Lightning
by Dean Koontz
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A storm struck on the night Laura Shane was born, and there was a strangeness about the weather that people would remember for years. But even more mysterious was the blond-haired stranger who appeared out of nowhere - the man who saved Laura from a fatal delivery. Years later - another bolt of lightning - and the stranger returned, again to save Laura from tragedy. Was he the guardian angel he seemed? The devil in disguise? Or the master of a haunting destiny beyond time and space?Tags
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Out of the Koontz books I have read so far, this is definitely one of my favorites. The pacing and characters are solid, and the plot - while a bit farfetched - is also worked in a way that is very plausible, making for a thought-provoking, solid, entertaining, and exciting read. I definitely loved the mix of characters, especially the owner of the Pizza Palace. I nearly laughed at Koontz' description of his body and manners, and the way he treated Laura and her son.
The action sequences are also thrilling, and I also rather enjoyed the introduction/first few chapters. It's different from the rest of the story, but in a good way since it serves as a wonderful setup. This is truly Dean Koontz at some of his finest, 4.75/5 stars and two show more thumbs up! show less
The action sequences are also thrilling, and I also rather enjoyed the introduction/first few chapters. It's different from the rest of the story, but in a good way since it serves as a wonderful setup. This is truly Dean Koontz at some of his finest, 4.75/5 stars and two show more thumbs up! show less
This year, along with my King reread, I'm delving into my top 10 Koontz books again. (Probably Top 12, just so I have a book for every month, but I'm having trouble picking two more.) I have a theory about Dean Koontz, and it goes like this: He's only written ten stories in his career, and he's been rewriting them ever since. This one is structured an awful lot like From the Corner of His Eye and the absolutely terrible Life Expectancy, which is the only Koontz book I've ever given a single star to, other than his money-grabbing short story tie-ins.
Lightning has everything I miss about Koontz. Coherent plot, a theme, no uber-smart dog character, and enough heart to choke a cannibal. It's a damn fun book, if a little... old fashioned show more where ideas are concerned. Let's completely overlook the concepts borrowed from the movie Terminator. Let's also overlook the fact that a man changes the future because of instalove. Let's furthermore overlook that there are two stalkers in this book: one's a secret admirer and the other is a "guardian", so that's okay. After all, what's the difference between a stalker and your boyfriend? Your boyfriend's hot.
(These are the jokes, fuckface. Deal with 'em.)
If we're to forgive all this, then we can safely enjoy the book. I'm willing to do that for nostalgia's sake alone. I'd hate to think that a younger version of me passed by these things without so much as a raised eyebrow, but he did. So, because I'm cutting that blind douchepickle some slack, I'll cut Koontz some slack, too.
In summation: I wish I could travel back in time and slap myself for enjoying this book so much, but I can't Paradox!, as Chris says, over and over and over... I get it. Doctor Who is a lie, and H. G. Wells was on that rock. I can dig it. Read it for a healthy dose of 1989. Because not being confined to a wheelchair is worth risking Hitler winning the war. Logic. Set. Match.
(This review is brought to you by Sarcasm. I received this book free of charge in exchange for puberty.) show less
Lightning has everything I miss about Koontz. Coherent plot, a theme, no uber-smart dog character, and enough heart to choke a cannibal. It's a damn fun book, if a little... old fashioned show more where ideas are concerned. Let's completely overlook the concepts borrowed from the movie Terminator. Let's also overlook the fact that a man changes the future because of instalove. Let's furthermore overlook that there are two stalkers in this book: one's a secret admirer and the other is a "guardian", so that's okay. After all, what's the difference between a stalker and your boyfriend? Your boyfriend's hot.
(These are the jokes, fuckface. Deal with 'em.)
If we're to forgive all this, then we can safely enjoy the book. I'm willing to do that for nostalgia's sake alone. I'd hate to think that a younger version of me passed by these things without so much as a raised eyebrow, but he did. So, because I'm cutting that blind douchepickle some slack, I'll cut Koontz some slack, too.
In summation: I wish I could travel back in time and slap myself for enjoying this book so much, but I can't Paradox!, as Chris says, over and over and over... I get it. Doctor Who is a lie, and H. G. Wells was on that rock. I can dig it. Read it for a healthy dose of 1989. Because not being confined to a wheelchair is worth risking Hitler winning the war. Logic. Set. Match.
(This review is brought to you by Sarcasm. I received this book free of charge in exchange for puberty.) show less
** SPOILER ALERT **
Laura Shane has a guardian angel, and this man's appearance seems to coincide with bone-chilling lightning storms. Of course, it's not coincidental because Laura's protector is a time-traveler.
I consider this story to be one of the more unique takes on the time-travel genre. Time-travel plots by nature are constrained by finely-explained science fiction rules lest the author leave too many gaping plot holes. Lightning by Dean Koontz introduced a new perspective of time travel for me, and although many criticized the story's need for continual explanation, I relished the dialogue because these are the same discussions I have with my friends on occasion.
Additionally, Laura Shane's life is one full of tragedy in spite of show more her guardian angel's efforts. The book has overtones of helplessness against fate and of living with the sorrows one faces. I found these bits of wisdom relevant in my own life. show less
Laura Shane has a guardian angel, and this man's appearance seems to coincide with bone-chilling lightning storms. Of course, it's not coincidental because Laura's protector is a time-traveler.
I consider this story to be one of the more unique takes on the time-travel genre. Time-travel plots by nature are constrained by finely-explained science fiction rules lest the author leave too many gaping plot holes. Lightning by Dean Koontz introduced a new perspective of time travel for me, and although many criticized the story's need for continual explanation, I relished the dialogue because these are the same discussions I have with my friends on occasion.
Additionally, Laura Shane's life is one full of tragedy in spite of show more her guardian angel's efforts. The book has overtones of helplessness against fate and of living with the sorrows one faces. I found these bits of wisdom relevant in my own life. show less
This review contains moderate spoilers.
This is the first Dean Koontz I finished. Before reading a Koontz, I searched online for opinions. You know - "best Dean Koontz", "your favourite Dean Koontz". Well, this and Watchers came up a lot.
The first 1/4th of this book is one of the best openings to a thriller I've read. It's compelling, tense, and disturbing. I almost didn't want to keep reading, but I had to.
Then, Laura doesn't get molested, she gets out of the orphanage and it becomes an action movie with a lot of explosions.
OK, that's not completely fair. It becomes an action AND a time travel movie. The reason I'm saying "movie" is because it would make a better movie than a book (except for that excellent beginning).
After the show more beginning, I was only interested in Stefan's chapters, for the most part. The time travel stuff was pretty good. He went back and met Winston Churchill and Adolf Hitler, which could have been cheesy - and it was, a little - but it worked for the most part. Laura Shane became Sarah Connor, completely uninteresting.
If the book had been consistent, I wouldn't have been mad. Time travel with lots of gunfights and road trips? Cool! But don't start it off with something creepy that could have made it a Thomas Harris-type classic and then abandon it. It goes from gut-wrenching to breezy and it makes no sense.
One last thing. The love interest. It is literally the worst love story with the worst dialogue I've ever read. Big, dumb guy she falls in love with. He stands outside in rain, yells: "Laura Shane, you're just too damn beautiful!"
He also doubts himself. I'm just a big dumb guy and you're beautiful and talented.
He died. I couldn't believe how relieved I was that I didn't have to put up with him anymore. Story didn't get a helluva lot better, but the end was fine, I guess.
Great concept (time travelling guardian angel, destiny, that sorta good stuff), horrifyingly inconsistent and bland execution. I think I will read Fear Nothing now, and if it isn't better than this, then I don't know what to think of Koontz. show less
This is the first Dean Koontz I finished. Before reading a Koontz, I searched online for opinions. You know - "best Dean Koontz", "your favourite Dean Koontz". Well, this and Watchers came up a lot.
The first 1/4th of this book is one of the best openings to a thriller I've read. It's compelling, tense, and disturbing. I almost didn't want to keep reading, but I had to.
Then, Laura doesn't get molested, she gets out of the orphanage and it becomes an action movie with a lot of explosions.
OK, that's not completely fair. It becomes an action AND a time travel movie. The reason I'm saying "movie" is because it would make a better movie than a book (except for that excellent beginning).
After the show more beginning, I was only interested in Stefan's chapters, for the most part. The time travel stuff was pretty good. He went back and met Winston Churchill and Adolf Hitler, which could have been cheesy - and it was, a little - but it worked for the most part. Laura Shane became Sarah Connor, completely uninteresting.
If the book had been consistent, I wouldn't have been mad. Time travel with lots of gunfights and road trips? Cool! But don't start it off with something creepy that could have made it a Thomas Harris-type classic and then abandon it. It goes from gut-wrenching to breezy and it makes no sense.
One last thing. The love interest. It is literally the worst love story with the worst dialogue I've ever read. Big, dumb guy she falls in love with. He stands outside in rain, yells: "Laura Shane, you're just too damn beautiful!"
He also doubts himself. I'm just a big dumb guy and you're beautiful and talented.
He died. I couldn't believe how relieved I was that I didn't have to put up with him anymore. Story didn't get a helluva lot better, but the end was fine, I guess.
Great concept (time travelling guardian angel, destiny, that sorta good stuff), horrifyingly inconsistent and bland execution. I think I will read Fear Nothing now, and if it isn't better than this, then I don't know what to think of Koontz. show less
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Title: Lightning
Series: ———-
Author: Dean Koontz
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 533
Words: 145K
Synopsis:
Wikipedia and Me
As Laura Shane is born in January 1955, during a freak lightning storm, a mysterious blond stranger (Stefan) prevents a drunken Dr. Paul Markwell from attending to the difficult and complicated delivery. Her mother dies in childbirth, though Laura is a perfectly healthy, exceptionally beautiful baby, and she is left to be show more raised by her father Bob Shane. When Laura is eight years old, a junkie attempts to rob her father’s convenience store; however the blond stranger reappears, saving them both and instructing them on what to tell the police. In 1967, Bob Shane dies of a heart attack. At her father’s funeral Laura sees the stranger watching over her yet again and begins to think he is her guardian angel, along with an unnamed man calling for her when she tries to follow him.
Laura is sent to live in the McIlroy orphanage, where she is housed with a set of twins, Thelma and Ruth, who later become her best friends. She also meets Willy Sheener, a frightening child molester who is also the maintenance man and custodian. Willy becomes infatuated with Laura due to her uncommonly good looks, haunting her wherever she goes in the orphanage. However, due to past experience the twins warn Laura that reporting Sheener, also known as “The White Eel” or “Eel” for short, will do more harm than good. Laura is eventually sent to live with a foster family that exploits her, so she purposely behaves badly and they send her back to the orphanage. After several disturbing incidents, her mysterious angel visits Sheener and brutally beats him. This scares him off for some time, until Laura is sent to live with the Dockwielers, with whom she quickly forms a bond. Sheener comes to their home one afternoon; Laura is able to fend him off and eventually kill him, but the shock of discovering the scene causes her new foster mother to suffer a fatal heart attack, sending Laura back to the orphanage. Shortly thereafter, Laura turns 13 and is moved to another orphanage for older children, and receives the devastating news that Ruth was caught in a fire in McIlroy and died.
At college, Laura’s creative writing brings her to the attention of Danny, a naive man who has fallen in love with her from afar. After a botched attempt at being her secret admirer they agree to date and over time, fall in love. After their marriage Laura becomes a celebrated author of several books and gives birth to a boy, Christopher Robert. The birth was difficult, making it so she will not be able to have any children in the future.
Years later, Danny, Laura and Chris are saved from a horrific accident by the blond man’s (revealed to be named Stefan) intervention. The unnamed man shows up moments later. Both Danny and the blond man attack but Danny dies of several gunshot wounds, before Stefan kills the man and tells Laura what to say, like years ago at the grocery store. He promises to return soon and tell more, but due to mistakes, he doesn’t return until a year later, wounded, in an isolated stretch of winter woods. Laura and Chris are able to treat him at a doctor they locate in the phone book, but must battle unknown assassins shortly thereafter.
The group hides out in a small motel. Stefan recovers and finally tells his story. He was born in 1909, making him 35 years old. He is from Nazi Germany in the year 1944, and is part of secret time traveling experiments, sending agents to the future to uncover ways to change the outcome of World War II. Stefan had previously arrived in an alternate version of 1984 and had seen Laura, who was a quadriplegic because of Dr. Markwell’s drunken errors during her delivery. However, despite her disability, she wrote beautiful books of poetry which inspired Stefan to renounce his mission, and travel to difficult parts of her life to change them. However, his superior Kokoschka became suspicious of him and followed him, sending the assassins into the future to learn of their path.
With the help of Thelma, who has become rich as a comedienne and actress since her sister’s death, they gain many supplies they need. Fat Jack, an arms dealer, supplies them with guns and Vexxon nerve gas. With the aid of modern computational technology, Stefan is prepared to go back to his time. He uses the nerve gas to kill the five men on duty at the time and disposes their bodies six billion years in the future. He makes a jump to see Winston Churchill and convinces him that the institute containing the time machine must be bombed; Churchill agrees. Stefan also makes a trip to Adolf Hitler, to convince the dictator of various threads that must be cleared up, in reality sabotaging the German war effort.
While he is gone, Laura and Chris, in an empty patch of rain washed desert, are attacked by more Nazis, as records of a police stop have been discovered. Stefan returns to find Laura and Chris dead. He works around the time limit of the machine by sending Laura a message to save them. Despite this, Chris and Laura still have to battle all four men themselves. The second cylinder of nerve gas proves invaluable. It is Laura who eventually kills all four men pursuing them, as she protects Chris as best she can. In the long months that follow, Laura and Chris are questioned by the police. They soon believe a story of ‘drug dealers’ who wanted revenge. Laura backs up her story by turning over Fat Jack, something she was going to do anyway (he does not blame her, due to his personal beliefs). Stefan, who had been hiding with Thelma, comes to live with the two again. After even more time, Laura finds herself falling in love with him.
The book ends with Stefan realizing that a throw-away comment he made to Winston Churchill had lead to the downfall of the Soviet Union in this world and that this is now the “real world”, the World That Was Meant To Be.
My Thoughts:
This book was published in 1988 and the Terminator movie was released in 1984. Considering my thoughts about Koontz and the Terminator franchise in my Hell’s Gate Review I’ve realized that the idea comes from Koontz first, and it is also something he simply cannot “not” write about. Every story he writes usually has some sort of either time traveling or alternate reality traveling.
I think this was my most enjoyable Koontz so far, beyond Odd Thomas of course. This was also one of his longest books yet. Like I said in my Quote post, this felt like Koontz was at the top of his game when he was writing this. With this being slightly longer than his normal book, Koontz doesn’t have to rush the ending, which is one flaw of his that he doesn’t seem to see as a flaw in most of his books. I was thankful for that, as it made finishing the book more enjoyable.
Now, while I enjoyed this a lot, there was some subject matter that needs to be talked about, as it could be a real problem for people. Laura was “fated” to either be crippled or raped as a child. There are two times where she is almost child raped but her protector Stefan steps in and keeps it from happening and while nothing happens, the very idea that it “could” happen was just very disturbing. It definitely was NOT a Lolita style of story plot, but the simple inclusion of it really disturbed me. Thankfully Koontz never gets graphic, but he also doesn’t shy away from his characters stating what they plan to do to Laura. So just be aware of that particular subject matter.
I mentioned the non-rush ending, which is not typical of Koontz and how much I liked that. What I REALLY liked however was how Koontz slips in a “better” future that was “meant to be”, one without a Soviet Union. I never saw that outcome coming and seeing how he wrote it into the storyline was cool. I just smiled at how he uses time travel and the rules he sets up.
I’d recommend this book as long as you handle the tension of child Laura being in real danger.
★★★★☆ show less
Title: Lightning
Series: ———-
Author: Dean Koontz
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 533
Words: 145K
Synopsis:
Wikipedia and Me
As Laura Shane is born in January 1955, during a freak lightning storm, a mysterious blond stranger (Stefan) prevents a drunken Dr. Paul Markwell from attending to the difficult and complicated delivery. Her mother dies in childbirth, though Laura is a perfectly healthy, exceptionally beautiful baby, and she is left to be show more raised by her father Bob Shane. When Laura is eight years old, a junkie attempts to rob her father’s convenience store; however the blond stranger reappears, saving them both and instructing them on what to tell the police. In 1967, Bob Shane dies of a heart attack. At her father’s funeral Laura sees the stranger watching over her yet again and begins to think he is her guardian angel, along with an unnamed man calling for her when she tries to follow him.
Laura is sent to live in the McIlroy orphanage, where she is housed with a set of twins, Thelma and Ruth, who later become her best friends. She also meets Willy Sheener, a frightening child molester who is also the maintenance man and custodian. Willy becomes infatuated with Laura due to her uncommonly good looks, haunting her wherever she goes in the orphanage. However, due to past experience the twins warn Laura that reporting Sheener, also known as “The White Eel” or “Eel” for short, will do more harm than good. Laura is eventually sent to live with a foster family that exploits her, so she purposely behaves badly and they send her back to the orphanage. After several disturbing incidents, her mysterious angel visits Sheener and brutally beats him. This scares him off for some time, until Laura is sent to live with the Dockwielers, with whom she quickly forms a bond. Sheener comes to their home one afternoon; Laura is able to fend him off and eventually kill him, but the shock of discovering the scene causes her new foster mother to suffer a fatal heart attack, sending Laura back to the orphanage. Shortly thereafter, Laura turns 13 and is moved to another orphanage for older children, and receives the devastating news that Ruth was caught in a fire in McIlroy and died.
At college, Laura’s creative writing brings her to the attention of Danny, a naive man who has fallen in love with her from afar. After a botched attempt at being her secret admirer they agree to date and over time, fall in love. After their marriage Laura becomes a celebrated author of several books and gives birth to a boy, Christopher Robert. The birth was difficult, making it so she will not be able to have any children in the future.
Years later, Danny, Laura and Chris are saved from a horrific accident by the blond man’s (revealed to be named Stefan) intervention. The unnamed man shows up moments later. Both Danny and the blond man attack but Danny dies of several gunshot wounds, before Stefan kills the man and tells Laura what to say, like years ago at the grocery store. He promises to return soon and tell more, but due to mistakes, he doesn’t return until a year later, wounded, in an isolated stretch of winter woods. Laura and Chris are able to treat him at a doctor they locate in the phone book, but must battle unknown assassins shortly thereafter.
The group hides out in a small motel. Stefan recovers and finally tells his story. He was born in 1909, making him 35 years old. He is from Nazi Germany in the year 1944, and is part of secret time traveling experiments, sending agents to the future to uncover ways to change the outcome of World War II. Stefan had previously arrived in an alternate version of 1984 and had seen Laura, who was a quadriplegic because of Dr. Markwell’s drunken errors during her delivery. However, despite her disability, she wrote beautiful books of poetry which inspired Stefan to renounce his mission, and travel to difficult parts of her life to change them. However, his superior Kokoschka became suspicious of him and followed him, sending the assassins into the future to learn of their path.
With the help of Thelma, who has become rich as a comedienne and actress since her sister’s death, they gain many supplies they need. Fat Jack, an arms dealer, supplies them with guns and Vexxon nerve gas. With the aid of modern computational technology, Stefan is prepared to go back to his time. He uses the nerve gas to kill the five men on duty at the time and disposes their bodies six billion years in the future. He makes a jump to see Winston Churchill and convinces him that the institute containing the time machine must be bombed; Churchill agrees. Stefan also makes a trip to Adolf Hitler, to convince the dictator of various threads that must be cleared up, in reality sabotaging the German war effort.
While he is gone, Laura and Chris, in an empty patch of rain washed desert, are attacked by more Nazis, as records of a police stop have been discovered. Stefan returns to find Laura and Chris dead. He works around the time limit of the machine by sending Laura a message to save them. Despite this, Chris and Laura still have to battle all four men themselves. The second cylinder of nerve gas proves invaluable. It is Laura who eventually kills all four men pursuing them, as she protects Chris as best she can. In the long months that follow, Laura and Chris are questioned by the police. They soon believe a story of ‘drug dealers’ who wanted revenge. Laura backs up her story by turning over Fat Jack, something she was going to do anyway (he does not blame her, due to his personal beliefs). Stefan, who had been hiding with Thelma, comes to live with the two again. After even more time, Laura finds herself falling in love with him.
The book ends with Stefan realizing that a throw-away comment he made to Winston Churchill had lead to the downfall of the Soviet Union in this world and that this is now the “real world”, the World That Was Meant To Be.
My Thoughts:
This book was published in 1988 and the Terminator movie was released in 1984. Considering my thoughts about Koontz and the Terminator franchise in my Hell’s Gate Review I’ve realized that the idea comes from Koontz first, and it is also something he simply cannot “not” write about. Every story he writes usually has some sort of either time traveling or alternate reality traveling.
I think this was my most enjoyable Koontz so far, beyond Odd Thomas of course. This was also one of his longest books yet. Like I said in my Quote post, this felt like Koontz was at the top of his game when he was writing this. With this being slightly longer than his normal book, Koontz doesn’t have to rush the ending, which is one flaw of his that he doesn’t seem to see as a flaw in most of his books. I was thankful for that, as it made finishing the book more enjoyable.
Now, while I enjoyed this a lot, there was some subject matter that needs to be talked about, as it could be a real problem for people. Laura was “fated” to either be crippled or raped as a child. There are two times where she is almost child raped but her protector Stefan steps in and keeps it from happening and while nothing happens, the very idea that it “could” happen was just very disturbing. It definitely was NOT a Lolita style of story plot, but the simple inclusion of it really disturbed me. Thankfully Koontz never gets graphic, but he also doesn’t shy away from his characters stating what they plan to do to Laura. So just be aware of that particular subject matter.
I mentioned the non-rush ending, which is not typical of Koontz and how much I liked that. What I REALLY liked however was how Koontz slips in a “better” future that was “meant to be”, one without a Soviet Union. I never saw that outcome coming and seeing how he wrote it into the storyline was cool. I just smiled at how he uses time travel and the rules he sets up.
I’d recommend this book as long as you handle the tension of child Laura being in real danger.
★★★★☆ show less
I never cared about Koontz when I was younger, probably thinking he was all horror, and I have never cared for horror. My husband (maybe my boyfriend at the time, I don't recall...it was around 20 years ago) recommended this book, and I remember being pleasantly surprised. I've never read another Koontz since, but that just left this to keep a special place in my heart. I don't know why it took me so long to read it again, but I'm so glad I did! The suspense is really high at certain points in the book. Laura's guardian, Stefan, is a sympathetic hero, especially when you learn more about him and where he comes from. And though Laura herself isn't my favorite main character, I can appreciate the way that the various difficulties in her show more life shape her into the person she becomes as an adult.
Time travel isn't exactly original, but not everyone does as good a job as Koontz did here. The things that could and could not be affected, the way there are natural limitations to avoid paradoxes, it all makes sense. And what is done by characters to try to get around that can be a little mind-twisty, but it makes for a great read! I know there were a few points when I wondered if it was really necessary to see so much of Laura's life that don't really relate to the grander story. I think it was mostly there to build up our connection with Laura. Whatever the reason, it never made me bored. As a stand-alone sci-fi thriller, Lightning is definitely worth reading! I know I'll re-read it again in the future. show less
Time travel isn't exactly original, but not everyone does as good a job as Koontz did here. The things that could and could not be affected, the way there are natural limitations to avoid paradoxes, it all makes sense. And what is done by characters to try to get around that can be a little mind-twisty, but it makes for a great read! I know there were a few points when I wondered if it was really necessary to see so much of Laura's life that don't really relate to the grander story. I think it was mostly there to build up our connection with Laura. Whatever the reason, it never made me bored. As a stand-alone sci-fi thriller, Lightning is definitely worth reading! I know I'll re-read it again in the future. show less
Time Traveler’s Wife-esque plot. This was one of those Koontz books in which it would have been better if he didn’t give balanced points of view; I don’t think any of the scenes from the villain’s POV were necessary. Some of Stefan’s were unneeded. Second half is a pretty standard chase thriller, with some boring paradox talk, meta self-indulgence and stock characters. Second quarter has a bit of a dip into that territory, but is relatively readable and there isn’t a forced rushed pace. First quarter is the most real and interesting, with character development and genuinely felt emotion. Laura’s also the most likable and relatable in the first quarter.
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Dean Koontz was born on July 9, 1945 in Everett, Pennsylvania. He received a degree in education from Shippensburg State College in 1967. A former high school English teacher as well as a teacher-counselor with the Appalachian Poverty Program, he began writing as a child to escape an ugly home life caused by his alcoholic father. A prolific writer show more at a young age, he had sold a dozen novels by the age of 25. Early in his career, he wrote under numerous pen names including David Axton, Brian Coffey, K. R. Dwyer, Leigh Nichols, Richard Paige, and Owen West. He is best known for the books written under his own name, many of which are bestsellers, including Midnight, Cold Fire, The Bad Place, Hideaway, The Husband, Odd Hours, 77 Shadow Street, Innocence, The City, Saint Odd, and The Silent Corner. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Is contained in
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Lightning
- Original title
- Lightning
- Original publication date
- 1988-05
- People/Characters
- Laura Shane; Stefan; Heinrich Kokoschka; Paul Markwell; Bob Shane
- Epigraph
- The wailing of a newborn infant is mingled with the dirge for the dead. --Lucretius
I'm not afraid to die. I just don't want to be there when it happens. --Woody Allen
Roller coast: 1) a small gravity railroad...with steep inclines that produce sudden, speedy plunges for thrill-seeking passengers. --The Random House Dictionary - Dedication
- To Greg and Joan Benford. Sometimes I think that you're the most interesting people we know. Then I always take two aspirin and lie down. But the thought persists.
- First words
- A storm struck on the night Laura Shane was born, and there was a strangeness about the weather that people would remember for years.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Down on the shore, the tide was coming in.
- Canonical DDC/MDS
- 813.54
- Canonical LCC
- PS3561.O55
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- 14 — Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Norwegian (Bokmål), Polish, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish
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