Innocence (Dean Koontz) Ch. 22-42

This book is as close to being in a “Goth” style as anything Dean Koontz has ever written.  Goth isn’t really his style, but if he ever chooses to write a full-on Goth story, it will be superb, I have no doubts.  The fact that Gwyneth has chosen to adopt a Goth look doesn’t really take us there.  For a really good Goth novel, I recommend “God Save the Queen (The Immortal Empire)” by Kate Locke.  Perhaps Koontz’s Frankenstein novels come as close as anything he’s written to fit the category.  “Innocence” does have something of the feel of Goth, but some key ingredients are missing, and the elements of his signature “suspense” style are in full swing.

One plot technique used here is that of alternating chapters in two or more settings.  In this case, the alternation between sub-plots isn’t happening between different sets of characters in the same time sequence, but between three time sequences of the same character; Addison as 8-year-old, as 20-year-old, and Addison as 26-year-old.  I feel that alternations like these have to be treated very carefully or they can become irritating.  The worst examples are those in which a decided momentum is constantly established and then broken, over and over, creating frustration or even confusion – we just want find out what happens next, not visit the other sub-plot repeatedly in a series of mini-cliff-hangers.  Some very good stories have been ruined for me this way.

In this book, however, the alternations aren’t so jarring; we don’t feel like we’re being toyed with.  There is a little “reminder” at the beginning of some of the 20-year-old-Addison segments – “My first night in the city, and everywhere glass underfoot…” to help us transition back to the chapter before last, in case we have forgotten what was going on.  Koontz is skilled enough to make this work, but I have to say that breaking the thread of the Addison-Gwyneth storyline so frequently does somewhat damage the effectiveness of the characterization and relationship for me.  If there turns out to be a special reason for the skipping back and forth, it will most likely be justifiable.

Clears and Fogs.  As of the half-way point in this story, there doesn’t seem to be a compelling reason to include these strange beings in this story.  In the Odd Thomas books, there are similar beings that Odd has dubbed “Bodachs” and that play a functional role in the story.  So far, the Clears and Fogs seem to be extra baggage; fascinating in their own right, but superfluous to the story as far as we can tell.  To include story elements that eventually become explained as important to the plot late in the book is all well and good, and Koontz has certainly used that technique before.  But it feels he’s overplaying this ploy a bit here.

The sequence of action where the man Addison has called “Father” is caught and killed is masterfully done.  When a beloved character in a story sacrifices him- or herself for another character – usually the protagonist – the effect can be extremely poignant in the hands of a great story-teller.  It works beautifully here.  We see the appallingly irrational reaction to the appearance of “those like” Addison and Father in the two police officers that catch our heroes in an unguarded moment.  The nature of Addison’s appearance still hasn’t been revealed, but the effect it has on “normal” people is consistent.  We have to wonder if there will come a time in the story when Gwyneth finally sees him and what her reaction will be.  Might that be the climax of the tale?  Perhaps.




Week 3:  Chapters 43-58
Week 4:  Conclusion