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Critic's Corner
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A curiously scented rain falls over the Earth: From Argentina to Alaska, from the parched sands of Saudi Arabia to Europe, and over every continent, the deluge creates havoc. Giant waterspouts gyrate across the Earth's oceans. The rain in luminous torrents tinsels the trees and silvers land masses. All orbital assets of the National Weather Service and federal agencies go blind. Televisions, radios, phones go silent. Time runs amok. Molly and Neil Sloan in their California mountain home make their way down to Black Lake Township where they gather with surviving neighbors and friends. By morning, the rain is replaced by a dense fog that transforms their once-friendly village into a ghostly labyrinth. Suspense ratchets up as the people realize this is a global attack by beings of unknown origins and unfathomable powers. Their world is being taken and remade not by ETs from another spiral arm of the Milky Way or from another galaxy but entities from another universe, where all the laws of nature are radically different from Earth's. The aliens, inherently evil, pit their metaphysical powers against the human capacity for hope and the forces of goodness and innocence embodied in the children of Black Lake and a number of animal guardians. Molly and Neil along with certain other adults are designated as tutelaries for the children. Together they face the terrifying reality of what is happening to their world—and what remains of the future. I tried hard to suspend my disbelief throughout this genre-bending story. But the aliens were simply too much for my mind to accept. Descriptions right out of Dante's Inferno and worse made it all but impossible to continue reading, yet I did. This reaction to a Koontz novel is a first for me. In other novels, "Odd Thomas," "The Face," and even his "Intensity," I was captivated and readily suspended disbelief. Readers will find Koontz's style changing yet again, but his use of original metaphors and similes as well as his immense vocabulary, give his story a depth rarely found in such tales. Near the end of "The Taking," when Koontz puts an overtly religious spin on the tale, my mind finally opened enough to realize the author's intent. He is showing us an ultimate battle between good and evil as only Koontz can. His intent, like a red sky at dawning, is a not so subtle warning to the inhabitants of our blood-soaked world. "Woe to the inhabitants of the Earth and of the sea, for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath because he knoweth that he hath but a short time." Revelation, Chapter 12, Verse 12 "The Taking" is overall, an awesome read that showcases the talents of the modern master of suspense—Dean Koontz. Copyright September 2004, Patricia Ann Jones, all rights reserved. Save Up to 30% on this book at Amazon.com Jones is a published writer and book reviewer for Tulsa World newspaper. To comment on this review you may email pattij777@aol.com |
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