It was raining... you could say the sky was crying... I was sitting at work gazing at the window at the world outside, humming a song which crossed my mind: ’’Why does it always rain on me... Even when the sun is shining I can’t avoid the lightning...’’
The day was so gloomy... I wanted to go home, stay in bed with a cup of hot tea and a book... And so I did... but when I’ve already prepared the tea I realized that I don’t have anything to read... ’’Geee – You are just brilliant girl!... Looks like u will have to take a walk to the nearest library... Grrrr’’... -I thought... I mean don’t get me wrong... usually I love to visit that place... but not when there’s a thunderstorm outside for Goodness sake!
Anyway I didn’t have a choice… I took my ’’brolly’’and went directly to the library... As always it took me a while until I found something appropriate... At first when I saw it... I laughed out loud... cause I thought that it would perfectly suit the weather that day... then I read first two pages of it and...took them home with me... and the other 353 as well... ’’Lightning’’ by Dean Koontz.
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The author
Dean Koontz – you would say a typical guy from Pennsylvania. Well perhaps he is... but there is one extraordinary thing about him. He writes... yep... he writes novels, and he does it darn good... moreover he’s a brilliant author of many bestsellers. His books are published in 38 languages, worldwide sales are nearly 200 million copies... kinda impressive if it’s about me… But I wouldn’t be so impressed if I haven’t read one of his masterpieces...
The plot
It all started with a lightning. On one cold winter night... a child was born – Laura Shane – the main character... But she came into this world only thanks to a mysterious man who stopped the drunken doctor before he delivered the baby. This way he ensured her safe passage into the world. Eight years later Laura meets her secret guardian once again when he saves her from the perverted robber in her father’s store.
Years pass by and Laura grows up. One day her father dies of a heart attack, she becomes an orphan, as her mother passed away giving birth to her. She lives in a children’s home where she finds a life-long friendship. Throughout her childhood she has many obstacles to overcome, she becomes a target for a pedophile and deals with the death of one of her best friends. In spite of all those tragic moments in her life Laura always sees signs that her ’’guardian’’ has been there to help or support her. The girl grows up with the ambition of being a writer. In the meanwhile she meets a terrific man, who will become her husband in the nearest future. Her life becomes more stable, she begins a very successful career as a writer and gives birth to a son.
Gradually the memory of her strange guardian and the troubles of her youth dim in the light of her happiness. Until the lightning strikes once more and shatters her world.
This time her guardian comes along with the ’angel of death’’... he isn’t able to prevent the tragedy. His return is connected with disastrous consequences to her family. Finally Laura discovers the identity of the man who was her guardian since she was born. She discovers much more than that...
Suddenly she finds herself in the middle of some kind of war... the worst thing is that she doesn’t know the rules...As her only “informer” is seriously injured she has to find out everything by herself... but the truth is much more complicated than she thought it is...
All in all.
An unbelievably fantastic plot, all the ’’twists and turns’’ make this particular book a great companion not only on rainy days... The action is tight and involving. All characters are written very well, especially Laura’s. We start out with her birth, follow her through her terrible childhood and finish with her adult years. During each of this periods in her life we find out something more about her.
You can find joy, sadness, fear and mystery in one book. I’m sure you will shed a tear, laugh out loud and hold your breath several times while you’ll be reading this masterpiece.
Notice that I’ve never been a fan of that kind of books, but this one was so compelling that I couldn’t put it down. So if you think it’s not for you...just give it a try. I’m sure you won’t be disappointed. Absolutely worth reading. I hope you will find it as interesting as I did. Enjoy.