Some pretty creepy parts, and a cool monster.But it dragged. Most of the novel is the characters speculating, theorizing, deducing and discussing the nature of the monster. There could have been less of this and more monster action.Working toward the climax turned into a chore because I was turned off.

It's amusing how I ended reading this novel. And maybe this will be the most humorous review of a truly scary horror novel. If you read it, you'll understant what I mean.First, I didn't know that it was a novel, a long horror story book, when I bought it. Honestly! Back then (1992), I was in a local bookstore. I read the title "Phantoms" (well in reality it was "Fantasmas" since I bought in Spanish first the book) and I thought that it was an anthology of ghost stories and that Dean Koontz (I di...

I'm fiercely competitive. Like, ridiculously competitive. To the point where I choose a favorite, and from that point on I'm squarely behind that favorite until the bitter end. The Chicago Cubs. Star Wars. Stephen King. You get the picture. Problem is, this causes me to miss out on things that threaten the supremacy of my favorites. For several months I avoided The Lord of the Rings movies because I was afraid they'd be better than the original Star Wars trilogy. Then, when they were better, I d...

4.5 out of 5First things first, let’s break out the checklist to see how Koontzian this book is.1. Blond lead/love interest - Nope2. Dog(s) – Yup (but these Fidos aren’t smart)3. Government conspiracy - Nope4. Aliens - Nope5. Serial Killer – Nope (but there are a few psychopath so I’ll let you decide if they count)6. Bougainvillea plant - Nope7. Sodium-vapor streetlight – Yup (numerous times! In fact, this might have the most mentions of sodium-vapor out of every Koontz book ever)8. Precocious c...

In 1979, Dean Koontz wrote a novel called Whispers which catapulted him to the bestseller list. Koontz's status in the publishing world shifted drastically; from a rather unknown suspense producer he became the hot stuff, and in 1981 Whispers rose to the top five of the New York Times paperback bestseller list. But this article is not about Whispers. While I'm not a fan of the mentioned novel, and consider it to be largely tedious and overwrought with banal drama and sentimentality, it shows pot...

This is one of my all-time favourite books. I remember being twelve and my mother telling me under no circumstances was I to read any of her Dean Koontz books, because they 'were not suitable for a girl my age'. So of course, the minute I had the chance, I grabbed a bunch of his books and got to reading!Phantoms is the only one that really resonated with me. Over the years, whenever I'm bored and at a loss as to what to read, I find myself drawn back to this book. My copy is positively ancient-l...

I don't yet understand the hate for Koontz. Currently I have read three of his novels ; midnight, watchers and now this one, and I have thoroughly enjoyed each of them. Maybe I peaked too soon with his best works. Hopefully not. For me, this was a cracking read. The first 100 pages or so were filled with dread, and so tension filled. I felt like I was there with the two sisters, as they explored the town and discovered the horrors within. It was damn creepy and really atmospheric. As more charac...

Never quite know when I pick up a Dean Koontz book whether I will like it or not. He has written some very good books, but he’s also written the stupidest book I’ve ever read (Tick Tock.) Usually if it’s an older one, I’ll enjoy it. This one was excellent! Gets right into it at the beginning with the discovery of a small town in Northern California in which its residents have either died or disappeared. It’s good and creepy and at times with the science, feels like a Michael Crichton novel. Ther...

Jenny and Lisa are two sisters who love each other very much, but neither of them has had the opportunity to properly connect because of their large age gap. While one was off studying to be a doctor, the other was still in middle school. After graduating, Jenny decides to invite her sister to her lovely hometown of Snowfield in California, which doubles as a friendly ski resort. The two are excited to start making many wonderful memories, but the girls find the town to be completely devoid of p...

In my teens, Dean Koontz was one of my favourite authors. I couldn't get enough. Then, for some reason, I stopped reading his stuff when my twenties hit. I honestly don't know why I stopped picking up his stuff but, after a decade or so, I think I assumed there must have been a reason I stopped and twenty three years went by without my picking up a Koontz novel.Fast forward to 2018 and 'Phantoms' kept showing up on my Goodreads feed. Often enough that I figured 'what the Hell' and bought a copy....

This reminded me so much of old school King that it's automatically in the keeper pile.10/10 would read again. :D

I love Dean Koontz and his books...And I know that lots of reviews at goodreads doesn't seem to accompany adequately my sentiments.... Nevertheless boldly as I'm here comes my humble review!!!First of all let me say that with "Phantoms" you have here vintage Koontz, I mean a classic piece for what Dean Koontz books stands and are loved for....Snowfield, a little town in California will be haunted by unspeakable evil, and a small group of survivors fights against it!!!!That's all.....Let me say,

Reading Dean Koontz is some kind of a mixed bag for me. I only read a few his books and there were hits and there were misses. This one was the best. I read it 25 years ago for the first time (in German) and liked it quite a bit. Now that I read it again (in English) I liked it even more.A horror novel as it should be.Probably – or should I say hopefully? – it’s not a novel that is inducing nightmares. In fact, it was quite the opposite for me. A few days ago, the night before I read the book, I...

Should I give Dean Koontz another chance?Maybe I am being too hard on the piece of derivative trash that is Koontz's Phantoms, but it was so bad – and so memorably bad – that I’ve never read another Koontz book. But I am probably being unfair. After all, I often find myself reading the garbage put out by Harlan Coben, and is there really any difference? I don’t think so. Koontz is just older. In fact, I like to imagine Koontz as the seed spraying father of Harlan Coben, standing over the world o...

This is another long-time-later reread for me. It has some great scares and made me think twice about turning off my reading light, but it doesn't have the kick of Midnight or the cleverness of Watchers. Still worth a read for the few pants-crapping moments and well written gory detail.

Loved this book. Imaginative, original, artfully written. An incredible vision of possibility. The movie does not compare, but Liv Schriber was excellent in it.

This novel was definitely better than the movie version. Very suspenseful and easy to get hooked.

Quite an impressive history was created for the mysterious enemy and an interesting religious explanation to who the devil could be. Eerie mountain setting.Favorite Passages:Severed hands. Severed heads._______Better safe than sorry; a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush; fools rush in where angels fear to tread . . . He had a million maxims. They were, to him, lightposts marking the one safe route, and beyond those lights lay only a cold void of risk, chance, and chaos. _______Waves of re...

* The quotation from Stephen King on the back cover of my paperback edition: “Gruesome. Unrelenting.” No indication of quality, just a couple of observations about the presentation. Like saying, “Action-packed,” to describe Sucker Punch.* Dialogue isn’t one of Koontz’ strong points. Neither is characterization. Here we have a 14-year-old girl who never behaves like a child, so she might as well be 28. Here we have a cop who, with his heavy-lidded eyes and his ingratiating manner, fools people in...