The Face

I went to Dame's house to celebrate the New Year. I brought a book along with me on my way there as I have already started reading it. The title of the book is The Face by Dean Koontz.

I became a big fan of Dean Koontz right after reading Intensity which is probably one of the handful of books I refused to put down eventhough it was way past bedtime. For those who don't know Dean Koontz, he is a master thriller writer at par with Stephen King. Yes, that famous Stephen King. The main difference is that most of Stephen King's novels are of epic catastrophes where the events occur for weeks, months or years. Stephen King is (was) a visionary of horrific and armageddonian (if there is such a word) masterpieces in which, unfortunately, Hollywood was able to catch up to. In any event, people would rather see War of the Worlds or I am Legend than read Stephen King books having the same theme. Dean Koontz, on the other hand, writes about serial killers and supernatural events with only a few main characters participating in his suspense thrillers. And the events just take place in a few days or a week.

The book that I read, The Face (2004), was a great read. Not exceptional but great. The story revolves around an ex-cop-turned bodyguard to the most dazzling Hollywood star known as the Face. The bodygaurd has to protect the Face's son who is a target of a deranged and dangerous anarchist plotting to kidnap him. Just right before Christmas, the famous mansion of the Face is empty save for a few security personnel, the bodyguard Ethan and the Face's son, Fric. The anarchist sets out a most daring plan to penetrate the impenetrable security features of the mansion and kidnap the son.

Overall, the novel is fast-paced with a dash of comedy to lighten up the mood. The description of how sick the anarchist was perfectly painted and his evil oozes out of the pages. My only concern was that there were a few subplots that were not relevant to the story. And before the twists start to unfold another subplot of pure irrelevance is added up murkying the story.

The ending was fantastic. It had a subtle suggestion that human ideation of beauty, such as their adoration for the Face, would pale to the highest degree if you see the Face of the divine. Overall the book didn't left me wanting. It left me satisfied and high with the Christmas spirit.