Shadowfres

by Leigh Nichols

Shadowfires was firstly published by Leigh Nichols (one of many Koontz’s pennames) in 1981.  Before starting publishing all his works under his real name, Koontz spent some years using several pseudonyms depending on the type of thriller he wrote. Once his popularity was acknowledged and solid he went on writing as Dean Koontz and published his previous titles again with some polishing and little changes and updates.

I love horror books and thrillers written between the 70s and 80s.  I have nothing against more recent prose, but all those books in that span are for me… special.  Shadowfires fits with the style of the period and fulfilled all my expectation.

To tell you the truth, when facing a book by this author my expectations are not high. But on the other hand, he’s never disappointed me.  It’s something that never happens with any other writer. What do I mean by this? Well, before turning the very first page I know that in that book there will be a male and female characters who either met and fall in love with each other along the vicissitudes of the story; or they are married and without problems in paradise. Some books may include an extremely intelligent (Labrador) dog in between. On the other hand, you have the bad guy who is… well, really wicked. From page two, the happy couple is chased by the bad guy in a breathless pursuit and for very different reasons. At the end of the story the good guys survive and the bad ones bite the dust or eat the dirt sandwich.

If you’ve got to this paragraph you may think I strongly dislike Koontz.

WRONG!

I love his books because they deliver what I need at certain moments: action and entertainment.  I also love his high quality prose, his wonderful choice of words and his perfectly written sentences.

Shadowfires satisfied all my expectations and had all the ingredients that I described above (no dog ths time, though.) It was that kind of book I needed the moment I chose it. 

This is classic Koontz and I recommend it to anyone interested in reading non-stop thrillers. I would have given this novel 5 out of 5 stars if the ending would have been a bit more elaborated. After more than 400 pages of pursuits, action and cliffhangers the conclusion and fate of the characters come in no more than a couple of pages.

So if you want a rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

The Chimera Vector

by Nathan M. Farrugia

The Chimera Vector is the first installment in the Fifth Column Series by the author Nathan M. Farrugia. It describes the adventures of Sofia and her workmates, a military elite whose DNAs have been altered in order to enhance their senses and skills. They all belong to the Fifth Column, a secret agency with very dubious intentions.

Farrugia delivers the story at a very fast pace, which makes the book enjoyable and an authentic page-turner.  The Chimera Vector is far from being a simple spy, action-packed novel, as it has countless twists and turns, which engages the reader in a complex plot that not only gradually unveils the mysterious ways of The Fifth Column but also the characters’ past lives as well.  The sense of not knowing who is evil and who’s really good is just sublime and pushes the reader to go on with the book.

The book also deals with interesting conspiracy theories about a new world order and psychopaths being at the highest echelons of power in its storyline.

I must admit that, even though I don’t usually read too many books of this genre, I actually enjoyed this one and the way it is written.  I’ll definitely read the next books in the series!