Dragon Tears

Koontz's current best-seller relates the story of two Southern California police detectives who track down a demonic serial killer with paranormal abilities. The work is well-suited to audio, and fans of Koontz should enjoy this exceptional production. Jay O. Sanders is simply superb. All characters (even Woofer, a dog who plays an important role) are fully voiced. One of the characterizations--the golem--is so strikingly different from Sanders's "normal" voice that it's difficult at first to recognize that it's still Sanders speaking. This is a long production, but the pace never flags, and Sanders is consistently excellent. M.A.M. Winner of AUDIOFILE Earphones Award (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

January 4, 1993
Playing police logic against the supernatural, Koontz ( The Bad Place ; Night Chills et al.) delivers fairy-tale horror in the form of a detective thriller. In southern California, police detective Harry Lyon and his partner, Connie Guliver, find themselves hounded by a golem who appears in the shape of a towering vagrant. Called Ticktock because he grants his victims only hours to live, the vagrant has tremendous physical power, a taste for gruesomely described violence and the ability to stop time and rearrange reality. Koontz romps playfully and skillfully through this grown-up enchantment, dealing out such motifs as a talking dog and taking potshots at recognizable pop culture: e.g., the book's epigram is a Garth Brooks lyric, and during a killing spree the murderer yells out titles of Elvis Presley songs. The prose may occasionally strike a false note, but Koontz's breakaway bestseller pace does not dally for the mot juste. As irresistible (and nutritionally valuable) as a stack of brownies. Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club main selections; Mystery Guild featured alternate.