"The Vision" Review

"The Vision"

By Dean Koontz

6/10

My Synopsis

"The Vision" by Dean Koontz is the tale of Mary Bergen.  A psychic, Mary aids police departments nationwide in solving crimes with her husband Max and her brother Alan in tow.  But strange occurrences begin to happen around Mary - fainting episodes, poltergeist activity, and disturbing, unwelcome visions that appear real.  As these occurrences increase, Mary and Max attempt to stop a violent criminal with the ability to block Mary's psychic powers before he commits a horrible crime.  Will these strange happenings ever cease?  How is the killer able to block Mary's psychic ability?  Will something from Mary's past interfere with their mission?  Can Mary find the killer before the killer finds her?

 

My Opinion

I have read many of Dean Koontz's works and I am disappointed to say this was not one of my favorites.  There is suspense and it does keep the reader turning pages, but I saw the "who done it" coming.  What I didn't predict was the whole entire ending.  I knew "who done it" but not why they did it as well as all the sordid details.  There are some references and actions that date the book and although that couldn't be helped, I did find it distracting.  As with many of Koontz's other works there are also some disturbing scenes, but most Koontz fans know to expect those.  His descriptive details are unmatched but some of the plot just fell flat for me.  I also didn't find myself liking or loathing any of the characters which is unlike my other experience with other Koontz novels.  His characters are typically so vivid.  This time they just weren't.  I was hoping for so much more especially being intrigued with the psychic aspect but overall it was pretty disappointing.  If you haven't read any Dean Koontz, this is definitely not the place to start.  I can think of a handful of his other books that would be a much better starting place.  Try "Velocity" or "Life Expectancy" of which I relished almost every page.  However, this book will not keep me from reading more of Koontz's novels.  6/10