Darkfall

by Dean Koontz

They found four corpses in four days. Each more hideously disfigured than the last, the bodies punctured with dozens of tiny wounds.At first they thought it was a savage psychopath. Then they thought it was a vicious gangland war. Then they thought packs of demonic rats were escaping through the ventilation system.

Then they saw the nightmare itself, in all its mottled, slimy horror, coming after them from every direction, and they realized that the Gates of Hell had been left open...

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Thriller, Suspense, Mystery, Fantasy, Supernatural

368 pages, Kobo

First published October 1, 1984

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

[Louie the Mustache Matos · Rating 4 out of 5]

I discovered Dean Koontz around the time I discovered Stephen King, Star Trek novels, and Agatha Christie. My parents had moved us to a safer neighborhood where I could actually walk to the library. My Dad signed so I could get a library card, and it was the librarian herself who suggested I sign for my little brother (who was all of one year younger than me). There was a limit of three books back then, and it was a relief to not have to give my brother one of my three choices. We would have three weeks to return the books, but the reality was that we would go weekly. My books were usually one horror, one sci-fi, one mystery and it was a revolving door in horror of King, Koontz, and McCammon. I know Koontz prefers nowadays to eschew the horror label in preference for thriller, but back then he was in the horror section, and I still see him that way. In fact, this novel Darkfall is the prime reason for calling him a horror writer. Darkfall is all about monstrous demons, a hell gate, and a Bokor (voodoo black magic-user). There are really good characters and a host of horror tropes to sink your teeth into.

[Eloy Cryptkeeper · Rating 4 out of 5]

"La oscuridad devora la brillante luz del día. La oscuridad exige y siempre gana.
La oscuridad escucha, observa, espera. La oscuridad reclama el día que celebra. A veces en el silencio llega la oscuridad. A veces con un alegre repique de campanas."
¿Quién es más insensato… un niño temeroso de la oscuridad o un hombre temeroso de la claridad?'

Jack y Rebecca son los dos detectives de turno. el, de mente mas abierta, y ella escéptica.(una especie de Mulder y Scully de x-files, un poco devaluados).
Ellos se encuentran investigando los casos de diferentes muertes de integrantes de la mafia siciliana. Todos muertos en muy extrañas circunstancias y con mordeduras de muerte que no pertenecen a ninguna criatura conocida. Las únicas pistas los dirigirán hasta un sacerdote vudú, quien parece estar implicado.

Personajes bien construidos y con carisma. Como es costumbre en Koontz no escatima ni le sobran descripciones. Construye una buena historia, con buenos entramados, acción y suspenso. Una de esas historias muy cinematográficas, que perfectamente podrían ser una película de John carpenter.
No es una historia para nada profunda, ni compleja. Es puro entretenimiento del bueno, de calidad y sin fisuras.
Tenemos: policías, vudú, criaturas lovecraftianas... ¡Envuélvamelo para para llevar!

[Jay Schutt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another well-written and fast-paced novel by Koontz. This one will make you a believer in voodoo. A voodoo priest lets loose the gates of hell and is fought by a righteous cop protecting his kids. Kept me interested straight through to the last page. A great read.

[Dirk Grobbelaar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Penny Dawson woke and heard something moving furtively in the dark bedroom.

Darkfall has one of the spookiest opening sequences ever to grace the pages of a horror novel. Or at least, in my humble opinion.
It would have been nice if it could have kept that momentum going.

Fear brought a watery looseness to his joints.

I am of the opinion that this is the kind of thing DK does best. Way back, my first real introduction to supernatural Horror stories was Phantoms. It scared the dickens out of me, but it also left me craving more. This eventually led (inevitably) to my discovering the likes of Stephen King and Peter Straub.

Two radiant silver eyes glared at him from the duct opening.

This particular book suffers from a severe case of Mulder and Scully, although, to be fair, the X-files was still years away when Darkfall was published. The skeptic female cop routine is taken to unparalleled (and annoying) extremes in the first half of the novel.

I found it somewhat hard to warm to the characters; however the backdrop (New York during a snowstorm) was rather atmospheric and added nicely to the general vibe.

Their prospects for survival suddenly looked as bleak as the winter night around them.

It’s an enjoyable enough read, but it does lose a bit of steam at times, when scenes get dragged out needlessly.

Initially the story finds itself somewhere between Critters and, like I already mentioned, X-Files, but it eventually meanders into the realm of Voodoo and sorcery.
I have no idea how accurately the subject matter is portrayed, but it is fairly interesting for the most part.

“I wait. ”
It was a voice of dry paper, of sand and
splinters, a voice of infinite age, as bitterly cold as the night between the stars, jagged and whispery and evil.

The one thing in Darkfall that I found silly in the extreme, and here I should be careful of spoilers, has to do with one of the protagonist’s apparent imperviousness to voodoo. To use the person’s own words: ”That’s just plain ridiculous.”

And as good as the opening sequences are, the apocalyptic cheesefest ending is almost the exact polar opposite, even if it does score points for its Lovecraftian factor.

If you’re looking for some early Koontz-horror, when the supernatural and the bizarre was still very much his thing, you may want to check this out, although only if you’ve already read the likes of Phantoms and Midnight since I believe they’re both better than Darkfall.

From the Author’s Afterword
I do not rate Darkfall among my best work, but I’ll be immodest enough to say that I think it’s a fun read. The only ambition here was to produce a page-turning entertainment; I wanted to cross the horror novel with the police procedural, while mixing in a love story and a measure of comic dialogue.

[Delee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another buddy-read with Bo-BEdward. :D

[Karl Marberger · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fast-paced thrill ride of a horror novel. The entire second half was nonstop terror and the suspense didn’t give an inch.

My favorite by Koontz that I’ve read so far.

[Michael Sorbello · Rating 4 out of 5]

A supernatural blizzard brings New York City to a standstill and ushers in an evil that defies imagination. There's a series of incredibly brutal murders terrorizing the city. First it's believed that the crimes are being committed by a demented psychopath, then by a violent mafia gang, then by a ravenous pack of rats, and then finally, by the forces of Hell itself. A fierce battle against ancient creatures summoned by centuries old magic begins in the heart of New York City. Detective Jack Dawson enlists the aid of his most trusted partner Rebecca and the gentle bokor (people that specialize in voodoo magic) named Houngan to fight against the evil bokor Baba Lavelle.

The premise sounds a bit silly at first, the villain being a master of dark voodoo rituals and using evil spirits from Hell to do his dirty work, but the psychological aspects of the main characters, their flaws and their perseverance over the impossible are all incredibly well done. The depiction of Heaven and Hell and good vs evil were also convincing, even when I didn't fully agree with the opinions being stated I still felt like the content suited the mood and context of the story itself. I especially enjoyed the conflict between the two bokors. Houngan specializes in white magic and Lavelle specializes in black magic, their battle of spirits was a sight to behold. It's like classic pulp horror but with the maturity and emotional complexity of modern day psychological thrillers.

This is the first Koontz novel I've ever read and he's given me a strong first impression. I've heard a lot of questionable things about the quality of his work so I wasn't expecting to enjoy this one nearly as much as I did. I'll definitely be checking out more of his works in the future, especially from the 70's and 80's which I hear is his golden period.

My Rating: 4.1/5

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of Koontz’s earliest novels that was originally titled “The Pit” by his persona Owen West, has been retitled “Darkfall” and is now published along with other Koontz titles. I picked up this paperback after reading and enjoying Koontz’s “Odd Thomas” series. The writing of “Darkfall” is just as dark and evil as I had expected.

Koontz’s use of imagery throughout the novel is outstanding. I was able to (unwillingly) step into the novel and be part of the action. I truly felt as if I was traveling with the characters throughout the story.

The demonic characters where slowly revealed to us as the gates of hell were opened through a glowing pit dug by the evil character Lavelle. Lavelle practices voodoo, but other than a few references to his rituals, I found that there was much research lacking by Koontz.

The characters Jack and Rebecca were well developed and I felt a strong connection to them, even to the evil forces of Lavelle. There was a strong story line of good vs evil that was carried through the entire book. A lesser love storyline was also present and I found myself enjoying the character development through this route.

Having a 12 year old child, I found one character, Penny, who is 11 years old to be unbelievable. See seemed to present the maturity and dialogue of a much older teen. This was especially evident at the end of the novel.
Overall, this was a fun read, which you should probably not read before bedtime.

[Bill Riggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect Fall/Winter read. Full of creepy, unsettling dread as the story builds. New York City, a mob war over drug territory, Voodoo, and a Haitian witch doctor all mix together in a massive snowstorm that engulfs the city. And what is watching from the shadows, scurrying through ductwork and under beds? Why are bodies turning up, chewed and bitten? Something seems to be hunting/killing those on both sides of the law.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Darkfall was published in the UK with the title Darkness Comes in February of 1984, several months before it appeared in the U.S. It had been written with the idea of publishing it under the pseudonym of Owen West and with the title The Pit, but the success of Koontz's extant current catalog caused them to reconsider. It's one of the few Koontz books that I would classify as a strict and straight horror novel. There's some police procedural and romance elements, but it's the nasty little beasties and the voodoo priest and the opening of the Hellmouth and the Lovecraftian horror that resides there that fires the story. It's quite a captivating and creepy page-turner, and I enjoyed it very much.

[Maciek · Rating 3 out of 5]

Darkness comes/Darkfall - 1984. This is propably the most "Mastertonian" book written by Koontz, as it deals with voodoo.
Baba Lavelle is a newcomer in town, and he's planning to take over the drug business. However, he's not your average thug - he's a Bocor, which basically means he can conjure the most wicked demons and send them after his enemies.

Koontz's use of visual imagery is outstanding. That's one of the fact I miss in his recent works. The demons, the chases are all beautifuly rendered.

The bad thing is the silly morality of the characters. He desperately tries to get readers to feel for the heroine, who wouldn't go with the good cop because...
A junkie came into the shop her father owned, and despite the fact that the man gave him money that he wanted he killed him.
That's a tragedy.
But he returned and shot the woman's mother, who was in the shop too.
That's a double tragedy, really. But here things start becoming ridiculous:
She goes to be raised by her grandparents...and her grandfather dies. Then it's only her and the grandmother, who...you won't guess...also dies. LOL ! The woman brings bad omens like the girl in Paranormal Activity. Kick her out of the house!
Of course after telling the good guy all this macabre there's a graphic sex scene that's quite embarassing to read.

Here are some quotes to illustrate the subtle differenes between good and evil in this novel.

"Hell's bells, no cop would fail to back up a partner," all said.
"Some would," Jack said.
"Damned few. And if they did, they wouldn't be cops for long."

"Not all cops are corrupt. In fact, not even most of them
are."

"I'm a cop, for God's sake! You can't make me back down by threatening
me. Threats just make me all the more interested in finding you."

"You threaten my kids, you asshole, you just threw away whatever chance
you had. Who do you think you are? My God, where do you think you are?
This is America, you dumb shit. You can't get away with that kind of
stuff here, threatening my kids." - LOL apparently you can't threat people in America, even in fiction. Uncle Sam is watching.

Here are some descriptions of the bad guy, who comes to help the good guys by providing them with a photo of Lavelle.

"Don Gennaro Carramazza, patriarch of the most powerful
mafia family in New York.(...)He had a surprisingly cultured voice." - that's a good beginning, but...

"The old man looked like a lizard. His eyes were hooded by heavy,
pebbled lids. He was almost entirely bald. His face was wizened and
leathery, with sharp features and a wide, thin-lipped mouth. He moved
like a lizard, too: very still for long moments, then brief flurries of
activity, quick darlings and swivelings of the head." - so, there's something about him...

Now some dialogue:

"There's no reason to be
afraid of me, you know."
Afraid? But I'm not."
"When you were reluctant to get into the car, I thought-"
"Oh, that wasn't fear," she said icily. "I was worried the dry cleaner
might not be able to get the stink out of my clothes." - girl, where are your manners ? Here it begins:

"You're a thug, a thief, a murderer, a dopepeddler, a pimp"(...)You can't insult a pig merely by calling it a pig."

"Remember," Jack said, "he's lost a nephew and a brother today."
"Both of whom were dope peddlers, thugs, and murderers," she said. - whoa whoa whoa !

"The old man's reptilian hands remained perfectly still on top of the
attache case. He turned his cobra eyes on Jack." - okay I get it he's bad ! But ole Koontz doesn't stop, and his narrator joins in the bashing:

"There was no veneer of gentility now. The old man looked more reptilian than ever. Like a snake in a thousand-dollar suit. A very poisonous snake."(...)His dark eyes, always disturbing, now shone with a rage so intense, so inhuman that it communicated itself to Jack and sent a chill up his spine.(...)His eyes blinked once, twice, slow as lizard eyes.HE'S A LIZARD I GET IT DAMNIT!

"This murderer, this geriatric dope peddler, this ancient racketeer, this supremely dangerous poisonous lizard of a man..." thank you, captain obvious.
PS. Ancient Racketeer ? What stuff you have to take to think up something like that ?

Plus one special quote for the end:

"Fondling his genitals, he recited a short prayer."
Isn't it neat ?

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a reread for me as I read it when it first came out 14 years ago. I’m happy to see that it is just as good or as bad as it was then. The bad: The same thing bothered me yet today that bothered me all those years ago was that I didn’t/don’t understand how the father…a policeman no less…does nothing when he knows his children are being threatened. He just continues with his investigation efforts without asking help from fellow officers. The relative he assumed they would be safe with was barely able to care for herself let alone two children. That didn’t make sense to me then and made even less sense to me today. The Good: It was an intriguing storyline with a “bad thing” that was totally creepy and unpredictable…and it did have a terrifying satisfactory climax.

[Becky · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 Stars
Starting this book I actually had pretty high hopes for it. A voodoo priest comes to New York for revenge and calls upon dark spirits and forces of evil to do his bidding... and all over town, people are found dead and mutilated. It starts out with some pretty creepy scenes, and the action doesn't really let up after that. If I was just judging this book on concept, action, and pace, it would be a 4 star book at least. But unfortunately, this is Dean Koontz, who manages to take a good concept and Koontzify quite a lot of it into mind-numbing near unreadability.

By this I mean that I had some rather large issues with this book. First, Koontz shows once again that he is not a character writer. He's got two types of female characters that he just switches up between books. There's the Ball Buster Bitch and there's the Miss Independent Victim (That Needs To Love Again). Well wouldn't you know that Ol' Dean mixed it up here and gave us a 3rd type?? The MamaBear! Yep. That Dean's just full of surprises!

Next, about midway through, this already disbelief-suspended plot got all lost on its way home. The evil voodoo dude forgot who he was pissed at in the first place, and switched targets and priorities and busted out all of the big guns for someone who was simply a sideline irritation to begin with... and not only this, but he created himself a self-fulfilling prophecy in which the sideline irritation becomes a major problem by boasting and taunting the NYPD. If he'd just gone about his business, he could have concluded it and been on his merry way without any issues at all. I guess that this is supposed to teach us that pride cometh before the fall, but really, all it taught me is that if I'm going to do some bad stuff, I should probably just keep a low profile about it and NOT tip off the cops to details of how to take me down. Y'know... Just sayin'. But again, this is a Koontz book - the tension and danger is more important than making actual sense.

Finally, there are authors out there who have brilliant observations on life and love and all that it entails, and communicate this wonderfully to the page in a way that provides the reader with interesting insight to their observations in a beautiful and honest way without insulting or condescending or preaching to the reader, or engaging their gag reflex. Then there are authors who are very bad at doing this, but are deluded into thinking that they are not, and write passages like this:

"...Love is the only thing that endures. Mountains are torn down, built up, torn down again over millions and millions of years. Seas dry up. Deserts give way to new seas. Time crumbles every building man erects. Great ideas are proven wrong and collapse as surely as castles and temples. But love is a force, and energy, a power. At the risk of sounding like a Hallmark card, I think love is like a ray of sunlight, traveling for all eternity through space, deeper and deeper into infinity; like that ray of light, it never ceases to exist."

(This is only part of a 3-page-or-so long emotionally motivational semi-monologue, skipped almost in its entirety by me because I couldn't stop rolling my eyes long enough to focus on the page.)

I did like the concept of Voodoo here, and how it is malleable to those who use it based on their intentions. It's like life in general this way - we each get one, and how we use it is up to us. I liked the resolution for the same reason. I liked the action and pace and the assassins (which I thought were cool). It's too bad that the issues I had were so large. This isn't a bad read if you're looking for something quick paced and interesting -- just don't be too picky about characterization or a logical plot. ;)

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was enjoyable, suspensful, and dark. Koontz even says in the afterward that it was not necessarily his best work, but he was hoping for a page turner - so he succeeded!

[Erin *Proud Book Hoarder* · Rating 4 out of 5]

Darkfall, as an early Koontz novel, is chocked full of horror, straight arrow chills, and all the things that make us look under the bed at night. The theme itself (demonic creatures?) drew me immediately

The plot itself isn’t overly complicated but it’s laid out in a way that allows it to come off as a semi-mystery wannabe. The ending isn’t shocking once it’s unraveled, but there’s no way in hell I could have guessed it the first few chapters of this page-turner. From beginning to end, I was enchanted by strong characterization, creepy deaths, an odd sort of confusion, and interest to learn more. And interest, my dear readers, is the key to making a good book. Koontz has prevailed once again.

Every writer pays some sort of attention to atmosphere (although not all are impressive in their efforts), yet sometimes you don’t have to have it deep, dark, and brooding to make it work in horror. Here Koontz doesn’t spend too much time waving his magic wand to make things black and gritty; instead, his focus seems to be more on the characters. Because of this, while there are creepy moments, it doesn’t have that still sort of fear induced from other novels like his, such as "Phantoms."

The main characters are two cops, an interesting pair who are just now bringing their relationship up to ‘another level’. Jack is the main lead of the bunch, being the male partner falling in love with his female counterpart, the distant and somewhat cold seeming Rebecca with a haunting secret of her own. He is also the father of two adorable children, Penny and Davey, who bring their own sense of charm to the novel. The main villain is convincingly scripted, with a creepy personality that brings forth interesting (while morbid) antics.

The pace is swift and strong. From the beginning murder to the final chapter. There is one issue I had with this, though, and that was the ending. Too abrupt and cut off. A lot of steam building up for the final boil over...while it happens so quickly that if you blinked, you missed it.

Koontz’s style in this one is simple and yet well written. The words all flow together well, the characters are deep, the plot is follow-able and avoids confusion, and the tension/suspense strummed tightly enough.

While Darkfall delivers on many levels, it fails on a small few - one of the main issues being the ending, and the other being a somewhat light use of atmosphere when it could have been used to greater advantage. In the end though, any weakness is melted away by the strength of the book’s heat. Darkfall is a gripping, thought provoking, and moving read packed full of real people, creepy scenarios, and vivid details.

[Mike (the Paladin) · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you have read much Koontz and have read the forwards, notes etc. you may have run across the fact that Mr. Koontz (at least for a while) was (and for all I know may still be) very...."disillusioned" with Hollywood. They did some adaptions of his work that left, quite a bit to be desired. Still there was also a period (probably before this) when many of Mr. Koontz'z novels read (to me at least) as if they were outlines for screen plays.

This is one of those.

My wife and both my kids read this one some years ago (my daughter still holds a prank against her younger brother as while she was engaged in the more tense part of this novel he waited behind a door and leapt out at her...causing screams, mayhem and chaos throughout the house). I didn't read it at that time, but heard a lot about it.

I knew from early on I wouldn't be giving this 5 stars no matter how good. It has that annoying "love story snipping at each other" motif. It carries on throughout the book slowly cycling down as the two participants realize their relationship.

If I want a relationship[ book I can get one. i don't read horror for it...though I know some do.

So...not a bad book. Voodoo involved, nasty creatures, very bad villain...pour together, mix thoroughly and serve. Nothing really new or super original here but reliable stuff.

Enjoy.

[Becky · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the first Dean Koontz book I didn't like at all. I didn't like the characters, I didn't like the plot, I didn't like the pacing. I couldn't stand Rebecca and couldn't see why anyone would care about her. The kids were ok, but didn't think or act like any kids I know. There was no sense of mystery or suspense, just a straight-forward telling of a not very compelling story.

My moment of major disbelief came when Jack is told that his kids are in danger and he decides not to send an officer to protect them because he will be with them. And then he goes off to have sex with his partner! What the heck?? There was no way I could buy into the story after that.

All I can say is that I'm glad Dean Koontz got better and this wasn't the first book of his I had read, because this would have been the last.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dean Koontz is a conundrum to me. His work is commercial and accessible and very easy to find - however there are many many critics of his style and criticisms of his work and his imagination.
He is hugely successful and his creations are so addictive and I just cannot put his books down once I start them. I first found his work while I was at university. The publisher Headline had just launched a number of his books with new covers and they had a huge window display at a local bookshop. The covers looked amazing and I had to go in and try one.
This book was that first title and I read it in a night. The storyline although at that time it was called Darkness Comes - was a new one to me (I guess now I have read far too many books which have echoes of this story) and I could not wait to see what happened, who would survive and what became of the main characters. I was not disappointed. But as you can imagine I had to read more - and so here lies my problem. The books are read far too quickly - Midnight another one of his titles I have read so many times that I destroyed my first copy of it and now have a hardback I regularly pull off the shelf and read again and again (speaking of which the pull is there for me to read it again I must resist or thats another sleepless night ahead)

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book at Goodwill and thought it sounded like a great thriller. Then I got to the first scene with Jack and Rebecca and right then and there it started getting the same feeling that Phantoms gave me. Things just ended to damn conveniently for the characters. I mean, Jack can fight demons from hell summoned by voodoo because he's basically a nice guy? Really? I've only read 3 of Dean Koontz's books, but already, I'm not a fan. The Taking is an incredible book and I loved every second of it, but Phantoms and Darkfall have just ruined this author for me. Beginning to end it was just too predictable for me. And the characters are irritating. There's not enough character development in Rebecca to wash off the bitch vibe you get at the beginning, Jack just doesn't strike me as the brightest light bulb for some reason, and his kids are honestly just annoying. I didn't hate it and there's just the slightest bit of suspense to the end, but all in all, I wouldn't recommend it.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the first Koontz books I read, back in the 80s, written originally under the pen name Owen West. Lieutenant Jack Dawson and his partner are looking into suspicious deaths among the organized crime creeps in New York.

Four hideously murdered corpses, and the most recent was Vincent and his bodyguard. Vince was killed inside his penthouse bathroom - and the door was locked from the inside.

Great mystery/crime/horror tale that rides like a roller coaster. There's a scene, set in a snowstorm, that has some baddies chasing the good guys that is still a fast fun read!

[WHL (Bill) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars.

Darkfall was one of Dean Koontz's books that made me a fan. Published in 1984, I read the paperback and enjoyed it then. The audiobook had excellent narration and made the story come alive even more. Darkfall is a creepy, fun read filled with goblins and voodoo. The story is a bit dated and far from his best but still a decent and entertaining read.

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Suspenseful. Heart-pounding. The story is about two detectives, Jack and Rebecca, who are investigating a series of crimes where the victims have been chewed, although not by any kind of animal that can be recognized by medical doctors. What can it be? Knives? No. Too small. Penpricks? Well, how does a vicious body-building bodyguard not be able to fend those off? Voodoo? No. It's not real. Or is it? With the mind games that Baba Lavelle plays with Jack Dawson, Jack soon begins to believe. But not Rebecca. She is steadfast in her disbelief. But when Jack's children, Penny and Davey are dragged into the mess, will Rebecca rexamine her views? And will they all be able to fight off the demon creatures that chase after them in the night in the walls?

[Olethros · Rating 3 out of 5]

-Serie B.-

Género. Narrativa Fantástica.

Lo que nos cuenta. El detective de la policía de Nueva York Jack Dawson, junto a su compañera Rebecca, se encargan de la investigación de unos homicidios extraños porque las víctimas son miembros de la delincuencia organizada de la ciudad y han muerto a mordiscos. La hija de Jack, Penny, ha tenido alguna experiencia nocturna inquietante con pequeñas figuras que se mueven bajo su cama.

¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:

http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...

[Ignacio Senao f · Rating 4 out of 5]

Diría q Dean es la auténtica literatura de terror basura, pero un basura en plan como la comida, que esta rica y barata pero no sana. Este galardón siempre se lo lleva King, pero no es así. King es más elaborado todo, Dean es como un atropello, rápido y contundente. Sus libros son con personajes planos y sin escenario, pero te asegura el terror.

En este libro hay monstruos como estás que matan gracias al vudú xD

[Deb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Scary

Dean Koontz is a very good author of the imagination, horror, edge of your seat stories.
I recommend this book for horror readers.
The narrator was extremely good..

[Ben Boulden · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice vintage Dean Koontz horror novel from the 1980s. This one is all supernatural with a foray into voodoo and a Lovecraftian monster. The climactic action, which is the last third of the book, is brilliantly exciting. It falls short of Koontz's best work--Lightning, Watchers, The Bad Place, etc.--but Darkfall is a diverting and entertaining book.

[Regina · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not going to lie, I only really finished this book in the speed I did because I was behind on my reading challenge.
I felt the book in general came off to a slow start, but then it really started to pick up when they were getting chased. So in response, I give this book 2.5 stars because it took a while to get into and even then, it still wasn't the best work I've ever read.

The storm was busily engaged on its carpentry work, building drifts in the street.

In general, I thought that the characters had at least some background making up for the way they were, the plot had some meat (when it actually got going), the descriptions were decent, the writing style was okay but in the end, it was the setting that made everything a whole lot better. Although I loved the concept of snowy New York, it made the story move so much slower, giving the author the ability to drag out scenes. Plus, I thought it was a bit strange for there to be no one around The City That Never Sleeps? This book gives you a whole different image of New York opposed to how films do and in all honesty, I don't think there's anything wrong with that.

The writing style was simple, but the descriptions were quite complex, especially when you were trying to grasp atmosphere, plot, characters and their personalities, etc. We had long drawn out descriptions of the "goblins", which took up a full page. They were all described as looking different with silvery fire-like eyes but there's no reason for this or why this might be. It's just like here is a goblin that looks like a "African American warrior condemned to hell for his crimes". Other descriptions were a bit hit and miss for me because I have absolutely no idea what Rebecca was on about in the bedroom and she's supposed to be an adult whereas what Penny said about takers, givers-and-takers and givers made so much sense.

One thing I seemed to notice was that the sentences stopped repeating themselves half way through and that they became cleverer.

The largest problem that I had with the novel was that it was revealed that our main character, Jack, is a "righteous man". The definition is as follows:

righteous
ˈrʌɪtʃəs/Submit
adjective
1.
morally right or justifiable.

So now I'm not even sure what was "morally right" about him because he doesn't seem to think about other people at all. He slept with Rebecca and spent time with her in her bed when he was concerned about his children being killed by the "goblins", and he sat and had a glass of brandy when he knew Rebecca had to constantly keep moving the car with the kids inside due, yet again, to the "goblins". Can you be so righteous yet so selfish and irresponsible? It boggles my mind because I can't even think of what he did in this book that was actually righteous. I think he seemed to just have good common sense.

I know Jack is our main character, but I really did not feel like we got to really know his love interest. All we know is that she loves Jack, she's a bit "hard" and that she was a strict non-believer turned believer after the destruction of her bedroom. I have seen other reviews on here and they all say that there's a female character just like her in a lot of other Koontz novels and I hope that isn't true. It seems like he only knows how to write characters with a severe philophobia and I'm wondering if there's a reason for that.

The children also played a big part in this, considering Jack seemed to constantly worry about their well-being. But you can't help notice how... unlike children they act. Penny acts much older than she seems and her whole speech about givers, givers-and-takers and takers was so advanced. It made sense but it was so... grown-up and I believe it has something to do with how her mother, Linda, either left or died. So in reality, she has been through a lot at such a young age that it has forced her to mature. Although Davey's character was spot on, and adds into the whole Penny acting grown-up charade.

It was a long time since I read this and I believe I don't have my copy anymore but I distinctly remember Koontz stating that this wasn't his best work in either the front or back of the novel!

[Fred · Rating 5 out of 5]

Second read - June 2016 group read
I used youtube.com ("Darkfall Koontz") to listen.
Manhattan police dectectives Lt. Jack Dawson (widower, Linda - father of two children, Penny and Davey) and Lt. Rebecca Chandler investigate murders with "rat" teeth marks (monster goblins with silver eyes are found) eating at victums. A Caribbean voodoo priest, Baba Lavelle ("Bacor") with "black" spirits and sorency powers is after Jack and the Carramazza mafia family (Vince and Gennaro). The monster goblins chase them. Jack received guidance from Carver Hampton, a "priest" to cast "white" spirits to help pursue and stop Lavelle spirits, Carver helps Jack believe he is not a "wicked" person to God and his past Police murders were self-defense only (stopping a robber & murderer) ! A Saint Patrick Catheral is used by Rebecca to save the children with a chase leading Jack to the church. But what can holy water and a communion rail to save everyone from goblins and Lavelle? A tone with Jack & Rebecca had romance, their end could have been better....

[Brett · Rating 1 out of 5]

Darkfall by Dean Koontz. I had no idea what this book was about when I started it, and declined to read the synopsis so I could have the "joy" of nosing the plot out for myself. Well, I'll spoil it for you: it's about a voodoo practitioner that opens the gates of hell a bit and lets out some weird stuff that terrorizes the family of a policeman that is trying to catch said voodoo practitioner for his connection to some murders. Now, this sounds like exactly that kind of thing that I might get some guilty pleasure out of, but as is so often the case, Koontz is such a bad writer and inept at characterization and dialogue that I couldn't squeeze any enjoyment whatsoever out of the experience. The characterization of the bad guy in is awesomely stupid. That Koontz remains a bestselling author through decades of poor quality work is astounding.

[Julie Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed the philosophical aspects of the story regarding the concepts of heaven and hell and how we choose to live our lives, although the gooey bits were less so, I realised the necessity due to the subject matter.

A good read with great characters.