Twilight Eyes

By: Dean Koontz

Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner

Length: 17 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

They're out there....
Waiting. Watching. Unseen by normal eyes, but all too visible to Slim MacKenzie, a young man blessed - or cursed - by Twilight Eyes.

They're out there....
Lurking in the darkest shadows of an eerie, moonlit carnival. Feeding their twisted needs with human suffering - and fiendishly plotting the downfall of the human race.

They're out there....
But don't scream. They'll hear you.

©2008 Dean Koontz (P)2008 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

A good listen, a bit different but a good story

A good listen, a bit different but a good story
A good listen, a bit different but a good story

One of Koontz's best!

What a story. Well-written, well-narrated. If you like Koontz, you cannot go wrong. A great avoid-the-apocalypse yarn.

one of my favorites

This has always been one of my favorites in both the written edition and the audible!

Filled with Images that Will Linger for Decades

I first read this novel when I was in high school or college—one of the first of Koontz books I encountered. Like many of his novels, many of the images have stayed strongly in my memory for the interceding thirty-plus years and I wanted to know if the novel was as good as I remembered it being. So I picked it up again in audio format and thoroughly enjoyed getting back into the carnival that is the focus of the first half of the book.

Twilight Eyes is the story of a young man (Slim) who has discovered (due to a minor psychic ability) that monsters masquerading as humans (he calls them goblins) live among us and while they pretend to be very concerned about their families and neighbors, they actually revel in torturing (both physically and emotionally) everyone around them. Over the course of the novel, we learn that Slim has come to this carnival seeking work because he has murdered his uncle (a goblin) to keep him from killing his cousin—but Slim does occasionally doubt his own sanity, which makes him an even more empathetic character.

The carnival is the heart of the first half of this story. It’s set in 1963 and unlike a modern preference to make the carnival a place of horrors, Koontz has made it a refuge from the horrible world dominated by the goblins. We travel with Slim as he fits into the community and begins to really like his new neighbors. And we feel for him as he tries and fails to protect the carnival from the goblins. There are triumphs and betrayals in the first half of this story as Slim tries to figure out how he and his new friends can get by.

The second half of the novel was fascinatingly motivated by news of the murder Kitty Genovese, a young New York City woman who was stabbed to death to death in a New York City parking lot over a 30-minute period while 38 of her neighbors watched or listened and didn’t call the police or intervene to help her. Slim, and his girlfriend, decide that they can’t be like those neighbors and ignore the goblins and so they go on the attack in the very tense and exciting second half of the book.

While not one of Koontz best novels, it has a lot of the characteristics that make his stories so great. There are compelling characters struggling with issues of morality—when is it necessary to intervene and how much do concerns for one’s personal safety counter that necessity. It also deals with the strength that comes from a healthy loving relationship. If you want a good adventure yarn in a horror setting, or if you just like Dean Koontz’ other books, you’ll like Twilight Eyes.

Always A Favorite

Twilight Eyes is one of the first book I read by Dean Koontz and remains one of my favorite. The narration of the story was excellent, well read, and transported me back in time. I love horror and could easily picture the details.

An Old Favorite

The is another one of my favorite books ever since I read it back in the 80's. I have read it dozens of times over the years and I still love it.

Although I do still love it, I must admit that over the years, I have found a couple of things that I wish were done a little differently.
For one, sometimes the writing gets over the top descriptive. Almost obsessively so. It could have been toned down some.
Two; the intimate scenes are very, very descriptive. When I was in my early teens when I first read it, I didn't really mind. But now that I'm older, I realize that it is a bit over the top. And trust me, I am no prude by any means 😂.

One thing that could maybe bother some people is that there are a lot of very large articulate words used for a 17 year old main character. I have heard some complaints about that. But it didn't bother me because in my interpretation of the story, it seems more like a memoir that is being told by the main character's older self. But that is entirely my interpretation and it may be wrong.

As far as the narrator goes; I think he did a pretty decent job. It wasn't the best, but it was far from the worst either. He did repeatedly mispronunciate a few words by pronouncing them as they are spelled rather than the correct way. But all in all, a decent job. I will definitely listen to this book again.

So to sum it up; this is still one of my favorite books and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to it. I highly recommend it!

Dean Koontz does not disappoint

There are a couple spots where the audio gets very quiet. The sex scenes are kinda cringy. Other then that all good!

For this story, a different reader was REALLY needed

As I indicated, for this particular story, a different reader was REALLY needed. The story seemed to lend itself to a somewhat younger audience.

Great writer amazing twists

If you enjoy being in a Sci fi maze this book is for you. It won't dissapoint.

Dean Koontz Classic!

This was an awesome book, typical Koontz imagination, storyline and plot. I loved it, Definately recommend...