Intensity | 
 enlarge | Author: Dean Koontz
Publisher: Knopf
Category: Book
List Price: $25.00
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Rating:  479 reviews
Sales Rank: 535246
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1st trade ed
Pages: 307
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.5
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.3
ISBN: 067942525X
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780679425250
ASIN: 067942525X
Publication Date: January 13, 1996
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Condition: edge of pages stained ACCEPTABLE with noted wear to cover and pages. Binding intact. May contain highlighting, inscriptions or notations. We offer a no-hassle guarantee on all our items. Orders generally ship by the next business day. Default Text
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com Review
A young woman staying as a guest in a Napa Valley farmhouse becomes trapped in a fight for survival with a self-proclaimed "homicidal adventurer", and races to warn his next intended victim. Unrelentingly terrifying, this book lives up to its name.
Product Description
Chyna Shepherd is a twenty-six-year-old woman whose deeply troubled childhood taught her the hard rules of survival, and whose adult life has been an unrelenting struggle for self-respect and safety. Now rare trust has blossomed for Chyna into friendship with the woman whose family home she is visiting for the weekend: a farm in the Napa Valley surrounded by vineyards and hills, which Chyna can see from the guest-room window where she sits at one o'clock in the morning, fully dressed, unable to sleep. Suspicions she learned in childhood still make her uneasy in unfamiliar houses--even this one, where her closest friend is sound asleep down the hall. And in this case her most disturbing instincts prove reliable. A man has entered the house, a man who lives for one purpose: to satisfy all appetites as they arise, to immerse himself in sensation, to live without fear, remorse, or limits--to live with intensity.
His name is Edgler Foreman Vess. He likes to make words with the letters from his name--GOD, DEMON, SAVE, RAGE, ANGER, FEAR, FOREVER, are just a few of them--and then makes sentences with the words. One of his favorites, GOD FEARS ME, is sometimes the last thing he whispers to his victims. Edgler Vess is a self-proclaimed "homicidal adventurer": On this night, his adventure--murdering everyone in the house--becomes Chyna's long nightmare.
Trapped in Vess's deadly orbit, Chyna thinks only of getting out alive. But when she inadvertently learns the identity of Vess's intended next victim, waiting for him far from Napa Valley, Chyna is gripped with concern for this other person, who is as innocent as Chyna, and as endangered. Driven now by a sense of responsibility for another, by a purpose and meaning beyond mere self-preservation, Chyna rises to unexpected heights of courage and daring--her only hope as the threat of Edgler Foreman Vess closes in and grows more horrifying moment by moment.
Intensity unfolds over the course of just twenty-four hours, but within that brief time frame, Dean Koontz gives us what is perhaps his most inventive, emotionally intricate, and terrifyingly suspenseful novel yet.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 474 more reviews...
 Unrealistic and too long January 3, 2009
This book has one of the most ridiculous evil characters I've ever read about. Koontz really should have read a couple true crime books prior to writing this, rather than having a somewhat believable character (like Thomas Harris' Hannibal Lector) Koontz makes a mad man who is seemingly invincible and just drives around in a huge trailer to find families, not individuals, entire families to massacre. He not only is an expert killer, but can also hack police databases and ruin any fingerprint evidence that is found at crime scenes. The killer has a house deep in the woods that is guarded by a group of dogs (I did mention that the killer is also an excellent guard dog trainer right?) who will attack anyone but him. The heroine of the novel selflessly puts herself in danger multiple times to save a girl she's never met, I won't even bother questioning the number of women who would actually do that.
Then there is the worst part, way too much description! I had to put this down about halfway through because Koontz described three rooms in a row and all the heroine did was walk through them, why bother putting them there? There wasn't any thing intense or scary about the descriptions, they are just there.
This was my first Koontz novel, I quit reading it the first time about a year ago, then gave it a second try a few months later. The same result. I'm going to give Koontz a second chance sometime, probably in the near future. Hopefully this was one of his worse books.
 Best Dean Koontz book ever! November 17, 2008
I am a big fan of Dean Koontz, but this book is by far my favorite. When I was at work all I could think about was getting home so I could read. He grabs you immediately and doesn't let go until you've reached the end. Sheer genius!
Horrifically Pleased! October 14, 2008
This book was a roller coaster ride from the beginning until the end and I relished it all. And I'm tough to please! I was cheering for Chyna the little gal that could.
I must say of the books I've read of yours, you do have some seriously dark areas in your mind, my dear. Good thing you write to channel them out! I'm writing true crime, myself, but would like to try fiction when I complete my current obligation. You inspire me!
Sincerely,
Cherie Huyett Achtemeier
Author, Murder By Gravity?
The Title Says It All October 12, 2008
This was the first Koontz book I had ever read and it's what got me hooked on his books. Literally, I could not put the book down from the moment I started reading it. It was incredibly intense and suspenseful. Koontz definitely hit the nail on the head with the title. There were plenty of plot twists and turns for even the most experienced thriller readers and after all the years that have past since reading it, I can still remember where I was and what I was feeling during certain parts of the story. It's that good!
BOTTOM LINE: I honestly don't see how anyone can be disappointed with this novel. It's gripping and by far, the best Koontz book I've ever read. I recommend it to any Koontz fans or to those who enjoy a book that'll get your heart racing and make you jump at every bump in the night.
 Not A Blonde Moment September 24, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I'm not squeamish. I've read and seen hundreds of horrors books and movies and have not really been bothered by them. However, there is one part in this one that disturbed me.
Because of that, I almost stopped reading the book less than half way through it. I'm sure it won't affect you the same way, but one of the other parts may. I am going to finish reading Intensity, but only so I can get to the happy ending. I can't wait to put it down so that I can hopefully forget it.
Somehow I feel cheated that the book only covers one day. The book jacket blurb even attempts to downplay this fact. It is an irrational feeling, but it persists. However, the book is really kind of short so that may explain some of it.
Because of the length of the book, the characters are really not `fleshed out' as much as they could be. However, they are described enough so that you do feel empathy for them. At least that holds true for the ones that die early on.
The main character almost reminds you of one of those dumb blondes in those movies that keep on doing stupid things that only gets her into further trouble. Koontz does however explain her actions so that you can see how it was only unfortunate circumstances that lead her deeper and deeper.
If you like unsettling feelings, then go ahead and read the book.
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