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The Vision

3.49 of 5 stars 3.49 · rating details · 4,227 ratings · 116 reviews

DON'T CLOSE YOUR EYES...

He's watching you. He knows what you're doing. He knows what you're thinking. He's coming after your.

DON'T CLOSE YOUR EYES...

He has a knife. The steel blade gleams. Whenever you close your eyes, you can see it--the tip of his knife, pointing at your chest.

DON'T CLOSE YOUR EYES...

He's closing them for you.

"A master of sheer fright... the tension neve...more

Paperback, 303 pages

Published March 1st 1986 by Berkley (first published 1977)

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Dec 31, 2011 Lauren rated it 2 of 5 stars

I have read an upwards of 20 Dean Koontz books, and I consider him one of my favorite authors. However, The Vision is not one of his best works. I'm giving The Vision a two star rating because the best word to describe it really is "ok." It's about 350 pages long, but a pretty quick read. (I finished it in about 3 days.) Many of the pages are filled up with character dialogue, so they read very quickly. The characters themselves were interesting and, for the most part, witty (especially Lou and...more

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Nov 19, 2010 Johnny rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: own-it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Mary Bergen is a clairvoyante, helping police track down killers. Then a new killer shows up, somehow connected to her past, and this time he’s coming for her.

I’ve never held “The Vision” in such high esteem, simply because the subject matter of having visions and seeing the future is handled far better in other Koontz books, like “Cold Fire” and even the more action oriented “The Face of Fear”.

Reading the book today, it’s almost impossible not to compare it to television shows like “Heroes”, wh...more Mary Bergen is a clairvoyante, helping police track down killers. Then a new killer shows up, somehow connected to her past, and this time he’s coming for her.

I’ve never held “The Vision” in such high esteem, simply because the subject matter of having visions and seeing the future is handled far better in other Koontz books, like “Cold Fire” and even the more action oriented “The Face of Fear”.

Reading the book today, it’s almost impossible not to compare it to television shows like “Heroes”, which pour people with special abilities down our throats as if the viewing public are geese being fattened for foie gras. There’s nothing special anymore about special abilities; it used to be reserved for comic book heroes, but now it has become close to odd when a character in a work of fiction doesn’t have a power. “The Vision” is over thirty years old and should be read with that timeframe in mind. Special still was special back then. We always move forward in evolution and books like this are trapped in their snapshot of history.

There’s something about the characters in this novel. The main characters never really appealed to me. Instead, it’s the extras I enjoy reading about: the old lady calling in the crime, the two policemen going to investigate … They seem more colorful, more real, more … sympathetic than the main characters, even with their limited screen time.

The one scene I’ll always remember is the bird attack. Mary’s ability is broadening here, but she’s using it subconsciously against herself, much in the same way as the characters of “Strangers” have built-in security devices to keep the memories hidden away. This is in fact the only thing that makes her interesting as a character, because up to this point Mary had been nothing more than “the woman with the visions”.

Throughout the book, Koontz gives clues as to the possible identity of the killer. The reader is cleverly led to believe it’ll turn out to be a particular suspect, while in the end we see it was all misdirection and the real clues were actually given much earlier in the novel – a technique Koontz will return to much later in “Velocity”.

This book also stems from a time when Koontz wasn’t averse of including sex scenes. Too bad he makes the error of trying to be inventive with his analogies. Those are the times when you’re better off not writing anything at all instead of having to resort to corny lines. I mean, “as the piston of lovemaking grew slick with her clear oils”? Come on!

Some trivia: Mary’s psychiatrist is named Dr Cauvel. In “Chase”, Ben’s psychiatrist is named Dr Fauvel. And the glass dog collection is straight out of “Night Chills”.
(less)

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Nov 10, 2010 Briana Peaches added it

the book i read is the vision by dean koontz. this book to me is a mystery. this book was over 300 pages so it should count for two books. thisbook is about a lady named mary bergens who has
visions of people who is going to get killed. she is good with helping the police stop these killings before they start. when she reaches one perticular case with a certain person her visions get stronger. instead of just seeing them she can now feel them as in she feels the pain that the people who is getti...more

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Jun 17, 2010 Suzana Vuksanovic rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Somewhat better than the previous book by Koontz that I had finished reading immediately before commencing this one (Voice Of The Night).
The story is about a psychic woman who has "visions" of soon-to-be committed murders and helps the police to catch the perpetrators. She can never prevent the murders in her visions, she can only hope to prevent future homicides by the same person.
She is at the apex of an uncomfortable triangle with her adored and charming brother on one side and her husband of...more

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Sep 21, 2009 Martin Maher rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: dean-koontz, thriller

`The Vision`is a story about a woman by the name of Mary Bergen who has clairvoyant abilities & uses those abilities to help police officers & detectives in their investigations. When we meet Mary at the start of this story, she`s tracking down a killer, & although she`s done this on many occasions in the past, this time something is different, something that triggers memories of her past, which she has buried since her childhood.

I bought this novel in a local bookshop because I had...more

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Aug 21, 2012 Tonya rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: horror, lunch-break-books

The best part of this book is the new Afterward by the author, don't get me wrong, I liked The Vision but it was slightly lacking.

I hadn't realized this was a reprint till after my purchase because I grabbed it on the fly during a lunch hour and didn't register the 'with new afterward' part on the cover but I would have probably picked it up anyway.

The Vision is about a clairvoyant that assists police with solving murders and participates in college studies while writing books and newspaper arti...more

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Jan 06, 2009 Mackenzie Petermeier rated it 5 of 5 stars

A book that I would recommend is The Vision by Dean Koontz. This book is a thriller that keeps your mind going. The Vision is suspenseful and also quite slow in spots and quite predictable, but for the reader who wants a thriller without too much gore this could be a perfect choice. Mary Bergen is the main character, which has a gifted clairvoyant. Her psychic ability and haunting visions to aide the police in solving both past and future crimes, but who must also deal with the stress of not hav...more

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Aug 24, 2012 Mike rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: owned, challenge

disappointing. I am glad that Dean Koontz has continued writing. However I think I'd be hard pressed to read anything written longer than 12 years ago. This story was much too predictable. I had figured who the antagonist was within the first 46 pages. And even though I knew who the bad guy was, I continued reading just So I could read how Mary got rid of him. I must say I wish that it had a lot more substance to the ending. with all the dialogue that was written through out the 300+ pages and a...more

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Jan 30, 2013 Laura rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery

This was a very early novel by Dean Koontz -- I think this was from 1977. So he shows his flashes of very unusual and gifted descriptions of scenery or whatever. The subject borders on the supernatural -- the main character is a psychic who works with the police to catch the perps.
The current case has her flummoxed, tho, and it seems that past traumatic memories are interfering with her ability to work on the case.
All is explained by the end, of course.
This must really be an early novel of hi...more

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Jul 11, 2011 Jo Bennie rated it 3 of 5 stars

This was better than the previous version, The Face of Fear. Here the clarivoyant is Mary Bergen, who works with police to help them solve cases. She is accompanied by her brother and her husband, who come increasingly into conflict as to how to help her handle the emotional fallout of her work. But now she is pursuing a serial killer and her visions have a new intensity, she is experiencing the pain of the victims and something seems to be pursuing her, something to do with the trauma buried in...more

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Jan 03, 2013 Jemma Gutierrez rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: chilled-me-to-the-bone, drama, magic, wow-suspense-thriller, horror

This was my first Dean Koontz book. Up until then I thought I would never get scared because of a book. I get scared easily but only in movies and actual moment. I nver thought a book could send me chills and really scary goosebumps.

I love this book. THis is my first scary/horror book and from the first page I was hooked.

The mystery kept me guessing. The revelations shocked me. And somehow, the whole story, thank gosh unlike some horror books tend to become stupid, was realistic and dynamic.

Tot...more

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Mar 18, 2011 Amanda Marshall rated it 2 of 5 stars

My first thought when I finished this book was: "Meh". It really did try to be suspenseful and there was a real stab (pardon the pun) at an intricate storyline. However the end product was a little overly gruesome with the 'supernatural' element becoming a bit cheesy by the end. Based on character set up in the first few chapters I had the feeling I knew who was guilty from the beginning. Thus the rest of the book acted simply as a diversion, an annoying 'look over there, look over there' distra...more

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Oct 11, 2012 Teis rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was my first Koontz novel. I found it well written and an easy read. With this said ... (view spoiler)...more

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Apr 16, 2011 Uriah rated it 2 of 5 stars

Mary is a talented clairvoyant who's found her calling in helping police across the country solve cases despite having no leads. Aided and guided by her devoted husband and doting brother, she's led a seemingly simple life. Until her visions change, and a dark, preternatural force seems to enter her life. Where are these visions coming from? Will she be able to solve this new case and find her answers before it's too late for her and those she loves?

Far from one of Koontz's best works, this is s...more Mary is a talented clairvoyant who's found her calling in helping police across the country solve cases despite having no leads. Aided and guided by her devoted husband and doting brother, she's led a seemingly simple life. Until her visions change, and a dark, preternatural force seems to enter her life. Where are these visions coming from? Will she be able to solve this new case and find her answers before it's too late for her and those she loves?

Far from one of Koontz's best works, this is still a fun read. It has an easy, flowing rhythm to it, along with fabulous dialogue. Mystery fans be forewarned, as the killer is easily distinguished by the end of the second chapter. (view spoiler)

Let's be realistic, here, for a second. If you trip and fall and obtain a small cut upon your finger, your entire sleeve will not be ruined by copious amounts of blood unless you have some type of medical disorder, at which point you will be going to see a doctor. When you trip and fall again, and reopen the two day old wound and it ruins your shirt and jacket from even more blood, and then you get stabbed three or four times and shot, you're likely going to bleed out extremely quickly from these massive, gaping wounds you've sustained, rather than being able to walk across a 60 yard room, down a corridor, force open a heavy oak and glass window, climb out of the window, fall six feet, and then climb to your feet to greet police officers...unless, of course, you're batman, which this character most certainly is not.

I also failed to get an emotional connection to the characters, something I've grown accustomed to in other works by Koontz. I shed a tear at the end of Odd Thomas, grew frustrated at the failed attempts and lack of connection in Lightning, and was out of breath from fear, anticipation, and shear flabbergastedness in both Fear Nothing and Seize the Night. When someone died in this book, I honestly didn't care other than to think, "Hm, I wonder who the killer could possibly be" in overly sarcastic tones to myself while turning the page.

All in all, while it's not overly terrible, it's not a fantastic work, or even up to par by Koontz standards. That being said, if you are a die hard fan of Dean Koontz or are simply looking for a quick read, pick it up, but don't feel bad about skimming through it. Otherwise, skip it.(less)

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Jun 11, 2013 Joseph Szabo rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

Dean Koontz's The Vision is one of the most vile books I've ever read. Normally, this is not the kind of fiction I enjoy but this novel is the exception to my dear tastes.

The book is quite light on prose, so light in fact you could probably read five pages and it would feel like one. But light does not mean bad. Light means, for this book anyway, that Koontz had more control over the story and in those fewer words we discover some of the darkest of images and feel, ACTUALLY FEEL, true terror.

Y...more

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Jul 30, 2011 Edward Fajardo rated it 4 of 5 stars

In The Vision, Dean Koontz takes the murder mystery genre and kicks it up a few notches by incorporating elements of the paranormal in the form of a clairvoyant who helps the police solve crimes but whose visions are blurred by past personal trauma. Without a doubt, this was one of the most suspenseful, hard-to-put-down books that I have read yet, and read it front-to-back over the course of one weekend. I am sold on Koontz and plan to read more of his novels.

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Jan 01, 2009 Michelle rated it 4 of 5 stars

I love all of Dean Koontz's books, they never fail to entertain and thrill and shock me. But The Vision, even though the plot is good and the imagery is incomparable, seriously disturbed me.

I don't think I would be able to read it again. And it's books like this that really make me wonder how Dean Koontz thinks of these things (the sick, twisted plots that make the novels so hard to put down).

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Sep 07, 2012 Robin rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: mystery and paranormal readers

Shelves: koontz

I was halfway through the book when I thought to look at originally published copyright date... 1977. While that factor didn't bias my thoughts on the book, it did add insight as to the difference between his more recent novels and the writing of this one.

I think I had most of the intricate web figured out by the climax, but there was one instance... well, I'll let you figure that out.

Good overall read. Will probably read it again!

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Mar 24, 2012 Martip rated it 5 of 5 stars

So far for me, this is one of Koont'z most mystifying mysteries. It's not predictable. You read thinking, IS Koontz really going to make the kind boyfriend the sadistic, horrid killer?!! You'll have to read to find out. Warning--it's dark, and you might be a little scarred after you let your mind "walk" in this black, inky, palpable, horrid evil. Shiiiiiver!

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May 13, 2012 Ana rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012

Not a particularly good one, but at least it's short! Pretty bad red herring, obvious killer, felt like he was going through a rote plot rather than writing a novel. An okay book for grabbing as part of a bag-for-a-buck library book sale, and I hope it makes some hiker's day less dreary in the future - left it in an AT hiker box in Hot Springs, NC.

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Aug 02, 2011 Ryan Solski rated it 4 of 5 stars

A great 1977 read about a girl struggling with her "mental abilities", maybe she's got this or maybe's she has that. Weird undercurrents drag it down, although.... maybe I had a good vision while reading it. I like how straight forward the 70's for this writer was. Its easier to focus on a smaller cast for a novel!

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Aug 28, 2012 Cindy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Picked up an old copy of this Dean Koontz book at a library sale and wasn't sure what to expect. It was a fast read, entertaining and spooky, as expected. The unexpected? Koontz found a way to get me to believe I had figured out the "surprise ending" when in fact, I was totally wrong.

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Dec 23, 2009 Erin rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: own-book-form, thrillers-susp

Pretty good book with a surprise twist at the end. I guessed it as a possibility just because it was unexpected but it was still a good storyline. Sometimes the protagonist got on my nerves and the couple banter bordered on realistic much of the time. Not the best, fairly mediocre, but still attention-grabbing and worth a read if you have it laying around.

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Dec 13, 2009 Tara Chevrestt rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery

This was one of Koontz's more disturbing. The woman is a psychic who has some issues with her mentally sick brother. Some of the sexual scenes were a bit distasteful, causing the four star rating despite the adrenaline pumping excitement and horror. A quick read too.

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Jun 22, 2012 Karen rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-as-e-book

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jun 07, 2011 Denise rated it 4 of 5 stars

Truly enjoyed the book. I read this book in 24 hours which I have never done with any book. There are clue through out the book as the identity of the killer but you are never 100% sure until near the end.
An early work of Koontz which I seem to enjoy.

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Feb 13, 2013 Sara rated it 2 of 5 stars

This wasn't necessarily a bad story; however, I felt a little like Koontz went above and beyond disturbing towards the end when the murderer (and some of his more...creative...exploits) is revealed. I did enjoy the twist involving the identity of the killer, but I sort of found myself aggravated with the protagonist throughout most of the book. To me, she spends most of the novel being whiny, needy, and juvenile, which makes it a little hard for me to sympathize with her plight.

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Nov 30, 2009 Erin rated it 4 of 5 stars

In my quest to read every Dean Koontz book ever written, I read his second book published - The Vision. Classic Dean Koontz murder mystery with great characters. Very entertaining. Need to find a copy of his first - Demon Seed...

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Nov 14, 2012 Angel rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: alphabet-challenge

This is one of Dean Koontz first books. I think it is a very interesting story with a lot of twists. Even once I thought I was sure who the killer was, I still never predicted how everything turned out in the end. I love a book that surprises me.

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Jul 09, 2012 Michelle rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I really enjoyed this book at the begining and found it really gripping however the ending was disgusting. You need a strong tummy to read it and theres a good chance of it giving you nightmares forever. You have been warned!!!

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About Dean Koontz

Acknowledged as "America's most popular suspense novelist" (Rolling Stone) and as one of today's most celebrated and successful writers, Dean Ray Koontz has earned the devotion of millions of readers around the world and the praise of critics everywhere for tales of character, mystery, and adventure that strike to the core of what it means to be human.

Dean R. Koontz has also published under the na...more

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