Horrormeister Koontz looks heavenward for inspiration in his newest suspense thriller, which is chock-full of signs, portents, angels, and one somewhat second-rate devil, a murky and undercharacterized guy named Junior Cain who throws his beloved wife off a fire tower on an Oregon mountain and spends the rest of the novel waiting for the retribution that will surely come. But not before a series of tragedies ensues that convince Junior that someone or something named Bartholomew is out to exact vengeance for that crime and the series of other murders that follow.

Bartholomew's own troubles begin with his birth, which transpires moments after his father is killed in a traffic accident as he is taking his wife to the hospital, and continue with the loss of his eyes at the tender age of 3. Young Bartholomew has visionary gifts, though to his mother, a nice lady who's renowned for her pie-making abilities as well as her sweetly innocent nature, he's just a particularly smart kid who can read and write before his second birthday. Eventually, Bartholomew regains his sight, Junior Cain gets his comeuppance, and fate conspires to bring love into the Pie Lady's life, reward the faithful, and put a happy ending on this genre-bending tale. Koontz will no doubt rocket right to the top of the bestseller list with this inventive, if somewhat slower-paced, read. --Jane Adams


From Publishers Weekly
The premise behind Koontz's new novel is the same that buoyed Michael Crichton's TimelineDthat there exist multitudes of alternate universes, each varying only slightly from the next. Whereas Crichton used the idea to generate high adventure, however, Koontz employs it to create powerful emotion tinged with spiritual wonder. That emotion, which rocks characters and will shake readers, marks this as one of Koontz's most affecting novelsDand he's written a lot of them. But there's else in this fitfully suspenseful, sprawling story of good vs. evil that will leave readers wishing Koontz would make better friends with his delete key. Above all, there's the villain, Junior Cain, whose opening homicidal act will shock readers like ice water on the spine. Koontz enlivens dashing Junior with lots of neat touchesDe.g., he develops psychosomatic afflictions (vomiting, boils) after each killDbut Junior seems built from the outside in, more a pile of tics than a full-fledged human. On the side of good, the characters are more engaging, especially two psychospiritually gifted children and Thomas Vanadium, the magic-working priest-turned-cop who gets on Junior's case like a pit bull. Vanadium's lust for justice will galvanize readers, as will the trials and triumphs of the children, particularly the boy, Bartholomew, who Junior seesDin one working out of Koontz's theme of the interconnectedness of all lifeDas his mortal enemy and seeks to destroy. The potency of that theme and Bartholomew's wisdom in the face of personal tragedy provide the novel with great uplift, in spite of its wildly convoluted story line and excessive verbiage. (Dec. 26) Forecast: Note the pub date: Koontz has the week after Christmas all to himself. Plans include major ad/promo, 12-copy displays, simultaneous BDD Audio and Random large-print edition and, most importantly, a preview excerpt in each copy of the mass market of False Memory, on sale one month before. Like Koontz's other novels, this will be a serious bestsellerDperhaps even a #1. Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Koontz's (Seize the Night) latest spellbinder chronicles the lives of three unique individuals. Bartholomew Lampion, born under miraculous yet tragic circumstances, has the most unusual and mesmerizing eyes ever seen. As he grows, he begins to exhibit abilities that defy physics. Angel, born in another city at the same time as Bartholomew, is also a miracle child; as she grows, she demonstrates the ability to see the world as it really exists. At the time of their births, ruthless and cunning Junior dreams that someone named Bartholomew will lead to his downfall. While attempting to find the nemesis he knows only by name, Junior is relentlessly pursued by a police detective. The three lives intertwine as this saga barrels along toward their inevitable confrontation. Though over 600 pages, the book never seems long. The characters are vivid and emotionally exciting, creating a fast and compelling read. Highly recommended for all public libraries.-DJeff Ayers, Seattle P.L. Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From AudioFile
It's easy to overlook the powers of concentration it takes to be a really great narrator. But imagine a lengthy novel with many diverse characters and loads of dialogue. Think of the hairpin turns a reader must make, slipping instantaneously from narrator to character to character and back again while keeping every one straight. Not only does Stephen Lang accomplish this feat in this creepy Koontz novel, he makes it almost impossible to believe that a single person is giving voice to all of these incarnations. Listeners know from the opening passages that they're in good hands, and can sit back and enjoy the suspense as a murderous, soulless man and the young boy he regards as his mortal enemy edge toward their inevitable confrontation. M.O. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine


From Booklist
On the day in the mid-'60s that Bartholomew Lampion is born in Southern California, his father is killed in a car crash while rushing his mother to the hospital. Meanwhile, 50 miles from nowhere in Oregon, Junior Cain shoves his gorgeous young wife through a rotten railing atop a 150-foot forest watchtower; he doesn't know why he did it, but he does know his life will be much more interesting from that point on. During the same 24 hours, a baby girl is born in San Francisco, though her 16-year-old mother dies from a condition brought on by striving to hide the pregnancy, which is the result of rape. These three events aren't just coincidences. For Junior dreams of a nemesis named Bartholomew, and Junior is, of course, also the rapist. Koontz builds his latest thrill-fest on a foundation consisting of the stock character of the serial murderer and the stock situation of a killer stalking innocence. He keeps the resulting big book interesting by switching focus, chapter to chapter, from one of its three story lines to another. He adds compassionate appeal by invoking the supernatural in messages from "the other side" and creates spookiness by supernaturally keeping Junior intent on finding Bartholomew. There are also enough kooky characters, such as Bartholomew's uncles; outre happenstances, such as Bartholomew losing his eyes to cancer as a little boy yet somehow regaining sight years later; and old-fashioned, "yeah-sure" improbabilities, such as gotta-be-dead characters turning up alive, to please Koontz's fandom and then some. Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
An Eye on Suspense
--> In his most suspenseful and riveting novel yet, Dean Koontz explores the effects of quantum physics on human relationships in From the Corner of His Eye. If the idea of this complex scientific bent scares you, think again. Although the underlying science and its potential implications are mind-boggling, Koontz flavors it with enough humanity to assure it goes down easily. And the end result will profoundly change the way most readers view their lives, one another, and the world in general.

Bartholomew "Barty" Lampion is born on a day marked by tragedy. Both of his parents will die, though thanks to some quick medical help, his mother, Agnes, will return to the living. Little Barty proves himself to be an amazing child almost from the first day -- a prodigy who, by the age of three, is reading at an eighth-grade level. Then tragedy strikes again when a rare type of cancer forces the removal of both of Barty's eyes, leaving him totally blind. Yet despite this setback, Barty continues to amaze everyone with his boundless love of life, his steely determination, and more than a few astonishing perceptions.

Angel White is born on the same day as Barty, and the circumstances are just as tragic. Not only was Angel conceived during a violent rape, Angel's mother, Seraphim, a 15-year-old African American and the daughter of a Baptist minister, dies during the birth. But something amazing happens first, something that will affect the lives of both the doctor delivering the child and Seraphim's older sister, Celestina, who raises Angel. This child, too, proves to be exceptional.

It will be three years before these two remarkable children meet, though their lives are mysteriously intertwined from the moment of their births. Each possesses a unique and rare ability that changes the way they, and those around them, see the world. But a vicious killer wants them both dead, and their eventual confrontation will have a mind-shattering outcome, the effect of which will eventually be felt throughout the universe.

Koontz deftly blends science with religion in this largely character-driven tale, imbuing the work with a number of spiritual and biblical overtones. In the hands of a writer less skilled, this could be a recipe for disaster. But in the highly capable hands of Koontz, it becomes a compelling tale of human nature and the ripple effect our actions and decisions have on the world around us.

--Beth Amos

Beth Amos is the author of three novels, including Cold White Fury and Second Sight.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

His birth was marked by wonder and tragedy.

He sees beauty and terror beyond our deepest dreams.

His story will change the way you see the world.

On the heels of his #1 bestseller False Memory, Dean Koontz brings together his most compelling themes and an unforgettable cast of characters to create what is perhaps the most thrilling and emotionally powerful work of his critically acclaimed career.

Bartholomew Lampion is born on a day of tragedy and terror that will mark his family forever. All agree that his unusual eyes are the most beautiful they have ever seen. On this same day, a thousand miles away, a ruthless man learns that he has a mortal enemy named Bartholomew. He embarks on a relentless search to find this enemy, a search that will consume his life. And a girl is born from a brutal rape, her destiny mysteriously linked to Barty and the man who stalks him.

At the age of three, Barty Lampion is blinded when surgeons remove his eyes to save him from a fast-spreading cancer. As he copes with his blindness and proves to be a prodigy, his mother counsels him that all things happen for a reason and that every person’s life has an effect on every other person’s, in often unknowable ways.

At thirteen, Bartholomew regains his sight. How he regains it, why he regains it, and what happens as his amazing life unfolds and entwines with others results in a breathtaking journey of courage, heart-stopping suspense, and high adventure.

FROM THE CRITICS

Don D'Ammassa - Science Fiction Chronicle

This is a conventional serial killer story, but it's a very good one.

Book Magazine

Koontz narrates his latest book from the point of view of a number of characters, including the dangerous Junior Cain. Cain, a sadist and murderer, is convinced that he must kill in order to fulfill his life's purpose. Soon Cain sets his sights on a child named Bartholomew, a mathematical and linguistic prodigy whose angelic mother delivers pies to the hungry. A variety of unimaginative characters populate the book, including a priest-turned-policeman who makes catching Cain his new calling. The many good characters never stray from stereotype and do anything wrong or small or selfish, and even the villainous Cain often comes across as silly. —Jennifer Braunschweiger

Publishers Weekly

The premise behind Koontz's new novel is the same that buoyed Michael Crichton's TimelineDthat there exist multitudes of alternate universes, each varying only slightly from the next. Whereas Crichton used the idea to generate high adventure, however, Koontz employs it to create powerful emotion tinged with spiritual wonder. That emotion, which rocks characters and will shake readers, marks this as one of Koontz's most affecting novelsDand he's written a lot of them. But there's else in this fitfully suspenseful, sprawling story of good vs. evil that will leave readers wishing Koontz would make better friends with his delete key. Above all, there's the villain, Junior Cain, whose opening homicidal act will shock readers like ice water on the spine. Koontz enlivens dashing Junior with lots of neat touchesDe.g., he develops psychosomatic afflictions (vomiting, boils) after each kill, but Junior seems built from the outside in, more a pile of tics than a full-fledged human. On the side of good, the characters are more engaging, especially two psychospiritually gifted children and Thomas Vanadium, the magic-working priest-turned-cop who gets on Junior's case like a pit bull. Vanadium's lust for justice will galvanize readers, as will the trials and triumphs of the children, particularly the boy, Bartholomew, who Junior sees in one working out of Koontz's theme of the interconnectedness of all life as his mortal enemy and seeks to destroy. The potency of that theme and Bartholomew's wisdom in the face of personal tragedy provide the novel with great uplift, in spite of its wildly convoluted story line and excessive verbiage. (Dec. 26) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

VOYA

On an unseasonably warm January day in 1965, Junior Cain and Naomi, his beautiful wife of fourteen months, strike out on a hike through the forests of the Oregon coast. Their destination is a 150-foot fire tower with commanding views of the surrounding woods. Junior and Naomi climb to the top of the decrepit tower to enjoy the scenery, whereupon Junior shoves Naomi through rotted railings to her death. At the same time, in Bright Beach, California, Bartholomew Lampion is born. On the way to the hospital for his delivery, Barty's parents are involved in an automobile accident that tragically claims the life of Barty's father. Concurrently, in San Francisco, the victim of a brutal rape dies while giving birth to a precious daughter, Angel. The destinies of the stone cold killer and the two babies are linked inextricably and ultimately coalesce in a climax that is astonishing and deeply moving. The author's name alone, of course, will sell this book, but my oh my, this might be Koontz's best effort yet. The large cast of characters, particularly the fully developed main players, is richly imagined. The plot is suspenseful and complex. Informing the novel throughout is a fascinating theory that involves quantum mechanics, faith, and human relationships. In short, From the Corner of His Eye is a page-turner with soul. Teen Koontz fans will not be disappointed. (Hard to imagine it being any better written; Broad general YA appeal; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12; Adult and Young Adult). Ages 16 to Adult. Reviewer: Randy Brough June 2001 (Vol. 24, No. 2)

Library Journal