Book Review: Intensity

Title: Intensity
From: Dean Koontz
Cost: $7.99 paperback, $20 hardcover, $40 audio cd

The story starts out with two friends, Chyna Shepard and Laura Templeton, driving to Laura's home on a college break. I don't know if it matters, but, they were psych majors.

After a great time with the family, they head to bed. Someone breaks into the home and... well, to not ruin the suprise, does some very bad things.

Chyna is trying to escape and jumps into his motorhome... where she finds a photo of a young girl.

She becomes determined to rescue her. Why does she stand up to protect this girl? Because of her troubled and scarring past.
When Koontz delves into the Chyna's past, which she grudgingly shares with her best friend, it is so compelling. Shocking, and yet, believable.

The story rockets along, giving on brief rests, but, you don't take them, because you just HAVE to turn the page and find out what happens next.

This is purely a mystery. Delving into the human psyche, and situations/characters possible in the everyday world.

Perhaps that's why I didn't care for it too much. Because I identified with too much of it? or because I could picture it happening just as he's laid it out, and it's awful to contemplate?


Overall Rating: Good

The reviews published in the front of the book are apt.

Koontz redefines suspense. Intensity is a coiled spring that winds ever tighter... A novel about catharsis, about the power to wreak change and to do good as well as evil. There are sound undercurrents in Koontz's work, and they run deep. - London Times

A pin-you-to-the-chair tale of suspense, with a protagonist who is possibly the best female character yet in the thriller genre. Classy... swiftly paced, and as largely and sharply detailed as an IMAX movie. - Austin Chronicle

I could go on, but, you can find those reviews anywhere... check it out, I think you'll enjoy the thrill.

If you've read this book, chime in and let me know what you thought about it.