January Book Review: The Face

That's right, I read! As 2009 came to a close and 2010 opened up, I told myself I was going to read more this year. My goal is to read at least 1 book per month, so just 12 books a year, and then write a review for all to see. Hopefully this will make me feel a little more pressure to be victorious. How sad is it that last year I think I only read 1 or 2 books. That brings us to why I set this very low, pathetic goal, its because I have a lot going on, and it defeats the purpose if I set one too high and just end up disappointed in myself. If I read more, then great, if not, no big deal. Anyway, here goes.
Book One:
The Face by Dean Koontz
I received this book as a gift from my sister, kind of as a joke because of my hatred for the Twilight phenomena. Since it was immediately on hand it seemed like the perfect book to start with. I finally began reading it approximately 10 days ago, and finished just an hour ago. I don't know what genre you would consider it, but I'd say fiction-crime-drama.

I liked the book okay. It starts out a little slow, but picks up the pace as you go along. By the end of the book I almost couldn't put it down. I read the last half in probably 3 days.
****spoiler alert****
It is about an ex-cop named Ethan Truman who, after the death of his wife, took a job as security guard at the home of the most famous actor in the world. After receiving several suspicious and threatening packages addressed to the star at his estate, Ethan tries to track down the sender before its too late. Things get weird when his estranged friend, Dunny, dies in a local hospital and then winds up missing when he's supposed to be dead. He starts thinking that perhaps Dunny isn't dead and is somehow involved in threats on the star. He soon solicits the help of his former partner to try and crack the case, and quickly comes to realize that it may be bigger than he thought. A little bit of sci-fi flare is added when its revealed that Dunny is in fact dead, but remains on earth as a guardian angel. He steps in when he is needed to help protect the main characters, and pretty much save their butts when there is no way out. In the end, the day is saved, of course, and with no significant deaths or plot twists, other than guardian angel Dunny.

I enjoyed the book for the most part. It was interesting, and adventurous, but not really original. I had the tendency to get a little bored here and there when maybe there was a little too much detail. Also, the sci-fi elements were not my favorite, and quite honestly a little ridiculous. They felt like a cop-out when the author had written himself into a corner. I enjoyed the end most of all when the ultimate match between good and evil occurred, but then hated the elevator to hell and heaven for Dunny which seemed like a pointless and stupid chapter.

On a scale from 1 to 10, I'd give this book a 6 1/2.

So there you have it, my first book review....hopefully I'll get better at this in the coming months.