Night Chills

Night chills gave me NIGHTMARES and I'm not joking. I read this book some 20 or more years after it was written and I found it strikingly relevant to the times even then. I'm not a conspiracy theorist and don't honestly spend a lot of my day pondering whether or not I should wear a tin foil hat to block the government's secret satellites from shooting x-rays into my skull. But I do often think of the mind control theories put forth in this book and about how plausible it was presented even amid the back drop of such obvious fiction.

The thing about Koontz is that he weaves characters that draw you in. Once you're sucked into their life, once you take them into your heart, you care about what happens to them... so when bad things start to happen to the characters in this book, well, you care.

Koontz is positively masterful and this book is a prime example!

Although this book was written in the 1970's, and during several parts it's obvious (especially when he says, "it's the 70's..."), however the book still stands up fairly well today.
I've read 95% of Koontz's books and have been a huge fan for over 10 years. I tend to enjoy his earlier works more than his later, they're all good, but the earlier books are more of a "fun" read. They're not extremely long and they're really more pure horror. I love it, definitely a guilty pleasure.
Nigh Chills is about a scientist that has discovered a way to brainwash people, to open their minds using subliminal ads and then program them to do what you'd like. The concept is chilling. The story is interesting and you're kept on the edge of your seat most of the time. And the characters are enjoyable. If you're a fan of Koontz's earlier works, you'll enjoy this.

This was Dean Koontz number 21 for me. Hideaway was my first, but Intensity will always be my favorite. Night Chills is about a single father named Paul Appendale who's vacationing in the small village of Black Water with his young son Mark and his daughter Rya. Little do they know that three power hungry men are testing mind control methods on the town by using subliminal messages in television programs and even junk mail. These men can control and manipulate anyone in town with the simple phrase, "I am the key." Needless to say their intentions are anything but good, and in the case of one of the men, perverse.

When Rya runs into a family friend commiting a brutal murder, the truth finally comes out and as the only ones unaffected by the subliminal messages, it's up to the Appendale's, Paul's girlfriend Jenny Edison, and her father Sam to find these men and put a stop to their terrifying abuse of power.

One thing I like about Koontz is that 95% of the time (with the exception of Intensity), he gives information as to the history of the villians, as to how the grew up to be the people they are now. He can take seemingly one dimensional horrifying monsters and let us peak into what makes them tick; what changed them into the people they are today.

Night Chills is not one of my favorites, and in fact, I gave up and had to come back to it once or twice. But it is, like all of Koontz's books that I've encountered so far, an enjoyable read. It's definetely on the lower end of my favorites list, but those on the bottom are still good reads.

My top favorites from Koontz would be INTENSITY, WATCHERS, WHISPERS, and THE VOICE OF THE NIGHT.

Still being on Koontz streak I just finished NIGHT CHILLS. I will say that this was a cold, sinister novel dealing with subliminal suggestion. The concept is great, but there was a lack of love for any of the characters I feel.
I really didn't have that cheering them on attitude toward anyone. Also what was missing was the mystery element that Koontz is known for. From the get go...you knew the bad guy, and the reason for doing it. I realize that he was a new author in 1977 and he was still honing his skill.I would be prefer to be left guessing all the way through, but Koontz is intitled to shake it up a bit. Now don't get me wrong this was a good novel, albeit not his best I still recommend it.

You can tell this is an earlier Koontz novel, though most of his early novels are much better streamlined.
The plot is good enough, and anymore, pretty recognizable to Koontz fans: the government has a chemical mind control project it is clandestinely testing out on a small isolated town. At least one of the experimenters is a little off his nut, and takes advantage of the opportunity to perform a few rapes - and murders.
It took me literally years to finish this book. Night Chills was the first Koontz I read that failed to grab my attention and hold it. When I did finally read the entire thing through, I was disappointed mostly because the book is pornographically seedy, without much redeeming value. That, and the heroes aren't exactly heroic. There's a vigilante scene that is as pointless as the voyeuristic rapes, and undercuts the supposed virtue of those perpetrating it.
I understand this book was actually blacklisted from some public schools, no doubt for its content. I wouldn't ban it, but I wouldn't recommend it. Koontz has written better. The more recent False Memory, for instance, contains largely the same plot and even a couple of the same scenes, still as voyeuristic, but not so bad they make you want to take a shower.

This one is not recommended for the faint of heart. Koontz doesn't hold back on telling what could happen when virtually godlike power falls into the wrong hands. Basically an exploration of how absolute power corrupts absolutely... and there's plenty of explicit corruption detailed herein. The book doesn't end on an "up" note either, like many of Koontz's others -- it's definitely a downer, albeit a highly entertaining one. Although it's one of my personal favorites (and thankfully doesn't involve the supernatural or aliens, a recurring Koontz theme), I'd recommend the typical Koontz fan go into this one knowing that all is most definitely *not* peaches and cream. The "good guys" do win, but the damage is done... and there's no easy-breezy escape via a "touched by an angel" golden dog. Not what I'd call light entertainment, but entertaining nonetheless.

This jumps around too much, and it's rather confusing if you have a hard time keeping characters (Who aren't very memorable.) in line. He should've kept the jumping around for the end of the book, or in a more suspenseful area. I wouldn't really recommend this book to anyone... it's going up on my shelf because it was a gift, not because I want to be reminded about how horrible it really is. This is almost as bad as Intensity, which I stopped reading a fourth of the way through because the antagonist/villian of the book made me want to bang my head against a wall.

As any of my friends or family could attest, this book really messed with my mind. I couldn't stop thinking or talking about this book for weeks. I never read it again simply because the underlying premise really upset me. Dean Koontz has a very powerful but disturbing ability to mess with my mind.
I only give it 4 stars because it really bothered me. Amazing writing and ability to pull me into the story!

I was very disappointed by this book because I usually really like Dean Koontz. Night Chills started out okay in the first couple of chapters, but after that it went downhill. To begin with, the second half of the blurb is bogus. Except for in one instance, the people in Black River don't really do anything much at all. And after those first few chapters, the biggest chunk of the book is dedicated to an in-depth explanation on how subliminal messaging works.

Most of the time when I write a review, I try hard to put positive comments along with negative ones no matter how much I dislike a book, but I have no positive comments for this one. I didn't care about the characters, the writing was flat, and I was completely bored.

This book was a quick read. Although the book is outdated, it still easily drives the point across today. To put it simply, the book is about subliminal messaging and mind control. While the effects of the novel seem far fetched and sometimes impossible, it definitely made me think twice when thinking about advertisements. The book also deals heavily with murder and sexual content (mainly rape)...if you can handle some of the more graphic material, it's a book I'd definitely recommend.

What would I do without Dean??????
His books are bone chilling.
If you are weak of heart don't read. After reading Night Chills and Whispers trying to sleep was useless, visions from his book kept jumping out at me in the dark. He writes with so much intensity that you wonder, could this realy happen? Has it happened?And could it happen to you ??????? I love them

The book, because written in the 70s, seemed rather old fashioned, although the topic of mind-controlling is always actual. The chief villain Ogden seemed rather one-dimensional because of his obsession to humiliate all women within his reach. What the author really managed to do is to raise profound feeling of disgust for him. Otherwise, quite an ordinary "train reading stuff".

This is the greatest. I especially loved Mr. Murder, for the ingenious way Dean kept flowing between scenes and personalities until it was almost unbearable. It lent to the overall mystery of the story and toThe Other's (Alfie) origin.
He made the intelligence of Emily acceptable just by linking it to her father's wizardry in writing.

GREAT STORY!!!

Koontz has done it again!!! This story focuses on subliminal control. Black River, Maine, is the place. The 1970's is the time. Ogden Salsbury has a plan to make the world go his way. The problem? Power corrupts him. Read of how an ordinary father and daughter stop this evil man from fulfilling his twisted scheme. You WILL enjoy this one!!!

Dean Koontz is one of the best suspense writers around. His book "Watchers" was one of the best that I have ever read. However, his similarity in his stories has become way too much. The 30-something couple, the dog, the house they work on, paranormal events, funhouses, enough!
He has no right to be on the bestseller list every time.

this a very interesting subject matter about subliminal infuence on the human mind. the story is o twisted and thrilling that will hold your attention an imgination of what the main character will do next with his mind contol power and how will he correct his mistakes. thrilling, sick and sophisticated

I didn't like this book. It started out interesting. The whole idea of the power of suggestion is intriguing. The novel was weighed down heavily by excessive, dirty sex scenes and characters I didn't care a flip about. This isn't a gem and Koontz can do better.

Great start......boooooooring finale. I think I was under some form of mind control by the half-way point. Nothing significant seems to remain in my memory from that point forward. Interesting topic. Not well completed.

This book will scare the pants off you! Turning this very real horror into a book was a smart move by Dean. It will terrify you not because it happens to the characters, but because it can happen to YOU!

This book deals with the interesting topic of subliminal messages. It kept me up late nights with my eyes glued to the pages. The characters are developed well, and the suspense is excellent. One of my favourites from Koontz. If you are a Koontz fan, or a fan of any good book, than this is a book for you.

This book will scare the pants off you! Turning this very real horror into a book was a smart move by Dean. It will terrify you not because it happens to the characters, but because it can happen to YOU!

This book deals with the interesting topic of subliminal messages. It kept me up late nights with my eyes glued to the pages. The characters are developed well, and the suspense is excellent. One of my favourites from Koontz. If you are a Koontz fan, or a fan of any good book, than this is a book for you.

Many people will tell you that when it comes down to horror novels, reality is always a lot worse. In essence, that is true, and night chills is as realistic as a book can be in my opinion. The very fact that the novel is set on true life advertising, and how it portrays the horror of what advertisers were doing to people in cinemas and the like. With a little pinch of fiction and some truelly shocking moments, this little beauty is a fantastic read that will really make you think how powerless we all are. Exceptional!

When I read this, I thought it was good, probably because I was reading a lot of Richard Laymon at the time. But thinking back this was a generally crap Koontz novel. A loose storyline linked by Laymon'esque promiscuity.

From start to finish you are deeply involved in the story. This is definitely not a book for kids, because of the "darkness" and corruption in people, and because of very descriptive sexual moments that digs in deeper into the mind of a man corrupted by power.

I don't understand why readers continue to make bestselling authors out of people who couldn't write their way out of a wet paper bag! I have read - and been disappointed - by Dean Koontz before but thought that the reviews of Night Chills sounded promising. However, his wooden characters, stereotypical and unrealistic dialogue there is no WAY that a child of the age of the little girl would ever talk or think in the way that Koontz makes her!) and plain bad prose, ruin any enjoyment I might have got from a fairly good idea. Also, Mr Koontz's stories have a well-built up beginning, a predictable nice-guys-always-win ending and absolutely no middle. Finally, surely Mr Koontz could have come up with a few more creative ways to use subliminal mind control - sex and murder get a bit old after a while. Very disappointing. Won't be buying any more books by this author.

This book scares me still. I read it alone, late at night, in a rambling country house. It had me fearing for my safety. Koontz's strength in this book is rendering the subliminal suggestions to the reader, as experienced by the victims.
Also reccommended, Lightning.

After reading this book , I have to say that Koontz's characters are always, always at their best. This book was no different.I enjoyed reading this book right to the end.The story line always kept me waiting to see what was going to happen next.It's definitely classic Koontz.If you have ever read any of his books, you won't be dissapointed with this one!

I must admit, this book may not be for everybody, but out of every Koontz book I've read, this has been the best. At times it does get very explicit and not everyone enjoys that. I thought it was very interesting though the way he used the sublminial messaging not just to rule over the world. Its the one book that I've read where I wanted the bad guys to win.

I loved this book! It really captured my imagination and was truly a masterpiece. It showed the dark...twisted side of literature. Dean R. Koonts is one of the greatest writers of the 21st century. I rank his genius up there with such great writers as edgar Allen Poe and Shakespeare. I think he will definatley leave his mark on the world.