Darkness Under the Sun

[cornerofmadness]

Darkness Under the Sun by Dean Koontz

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This novella is a prequel to What The Night Knows and is successful in that I do want to read that now. Koontz is always hit or miss for me. This was pretty good. There's nothing new or groundbreaking here but is that strictly necessary, right?

A young boy, Howie, is a bit of a loner and has a habit of breaking into an abandoned store using it as his private play place. Mostly he's hiding from his bullies because thanks to the evil of someone who should have cared for him, Howie suffered major burns, leaving him scarred.

One day he meets a man, Alton Blackwood, so hideously ugly but accepting of what that ugliness allows him, that Howie can't help but be taken in by that. This guy gets him, or so he thinks. This homeless drifter is something far darker than Howie can imagine and if he's not fast enough, not smart enough, his mother and sister will die.

The core of the story is scary enough and well done. The ending felt tacked on to anchor this more firmly to the novel and I'm not entirely sure it was needed but I see why it was done.



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