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By Dean R. Koontz
Berkley Books (1990)
Reviewed by Robert Thompson 6/29/90
Order the book!! Paperback -- -- --
Order the book!! Hardback
As I was checking the copyright page of this book, I was surprised to see that it had been published earlier under the pseudonym of Leigh Nichols, as TWILIGHT. I am glad that it was re-issued under Dean Koontz'name.
Dean Koontz is the only "horror / thriller" author that I read religiously (Maybe religiously is an unfortunate choice of term. You will see why in a couple of paragraphs.) He is a very reliable story teller, with taut, gripping tales that are believable. He does not shred the fabric of reality as we understand it like most of the others in this genre often do. His stuff just expands current "truths" enough to make an adventure for all of his readers.
THE SERVANTS OF TWILIGHT is about Christine, a beautiful, successful, young single mom and her son Joey, a model six year old with good looks, personality and behavior. They encounter Grace Spivey in a mall parking lot, where Grace begins her attack on Joey, proclaiming him "The Antichrist".
Mother Grace Spivey is the leader of a cult religious group. I would guess that her character might be loosely based on Elizabeth Claire Prophet, but instead of being a very attractive woman of medium age like Ma Prophet, Mother Grace is a sloppy old hag. Other than that there are many similarities (if rumors are to be believed).
The incident in the mall parking lot rapidly escalates into an outright war between the Servants of Twilight and Christine. Early in this war, Christine recruits Charley Harrison, the head of a large detective agency. Very soon, the relationship between Christine and Charley heats up, just like the conflict between the Servants and our heroes.
The action is fast, furious and even quite unsettling to the reader. One of Koontz's trademarks is a story that makes the reader think "could this happen to me?" .... IT COULD!!!
I won't go into the story any further, as I don't want to ruin it for you.
My only complaint is that the author didn't tie up all of the loose ends. I am left wondering at the answers to two very important questions. I am sure that this was intentional.
"Dean; I hope you have a sequel coming out, I don't like loose ends, especially ones like you left here. I would even be willing to buy the sequel in hardback, if that is what it takes."