Lightning
by Dean Koontz
|
|
Sign in to Goodreads to see your friends' reviews of Lightning.
discuss this book
friend reviews (0)
To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.
lists with this book
This book is not in any lists. Go add it to a list.
other reviews (showing 1-20 of 2288)
Favorite Quotes
Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength; while loving someone deeply gives you courage.
--Lao Tzu
Envy, envy eats them alive. If you had money, they’d envy you that. But since you don’t, they envy you for having such a good, bright, loving daughter. They envy you for just being a happy man. They envy you for not envying them. One of the greatest sorrows of human existence is that some people aren’t happy merely to be alive but find their happiness onl...more
Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength; while loving someone deeply gives you courage.
--Lao Tzu
Envy, envy eats them alive. If you had money, they’d envy you that. But since you don’t, they envy you for having such a good, bright, loving daughter. They envy you for just being a happy man. They envy you for not envying them. One of the greatest sorrows of human existence is that some people aren’t happy merely to be alive but find their happiness onl...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 2008
Alright, I was talked into reading this by my now ex-girlfriend. She swore to me it was one of the best books ever, when she convinced me to buy it in September. I remained skeptical and did not actually get around to reading it until January.
When I did start reading it, I was pleasantly surprised, which of course she made sure to always remind me as an example of how she thinks she is always right.
I would never have picked up a Dean Koontz book on my own. In fact, I had gone my entire lif...more
When I did start reading it, I was pleasantly surprised, which of course she made sure to always remind me as an example of how she thinks she is always right.
I would never have picked up a Dean Koontz book on my own. In fact, I had gone my entire lif...more
Like this review?
yes
1 comments
Read in March, 2006
recommends it for:
not sure
I know this seems low for most of you, but it was a hard read for me in one section. Basically section two, I could have lived without. It made me very angry as I was reading it. But the first section, was great, and the rest of the book was great. I enjoyed the read and though I had to do a forum to see if the subject matter in section two was going to continue,I am glad I kept going. I almost put it down and sent it on, but one bcer told me the part I was on would soon be over. And they were r...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in October, 1990
recommends it for:
Disillusioned Stephen King fans.
Dean Koontz's Lightning is one of the first "adult" books I remember reading. It was certainly the first adult novel I read for leisure. This book came to me when I was, as a child, graduating from juvenile fiction on to something more substantial. It is the first such book I remember reading that wasn't assigned for school, and as such, it has a special place in my memory as a book that helped kick off my life-long love affair with reading. The story centers around time travel and one...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in November, 1989
This is the first Koontz book I have read. I loved the story. Time travel, mystery, and suspense are the setting and genre. I always pictured Jody Foster as the lead if it were ever made into a movie. I liked the book so much, that when I was finished, I mailed to my then fiance, W.H. to read it, too. We discussed the book after he finished.
With that being said, I do have to warn the reader that the author does have some inappropriate material that can AND should be left out of his stories. ...more
With that being said, I do have to warn the reader that the author does have some inappropriate material that can AND should be left out of his stories. ...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 1993
This book is awful. It was the first Koontz book I read, and it will be the last.
The book was full of so many easily recognized absurdities that I just can't forgive it. It was obvious from this that Koontz takes the easy road and puts little or no effort into research, and I'm talking about noremal stuff not the time travel.
If the Germans hate the uzi so much, why not use something else? The world is hardly suffering from a dirth of weaponry, dozens of which surpass the uzi in all poss...more
The book was full of so many easily recognized absurdities that I just can't forgive it. It was obvious from this that Koontz takes the easy road and puts little or no effort into research, and I'm talking about noremal stuff not the time travel.
If the Germans hate the uzi so much, why not use something else? The world is hardly suffering from a dirth of weaponry, dozens of which surpass the uzi in all poss...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in February, 1995
This book was recommended to me by a friend at work, I was very doubtful about it. I thought it might be a chick-book at first. What a funny ways to think of Koontz.
The book by Dean Koontz that I love the most are the ones that deal with SciFi, the horror angle, not so much. But when he combines the two wow! This is one of those books. It is not my favorite Koontz book (Watchers), but I couldn't leave it off my top-favorites.
The story is brilliantly told, and you become taken with protec...more
The book by Dean Koontz that I love the most are the ones that deal with SciFi, the horror angle, not so much. But when he combines the two wow! This is one of those books. It is not my favorite Koontz book (Watchers), but I couldn't leave it off my top-favorites.
The story is brilliantly told, and you become taken with protec...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
I used to be a die-hard Koontz fan; I think some of his books in the past five years have fallen off a bit, but Lightning remains in my top ten. I still have my tattered copy, and look forward to reading it for the third time in the future. Like some of his other books (particularly Intensity), Koontz has created a strong lead character and a complex but easy to follow plot. There are Nazis. There's time travel. There are big guns. It may sound like a weird mix, but it works beautifully. ...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
recommends it for:
Everyone
I absolutely love this book and remembered how much when I recently read it for the second time. Now, Dean Koontz can write some weird, if not, scary books, but this one was really good. Ultimately, it's a love story that crosses time barriers between the Nazi Germany era and present day. It spans the lifetime of a woman from her birth til she's about in her 30s and makes you see how people's lives can end up completely different just by the actions of one other person. It's a great read and I'd...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
recommends it for:
anyone
I re-visited this book recently and was so absorbed in it I would recommend it. The way that the story unfolds and inter-weaves kept me reading it from cover to cover. For anyone that loves a mystery/time travel book, worth a read. For anyone that is not familiar with Dean Koontz, a great introduction. As usual for a Koontz book you have a strong lead character and so many questions to be answered. Not at all what you think it's going to be by the blurb, but in a good way.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
I am very careful with Koontz. Some of his work is too intense for me (understandable considering his background) but Lightning was OK. Interesting concept and, although some of the science was a bit ragged, Koontz did address the paradox issues associated with time travel.
The alternating point of view was handled reasonably well and I liked the way he handled the climax. It was not a surprise but I kept turning pages to see if I was right.
The alternating point of view was handled reasonably well and I liked the way he handled the climax. It was not a surprise but I kept turning pages to see if I was right.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
This is one of those books that I read over and over. The tale of an underdog woman whose character is "good" and is continually saved by her guardian. Very Koontz-like in his good vs evil line of thought. I love the characters, especially the "guardian" because Koontz wrote him to be a good guy with some bad tendencies. Very feel good for a day when you need to have some interesting entertainment and have the bad guys bite it time after time.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
I own the hardback of this book and read it before I had children. Since it is about an abused child I don't think I could read it now that I am a mother. This is the first and only Dean Koontz book I have gotten through. I have tried to read one other and have read the synopsis of a few. Lightening, it seems, is unlike Mr. Koontz other work. If you enjoy exploring the worst parts of the human psyche then you'll enjoy his work.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Horrid and bothersome plot, though founded on good ideas with great potential. Koontz handled the concept of time travel the most clumsily of any author I can think of, didn't bother to found his ideas reasonably or rationally, conveniently ignoring cause-effect and inventing utterly irrational expalnations for recurring impossibilities instead of thinking through his so-called paradoxes.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 1989
Yup, I read this in 1989. It was the first "adult" book I ever read and I was hooked! It was fast-paced and thrilling. And with this fun and exciting book as my first big-time book, my love of reading was born. I have read it a couple of times since this first reading, and even though it isn't one of Dean Koontz' most popular books, it still holds a place near and dear to my heart.
Like this review?
yes
2 comments
Read in January, 1992
Damn good sci-fi story; Koontz's best work in my opinion. I don't want to reveal what makes it sci-fi, as it is a carefully preserved secret for most of the first half of the book. But -- many great characters, exciting conflict, and lots of "gotchas" that look like he might throw in a rather brutal ending before he manages to patch everything up in a creative way. Highly recommended.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 1992
This is one of the first Koontz books I ever read, and it remains one of my three favorite books of all time (Watchers also makes the list). I reread this book once every year or so, because I really love it. I thought the characters are very well developed and believable, although I will note that Koontz's kids always seem more intelligent than most. Still, I love this book!
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in July, 2000
I adore this book. It is one of my all time favorites. I can't really explain without giving things away, but this was my first Koontz book and it just grabbed hold of me.
I love most of Koontz' work, despite the fact that he has about 3 or 4 formulas that his work fits into, they still entertain me and they are books I can't put down once I start them.
I love most of Koontz' work, despite the fact that he has about 3 or 4 formulas that his work fits into, they still entertain me and they are books I can't put down once I start them.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in June, 2008
recommends it for:
Sci-Fi Lovers
This book was a little hard to follow, but overall I enjoyed it. It contained a little bit of everything, from Romance to Time-Traveling, and had a fun little view on life. I would recommend this book to those who are willing to stick it out, read the parts they don't like, whether it be romance or sci-fi, and see what they like of the book as a whole.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 1990
recommends it for:
anyone looking for a page turning thriller
I read this book over 16 years ago and I still pick it up every couple years and read it again. I am not normally a fan of Koontz, I find his books to be WAY too out there, but this one is completely different. It's a love story, a science fiction story and a thriller. There's a twist about half way through you won't see coming. Check this one out!
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
book data (includes all editions)
avg rating (all editions): 3.90 (2001 ratings) avg rating (this edition): 3.90 (1891 ratings) number of reviews: 127popular shelves
other editions
quote
"But once an idea for a novel seizes a writer...well, it’s like an inner fire that at first warms you and makes you feel good but then begins to eat you alive, burn you up from within. You can’t just walk away from the fire; it keeps burning. The only way to put it out is to write the book."
more quotes »