Being the 4th Koontz book I read yet, LIGHTNING was the one that had held me most spellbound and in awe.
The story, as any story should begins where Laura Shane is conceived and we are treated to glimpses of Stefan -
the mysterious guardian of Laura. Koontz even puts the Random House definition of "Roller Coaster" as one of the opening
title cards and rightly so as we are swept through time between Laura's miraculous rescue from the guardian
in the grocery store, to her eery encounters with the villain in the McIlroy home. Koontz foreshadows Laura's wit
and love for words and strong bonding with Thelma Ackerson; a person whom she would develop a lasting friendship and
even a sisterhood. You will also be taken in by the endearing charm and wisdom beyond her years that Laura displays in her youth.

As Laura overcomes the eventful traumas that precede her adolescence, Koontz flashforwards us to how Laura meets
her husband and father of her young boy, Chris. As a prelude to those happy years to come including the rise of Laura
from a struggler to a successful novelist; side by side with Thelma's triumph as a comedian and actress - Koontz even manages
to creep his readers with a spooky gag involving toads. In between those events is an elaborate shift of temporal
displacement in the storyline that precedes Laura's encounter with her guardian angel 20 years LATER.
After an unexpected turn in Laura's life in the snowy highway, that is when we are treated to scenes of Laura being
the ultimate heroine getting ready to arm herself with the strongest defenses; at which point her friend Thelma
even expresses alarm albeit with the comic relief she always integrates with it.

The Second Part of the book appropriately named "Pursuit." is jam packed with action scenes, revelations, reflections and nightmares many of which center on the entity called: Fate or Destiny. Laura discovers the identity of her guardian,
and the unexpected response about the truth of his origins and the broken life which he lived. We also discover his
intentions for making Laura a personal crusade, correcting the tragedies that were ordained by fate. Layer by layer, this chilling
tale unravels itself towards extravagant scope and in the book's finale intercuts again with temporal displacement in a thrilling
duel with Laura protecting her young boy and Stefan, her guardian fixing things in a distant time and place while meeting TWO very important people; you just have to pick up the book as I won't divulge the details of that here.
The complications leading to the conclusion of Koontz's yarn combine suspense with the novel's malignant touch tapping into your psyche making you reflect on the things that Laura, the novel's heroine would.  There is an almost unbearable magnitude of nerve-racking tension when the story takes a dive into darkness, which contrasts the triumphs that have been achieved by Laura Shane in the middle of her life as a novelist, a wife, and a mother. From eery and mysterious and atmospheric thrills to the far end that contains revelations of gargantuan proportions, LIGHTNING will keep the reader mesmerized all through out and fascinated with the way Koontz has weaved the life-story of Laura Shane and it will NOT disappoint. Brimming with one-liners and punch-lines here and there, LIGHTNING is a reading experience you won't forget, with characters you will love whether you have been a seasoned reader of Koontz or not. Exotic news indeed.

Paolo Macachor is a Psychology college student who hates writing but loves to elicit emotions from people...