

Koontz, a perennial best-seller, has already had his say about such negative observations.

This book literally gave me nightmares, but I refuse to believe that's a recommendation. (Actually, he didn't mention the last one, but surely it belongs on the list.) If there are no explanations, then what's the point in writing 300-plus pages about a thrill-killer who embraces murder as a way to celebrate the moment? How can any writer redeem the tale of this happy psycho, Edgler - Edgler! - Foreman Vess, whose name, he informs Chyna solemnly, can be rearranged to form such "power words" as God, Fear, Demon, Save, Rage, Anger, Dragon, Forge and R. Koontz swiftly and neatly paints himself into a corner. But in using this set-up for his latest novel, his 60th, Mr.
