The Face

The title is odd as the title character never appears in the story....is only talked about, and not very flatteringly.....so you wouldn't want to meet him anyway. The story is about his lonely, bright, creative 10 year old son and the beleaguered ex-cop who fights to save his life from a villain sickeningly and vividly portrayed, a uniquely crafted psychopathic character who plans to kidnap and torture the boy to torment his father. His father employs the ex-cop to provide security for the home/grounds of "The Face" and his son....and several other eccentric characters. The cop is aided by a newly minted "guardian angel" hamstrung by peculiar limits to his abilities....not like any angel you've ever imagined....one whose own story creates an interesting mini-subplot....as does that of the cop's buddy "Hazard" who gets sucked by loyalty and curiosity into helping as well. Could not put this sucker down. And yes, it drags out at times and is filled with the many, many similes and metaphors Koontz is fond of, but you don't really mind. And his trademark wit and humor is laced throughout to make you laugh out loud while being terrified. It's an altogether very, very satisfying ride.

The story centers around two key characters. The first is an ex-cop named Ethan Truman. He is now the chief of security for one of the most famous actors in the world today Charles "The Face" Manhiem. As of late, The Face has been receiving packages that point towards his death, filled with strange and unusual items. Ethan takes it upon himself to catch the person responsible. However, Ethan's life gets even more complicated when he begins to see an old friend walking around that is supposed to be dead, and the fact that his friend's body dissapeared from the morgue makes things even stranger. Now Ethan must solve two mysteries - the identity of the person who wants The Face dead, and if his friend is really alive or not. The other main character of the story is The Face's son Aelfric Manhiem. Ten year old Fric begins to receive strange phone calls on his private line telling him that he needs to find a place to hide because something evil is coming. At first, Fric things that it is a prank. However, as time goes on, the mysterious caller begins to describe what has Fric has done during the day, what different rooms of the house look like, etc.. As Fric begins to prepare for this mysterious evil force, Ethan becomes wrapped up in his own problems which puts both Ethan and Fric in danger of being victims of events that are somehow connected.This book seriously impressed me. I have been a fan of Dean Koontz for many years, and I have read the majority of his books. That is why I had my doubts about this one. When an author produces so many fantastic books, you begin to wonder if it is only a matter of time before they run out of ideas, and The Face is one of Koontz's latest novels. As soon as I began reading this book, my doubts were put to rest. The book is extremely well written, and very suspenseful. It combines aspects of a mystery novel, with those of a chase novel. This makes the book very interesting, and will keep you glued to the pages. The story is somewhat complex though, because it is told from three different points of view - what's going on with Ethan, what's going on with Fric, and the killer who is behind the attack on The Face. However, Koontz's character development is so great in this book, that you will become equally captivated reading about each character. The personalities of Ethan, Fric, and the killer are very well established which makes you appreciate them all.Overall, The Face is one of the best Dean Koontz books I have ever read. The book offers likeable and well developed characters, the perfect combination of a mystery and chase novel, and an unpredictable and satisfying ending. If you are a fan of Dean Koontz you should definately check this book out.

This book is one of Koontz' best. The beginning was a little slow to take off, but I was hooked around page 50 or so, and could barely keep from flipping to the end to see how it all ended. What impressed me most about this book was the outstanding ending, with more than one of those twists that many authors try to put into a book, but here they are all successful.Channing Mannheim is the highest paid actor in the world. Handsome to the point where he is called "The Face," he lives a life style that none of us can imagine. Surrounded constantly by bodyguards, servants, and various hangers-on, he is the epitome of the rich and famous. While Channing is mentioned frequently throughout the book, we meet this world-famous man personally but once. However, we lack not for principal characters. The most important are Aelfric (who likes to be called Fric) Mannheim, Channing's 10-year-old and somewhat normal son, Ethan Truman, a former police officer, now head of Channing's security and married to the late Hannah Truman, Corky Laputa, anarchist extraordinaire, and Dunny Whistler, once (and perhaps always) Ethan's best friend, though turned to a life of crime before he died.While these four characters are the focus of the multiple chapters, Koontz does his very best to complicate the story by introducing a host of secondary characters. The characters are described in sufficient depth to enhance your understanding of the personalities of the principal characters, and while the complexity of the story challenges the ability to keep track of who's who, in general I was able to stay on top of what was happening in the story.With all these characters running about, there must be an interesting story here, and there is. To describe the happenings in detail would give away too much, so I offer a flavor. The reader quickly finds out that Corky has a good acquaintance by the name of Rolf Reynard. Rolf is supposed to be leaving mysterious packages at the estate of Channing Mannheim, but he makes a big mistake and Mannheim's security spots him on camera. Let the weirdness begin.We are quickly lured into a world inhabited by some of the strangest, and often some of the most chilling, people and events of any Koontz book. A man walks from a mirror. Anarchists plot to sow disorder on the world by killing and trying to cause racial unrest and unrest in general. Any opportunity to increase anger by one neighbor toward another is taken. We also discover that these anarchists have an evil in them that may be more responsible for their enjoyment of chaos than a dislike for order. Dead men may walk. A central character is killed, or is he? We come face to face with unspeakable evil. We meet ultimate good. Koontz has managed to cram a lot into 600 pages of reading pleasure.Koontz has a history of unsatisfying endings. This book is proof that when Koontz comes up with a good ending, it can be a great ending. While I had predicted portions of the ending,

I started reading Dean Koontz about halfway through his career. Since then, I have read everything he has written. It is amazing to see how much his craft has grown over the years. His characters are now fully developed and he no longer can be seen as an exclusively "horror" writer. That being said, "The Face" is by far the best book I have read in a long time. Koontz took his time developing the characters and made the reader really connect with them. I liked how "Ghost Dad" was a "Ghost" Character whose presence was undeniable but who never actually "appeared" in the book. Koontz did not feed answers to his readers and the result was that there were times that I wasn't sure what was going on but because his characters had me so engaged I was more than willing to wait and find out how it all worked out. The reader's confusion echoed the character's confusion so I believe it was completely appropriate. The ending of the novel was spiritual without being cheesy. Truly moving.One of the best books I have read in a long time.

Rather than write a plot synopsis in my review (which can be gleaned elsewhere), I will simply say that I consider "The Face" to be one of Dean Koontz' finest works. And that is saying a lot. I considered "One Door Away From Heaven" to be perhaps his best work a couple of years ago, and this is fully the equal of that. The prose is beautiful, the characters are sharply drawn and likable, there is enough humor and suspense to make the book marvellously entertaining, and the ending is superb. This is truly another masterpiece from Koontz, and I will go so far as to say that I think that Mr. Koontz, a hundred years or so from now, will be recognized as one of the great novelists of the late 20th and early to mid 21st century. Forget Stephen King -- compared to Koontz, he's a hack. VERY highly recommended!