Book Review – The Taking
Author: Dean Koontz
Cover Artist: Gary Nolton
Publisher: Voyager
Binding: Paperback
Publication Date: 2004
The Taking, by Dean Koontz, is an interesting book to read on a rainy day, because the first sign that things are awry in this suspense novel is an odd downpour. More than a downpour, in fact, a worldwide torrent of luminous, sweet-smelling rain that causes unusual behaviour in animals.
The novel’s protagonist, Molly Sloan and her husband are awakened by the storm, and as communication with the outside world is cut off, and the sense of threat builds, they leave their isolated house to head for town.
The novel is well-written, with a poetical turn of phrase. The first half is an adept, intriguing and suspensful thriller, as you see glimpses of bad things (an alien invasion) happening in places faraway, and close to the Sloans. The second half lost some of the suspense for me, but stayed as interesting, and I found the end quite satisfying.
The book treads a fine line between seeming supernatural events and the thought of alien invasion, although Koontz early on quotes the famous line of Arthur C. Clarke that sufficiently advanced alien technology could seem supernatural.
The only real problem I had with the book was some ham-fisted authorial intrusion – a message against the idea that global warming is man-made, and another about the leniency of the liberal prison system. Apart from that, it’s a pleasant and easy read in a few hours.
Unlike a reviewer on Amazon, I don’t have an issue with Koontz inserting “religion and hope” into a novel, if it’s done in an interesting and clever way, which Koontz does.
Looking at wikipedia, I have to note that many of the author’s apparent “plot staples” feature in this book, so if you’re a regular Koontz reader, you might find it familiar. That could be good or bad.
Overall, I’d say that The Taking is the kind of book you might want to check out of the library to read at the beach, or on an airplane. It’s not going to become part of my permanent library, but it’s not at all a bad book.
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