This is a collection of eight of Dean Koontz's early science fiction short stories. Although this was compiled without a theme in mind, readers will notice that most of the stories focus on the emotional and psychological effects of new worlds and new discoveries on man. If the reader is looking for detailed descriptions of a new planet, species or breakthrough technology, this is not a book that I will recommend. The stories here are more than just that.
The ff. are the stories included in this volume:
Soft Come the Dragons - a man who was forced by circumstances to solve the mystery of the dragons' ability to kill people through eye contact has unravelled an equally mysterious answer.
A Third Hand - a mutant and reject tries to help his murdered friend and finds himself face to face with a formidable foe.
A Darkness in My Soul - a successful product of an experiment was asked to unlock the secrets of the mind of a super genius (I wrote a review on this. If you're interested, look for the title in the Archives).
The Twelfth Bed - a sad tale about elder citizens locked up in a nursing facility and a young man mistakenly brought in.
A Season For Freedom - a man and his team tried to stop killerbots from hurting people. He finds out that the killerbots are humans.
The Psychedelic Children - hallucino-children are hunted and persecuted. A couple tries to escape. The mutant, while trying to escape the authorities, unlocks the secrets to manipulating time.
Dragon in the Land - China was devasted by a plague and has asked for help from other countries. A team of researchers investigate the laboratory where it all started. The "virus" has no symptoms. They need to find a solution fast before they're all infected.
To Behold the Sun - an ambitious trek to the sun becomes dangerous when the crew is attacked by an unseen creature.
The stories can be improved but they're not bad at all. At the outset, Koontz already had the talent for writing. Fans might want to compare these stories to his later works. Reading the introduction to each story was fun too. It was like meeting the young and proud Koontz.
The Twelfth Bed for me is the best story in this volume. I like how it was written from the first person point of view. Everything in it was sad. The story, the setting, and the characters all made me feel miserable. I felt like I was trapped with them in that nursing home. The ending was sad too but it was also full of hope. I guess this is why some people insist that Koontz is a horror writer because he's good at writing dark and depressing stories (gothic would probably be a more suitable word than horror).
I'm giving this book a 10 out of 10 rating.