Seize The Night

Moonlight Bay #2

by Dean Koontz

Chris Snow, the light-phobic, oddball hero of Dean Koontz's Fear Nothing, is once again caught in the middle of something ugly. The children (and pets) of Moonlight Bay, California, are disappearing. The first to go is Jimmy Wing, the son of Snow's former girlfriend, Lilly. Then Snow's own hyper-intelligent dog goes missing. Snow decides that he will find them, but what he uncovers is more than just a simple kidnapping; before he can turn back, he's up against an age-old vendetta, an active time machine, and a genetic experiment gone awry.

Seize the Night offers up the same eclectic mix of characters that appeared in Fear Nothing: boardhead Bobby, disc jockey Sasha, Snow, and all of their friends band together to find the missing kids and figure out why the people of Moonlight Bay are morphing into demonic versions of their former selves. They outsmart corrupt cops, outrun genetically enhanced monkeys, and outlive a time warp with a vengeance--all between nightfall and sunrise, the only time that Snow can be outside.

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Science Fiction, Mystery Thriller

603 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Acknowledged as "America's most popular suspense novelist" (Rolling Stone) and as one of today's most celebrated and successful writers, Dean Ray Koontz has earned the devotion of millions of readers around the world and the praise of critics everywhere for tales of character, mystery, and adventure that strike to the core of what it means to be human.

Dean, the author of many #1 New York Times bestsellers, lives in Southern California with his wife, Gerda, their golden retriever, Elsa, and the enduring spirit of their goldens, Trixie and Anna.

Facebook: Facebook.com/DeanKoontzOfficial
Twitter: @DeanKoontz
Website: DeanKoontz.com

Reviews

[Diane (IF U'RE PRIVATE, PLEASE SKIP ME!!!) Wallace · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good series! a decent storyline with good narrative and also good plot twists & turns (paperback!)

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read "Seize the Night" before reading "Fear Nothing" simply because I picked it up at Target and didn't realize it was a sequel. I proceeded to read it in one day (staying up into the wee hours) and then spent the next day hunting down "Fear Nothing".

I loved everything about this book. The characters, the setting, the backstory, the dialogue...there was not one thing I would change. I remember sitting there re-reading the scene in the egg room over and over-it was unlike anything I had ever imagined. I love the combination of horror, sci-fi, and humor in this story.

I outgrew Koontz a while ago (not to say he isn't good, just that I began to be able to predict where he was going) but this book, and its predecessor remain two of my all time favorites.

[Tessa Nadir · Rating 5 out of 5]

Judecand dupa titlu, Christopher Snow ar putea fi 'Prince of Darkness - Ozzy Osbourne' care rapeste tinere inocente in cavouri intunecate si le supune la tot felul de torturi inedite. Glumesc! ;)
Christopher Snow este un tanar simpatic ce sufera de o boala ereditara, xeroderma pigmentosum, ceea ce il face vulnerabil la cancerul de piele sau al ochilor, produs de radiatii ultraviolete, becuri, ecranul televizorului, etc. si astfel este nevoit sa-si petreaca viata in intuneric. Daca la noi genele functioneaza normal si suntem capabili sa ne vindecam ranile de piele si de ochi zilnice, la el orice sursa de lumina ii agraveaza boala. Desi nu poate sa faca multe dintre lucrurile normale, cum ar fi sa se uite la televizor, sa conduca masini sau sa faca plaja, Christopher a trecut repede peste rautatile oamenilor care il numesc vampir si si-a facut din noapte si creaturile ei un aliat. Desi existenta lui este mai degraba nocturna, a ales sa nu devina o fiinta malefica si intunecata, ci, impreuna cu prietenii sai cuvantatori si necuvantatori ajuta oamenii care au nevoie de protectie.
In Fort Wyvern niste experimente genetice groaznice, facute pe oameni si animale au transformat maimutele, coiotii, cainii si pisicile in niste creaturi inteligente iar pe oameni in niste ucigasi feroce. Christopher si prietenii lui se lupta sa puna capat acestor anomalii.
Romanul mi-a placut foarte mult pentru ca este scris intr-un mod amuzant si distractiv pentru cititor si am gasit o gramada de referiri la personaje celebre. Ii amintesc aici pe Frankenstein, Hannibal Lecter, cainele din Baskerville, Bigfoot, scena cu dusul din Psycho, Harrison Ford, James Dean, etc. Se gaseste si celebra replica a lui Darth Vader, tradusa bineinteles cu "vino in Partea Intunecata, Luke". Am rasuflat usurata ca nu s-a optat pentru ceva modern ca "vino pe intuneric, Luke". :)
Pentru cei pasionati de surfing, acestia pot citi o gramada de informatii despre acest sport si pot deveni familiari cu limbajul folosit de practicanti.
M-a amuzat faptul ca personajul principal afirma ca iubita lui are o voce atat de calda si sexy incat ar putea sa-i vanda cu usurinta si o portiune din infern daca ar include si aer conditionat. De asemenea mi-a starnit rasul faptul ca protagonistul nu poate intelege intriga din marea majoritate a filmelor cu Jackie Chan tanar (probabil pentru ca nu exista).
In ceea ce priveste traducerea, aceasta este si buna si rea, deoarece pe alocuri gasim traduceri mot-a-mot din engleza, cum ar fi de exemplu: 'kicks ass - tradus ca: da suturi in c...' (referitor la roata unui Hummer). Ca sa nu uitam si 'bro' sau 'brah' care este tradus 'fartate', ceea ce mi se pare extrem de desuet. N-am mai ras atat de cand am vizionat ultima oara "Masca" cu Jim Carrey, unde celebra 'Smokin'!' este tradusa ca 'Pufaiala!'.
In incheiere am selectat mai multe citate, deoarece Koontz este un scriitor foarte talentat, avand un text impodobit cu multe figuri de stil ce reusesc sa creeze o atmosfera intunecata, plina de suspans:
"Oriunde altundeva, noaptea cade. Dar in Moonlight Bay se furiseaza ca o soapta, ca un val bland, de culoarea safirului, ce mangaie o plaja."
"... un capat al perdelei atarna alba peste un pervaz, zbatandu-se ca un spirit tulburat care nu voia sa paraseasca lumea asta pentru cealalta."
"Oamenii isi apara cu vigoare dreptul de a fi tampiti."
"Speranta nu-i mai solida decat margelele tremuratoare de roua ce atarna de filamentul unei panze de paianjen, si nu poate sustine singura greutatea teribila a unei minti chinuite si a unui suflet torturat."
"Balamalele ruginite n-au scartait, ci au scrasnit ca oasele degetelor unui schelet cand sunt stranse in pumn."
"Regula pentru pusti: orice loc numit Groapa nu poate fi un loc bun." (microbistii stiu bine asta) ;)
"Intunericul de jurul meu era perfect, ca in cosciugul lui Dracula, dupa ce punea capacul."
"... iar zambetul lui avea caldura unei rani de stilet in burta unui cadavru."

[Fred · Rating 5 out of 5]

Koontzland - October 2017 group read - completed

A great Dean Koontz book, but "Fear Nothing" (Moonlight Bay #1) in the series was a little easier to read.

Chris Snow's XP disability continues (Xeroderma Pigmentosum - skin cancer to bright lights) & experienced "Rhesus" monkey attacks. He lives with his dog Orson & Sasha Goodall (girlfriend). His friend Bobby Halloway is nearby.
Chris & Bobby need to find Lilly Wing's (x-girlfriend) missing son - Jimmy(5). The kidnap trail leads to a "military" Fort Wyvern.

Chris' mom, Jane (Dept. of Defense) died in the "Dead Town" outside the NOW empty Fort Wyvern - where 50,000 people once lived. Used for "wicked" DNA & genetic scientific experiments - wounded & killed people.

Chris & Bobby escape the "Rhesus" monkeys & Dead military families' ghostly cries. Can they save the children from "retro-virus" experiments? Eliminate the Fort's scientists/doctor(s)?

first read - 2015
Another exciting & chase book with Christophe Snow as the main character. Christophe has a bad disease named XP, xeroderma pigmentosum, needing to avoid bright lights, even the daylight. His best friend (Bobby Halloway - shot), girlfriend (Sasha Cohan) & friends (Doggie, Roosevelt, Mungojerrie) track the missing -or- kidnapping of Orson (his dog) & children (Jimmy Wing, Stuart twins & Wendy Dulcinea). Were they being used in medical experiments or murdered in an old haunted Moolight Bay's Army Base/Fort Wyvern. The second half of the book is easier to read & follow.

[Leo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Talvez estoy siendo demasiado duro con este libro, pero si me pongo a enumerar todas las cosas que no tienen sentido en la novela no terminaría nunca.

Además se siente como un remake de Medianoche

[ErinBeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my favorite Dean Koontz book; I found myself getting annoyed with all the analyzing the main character does; it seems that every time anything happens, the narrator goes off into another long explanation which is supposed to be him guessing what is going on and philosophizing about what it all means, etc. This is ok at first but after awhile it gets to be way too much.

Also, the characters didn't seem real to me. I like the idea of having characters who do selfless acts for others, etc. But there characters are a little too selfless, to the point where they do not seem real. I have a hard time believing in characters who never ever even get slightly angry at anyone other than the bad guys; and also that you have 5 people (not to mention the dog and the cat who are also humanlike characters in this book), and not one of them ever has any thoughts or doubts about risking their lives to help strangers. Again, I like to read about people who would be willing to do this; but when not one of them ever questions or has any doubts or regrets about any of it, it makes them seem inhuman and not real. And they NEVER even have a slight argurment with each other. THere is some good-humored bantering, but never any real disagreements or anger, and it's hard to believe that anyone can get along that well with each other 100% of the time when they are spending so much time together. The characters are a little too perfect and have absolutely no flaws, and are therefore not human.

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seize the Night is full of mystery & wisdom, but I do prefer Fear Nothing.
In typical Koontz fashion, Seize the Night contains references to classic works: T.S. Eliot, The Wind in the Willows, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland / Through the Looking-Glass, Winnie-the-Pooh, Peter Pan.
Within the Koontz Universe, I get a kick out of one Dean Koontz title being connected to other Dean Koontz titles. There are of course references to Koontz novels published before the publication of Seize the Night: Watchers, Midnight, Fear Nothing. What is even more curious in a Dean Koontz story involving time travel, is finding references to Koontz novels with publication dates years or decades after Seize the Night was published - most prominently: Elsewhere and The Dead Town, but there are others as well.

Favorite Passages:

We are the most alive and the closest to the meaning of our existence when we are most vulnerable, when experience has humbled us and has cured the arrogance which, like a form of deafness, prevents us from hearing the lessons that this world teaches.
_______

He peered intently back the way we'd come, his eyes dimly revealed by a reflection of starshine; the faint white points of his bared teeth were like the unsettling phosphorescent grin of an apparition.
_______

The claustrophobic darkness closed around me again, as soft as Death's hooded robe and with pockets almost as deep.
_______

The side of a nose. The corner of a mouth. My little finger slid across a rubbery lip, wet teeth.
_______

With higher intelligence comes an awareness of the complexity of the world, and from this awareness arises a sense of mystery, wonder. Superstition is the dark side of wonder.
_______

The cry was eerie but not entirely alien; worse, it was a disturbing hybrid of the familiar and the unknown.
______

"Idiot," I said.
"Asshole," Bobby said.
"I wasn't talking to you."
"I'm the only one here."
"I was calling myself and idiot. For not getting out of here."
"Oh. Then I retract the asshole remark."
_______

"They tore a hole in reality. Maybe a hole like that doesn't mend itself."

[Matt Barker · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent follow-up to Fear Nothing. I liked both of these books very much, but this one was a bit scarier than the first. Definitely recommended!

Publisher's Summary

Moonlight Bay, California: a safe, secluded small town that is at its most picturesque in the gentle nighttimes that inspired its name. But now, somewhere in the night, children are disappearing.

When he sets out to find the missing five-year-old son of a former sweetheart, Christopher Snow believes that the lost children are still alive. He is convinced the disappearances have everything to do with the catastrophic effects of secret research conducted deep within Fort Wyvern. To keep those secrets, extremely violent and powerful forces are willing to conceal even the most heinous crimes.

Never before in Dean Koontz's phenomenal writing career has he created a character quite like Christopher Snow: a creation so complex, so fascinating that the author has felt compelled to return to him. Fans of Fear Nothing already know why. Those who meet him for the first time in Seize the Night will soon join millions of others whose imaginations have been touched by this unique character and the extraordinary, eerie world of Moonlight Bay.

[Lucy'sLilLibrary · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yeah....no.

It was better than the first one but that wasn't hard to do. There is so much packed into this book, time travel, serial killers, viruses, science mishaps and the main characters disability XP. It was a lot but it also didn't do much.

We re-explore our main characters XP over and over again which is no fun if you have already read the first book. For some reason there are a lot of descriptions about nothing. The main character is a dreamer and constantly floats of in his own mind which meant the book just didn't flow at all. As a reader this book was infuriating at times, just as I thought the plot was getting somewhere Koontz would go off on a tangent and lose me again.

This isn't a short book either. I think if you have to explain every other word that your characters say because they are surfers - maybe it isn't worth saying in the first place. I understood the characters and how they worked as a team each bringing something different. This feels like a mash up of 5 books that never follows its own path.

Dean Koontz uses the fact that his main character isn't scientifically inclined to ignore all of the big questions left behind after this book. There isn't a third book to this should've been trilogy and honestly I'm glad!

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seize the Night is a sequel to Fear Nothing, which is my favorite Dean Koontz book. I've read eleventy-zillion Koontz novels over the last six or eleven decades, and Christopher and Orson and the folks of Moonlight Bay and the Mystery Train remain the most compelling of his creations for me. This sequel is a good story, but doesn't wrap anything up, and though a concluding volume was announced several times over the years it hasn't appeared yet...which, it amuses me to no end, has not stopped well over two-hundred careful and incisive reviewers from rating that book which doesn't exist on Goodreads. Anyway, Fear Nothing should be read first and in the meantime we can all keep hoping that the train comes into the station at last.

[Nicholas Beck · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second installment of the Moonlight Bay series by Dean Koontz. A town on the central coast of California whose secrets may bring the end of the world. This novel is about a man named Christopher Snow who has XP. A condition in which he cannot be exposed to any kind of Ultra-violet light. Meaning throughout his entire life, he only goes out during the night hours and can know the night like someone who lives by day can never understand.

This story starts out with children being taken from their beds and Chris trying to find the children. Over the course of the next twenty-four hours Chris and his friends see things which they never knew possible all while looking for the kids. A book which is really hard to put down once it has begun and doesn't let up on intensity the entire 443 pages.

[Diane Lynch · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book. A continuation of Fear Nothing. Dean Koontz does explain everything that happened in Fear Nothing that is relevant to this story. Having read the first book these parts were obviously redundant. Surprises throughout the book. A real page turner. I am so bummed that I finished it.

[C.P. Cabaniss · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Fortune favors the bold. Of course, so does Death."

This followup to Fear Nothing continues Chris Snow's story as he and his friends confront the horrors of a changing world. It wasn't quite as good as its predecessor for me, but I did really enjoy it, and of course the writing is beautiful.

The best thing about this novel was that we got a lot more of Bobby and a lot more of Bobby and Chris. Bromances are my favorite and this one was great. There closeness comes through really well here, building on what we had already seen in Fear Nothing. And like any good Koontz novel, there is excellent humor.

"Stuff like this is why I don't listen to the news these days."

"You've never listened to the news."

"I know. But I used to have different reasons."

While some people may not enjoy Koontz's philosophising, I always enjoy the wisdom offered through the introspection of his characters. Chris is no different.

Time travel is always interesting, and we get a small bite of that here. It's odd and jumbled and just plain strange, but it's also really interesting. This is only the second in what is supposed to be a at least a three book series. Book three is about twenty years overdue. Hopefully it comes eventually, but I wasn't completely disatisfied with how this one ended. It needs closure, but it wasn't a complete cliffhanger.

Another solid read from Koontz. If you haven't read his novels yet, go ahead and do it.

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The monkeys are going apeshit in this one. Dean Koontz crafts a strange mystery through the use of detail and strange goings-on. The only criticism of the book is his tendency to be liberal with detail, which sometimes slows down the pace of the story. However, his description of the egg room, the shifting craziness in the hanger and the mad hatter nonsense on other parts of the army base is well done. Koontz is a wordsmith and it's not difficult to see why he remains a big name in the industry. He joins Lee Child in his criticism of abandoning military installations & its unintended consequences, while siding with Stephen King on less than sane activities while the base is open for business. Koontz earns an extra star for how he weaves animals into his story and a special mention for his skill of building creepy atmosphere.

[J.S. Bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had a hard time getting into this one (probably because I've been busy working on other things this past week), but once I got about halfway through, the pace really picked up. The ending sort of boggled my mind. But I suppose that should be expected. :)

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book! Christopher Snow and Dean Koontz rock!

[Sue Gerhardt Griffiths · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 ⭐️s

SpookTober read 2024 - #10


Another superb book by a master storyteller. Fear Nothing was impressive and its sequel, Seize the Night was no exception.

Brilliant, thrilling, interesting, fast paced and suspenseful.

The storyline, the funny moments, the characters, the dog… all breathtaking.

Highly recommended.

[Fred · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

A great Dean Koontz book, but "Fear Nothing" (Moonlight Bay #1) in the series was a little easier to read.

Chris Snow's XP disability continues (Xeroderma Pigmentosum - skin cancer to bright lights) & experienced "Rhesus" monkey attacks. He lives with his dog Orson & Sasha Goodall (girlfriend). His friend Bobby Halloway is nearby.
Chris & Bobby need to find Lilly Wing's (x-girlfriend) missing son - Jimmy(5). The kidnap trail leads to a "military" Fort Wyvern.

Chris' mom, Jane (Dept. of Defense) died in the "Dead Town" outside the NOW empty Fort Wyvern - where 50,000 people once lived. Used for "wicked" DNA & genetic scientific experiments - wounded & killed people.

Chris & Bobby escape the "Rhesus" monkeys & Dead military families' ghostly cries. Can they save the children from "retro-virus" experiments? Eliminate the Fort's scientists/doctor(s)?

first read - 2015
Another exciting & chase book with Christophe Snow as the main character. Christophe has a bad disease named XP, xeroderma pigmentosum, needing to avoid bright lights, even the daylight. His best friend (Bobby Halloway - shot), girlfriend (Sasha Cohan) & friends (Doggie, Roosevelt, Mungojerrie) track the missing -or- kidnapping of Orson (his dog) & children (Jimmy Wing, Stuart twins & Wendy Dulcinea). Were they being used in medical experiments or murdered in an old haunted Moolight Bay's Army Base/Fort Wyvern. The second half of the book is easier to read & follow.

[Holly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I seem to be either really hot or cold with Koontz books. Unfortunately this book was very hard for me to get into. Which is sad, because I loved the first Christopher Snow book, Fear Nothing when i read it several years ago.

Maybe I wasn't in the proper frame of mind when I read this, but there were several aspects to this book that annoyed me. Koontz seemed to have fallen into the Stephen King "let's describe every last detail down to the size of every blade of grass." trap. Plus, the surfer lingo used between Chris and Bobby got old really quickly. In any event, I ended up skimming many parts of this book, and was rather happy to see it end.

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Warning: Here there be spoilers)

Oh man, where do I start with this book? Maybe pure insanity would be a good place to start. Maybe the beginning of the insanity. Fear Nothing, the lead in to this book, was a slow starter to say the least. I got lost in the uninteresting meanderings of the author and his, all too detailed, descriptions. Nothing really made sense and there was no real build up of tension. It was about 100 pages in to Fear Nothing that the true story began and the real insanity started. All the sudden, the prose changed, the insanity machine kicked into third gear, and along for a ride we went. Through a creepy as all hell abandoned military complex, genetic experiments gone wrong, and an end of the world scenario that would make any conspiracy theorist proud. I ending the book with the satisfaction that it was time well spent.

I didn't quite know what to expect from Seize the night. It certainly wasn't a kick past third gear straight into Gary Busey gear of insanity, but that's pretty much where it started from the get go. All hell was breaking lose and the genetic experiments were the least of their worries. The town is going bat shit crazy with their mutations, people are dropping dead left and right, children are being kidnapped from their homes, and the Police are as corrupt as my old Pokemon save games. Dropped in the middle of it all are Chris Snow, Bobby Halloway, and Orson the dog. Probably the three least assuming heroes I've ever read about. Chris, afflicted with XP (Xeroderma Pigmentosum), Bobby, afflicted by LF (Lazyassum Fuckitonia), and Orson (Cuteosa Adorbleiam) are thrust into a hunt to find the missing children that are being held at the creepiest place in the word, Fort Wyvern. During the search, Chris touches a face in the dark, Orson goes missing, and time travel is possible...wait..WHAT?!

Chris and Bobby stumble into the Egg Room, which can go straight to hell, and realize that maybe the genetic experiments aren't really so bad after all. A huge plot is thrown right into your face like a 90 mph fastball. The plot suddenly goes from a pox being unleashed upon the world to a time travel nightmare machine that was accelerated due to a pox being unleashed upon the world. Scientists wanting to find out what happens in the future accidentally go "sideways" into Red Neverland Ranch world and bring something back with them. Other worldly entities start passing into our reality when the "machine" gets going and Orson and the children are nowhere close to being found. At this point, I'm really missing the angry monkeys because they are a much better alternative to a Red planet filled with nightmares.

So, by now, Bobby and Chris decide that play time is over and the big guns are needed. And by big guns, I mean two hulks of men, Sasha, and the cat Mungojerrie. They go balls to the wall, Rambo style, to infiltrate a military base that's creepier than an abandoned insane asylum, all to find Orson...and a few kids. Basically from here on out, it's just one big fever dream as the gang encounters time travel, two murderers turned mad scientists, and the scariest elevator ride in history.

I'm calling this book The Search for Orson and the Terrible, Awful, No good, Very bad day. Absolute insanity from start to finish and I wouldn't have it any other way. Highly recommend this book.

[Kev Ruiz · Rating 3 out of 5]

★★ ½

"Seize the Night," the second book in the "Moonlight Bay" series by Dean Koontz, starts with promise, drawing readers into an eerie, unsettling mystery. The exploration of Fort Wyvern is one of the book’s highlights—atmospheric, intriguing, and packed with potential. There’s a real sense of unease in the beginning, with genuinely creepy moments and fascinating ideas introduced.

But then it all gets… weird. Now, weird is fine—it’s Koontz, after all—but here, it feels like too many ideas have been crammed in together, mashed up in a way that doesn’t quite work. Instead of letting the story flow, it’s buried under an avalanche of excessive description. Absolutely everything is explained in painstaking detail, dragging the action down to a near standstill. What should be tense and thrilling instead becomes frustratingly sluggish.

Then there’s the dialogue. Chris and Bobby’s banter starts off fun but soon wears thin, dragging things down with its sheer volume. And the endless explaining—every detail, every bit of backstory, over and over. And if I had to be reminded one more time that Chris and Orson are like *real* brothers, I might have thrown the book across the room.

I found myself skimming far more than I wanted to, skipping past yet another drawn-out description or another re-explanation of something I’d already grasped 100 pages ago. And I hate skimming! I love the world of "Moonlight Bay"—the concept is fantastic, the setting is rich, and I want to love this series. But the pacing tested my patience to the limit.

To make matters worse, the third and final book has never been published—27 years later, and we’re still left with unresolved threads.

I hate to say it, but this is one Koontz book I can’t recommend. Normally, I finish one book and jump straight into another. This time? I need to recover first.

[Christopher Hivner · Rating 1 out of 5]

To be honest, this review is only of the first 78 pages because that's all the farther I could read. I really did not like the style Koontz wrote in for this one. The narration of the main character contained so many one-liners and jokey punctuations of his thoughts that it became annoying. I like humor mixed into the story but this was overwritten. It was like Koontz was working out material for his stand-up act.

A small child is kidnapped in the middle of the night and the main character, having once been in love with the mother, tells her not to call the cops, he'll find the child. Right. He is very acquainted with the night because he has a disease that won't allow him to stand light, but I still didn't buy him being a super hero or something. He trails someone to an abandoned military base where he shoots at the guy with his trusty Glock 9mm that he carries with him. He misses and the guy gets away. As he continues the search, the Rhesus monkeys show up. Vicious, genetically-altered, man-attacking Rhesus monkeys; a product of a secret government program based on the main character's dead mother's work in theoretical genetics.

This is when I quit and picked a better book to read from off my shelf.

[Scott Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Koontz again thrilled me with his ability to set a scene and create a true sense of dread. His gift is in putting his characters in situations where they (and you as the reader) feel helpless in the midst of unsettling and spooky circumstances. In this case, the circumstances all revolve around occult happenings in and around Fort Wyvern, the abandoned military base that the main character, Christopher Snow, frequents.

Aside from that, the book is a solid mystery about the disappearance of several children. Over the course of the book, we find out why the children were taken and how it connects up with a serial killer and the strange past of Fort Wyvern. The book gets exciting right out of the gate, with dark wanderings in old buildings, troupes of killer monkeys, strange deaths, and the a fight in the night. From there on out, the book remains intense and lets up only rarely. It finally builds to a climax that really stands up there with the best I have read from Koontz.

Thanks for reading.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I started reading this book I thought it was going to be one that I finished only because I never put down a book once I've started it. The first 100 pages or so were so full of monologue and rambling tangents that I had a hard time getting into the story, or even deciphering what the story was. But then it all started coming together. Very slowly the pace of the story picked up and the rambling tangents (most of them) began to make sense. Turns out they were mostly for character development, which actually ended up adding a lot to the story. Once the story got going, though, WOW! I haven't flipped pages that fast or sat at my kitchen table oblivious to the rest of the world for that long in a long time. Had it not been for the lenghty and verbose beginning, I would have easily given this book 5 stars. I am now thoroughly interested in reading the rest of Dean Koontz's works as his style has begun to grab me.

[Melissa Goodnight · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really good book! Definitely tied up some loose ends from the first Moonlight Bay book, Fear Nothing, and gave closure, while also leaving a chill of anticipation for the future of Moonlight Bay. This, of course, is left to our imaginations, as there is no 3rd book (yet). There was enough of an ending to leave me satisfied, however. The last quarter of the book, as with most Koontz books, was intense and thrilling and super hard to put down. <3

[Mary Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great Koontz novel. I had expected Seize the Night to be very similar to its prequel, Fear Nothing. However, Seize the Night was even more suspenseful and driven than its predecessor. The end absolutely floored me. Completely unexpected and brilliant!

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seize the night or Carpe Noctem. Chris Snow is back with his dog Orson and Bobby, Sasha to investigate the kidnapping of several children. Once again the abandoned Fort Wyvern in Moonlight Bay is the centre of strange occurrences.

The story follows from book one with the retrovirus established and causing madness in animals and people. Chris also stumbles into a secret project that enables time travel.

The story is fast paced over two days with Chris and his friends going into the base to rescue the children and Orson from a disintegrating building that once housed a time machine.

[Ricardo Moreno Mauro · Rating 2 out of 5]

Antes había leido Fantasmas de este autor, y me gustó bastante, por eso decidí leer este libro que tenía una buena puntuación. Fué frustrante. Creo que la mitad del libro son palabras inútiles. Claro que los protagonistas son adolescentes. Es una historia que se supone es una trilogía inconclusa, por eso hay muchos cabos sueltos. Hay como dos otres hproblemas que no tienen conección.
Podría haber sido muy buena.

No la lean

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listened to an audiobook. A wild ride. Solderized rhesus monkeys, cats who communicate with retired football players. A "Mystery Trip" that could end the world... all set in a coastal town in Southern California that once housed an Army base- since condemned. Yeah baby- a wild, wild ride.

[Stefanie Crane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review originally and more completely published at http://www0.epinions.com/review/Seize...

In Fear Nothing, Koontz introduced us to Christopher Snow, a 28 year old man who had been born with the bizarre and rare genetic disorder xeroderma pigmentosum (XP). Victims of XP are extremely sensitive to cancers of the skin and eyes, and even momentary exposure to light is cumulative, so eventually could prove fatal. Because of this Chris continually avoids the light of day, and leads the vampire’s life in the dark of night. The sequel, Seize the Night, takes place just about one month after Fear Nothing left off.

In the opening chapter, Chris and his genetically enhanced canine friend, Orson, (again, I reiterate – I want a dog like Orson!!!) meet with a friend of Chris’s whose son had just been kidnapped. A strange pencil drawing of a crow is the only shred of evidence left behind. Chris promises the mother, Lily Wing, to do what he can to bring her son back. With his small and once peaceful town of Moonlight Bay becoming more and more strange, Chris is afraid to go to the police, not knowing if they are in on the kidnapping. Following Orson’s sense of smell, the trail leads them to the supposed-to-be-abandoned-but-not Fort Wyvern, birthplace of the many strange happenings, including the retrovirus created by Chris’s mother which is causing people to become something other than human. Also housed here is a project known only to Chris as the Mystery Train.

Going down into the three subterranean floors, where Orson can’t follow, Chris meets and tangles with the kidnapper, though he doesn’t see the child. Upon returning to the ground floor, he finds that his friend and brother, Orson, has also been abducted. Searching for Orson, half out of his mind with grief and ominous thoughts, Chris calls on the help of his best friend, the surfing god, Bobby Halloway. While waiting for Bobby in the housing section of Fort Wyvern, Chris encounters a troop of genetically enhanced, evil Rhesus monkeys. (See my end note about this part of the book).

The next night, after apprising Sasha Goodall of the situation, and enlisting the help of an ex football player (now animal communicator), Roosevelt Frost, a genetically enhanced cat named Mungo Jerry, and a Harley riding, waltz dancing, fully tattooed Doogie Sassman, the newly formed group set out to find the abducted, now known to be four children and one canine. Of course the quest begins and ends at Fort Wyvern. Inside the fort, the group is faced directly with the abductor, who is also head of the project Mystery Train. Before they can stop it, the Mystery Train “leaves the station”. Destination: Time travel. Not forwards or backwards, however, but sideways. The group is faced with a building that keeps changing realities and times. Flying gargoyles, red skies, living black trees…