Darkfall
by Dean Koontz
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A blizzard brings a city to a standstill and ushers in an evil that defies imagination in this gripping tale from #1 New York Times bestselling author Dean Koontz.Winter gripped the city. Terror gripped it, too. They found four corpses in four days, each more hideous than the last.
At first the cops thought they were dealing with a psychopath. But soon they heard eerie sounds in the ventilation system—and saw unearthly silver eyes in the snow-slashed night.
In a city paralyzed by a show more blizzard, something watches, something stalks…. show less
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This was a reread for me as I read it when it first came out 14 years ago. I’m happy to see that it is just as good or as bad as it was then. The bad: The same thing bothered me yet today that bothered me all those years ago was that I didn’t understand how the father…a policeman no less…does nothing when he knows his children are being threatened. He just continues with his investigation efforts without asking help from fellow officers. The relative he assumed they would be safe with was barely able to care for herself let alone two children. That didn’t make sense to me then and made even less sense to me today. The Good: It was an intriguing storyline with a “bad thing” that was totally creepy and unpredictable…and it show more did have a terrifying satisfactory climax. show less
I'll admit - this was actually the first DK book I ever read. When I was young, I got a whole bunch of paperbacks as a hand me down. That pile wasn't sorted out despite my age - thank goodness for that. I doubt my parents would have wanted me reading this when I was ten. It's a very good book, and as I have come to read and enjoy his other books, this one stands out as one of his best (along with Lightning and False Memory)
A vendetta is simple enough - but throw in a Voodoo practitioner and some Mafia, and you have a truly bloody and twisted tale. Even though the Voodoo man is a wicked man himself, you can't help but sympathize with his need for revenge after what happened. This book is a solid thriller - I could not put it down. Koontz show more had some really imaginative descriptions in this book to make for an awesome read. show less
A vendetta is simple enough - but throw in a Voodoo practitioner and some Mafia, and you have a truly bloody and twisted tale. Even though the Voodoo man is a wicked man himself, you can't help but sympathize with his need for revenge after what happened. This book is a solid thriller - I could not put it down. Koontz show more had some really imaginative descriptions in this book to make for an awesome read. show less
Dean Koontz has been and remains one of my favorite authors. I gave this one four stars because I didn't feel that it was one of his best books. The storyline was good and the synopsis of the book was very intriguing but I didn't especially like any of the characters. Ten year old Penny was actually the best...and her father, Jack would have been a spot on detective IF anyone had listened to him and given him some credit. His partner was obnoxious and superficial through the entire book. Also more details could have been provided about the things in the dark. With that said, it is still a wonderful suspenseful, thriller, that is a fairly quick read. The author just didn't leave me wanting more like he usually does and even Dean Koontz show more himself admits in the back of the book that this wasn't his best work. show less
Oh, boy. Dean Koontz is such a hit-or-miss author for me. When he hits, he knocks it out of the park. Some of my favorite books of all times are Koontz books (Life Expectancy, Odd Thomas, Forever Odd). But some of his others have fallen flat for me (The Taking, The Husband, and now, Darkfall).
I thought the premise was interesting. Crossing a police procedural with a horror novel while throwing in a love story and a dash of humour sounds like a neat ride. Unfortunately, I was bored and annoyed for most of it. There were so many repetitive scenes that could have easily been cut without impacting the plot at all. There were also multiple instances within the first hundred pages where the creatures lurked and hissed and slithered while show more people tried to spot them but couldn't. Those scenes could have easily been condensed into one. Cutting at least a hundred pages from the book would have made a leaner, more fast-paced novel.
But there were other problems, too. The characters were extremely stereotypical and the main characters came across as caricatures. I didn't care about any of them, and it was hard to muster up the motivation to pick up the book once I set it down.
I will continue reading Koontz novels in the hopes that I'll find another outstanding one soon, but this one definitely fell short. show less
I thought the premise was interesting. Crossing a police procedural with a horror novel while throwing in a love story and a dash of humour sounds like a neat ride. Unfortunately, I was bored and annoyed for most of it. There were so many repetitive scenes that could have easily been cut without impacting the plot at all. There were also multiple instances within the first hundred pages where the creatures lurked and hissed and slithered while show more people tried to spot them but couldn't. Those scenes could have easily been condensed into one. Cutting at least a hundred pages from the book would have made a leaner, more fast-paced novel.
But there were other problems, too. The characters were extremely stereotypical and the main characters came across as caricatures. I didn't care about any of them, and it was hard to muster up the motivation to pick up the book once I set it down.
I will continue reading Koontz novels in the hopes that I'll find another outstanding one soon, but this one definitely fell short. show less
Darkfall, as an early Koontz novel, is chocked full of horror, straight arrow chills, and all the things that make us look under the bed at night. The theme itself (demonic creatures?) drew me immediately
The plot itself isn’t overly complicated but it’s laid out in a way that allows it to come off as a semi-mystery wannabe. The ending isn’t shocking once it’s unraveled, but there’s no way in hell I could have guessed it the first few chapters of this page-turner. From beginning to end, I was enchanted by strong characterization, creepy deaths, an odd sort of confusion, and interest to learn more. And interest, my dear readers, is the key to making a good book. Koontz has prevailed once again.
Every writer pays some sort of show more attention to atmosphere (although not all are impressive in their efforts), yet sometimes you don’t have to have it deep, dark, and brooding to make it work in horror. Here Koontz doesn’t spend too much time waving his magic wand to make things black and gritty; instead, his focus seems to be more on the characters. Because of this, while there are creepy moments, it doesn’t have that still sort of fear induced from other novels like his, such as "Phantoms."
The main characters are two cops, an interesting pair who are just now bringing their relationship up to ‘another level’. Jack is the main lead of the bunch, being the male partner falling in love with his female counterpart, the distant and somewhat cold seeming Rebecca with a haunting secret of her own. He is also the father of two adorable children, Penny and Davey, who bring their own sense of charm to the novel. The main villain is convincingly scripted, with a creepy personality that brings forth interesting (while morbid) antics.
The pace is swift and strong. From the beginning murder to the final chapter. There is one issue I had with this, though, and that was the ending. Too abrupt and cut off. A lot of steam building up for the final boil over...while it happens so quickly that if you blinked, you missed it.
Koontz’s style in this one is simple and yet well written. The words all flow together well, the characters are deep, the plot is follow-able and avoids confusion, and the tension/suspense strummed tightly enough.
While Darkfall delivers on many levels, it fails on a small few - one of the main issues being the ending, and the other being a somewhat light use of atmosphere when it could have been used to greater advantage. In the end though, any weakness is melted away by the strength of the book’s heat. Darkfall is a gripping, thought provoking, and moving read packed full of real people, creepy scenarios, and vivid details. show less
The plot itself isn’t overly complicated but it’s laid out in a way that allows it to come off as a semi-mystery wannabe. The ending isn’t shocking once it’s unraveled, but there’s no way in hell I could have guessed it the first few chapters of this page-turner. From beginning to end, I was enchanted by strong characterization, creepy deaths, an odd sort of confusion, and interest to learn more. And interest, my dear readers, is the key to making a good book. Koontz has prevailed once again.
Every writer pays some sort of show more attention to atmosphere (although not all are impressive in their efforts), yet sometimes you don’t have to have it deep, dark, and brooding to make it work in horror. Here Koontz doesn’t spend too much time waving his magic wand to make things black and gritty; instead, his focus seems to be more on the characters. Because of this, while there are creepy moments, it doesn’t have that still sort of fear induced from other novels like his, such as "Phantoms."
The main characters are two cops, an interesting pair who are just now bringing their relationship up to ‘another level’. Jack is the main lead of the bunch, being the male partner falling in love with his female counterpart, the distant and somewhat cold seeming Rebecca with a haunting secret of her own. He is also the father of two adorable children, Penny and Davey, who bring their own sense of charm to the novel. The main villain is convincingly scripted, with a creepy personality that brings forth interesting (while morbid) antics.
The pace is swift and strong. From the beginning murder to the final chapter. There is one issue I had with this, though, and that was the ending. Too abrupt and cut off. A lot of steam building up for the final boil over...while it happens so quickly that if you blinked, you missed it.
Koontz’s style in this one is simple and yet well written. The words all flow together well, the characters are deep, the plot is follow-able and avoids confusion, and the tension/suspense strummed tightly enough.
While Darkfall delivers on many levels, it fails on a small few - one of the main issues being the ending, and the other being a somewhat light use of atmosphere when it could have been used to greater advantage. In the end though, any weakness is melted away by the strength of the book’s heat. Darkfall is a gripping, thought provoking, and moving read packed full of real people, creepy scenarios, and vivid details. show less
Baba Lavelle. a man from Jamaica has come to New York City to get revenge on a Mafia family who was responsible for the death of his brother. Lavelle is a bocor, he specializes in voodoo involving the black arts. Four corpses have been found and they are all high ranking officials in the Mafia family. Enter Jack Dawson, a cop who has been working the case. All four bodies appear to have been bitten to death, and they were all behind locked doors and most of the time under security. Jack and his partner Rebecca cannot figure out what is killing these men, or how it is being done. "Darkfall" packs a scary and suspenseful story with outstanding characters. If you like voodoo-related, psychopathic, and weird novels, this one is right up show more your alley. show less
En Nueva York se están produciendo una serie de crímenes espantosos contra una familia mafiosa. La policía no encuentra explicación a los hechos, ya que los cuerpos aparecen mordisqueados y acuchillados en extrañas circunstancias. Pero el teniendo Jack Dawson está empezando a sospechar que detrás de todo anda un hechicero vudú.
‘Darkfall’ (1984), de Dean Koontz, es una novela entretenida sin más, con capítulos cortos y trepidante por momentos, donde lo divertido se encuentra en las criaturas. Lo mejor el final, con algún toque lovecraftiano.
‘Darkfall’ (1984), de Dean Koontz, es una novela entretenida sin más, con capítulos cortos y trepidante por momentos, donde lo divertido se encuentra en las criaturas. Lo mejor el final, con algún toque lovecraftiano.
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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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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title*
- Demonenes natt
- Original title
- Darkfall
- Alternate titles
- Darkness Comes
- Original publication date
- 1984
- People/Characters
- Penny Dawson; Davey Dawson; Jack Dawson; Rebecca Chandler; Baba LaValle; Carver Hampton
- Epigraph
- Holy men tell us life is a mystery. They embrace that concept happily. But some mysteries bite and bark and come to get you in the dark. --The Book of Counted Sorrows
A rain of shadows, a storm, a squall! Daylight retreats; night swallows all. If good is bright, if evil is gloom, high evil walls the world entombs. Now comes the end, the drear, Darkfall. --The Book of Counted Sorrows - Dedication
- Because the original door prize was too hard to accomplish, this book is dedicated to some good neighbors--Oliviero and Becky Migneco, Jeff and Bonnie Paymar--with the sincere hope that a mere dedication is an acceptable subs... (show all)titute. (At least this way, there's much less chance of a lawsuit!)
I owe special thanks to Mr. Owen West for giving me the opportunity to publish this variation on a theme under my by-line. - First words
- Penny Dawson woke and heard something moving furtively in the dark bedroom.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Jack turned away from the pit and went back into the house to call an ambulance for Carver Hampton.
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
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