Dean Koontz does it again

Ashley Bell

By Dean Koontz

Hardcover: 576 pages

Publisher: Bantam; First Edition / First Printing edition (December 8, 2015)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0345545966

ISBN-13: 978-0345545961

Approximate Lexile: 1540

 

Publisher’s Blurb:

The girl who said no to death.

Bibi Blair is a fierce, funny, dauntless young woman—whose doctor says she has one year to live.

She replies, “We’ll see.”

Her sudden recovery astonishes medical science.

An enigmatic woman convinces Bibi that she escaped death so that she can save someone else. Someone named Ashley Bell.

But save her from what, from whom? And who is Ashley Bell? Where is she?

Bibi’s obsession with finding Ashley sends her on the run from threats both mystical and worldly, including a rich and charismatic cult leader with terrifying ambitions.

 

My Thoughts:

First, let me just put it out on the table: I like later Dean Koontz more than early Dean Koontz, and I like Dean Koontz better than I like Stephen King. (Patiently waiting for some people out there to stop throwing things at me.)

 

Let me explain. What disturbs me about King, at least in early King, because it’s been a long time since I’ve read any (I must say, I still love The Stand), is that with King, the book usually ends with the Evil Thing lurking in the shadows, ready to make a comeback. King seems to be convinced that humanity is, at its core, bad.

 

Koontz on the other hand, does not. In his earlier works, my favorite is Strangers, and it is a good example of his belief that humanity is good and can become better. Koontz’ recent work, such as The City and Innocence seems to be based even more on this belief.

 

Ashley Bell takes a bit of a turn from that.

 

This book is no different from others of the author’s work in its elevated vocabulary and complex sentence structure. It is not a book for a struggling reader. Like his other work, the protagonist of this one, Bibi Blair, is maybe a bit too bright and shining, a bit too good to be true. But also like other protagonists, she has some flaws. She has past events that she can’t—or won’t—remember, and they may be a part of her problem as she tries to find, and save, the mysterious Ashley Bell.

 

I’m not going to spoil this for you. There’s a MAJOR plot twist. Once you see it, you can think back and see the little trail of breadcrumbs that Koontz left to get you there. There’s been enough said about it in other reviews (I always read the one-star reviews before I write my own), and I think some people found the resolution to be “unexplained”. I think they didn’t read closely enough. It is explained, but it is complicated.

 

Unlike many other Koontz novels, this one ends with a hint that the antagonist could return.

I read this book in two days—and it’s finals week, so that’s saying something.

Possible Objectionable Material:

Violence. References to sex, though nothing is shown. Cruelty. One character is severely disfigured. Some minor curse words, but no F-words. Intense scenes while trying to escape from bad guys.

Who Would Like This Book:

Those who are able to suspend their disbelief about the supernatural/paranormal. Those who like personal journeys. High school and up. Dean Koontz fans, of course. The protagonist is female, but this book should be accessible to either gender.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC.