This is a paperback that I got at the library books sale on Sa 4/13/19; 50 cents
Nobody thrusts the reader into the action quicker than Dean Koontz, and this novel is no exception. Koontz is the master of the gray area between thriller and horror.
"An extraterrestrial species hundreds or thousands of years more advanced than us, would posses technology that would appear to us to be not the result of applied science but entirely supernatural, pure magic." Arthur C. Clarke
the novel's page on wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Taking
Set in the southern California town of Black Lake.
Molly and Neil Sloan live in a small cabin and early one morning a fierce rain begins to fall. Molly awakens and something isn't right. She senses an evil presence and the rain smells of semen.
Wolves are on the porch and they are non-threatening. They look at her imploringly.
Neil awakens and agrees with Molly that something is amiss. They are under attack from something they do not understand.
The get in the SUV and head to town to organize some kind of a response.
They meet a neighbor who is dead, yet the corpse is animated. He quotes T.S Eliot.
On the way they see Molly's father. He had been institutionalized for the killing of several children. Molly shot him during this incident. This man is really only an animated corpse.
They find many people from the town in the local tavern- The Tail of the Wolf.
Inside the tavern the people have split into groups. Some want to stay sedated, others are on the fence, and some want to create a fort out of the town bank.
The dogs in the tavern seem supernaturally attuned to the situation. They protect the people, especially the children.
The rain has changed to fog, and pods of some kind of alien nature are taking hold all over the town.
The evil forces come from animate and inanimate objects/ plants/ flora/ fauna.
The apparitions can float through solid objects.
During several forays, Molly and Neil feel that they must protect the children from harm.
Molly meets a madman/ murderer and he says that 'the children are not for sifting'.
THE TWIST:
This is a biblical attack by god similar to Noah's flood.
The whole thing could have been found in the book of Revelation.
I thought this was a interesting take on an 'end of times' novel without becoming religious because the alien invasion theme is so pronounced.
I loved the book, and all of Dean Koontz's books are worth a look, and many are first rate. This was one of the latter.
A VALID CRITICISM FROM GOODREADS- Drebbles:
"The reason the characters are so one-dimensional is Koontz's writing. He spends too much time telling readers what is going on instead of showing them. A perfect example is what happened between Molly and her father when she was eight years old. Instead of bringing readers into the classroom with Molly and her father (which would have been a terrific way to open the book) Koontz tells readers what happened halfway through the book, in alternate paragraphs, as Molly encounters her father as an adult. The scene where Molly and Neil listen to the astronauts being attacked in space should have been especially frightening, the reader should have been able to imagine the horrors along with Molly and Neil but it just didn't work."
GOODREADS From Mary:
"All this contributed to the horror for me. But most of all was the continuous suffocating, drowning heaviness that is palpable throughout.
All in all, I would now raise to 4 stars and recommend to horror and science fiction lovers".
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