Great Koontz, not crazy about narrator

Very interesting story that draws you in instantly. I listen to books constantly and rarely dislike the narrators, but this one was pretty bad. No real voice changes, so sometimes it's hard to tell who's speaking. Also, he mispronounces words that end in -wn, like known and shown. He inserts an 'e' and its sounds like knowen and showen and it's very distracting. I feel it would have been much more enjoyable were it not for that.

90 people found this helpful

Really Interesting and Imanginative

This is my wife's favorite book and after listening to it, I can see why. Koontz was very imaginative and kept me interested for the entire book.

48 people found this helpful

NARRORATOR RUINS STORY, ANGRY MOB RIOTS DOWNTOWN!

OMG! Who the hell found this man, if he indeed he is a flesh and blood person. He sounds suspiciously like a voice in my husband's GPS Navigator!

What a way to totally ruin one of the Best Koontz books EVER

60 people found this helpful

Still like it after all these years!

Where does Midnight rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It is one of my favorites of Dean Koontz's books, along with Watchers

Who was your favorite character and why?

The dog of course

What about J. Charles’s performance did you like?

He has a comforting voice. His reading style is a bit old fashion, that's why only four stars.

Who was the most memorable character of Midnight and why?

The veteran in the wheel chair. I felt his fear,being handicapped in the midst of all that evil.

32 people found this helpful

Scary, exciting, yet heartwarming too.

This story is, first & formost a terrifying story of one mans ego changing a town into something unknowable and horrible. The cat & mouse between these "changed people" and the normal is very exciting, esp when an 8 yr old girl takes them on to save her life. Heartwarming when a detective, a woman there researching her sisters death and the little girl meet up with a paraplegic man to take on the Boogyman and his horrid, terrible henchman. I have re-reaad the book and re-listened to the audio book. Good science fiction that seems like it could happen. I loved it.

51 people found this helpful

Just a bit much for me

The story moved along at a good pace and, over-all, did keep me interested. However the gist of the story just seemed a bit far fetched and difficult to take seriously. The narrator sounded so cheerful it occurred to me he might be better suited to more up-beat stories. No glaring mis-pronunciations. Even though I normally love D. Koontz stories, this book is a good reminder to me to pay closer attention to the description and reviews.

32 people found this helpful

good story not read well

I love this story but the narration is lacking. I just could not get into it.

25 people found this helpful

I think this was a decent book....

The narrator made it so bad I am not sure if I liked the book. I can see some ideas that Koontz develops in later books, but I don't think he really captured them here. Certainly not one I plan to listen to again

11 people found this helpful

Could have been as awesome as koontz' other books.

Great story but ruined by narrator. Narrator hadn't a clue as to where to place emphasis. So disappointed, almost couldn't finish the book because of the poor reading.

10 people found this helpful

Delightfully creepy.

Midnight was among the first Dean Koontz books I ever read. To this day it remains among my favorites.
As the story opens, Janice Capshaw, a 35-year-old night owl and fitness enthusiast, is going for a nighttime run along the beach in the peaceful California town of Moonlight Cove when she finds herself pursued and ultimately brought down and brutally murdered by unknown assailants. Some weeks later Samuel Booker, an undercover FBI agent jaded by life and his strained relationship with his teenage son, rides into Moonlight Cove to investigate Janice's murder as well as a series of other bizarre killings in and around the town which the local authorities seem bent on covering up. Soon he meets Tessa Lockland, TJ to her mother, the younger sister of Janice Capshaw. Tessa came to Moonlight Cove to investigate Janice's murder, refusing to believe the story of suicide presented by the local authorities. Tessa was frightened into fleeing the one motel in Moonlight Cove by an attempted break-in at her room. Meanwhile Chrissie Foster, a perky twelve-year-old, flees from her home after catching a disturbing glimpse of her parents in an altered, beastlike state to wich they seek to "convert" her as well. These three take refuge with Harry Talbot, a paralyzed war veteran who witnessed many of the disturbing events in the town via a telescope in his bedroom and alerted the FBI. As they dig deeper they discover a secret so disturbing that it frightens even some of those who willingly embraced it.
As is the case with any audiobook, the narrator can either make or break the production. Fortunately J. Charles has a fine voice for narration and, while he doesn't perform hundreds of accents and dialects, he nevertheless makes it easy to distinguish between one character and another. Even the nonhuman speaking characters are well realized. All in all this is a production I can easily listen to over and over without having to worry about a cassette or a disc eventually wearing out.

26 people found this helpful