The Face of Fear

By: Dean Koontz

Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor

Length: 6 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's Summary

Don’t look down.…

Because you’re trapped on the 40th floor of a deserted office building by a psychopath called "The Butcher".

Don’t look down.…

Because you’re an ex-mountain climber and a fall from Everest left you with a bad leg and a paralyzing fear of heights.

Don’t look down.…

Because The Butcher has slaughtered the guards and short-circuited the elevators - the stairways are blocked, and for you and the beautiful woman with you, there’s only one escape route.

Don’t look down.…

Because 600 feet of empty space are looking back at you.

©1977 Nkui (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Okay Mystery

Koontz has been one of my favorite mystery writers. However his last few book have fallen short I think. This one The Face of Fear was ok in that the plot held my interest but the characters were neither here nor there. The scary guys weren't terribly frightening and the good guys weren't very likeable. One of the things I think Koontz does best is to give the reader/listener interesting characters and here he disappoints. So for me this book is forgettable at best.

Some good surprises in store...

I thought this would be a stock hero hunting a killer story. It is actually pretty good. I had to keep listening to it all the way through! Thank goodness it isn't a long book because I wouldn't have been able to get anything done! I always hesitate to read thrillers because they are gory or get too much into the detective or cop detail, but Koontz has a good pace at building the story and seems to have a pretty good knowledge of a couple of areas. Be aware there are a couple of graphic parts if you are sensitive to that. The story is full of surprises all the way to the end. I have not listened to Koontz novel before and after this listen, would choose another of his books.

Good Old Koontz but…

This early Koontz is not his best work, but not his worst. I found it mildly interesting, but a bit derivative, a bit formulaic, and at points a bit silly. The situations sometimes become absurd. Other suspense authors do this ad-nausium, but Koontz usually can be relied upon to get quite strange, but almost never dumb. One of the things I like best about Koontz is I almost never find myself thinking “Oh come on, that is just silly”. The Face of Fear is one of the few exceptions. The very Columbo-like detective seemed derivative and was not compelling. The story as a whole was also more formulaic than the best of Koontz. There were a few things I liked about this story but far from enough to make this a great Koontz.

A cat and mouse game.

I read this book when I was a teen and I always thought it was one of Dean Koontz best books. Since this book was written quite a long time ago you can tell the story is dated written in the late 1980's, where there are no computer or cell phones. Still good after all this time, even if a story like this has been done many times by now. I would say this is one of Dean Koontz tamer books, not too much paranormal or sci-fi in the story. I have always been a fan of the narrator.

Excellent as usual

I think this is one of the nest books he has written in quite a while..Patrick Lawlor did his usual excellent job as narrator. If there is anything negative to say at all is the way it ends. It's like there are two endings/ Other than that it exceeptionsl. A real page turner!

Riveting

This book was a good listen and a peak at the struggles one faces after an accident and a look at a killers mindset

Good enough for some light entertainment.

Would you listen to The Face of Fear again? Why?

Probably not, as it just wasn't Dean Koontzy enough for me.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

No.

What about Patrick Lawlor’s performance did you like?

His voice is lovely!

Any additional comments?

this is an ok book, but it just didn't do it for me.

Early Koontz Suspense

I read this book many years ago, and read it again a couple of decades later. A suspense/thriller, and not his best by far, but I find that the mediocre works by Koontz are often above the best efforts of other authors in the same genre. In this book, an ex-mountain climber has to refresh his skills quickly to get away from a psychopathic killer. Whether it's the early works or the later works, Dean Koontz does a great job of getting you "right there" with his character.

Curiosity purchase and not disappointed

I own the t.v. movie from the 90s and read the book in the past so when I saw it on here I was intrigued and wanted to check out the audio version. I don't always have enough time to read so I'm happy to have things to listen to in the car or while cleaning. The performance was good, though his voices for the females made me laugh a few times, he was good at making distinct voices for each character so you don't get lost in character conversations. I've always liked this story and it holds well to present day despite being originally published in the 70s. I've only read a few Dean Koontz novels and I don't normally like the sci-fi/horror/fantasy stuff too much, so this one remains my favorite since the only thing remotely science fiction related are Graham's limited psychic abilities. It isn't too wordy and can be a good, quick read (or listen, in this case) if you like thrillers. Happy listening.

Great Book, love the narrator

Great book to listen to on long rides. keeps you wanted more. no dullness here

Good early Dean Koontz novel

Face of Fear is an early(ish) work from one of the outstanding writers of modern times, this one is a fast paced thriller that never gets boring and is just about the right length.

Patrick Lawlor does a very good job on the narration & the whole thing is quite a satisfying experience.

Surprisingly good and not too supernatural

If you could sum up The Face of Fear in three words, what would they be?

Mystery, Suspense, Action

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Face of Fear?

The surprise ending

Any additional comments?

On the whole, I'm not keen on supernatural books but this one is more of a murder mystery where the main character happens to be psychic. Well written and well read. My only complaint would be that there's not much breadth to the plot or characters but as a quick dose of a good story it works well.

Excellent

Gripping to the end, it really was brilliant all the way through. I did not see the twist coming.