One of Koontz’s earliest novels that was originally titled “The Pit” by his persona Owen West, has been retitled “Darkfall” and is now published along with other Koontz titles. I picked up this paperback after reading and enjoying Koontz’s “Odd Thomas” series. The writing of “Darkfall” is just as dark and evil as I had expected.
Koontz’s use of imagery throughout the novel is outstanding. I was able to (unwillingly) step into the novel and be part of the action. I truly felt as if I was traveling with the characters throughout the story.
The demonic characters where slowly revealed to us as the gates of hell were opened through a glowing pit dug by the evil character Lavelle. Lavelle practices voodoo, but other than a few references to his rituals, I found that there was much research lacking by Koontz.
The characters Jack and Rebecca were well developed and I felt a strong connection to them, even to the evil forces of Lavelle. There was a strong story line of good vs evil that was carried through the entire book. A lesser love storyline was also present and I found myself enjoying the character development through this route.
Having a 12 year old child, I found one character, Penny, who is 11 years old to be unbelievable. See seemed to present the maturity and dialogue of a much older teen. This was especially evident at the end of the novel.
Overall, this was a fun read, which you should probably not read before bedtime.
