“Ashley Bell,” by Dean Koontz

FM's ratings:

          1. Premise 9
          2. Prose 9
          3. Plot 9
          4. Characters 8
          5. Overall 9


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I read somewhere that this book was notably better than the last few written by Koontz, and I have to agree.  Some said they felt he had begun to just crank out books for money, not really interested in writing to the best of his ability anymore.  I don’t agree with that, although I can sort of see where they were coming from.  This one brings back the paranoia of dark, evil, and mysterious organizations of men hunting down the protagonist that is a feature in so many of his best works.  The supernatural element is there, but not overdone.  The witty dialog is back, one of the most endearing features of a Koontz book.  But we don’t really fall in love with the characters; even the protagonist Bibi Blair, as interesting as she is, doesn’t draw us in like Odd Thomas does, or Christopher Snow from “Seize the Night.”  I kept waiting for something about the story to induce a rating of “10” but it never quite tipped over into that.  I could be a little jaded when it comes to this author; I have, as of the completion of this one, read ALL of his books; a total of 81, including independently published short stories and novelettes.  (There are some earlier sci-fi works written under pen names that might still be floating around out there somewhere, and I will try to hunt them down, but his official oeuvre is now under my belt!)  I will now begin to start buying his new ones as soon as they are available … on Kindle.  I will also re-read some of my favorites – though I have already done that with a handful of them.  Soon, I’ll pick up a copy of “Dragon Tears,” the first Koontz book I ever read, and give it another go.  Thanks, DK, for all the many wonderful hours I’ve spent with your amazing imagination!