Dragon Tears,” by Dean Koontz

FM's ratings:

1. Premise 10
2. Prose 10
3. Plot 10
4. Characters 10
5. Overall 10

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This marks the 5^th anniversary of the book club, which started with a Dean Koontz book (“77 Shadow Street) and has featured one of his books every April, as the lead-off book. I have now read every novel by him that is in print, and at least one that isn't, so it's fitting here to feature the very first book I read by Koontz; the one that first captured my imagination. It goes without saying that I came back to this book for a second read with a very different perspective on the author's writing. I had to wonder if I would be mildly disappointed. But I found that just the opposite is true – this is one of my favorite Dean Koontz books, probably in my top 10. I have long fantasized about what it would be like to freeze time, step outside it, and manipulate objects or people while they are “frozen.” And I have always recognized that the temptation to do bad things [“I wonder what she looks like naked...?”] would be very hard to resist for someone with that power. This is the basic premise of “Dragon Tears” where a truly twisted antagonist is deluded into thinking he is becoming a god. With a premise like this, an author had better be prepared do it justice. And Koontz delivers. Even the Love Interest adds instead of detracting. And, as in all his best writing, his metaphors and similes are second to none (“Fog...like the ghost of an ancient ocean.”) Is this one of those many Koontz novels that features a dog as an important character? It sure is, and it gets into the mind of the dog perhaps better than any of his works, with the possible exception of “Watchers.” Koontz fans always wanted more Odd Thomas, and many would love to see more Christopher Snow (“Fear Nothing” and “Seize the Night”) but I would add, from this book, the crime investigation team of Harry and Connie as characters that I would love for Koontz to re-visit!