I read a lot of Dean Koontz's books when I was in high school. In the past few years, I've read a few, and they usually keep my interest. His novels feature a lot of similar scenes and scenarios (frequently an evil serial killer trying to track down a protagonist who's all heart, though with a possibly tortured past, and often a friendly canine companion), and some are great, some are OK, but they're never boring."Hideaway" was the first of his that I read, when I was fourteen, and has always been my favorite. I picked it up again recently, curious to see if it still had the same impact, or if I liked it best simply because it was the first I read. Now, I’m sure if I’d read Hideaway fifteenth instead of first I’d have found it less exciting than I did—but reading it now, as an adult and not a junior high-age kid, it’s still damn good. I’d place it, if not at the very top, then at least very close to the top of the list of Koontz books I’ve read. I’d like to Dark Rivers of the Heart again too. That was always my second favorite (and the second of his I read...?).Vassago, the serial killer in "Hideaway" fascinates me, probably more so than the protagonist, Hatch Harrison, an oddly-named man who is resuscitated eighty minutes after death, and who is then cursed with a psychic link to Vassago. The serial killer believes he died and went to Hell and can only return once he's completed his "collection," which is, of course, a collection of dead bodies. I'm a little sad to say that this book isn't nearly as violent or dark as I remembered it. That's not to say it doesn't have quite a bit of violence and darkness, for it surely does, but it hit me a lot harder when I was fourteen. I guess that makes sense, and isn't something that requires much thinking--but something strikes me about seeing my own desensitization so clearly. I'd imagine I'd still recommend this book first if someone asked me for a Dean Koontz recommendation. There is a lot of excitement in "Hideaway," and, as with most of this author's books, the good guys are very good and easy to root for, and the bad guys are very bad and easy to hate.
Oh my. Another Dean Koontz novel. Everytime I pick one of his books up I know four or five things are going to happen. 1º There's always a puppy (in this one there wasn't - which surprised me)2º The main characters are always perfect. They are always knights in shinning armour. They have no faults whatsoever. (In this book it was true) 3º The Evil doer is always Chaotic Evil. If this was Dungeons and Dragons the guy was that one guy that chaotic evil characters are afraid of. He is that evil.4º Everything ends perfectly well. There are no loose ends. Every character realizes something and it's a better person (if it's possible). 5º Of course the last four point's make one point stand out. Lack of Characterization.So, Hatch has an accident and a doctor reanimates him after 80 minutes. After returning to life he thinks he is crazy because he "dreams" another man dreams (or life for that matter). That evil guy I told you about starts dreaming as well. They share-bonding dreams. Meanwhile, the main characters, which had lost a child five years before are currently adopting one (as perfect as her adopt parents). The main narrative its about this I've told you. In the end there is a confrontation and If you read any other of his books you know how it ends. That's another reason I don't enjoy the books... So why read it?Well, I think he can be a good writer and envelops us with the tale. But I really hope he could do better than he has done. Be more Stephen King in the style of tales. Not every book ends well in his books. The characters are made with strong and weaker aspects that are relevant to the tale. And you fear for your character. In Koontz tales I don't fear for any of my characters. Sorry. I remove the horror tag because of that aspect...In the plus side, Vassago - the evil guy is the only one that I really enjoy reading about. Even if he is evil than evil.
What do You think about Hideaway (2005)?
Wow.Every time I read another Koontz book, I'm bowled over by the fact that HE GETS IT. He sees the supernatural in everything and everyone. He not only rejects the material consequences of evil ideas, but their very roots. In Koontz's worlds, as in real life, something is evil not because its fruit is rotten; its fruit is rotten because it is evil.Now to more specific stuff. If you want to read a vampire story written for people with more than half a brain, this is it. Technically, the bad guy is not a vampire because he doesn't drink his victims' blood, but he's extremely similar to vampires in several other respects. As usual, Koontz's characters inspire either fear, disgust, or sympathy - and sometimes a mixture of all three. Catholic themes, objects, and characters are used throughout, sometimes in surprisingly blatant ways. Finally, it's not as well-written as some of his others that I have read, but it's still a very, very good piece of writing. Highly recommended to anyone who reads supernatural/horror/suspense fiction!
—Bridget
Koontz's novels range anywhere from awful to brilliant. After reading a couple of his more mediocre ones in high school, I had pretty much written him off as a poor man's Stephen King and moved on to other horror writers like Clive Barker and H.P. Lovecraft. Hideaway, though, showcases Koontz at the height of his talent, and it's a surprisingly powerful, intensely gruesome read. I decided to give it a chance--partly because I found it at a thrift shop for less than a dollar, and partly because I had seen the movie version and thought it to be the best of Koontz's film adaptations. Talk about getting my money's worth... Although these days Koontz has adopted a faster paced, more modern writing style, Hideaway was written back in the day when Koontz wrote in a style similar to Stephen King (causing endless comparisons to each other): namely, highly-detailed descriptions of middle-class American life combined with loads of pop culture references and highly developed, fully-realized characters that any average Joe could easily relate to. For the most part, King did it consistently better--thus my reason for abandoning Koontz for pretty much the entire last decade--but Hideaway shows that that wasn't always the case. Though it's not as good as King at his best (i.e. The Stand, It, etc.), it's definitely as good as King at his better-than-average. Hideaway sticks in my mind as having the best literary rendering of a car crash that I have ever read, and also one of the most believably twisted villains I have ever come across. It's a little too drawn-out, and some things work out a little too conveniently, but those are minor complaints. The movie version is also worth a look, as it improves on the plot somewhat...but it totally ruins the best character of the novel by changing her from a disabled orphan girl to a very ordinary one played uninterestingly by Alicia Silverstone.
—John
This is only the second Koontz novel that I've read and already, I am awed by his creativity, very much in agreement with the observation that stories such as this "could come only from the mind of Dean Koontz".I would have given it a higher rating if not for the quite too early revelations on the identity of the antagonist. I also found this to be true with Whispers. Just the same, he did not totally disappoint.... Even with such revelations, one would still plow ahead with the story to find out more and see it through the end.There are a couple of passages in this novel that I found very true and very inspiring: (1) The three blind men each feeling a different part of an elephant, and each having a different conception of what they were holding; and (2) True friendship comes when silence between two people is comfortable......what do you really need to say when both of you already know the most - and only - important thing, which was that you would always be there for each other.
—Nenette
