The Face
by Dean Koontz
Category: Ghost & Horror / General
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date: 5 January 2004
Number of pages: 688
Description:
A novel of fear and suspense, love, loss and redemption, from one of the greatest storytellers writing today. The Face is Dean Koontz's most chilling, gripping and original novel to date. THE FACE. He's Hollywood's most dazzling star. His flawless features inspire the love of millions -- but light the fires of hatred in one twisted soul. A few rain-lashed days before Christmas, a warped star-hater has sent six sinister messages to him, promising a very nasty surprise for the festive season. The Face's security chief is Ethan Truman, an ex-LAPD cop trying to rebuild his life. Having tracked down the messenger but not the source of the threat, he's worried. But not half as worried as he would be if he knew that Fric, the Face's ten-year-old son, was home alone and getting calls from a pervert claiming he's Moloch, 'devourer of children'. While the unnatural downpour continues, Ethan must face the secrets of his tragic past and the unmistakable premonition of his own impending violent death as he races to solve the macabre riddles. Meanwhile, a terrified young Fric is planning to go into hiding in his father's vast Bel Air mansion -- putting himself beyond Ethan's protection.
And Ethan may be all that stands between Fric and an almost unimaginable evil !
Review:
The Face is the world's most famous film star, currently filming in Florida but due home at his Bel Air mansion for Christmas in a few days time. His chief of security, ex-cop Ethan Truman, overseeing both the Face's personal protection and the safeguarding of the estate, is worried. Six menacing and unfathomable messages have been sent by some crazy star-hater. And even years of police work haven't prepared Ethan for some of the strange events that are about to occur as he tries to unravel the meaning of the weird communications. Ethan dies - but does not die. He has nightmare visions that are more real than any nightmare. Psychic visions? Precognition? Whatever they are, he gradually learns that supernatural powers are at work. But are they benevolent or dangerous forces? And what of Ethan's boyhood friend and rival in love, Dunny Whistler? Dunny, unlike Ethan, spent his life on the wrong side of the law. He died after being in a coma, but now his cadaver has disappeared. Is Dunny now a threat to Ethan - or his guardian angel? Also, unbeknown to Ethan, the Face's ten-year-old son, Fric, is receiving phone calls from someone - or something - who seems aware of his every move and from whom it will be impossible to hide. Nevertheless, Fric searches for some nook or cranny in his father's vast mansion in which to hole up until the danger - whatever it is - has passed. But he soon realizes it's a futile search - the phone caller knows his every move. This supernatural thriller is up to Koontz's usual page-turning standards and will no doubt join his long list of bestsellers. (Kirkus UK)
What the papers say:
'Uplifting enough to make Cain repent ! There is scarcely an author alive who loves the English language more .. whose sentences offer more musicality ! the tale's grandeur and strong lines ! characters are memorable and his unique mix of suspense and humour absorbing! great kudos to Koontz for creating, within the strictures of popular fiction, another notable novel of ideas and of moral imperatives ! Look for this to hit #1' Publishers Weekly 'Koontz flexes his muscles and sets forth like a demigod to create his most strongly anchored novel since 1995's Intensity, a work sheathed with darkness and wreathed with wiry metaphor ! hundreds of pages of top-drawer suspense' Kirkus Reviews 'Dean Koontz is not just a master of our darkest dreams, but also a literary juggler' The Times 'Psychologically complex, masterly and satisfying.' The New York Times 'Koontz has near-Dickensian powers of description, and an ability to yank us from one page to the next that few novelists can match.' Los Angeles Times 'Koontz has once again proven why he is one of the premier novelists of his generation.' Amazon.co.uk 'A modern Swift ! a master satirist.' Entertainment Weekly 'If Stephen King is the Rolling Stones of novels, Koontz is the Beatles.' Playboy 'Dean Koontz writes page-turners, middle-of-the-night sneak-up-behind-you suspense thrillers. He touches our hearts and tingles our spines.' Washington Post Book World 'Tumbling, hallucinogenic prose. Serious writers might do well to study his technique.' New York Times Book Review 'Fast-paced and dark ! Koontz knows we live in a world where evil delights in justifying itself ! Classic literature that deserves a place on the bookshelf beside Orwell's 1984 and Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451.' California Literary Review 'Koontz is writing right where popular culture swells into something larger, just as it did for Homer, Shakespeare, and Dickens. He's got the gift.' Australian 'Koontz is a superb plotter and wordsmith. He chronicles the hopes and fears of our time in broad strokes and fine detail, using popular fiction to explore the human condition.' USA Today 'Inspires both chills and serious thought ! has the power to scare the daylights out of us.' People 'The poet laureate of paranoid pop fiction.' Denver Post 'Koontz achieves a literary miracle ! stunning physical description, unique turns of phrase.' Boston Globe 'Near Dickensian powers of description.' Los Angeles Times
Author's Biography:
Dean Koontz was born and raised in Pennsylvania. He is the author of seven New York Times #1 bestsellers. He lives with his wife Gerda and their dog Trixie in Southern California.
In Stock: 30 copies
