Koontzland - Dean Koontz discussion
This topic is about
Lightning
Stand Alone Novels 1986-1990
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Lightning (Group Read - March 2010)
Maciek wrote: "See, my main argument with Lightning (and Watchers) is the overt simplicity of how the good guys win and manage to achieve impossible succeses. In Lightning, Laura becomes an impossibly succesful ..."
If you want a shocking ending, then you should watch The Mist.
I keep reminding myself to read the novella, since it's by Steve King.I'll see the movie too. I heard good things about it.
Maciek wrote: "I keep reminding myself to read the novella, since it's by Steve King.I'll see the movie too. I heard good things about it."
The ending of the movie is very different from the ending of the novella. King says he prefers the movie's ending.
Maciek, if you like being left hanging then read the novella. I was pissed, too many unanswered question, no resolution. I didn't want to see the movie because of it but my sister assured me there was an end and it was jaw-dropping. And it was. When it was over, I said, 'That was F'd up!' Do yourself a favor, forget the novella and see the movie instead.And I know it said it 'stuggles' to reassert itself but doesn't always succeed. Only for Lucky Laura does it not reassert itself, not once but twice. Wow, how lucky is this woman? The simpering happy ending was just too pat, too picture perfect wrapped up in a nice red bow. I'm with Maciek on this one, too many impossibilites.
I'll go for the movie then. Thank you both for the advice.Jackie wrote: "And I know it said it 'stuggles' to reassert itself but doesn't always succeed. Only for Lucky Laura does it not reassert itself, not once but twice. Wow, how lucky is this woman? The simpering happy ending was just too pat, too picture perfect wrapped up in a nice red bow. I'm with Maciek on this one, too many impossibilites."
My point exactly, it was just way too sugary. Even Cinderella had one prince ;)
Jackie wrote: "Maciek, if you like being left hanging then read the novella. I was pissed, too many unanswered question, no resolution. I didn't want to see the movie because of it but my sister assured me ther..."Wow, and this from the person who first recommended I read Lightning, because it was one of her favorites.
Should I even bother to finish Lightning?
Carol wrote: "Should I even bother to finish Lightning?"It is always best to form your own opinions, Carol, so yes.
Carol wrote: "Should I even bother to finish Lightning?"Of course. It's not that long, and besides you'll have the full right to join us and gleefully bash this work ! ;)
I really liked the first part, though it had its flaws. The second part was just too much for me.
Carol wrote: "Should I even bother to finish Lightning?"Absolutely finish it! You have to judge it for yourself.
Jason wrote: Wow, and this from the person who first recommended I read Lightning, because it was one of her favorites.
I know! If you read my post right after I finished it I did say I have no idea why I loved it so much 20 years ago. I also said I wish I didn't re-read it so it could have remained one of my favorites. I guess I'm not the starry-eyed little dreamer of happy endings I used to be. That kinda sucks.
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The opening of Lightning:
A storm struck on the night Laura Shane was born, and there was a strangeness about the weather that people would remember for years.
Wednesday, January 12, 1955, was frigid, gray and somber. At twilight thick, fluffy snowflakes spiraled out of the low sky, and the people of Denver huddled in expectation of a Rocky Mountain blizzard. By ten o'clock that night, a bitterly cold gale blew in from the west, howling out of the mountain passes and shrieking down those rugged, wooded slopes.....
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gives you strength;
while loving someone deeply
give you courage.
-LAO TZU (as quoted in Lightning)
Maciek..sorry about not getting back right away. I may be off line tomorrow if so it's because I'm moving...In answer to your question, nope...I can't abide slasher flicks. (Not a judgmental statement, just my personal taste and feelings.) I have avoided it (them) :).
I read lighting a good while back and really didn't care for it. I didn't hate it, it just didn't hold together well....my above comment was for humor... "impressive and depressive" struck me funny. I'm a little "non-standard" when it comes to a sense of humor. :)
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Good luck with your move Mike :-)
Thanks...we'll need it :).
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Be sure to tell us how you liked the whole novel, Dustin. I liked it too, but then it gradually fell apart.
"Being deeply loved by someonegives you strength;
while loving someone deeply
give you courage.
-LAO TZU (as quoted in Lightning)"
I liked that quote also when I read it.
Good luck on your move, Mike. Are you moving far? Once my husband and I and our two kids moved right next door, so we could just put the small things over the back fence. That was nice.
No (not next door however(-:) we're moving only a few miles. We got most everything moved ("big truck stuff") but we still have a lot of small things to do and some major cleanup at the old place. I'm disabled (not to do a poor me) so that's a somewhat major undertaking. Hoping for some volunteers over the next weekend (or 2) to finish that up. Meanwhile (back at the ranch) I'm pulling things out of boxes and just stacking them to make room. I'm shelving books by size not subject and stacking then 2 or 3 deep on shelves...to be sorted later...LOL "ain't movin' wonderful?"
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Don't worry, I'll be back and I'll be honest :-) But so far, I'm enjoying the story. Maybe I'm as naive as Bob Shane but so far it's believable enough for me. I loved Lightning the first time I read it a few years ago. I'm still only about one-fourth of the way through this book, so there's lots to happen.
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Dustin wrote: "I don't know if anyone else is listening to the Brilliance Audio of Lightning but I like the sound of people's voices on the other side of the line - some kind of funny voice filter. I also love th..."I did listen to it. I liked the attempt at authenticity, but the sound of the people's voices over the phone annoyed me. I have heard that effect in several Koontz audio books now.
I generally enjoy audio books, but I tend to prefer just a good reader without "dramatization".
Mike wrote: "I generally enjoy audio books, but I tend to prefer just a good reader without "dramatization"."Same here, Mike.
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The voices over the phone just make me laugh and I like to laugh :-) I don't remember ever hearing this special effect before - it's so funny!
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I like a little dramatization - the music at the beginning & ending of the discs is great. I also appreciate a good reader :-) sometimes though it's either a monotone or someone trying to do different voices for every character and then ending up mixing them up :-)
"I like a little dramatization - the music at the beginning & ending of the discs is great. I also appreciate a good reader :-) sometimes though it's either a monotone or someone trying to do different voices for every character and then ending up mixing them up :-)"LOL Dustin.
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That's why I always say it's best to read the novel, not listen to it ;)I've tried to get some books on audio for my friend, and I once got a novel which was not read by one person, but instead divided between several people.
-The narrator
-Character A
-Character B etc.
It was obvious that they didn't even record the book in one studio; instead they read their approriate parts of the text in separate studios...without even consulting each other. That was a mess.
Sounds like it would be, Maciek.Still, I like to have someone read to me. Ideally that would be a special someone who liked books as much as I do, whose idea of a blissful day would be lounging around at home, cooking my breakfast, and reading to each other...I could go for that (but probably would have to settle for making my own breakfast - sigh!)
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#1 If someone offers you a Tootsie Roll - JUST SAY NO!
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Life Lessons Learned from Lightning:
#2 If you think you love someone, try stalking them and bombarding them with gifts in the form of the person's favorite amphibious creature. Leave the anonymous gifts in places that will deliver the most shock - for example, break into that special someone's car and leave a gift there as a surprise.
I knew how Laura felt, I had that happen to me, only with boxes of candy, and it only took three to freak me out. It was at work and the candy would be waiting there on my chair...it started suddenly and stopped suddenly, and I think it was because I was beginning to be spooked and started talking about it to my friends, sometimes in the public spacee of my office area. I think the person heard me and felt uncomfortable. At first it was flattering, but began to feel creepy and weird. That was before the term 'stalking' was coined.Also, there was a serial TV show years ago called 'Family' with Sada Thompson as the mother and Meredith Baxter-Birney as their 20 something daughter. Someone started sending her gifts and there was a scene where she was chasing the guy and yelling after him and a passerby asked "What did he do?" and she yelled out "He sent me gifts!" which puzzled the bystander. And it does sound kind of lame, because one should be pleased to get a gift, right? But when you don't know someone's intention, it is kind of scary.
I thought Koontz did a really good job of resolving that feeling in the subsequent conversations of Laura and her new 'friend', so it didn't sound too contrived to me. Also in a situation like that confrontation, body language would be really important, which I think he did describe.
I'm now about a third of the way through, at the Robinsons' death...
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Dustin wrote: "Dean Koontz has many of his main characters be writers. Do you think this is just taking the easy way because it's his profession or is he trying to give us writing tips?"Well, in Lightning certainly there aren't any tips - just "do research" and your novels will sell for millions of $$$.
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I'm a bit further than you - between 1/3 and 1/2 way through. I just started Chapter Four "The Inner Fire" - these are long chapters! I prefer shorter chapters rather than these long chapters broken into sections. I think in Dean Koontz's more recent books he's started doing things more my way (shorter chapters:-)
Carol wrote: "I knew how Laura felt, I had that happen to me, only with boxes of candy, and it only took three to freak me out. It was at work and the candy would be waiting there on my chair...it started sudde..."I would be happy if someone left me gifts, as long as they were not like those in The Face. ;-) The only thing creepy about the gifts in Lightning was that he was breaking into her car and house to leave them, which I find to be rude and very creepy, not flattering in the least, because it is a violation of privacy, which, to me, negates any kindness to be found in the act.
Dustin wrote: "Dean Koontz has many of his main characters be writers. Do you think this is just taking the easy way because it's his profession or is he trying to give us writing tips? Some Dean Koontz books tha..."Steven King does that a lot too. It is what they know best, because it is what they are, so I think it is only natural. Also, it is a way for them to include themselves (in a way) in their own stories, which I think would be appealing to most writers.
If someone broke into my house or my car these days I'd be at the Police station so fast...but then, the world is a much scarier place now than it was in 'the old days'...
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There are a lot of situations in Dean Koontz novels where I'd be calling the police but the characters don't :-)
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I managed to read a bit more last night...got through Kokoschka, and now Stefan is back at the Institute.
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#3"Destiny struggles to reassert the pattern that was meant to be" - Repeat often & you better BELIEVE IT!
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Are you still enjoying the book?
It's so so...I've read others by him that I liked better, but it's not so bad I want to quit reading at all...I'm curious about a number of things...like why Stefan started wanting to save Laura in the first place, and more background surrounding him. Actually that would be enough to keep my interest without the implied threat of being 'chased', but perhaps Koontz needed to add that for the others who more like the thrill of adventure and have to have it to stay interested in his stories. (just guessing)
message 148:
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Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado
(last edited Mar 19, 2010 09:24AM)
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rated it 5 stars
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message 149:
by
Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado
(last edited Mar 21, 2010 06:03PM)
(new)
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rated it 5 stars
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Before starting the book I was convinced that I had read it before, but as I was reading, I kept waiting for the familiar parts and they didn't come. It made it harder for me to read but I actually enjoyed it. Even though 3/4 of the way through I read the last couple pages, I was still on the edge of my seat a little to see how things turned out. I enjoyed the book, it reminds me of the books I enjoyed reading way back when I first started reading his books.
Koontzland - Dean Koontz
Books mentioned in this topic
Lightning (other topics)Authors mentioned in this topic
Dean Koontz (other topics)Joe Hill (other topics)
In Lightning, Laura becomes an impossibly succesful novelist and ends up with an ex-nazi, who turns out to be impossibly good and saves the world in an...impossible way. Much too much good coincidences for me :)
The ending here is totally Hollywood. I like happy endings but that one was just...too happy.
Besides, I take weird pleasure from weird and unexpected endings. Have you seen "SAW" ? That one was...shocking.