significant toll of homicide through the story, and also factoids about natural and people-created disasters with high death tolls. In the end, the surviving characters come together in a very satisfying and uplifting ending. Policeman Vanadium does tricks with quarters. At first this seems just to be one of his tools in "softening up" suspects in interrogation and in amusing children. Later on we learn how this is much more, and connected with quantum mechanics (which makes a lot of sense as long as you don't think hard about it-but anyway, it works!) It is always a pleasure to read Koont'z, and his latest work is no exception.


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