Dragon Tears

Title: Dragon Tears

Author: Dean Koontz

Published in: 1993

Date read: 22nd January 2008

Score: 4/5

Genre: Horror, Thriller, Supernatural

Plot: (Warning, may contain spoilers):
"Dragon Tears" by Dean Koontz is a fast-paced, supernatural thriller cantered on a detective facing an impossible and deeply personal threat.

The story follows Harry Lyon, a detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. While out on patrol, Harry and his partner, Connie Gulliver, encounter a seemingly ordinary, dishevelled man on a deserted street. This man, however, utters a chilling and cryptic prophecy: "Ticktock, ticktock. You'll be dead in sixteen hours. And so will she. Then comes the dragon." Before he can be questioned further, the man mysteriously vanishes into thin air.

Initially dismissing it as a vagrant's ramblings, Harry's scepticism quickly shatters when the bizarre predictions begin to manifest. Impossible and grotesque events start occurring around him, defying the laws of physics and logic. Objects move on their own, disturbing visions plague his mind, and an overwhelming sense of dread intensifies. The "she" in the prophecy becomes clear when Connie Gulliver falls gravely ill, deteriorating rapidly in a way no medical science can explain.

Harry realizes he is up against an incredibly powerful and malevolent supernatural force, far beyond any criminal he has ever encountered. This force, connected to the "dragon" of the prophecy, seems to be a primal, intelligent evil that can manipulate reality, distort perception, and inflict unimaginable horrors.

Driven by a desperate need to save Connie and understand the unfolding nightmare, Harry delves into the impossible. He crosses paths with Chris Riddle, a young boy who also possesses a strange connection to the supernatural events and offers cryptic insights. Harry eventually uncovers a dark, ancient secret related to a terrifying entity capable of turning a person's inner fears and nightmares into reality. The battle is not just against an external threat but against the erosion of sanity itself, as Harry fights to protect those he cares about from an entity that seems to wield the very fabric of existence as its weapon. The novel is a relentless pursuit of truth and survival against an escalating tide of terror, pushing the boundaries of reality and exploring the deepest fears of the human mind.

Comments:
Great story with a fast pace.

Books that we've read by Dean Koontz (27):
Demon Seed (1973), Icebound (1976), The Voice of the Night (1980), Phantoms (1983), Darkness Comes (1984), Watchers (1987), Dragon Tears (1993), Mr. Murder (1993), Tick Tock (1996), False Memory (1999), The Face (2003), Odd Thomas (Odd Thomas, #1) (2003), The Taking (2004), Forever Odd (Odd Thomas, #2) (2005), Velocity (2005), Life Expectancy (2005), Brother Odd (Odd Thomas, #3) (2006), The Husband (2006), Odd Hours (Odd Thomas, #4) (2008), Breathless (2009), Relentless (2009), The Silent Corner (Jane Hawk, #1) (2017), The Whispering Room (Jane Hawk, #2) (2017), The Crooked Staircase (Jane Hawk, #3) (2018), The Forbidden Door (Jane Hawk, #4) (2018), The Night Window (Jane Hawk #5) (2019), The Other Emily (2021)