sign in| help
Search advanced search
 
Books
Search:
x dismiss this message

Did you know you can edit this page?

The Taking
  • Rated 0 stars
Read The Taking

The Taking (2004) (edit title/settings)

by Dean Koontz (Author) (edit contributors)

Share this book on:
see page history

Description edit see section history

In one of the most dazzling books of his celebrated career, Dean Koontz delivers a masterwork of page-turning suspense that surpasses even his own inimitable reputation as a chronicler of our worst fears—and best dreams. In "The Taking" he tells the story of a community cut off from a world... read more

Summary edit see section history

In the midst of an oddly sudden rainstorm, author Molly Sloan awakens in the middle of the night. Unable to return to sleep, she leaves her husband Neil slumbering in bed and goes downstairs to work on a manuscript in progress.

Dark shapes huddle on her porch - coyotes from the nearby... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)

In the midst of an oddly sudden rainstorm, author Molly Sloan awakens in the middle of the night. Unable to return to sleep, she leaves her husband Neil slumbering in bed and goes downstairs to work on a manuscript in progress.

Dark shapes huddle on her porch - coyotes from the nearby forest. She wonders what could have frightened such animals into leaving the sanctuary of the deep woods to brave the proximity of human beings. Disturbed, she steps outside, to stand among the wild beasts, and is frightened herself - not by the animals, but by the strange, silvery rain that has an odd scent.

She and her husband flee their isolated home, gathering with the residents of the nearby small mountain town. A thick, ominous fog obscures everything, reducing trees and buildings to looming shadows. Word reaches them that the eerie weather conditions they face have been encountered by everyone else around the planet as well. Then all communication is cut off.

Unfamiliar noises are heard and strange lights are seen. Peculiar fungi appear in the restroom of a local tavern, and a frightening fungus grows upon trees, lawns, houses, and people alike. From time to time, huge objects drift above the terrified populace, and people feel as if they are known, completely, by whatever or whoever occupies these aerial craft - if the silent, drifting objects are crafts of some kind.

Molly and Neil, accompanied a stray dog named Virgil, set off on a mission to rescue the town’s children, many of whom are trapped in their homes. Meanwhile friends and neighbors, split into warring factions, struggle against the mysterious threat that has seized their town. Oddly, Virgil seems to be able to supernaturally sense when and where certain children are endangered. It is revealted, later, that other animals are also leading rescue efforts to save other children.

As they search for answers, the townspeople conclude that they are under siege by extraterrestrial invaders who have come as an advance party to reverse-terraform the Earth so that its altered atmosphere will support their alien physiological needs, although, in doing so, they will poison the planet for its human residents, who must die so that the invaders may live.

Their belief is plausible. There is only one thing wrong with it. It’s not true. Instead, something much worse is happening, both to them and to the rest of the world.

While the identity or the origin of the invaders is never explicitly explained, at the end of the book Molly postulates that the invaders are actually demons that have come to Earth from Hell. Their motives, therefore, would be to simply destroy and kill. To explain their technology, she guesses that "Hell," as humans know it, is not exactly a place for the damned, but is an alternate dimension, accessible through a black hole. Death, she imagines, provides this black hole transportation for the soul

Popular Covers

Loading covers…

Choose your book’s cover

First Sentence edit see section history

A FEW MINUTES PAST ONE O'CLOCK in the morning , a hard rain fell without warning.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Dean Koontz (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: Bantam
Country: USA
Publication Date: May 25, 2004
ISBN: 055380250X
Page Count: 352

Classification edit see section history

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

More Books Like This edit see section history

   
  • The Rift
  • One Rainy Night
  • Dead Sea
  • Swan Song
  • The Deluge
  • Phantoms

We’re hiding the table of contents, errata, movie connections, books with additional background information, books that influenced this book, books influenced by this book and books that cite this book sections. If you would like to add content to them, you must first make them visible.

© 2006-2012 Shelfari | Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy | Copyright Policy

Close