Long before the film there was the written word. Long before we settled down in
front of video or now DVD players for our fright-fests, we would read tales of 
terror by candlelight.
For most, this has been lost, however there are still those that prefer the pages
to celluloid or even both and why not?
This section then is for you. To help you to search through the rubbish and find
stories worth your time to read. If you're an avid reader of horror novels then
why not join 'Castle Dracula' as an official 'staff member' reviewing them.
To do so, just click on the 'Join My Staff' link in the menu to the left for details
of this and other vacancies.

- Darkfall -
- Dean Koontz -

The plot of "Darkfall" isn’t as complex as some of Koontz’s other works (or, really,
how the back of the cover makes it seem), but still the story is truly engrossing.
Two police detectives, 'Jack' and 'Rebecca,' have come upon something perplexing. 
Dead bodies, some stabbed by a small knife, others literally chewed, found in closed, 
locked in rooms. No guns had worked against the assailants, no weapons worked at all. 
The only thing left behind were bodies, horribly disfigured. At first they thought it 
was a gang war gone wrong, but then they thought perhaps rats... but they couldn’t be 
further from the truth.
Dean Koontz's earlier novel, "Darkfall," 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 and I stuck to these pages like dirt on a bar 
of used soap. From beginning to end, I was enchanted by strong characterization, creepy 
deaths, an odd sort of confusion, and interest to learn more. Interest, my dear readers, 
is the key to making a good book. 
Koontz has prevailed once again.
Although the atmosphere for this one was a little lighter than it could have been, the 
theme itself was creepy, and scenes of violence were vividly conveyed. The assailants 
(I won’t spoil THAT surprise) are nothing short of eerie, especially when they 'talk' 
and I was basically biting my knuckles at certain key points.
Besides the likeable main character, 'Jack,' and his partner (who has a secret of her 
own, 'Rebecca,' we have two small children leaning the way. 
'Davey' is an adorable young boy, and although nothing is told through his eyes, I felt 
a great deal of compassion toward the young lad.  
'Penny' is also a well written character and when things were told through her point of 
view, the stakes were upped as her personality shone.
While the plot flowed well, I had a little bit of a problem with the ending itself. 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.
Sometimes Koontz is a little heavy handed, but here his prose is light and well worded.
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.

Reviewed By Erin Williams.

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