Becoming The Muse

Book Review

The Eyes Of Darkness is a 1981 novel by Dean Koontz first published under the pen name of Leigh Nichols

And then later edited and republished under Dean Koontz

What all the fuss is about:

Recently the book has gotten spotlight for seeming to have been an almost clairvoyant insight into the COVID-19 since in the book there is a virus being used as a biological weapon called Wuhan-400 from an RDNA Lab in … wait for it Wuhan China…

If you have the book on your To Be Read list simply because you are curious about this conspiracy theory, you can save yourself some drama and skip to the last 10 pages of the book, the pictured page is pretty much all you get about that story otherwise you will simply go through the pages to find well…not too much of a corona virus conspiracy. For a more real to life conspiracy of Covid-19 watch the movie Contagion Or read my review.

First, it’s worth pointing out that in the original 1981 edition of “The Eyes of Darkness,” this biological weapon was called “Gorki-400,” in reference to a Russian locality. The name of the weapon was changed to “Wuhan-400” when the book was released again in 1989, according to the South China Morning Post.

Dean Koontz might be a spine chilling storyteller he is not certainly not prophetic… at least not overtly so

Now that we got out the way….

If you are still reading this review, then I hope it’s because you are Dean Koontz fan or at least have heard of him before this, even if you haven’t read anything by him.

Dean Koontz’s works usually revolve around a science fiction, horroresque suspense thriller, possibly with paranormal encounters and some conspiracy theory coupled with a quirky humour; and The Eyes Of Darkness is true to the formula.  

The Eyes Of Darkness is a story about a mother trying to come terms with the death of her child and it seems someone or something is taunting her with knowledge that there might have been something more sinister afoot…..

 “It’s as if … the night itself is watching us … the night, the shadows, the eyes of dark-ness.“

I am still wondering about the title though and at the end of the book it feels like a part of the storyline didn’t quite make the final cut and the book ends a little too…. Conveniently? **Whats the word for when you finish watching those B-Grade horror movies and you are trying to understand how they going to explain everything that has just happened to the police and prying neighbours?

The Eyes Of Darkness is one of Dean Koontz’s earlier books and is not as grippingly intense as some of his later works when his books had a spine chilling intensity that made it impossible to put down, it’s still a decent read.

One thing I have always loved about Dean Koontz’s books is how he can make an unbelievably outlandish plot feel like a story about a family next door coupled with a certain humour at times dark with a hilarious dialogue that keeps his reads easy and light; yet a heartbeat away from being an intense spine chilling suspense…

Final Verdict

The Eyes Of Darkness may not be favourite Dean Koontz book it’s still a delightful way to spend lockdown hours immersed in something which feels like a haunting or a very elaborate prank but you are never entirely sure and that’s all I’ll reveal… If you are Stephen King fan then you’ll definitely love Dean Koontz if you haven’t been reading him then why not start now The Eyes Of Darkness is a good enough place to start.

~B

PS I am still a little disappointed at setting myself up for the Wuhan Virus COVID-19 conspiracy theory and if it hadn’t been something I was anticipating in the book I would have enjoyed the book a bit more…