Dean Koontz, Tick Tock

Halfway through

Even before finishing the book I can say that this is a book by a master craftsman, easily recognized as such by a steadily rising tension without ever resorting to gore for the sake of gore. Though I still haven't got more that a few clues to the real nature of the books antagonist, I can see that Koontz has a well defined goal in mind, and is taking me there the shortest way possible.

As is obvious to see, I am really enjoying this book. Especially the way he is able to convey all the guilt and remorse the protagonist Tommy Phan has over being a Vietnamese refugee who tries so hard to integrate that he loses part of his contact to, and feeling of belonging with, his family, without descending to the easy cardboard cutouts of how `such people' are supposed to feel and behave.

Another thing I have to mention as an absolute plus is his use of language as a tool for communicating actions and feelings with the goal of furthering the plot or expanding on the character of the protagonists, instead of falling into the often seen trap of using powerful and sometimes not so powerful descriptive writing just for the sake of powerful descriptions.

A bit later

I have now finished reading the book, and the change from supernatural thriller to classic screwball comedy was accomplished with his normal flair for melding genres seamlessly. Unfortunately, due to the constrains of the latter genre, Tommy is soon reduced from being a normal Koontz "hero" who has to surmount his difficulties though his own resourcefulness, to mere observer status as he's dragged though the rest of the book, always reacting, never acting, forever puzzled.

The lack of moral resolution normally required in a story following the thriller format left me with a feeling of having eaten candyfloss; good taste without substance.

My impression is that Koontz spent so much energy following the quite strict requirements for screwball comedy, that some of the equally strict elements of the supernatural thriller got lost.