Cold Fire

From Library Journal Teacher Jim Ironheart, aptly named, is sent by forces unknown to save chosen people in life-threatening situations. By chance, a young but jaded reporter stumbles onto his missions, and joins him to investigate who is controlling him and why. Shared nightmares begin to point to an extraterrestrial influence, and the pair are forced to confront Ironheart's forgotten past for answers. Koontz ( The Bad Place , LJ 12/89), a master at maintaining mystery and suspense, weaves themes from earlier novels into this latest thriller. Even if the ending calls to mind DuMaurier and Hitchcock, Cold Fire contains all the ingredients--likable characters, nail-biting suspense, and above all, unlimited imagination--that will please Koontz's fans. For all popular collections. Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club main selection; Mystery Guild featured alternate; previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 9/1/90. -Eric W. Johnson, Teikyo Post Univ. Lib., Waterbury, Ct. Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. Review BTW...for those of you who are into unabridged audio books by DK...you may want to check out a company called, The Reader's Chair. They have several books by DK on audio, and they are read by excellent narrators. I highly recommend it. Yes, this is a shameless plug...but it was unsolicited. Good reading is good reading. -- R. O., 3/18/97 Dean Koontz pulls out all the stops in this highly-charged novel of fantasy, terror, action, romance and suspense. Employing dual narrators, this [unabridged] cassette production is relentlessly gripping. - Don't miss it! -- The Los Angeles Daily News, July 12, 1992 First I want to tell you that the awards you have received are well deserved! NOBODY can tell a good story like Carol and Michael. The performances are exactly on par, if not better than, the works of art that are read. Audio book companies should place THE READER'S CHAIR as their goal. -- M. P., 8/1/98 I have purchased all of your Dean Koontz selections and I could not be more pleased with them. Keep up the good work! -- R.T., April 5, 1997 I must say I prefer your productions of the Koontz books to the other that are out there. My favorite is ''Cold Fire''. I commend your efforts on your excellent products. -- sandman, 11 Jun 1996 Koontz's suspenseful, best-selling novel, receives solid, professional treatment by readers Carol Cowan and Michael Hanson. Without over-dramatizing, they give the story a clear, concise reading which allows the strong plot to carry the listener without interruption. -- AudioFile, March 1993 Receives an excellent treatment from Cowan and Hanson, whose voices capture the best in audio drama. -- The Bookwatch, August 1991 The Reader's Chair did an excellent job on my favorite Dean Koontz. -- Thorfy, May 30, 1995 [Cold Fire] had me on the edge of my seat! (And it's hard to drive that way...) -- DWBABER, 29 Mar 1996

Reporter Holly Thorne is intrigued by Jim Ironheart, who has saved 12 lives in the past three months. Holly wants to know what kind of power drives him, why terrifying visions of a churning windmill haunt his dreams, and just what he means when he whispers in his sleep that an enemy who will kill everyone is coming.

“A master storyteller, sometimes humorous, sometimes shocking, but always riveting. His characters sparkle with life. And his fast-paced plots are wonderfully fiendish, taking unexpected twists and turns.” - The San Diego Union-Tribune

Publishers Weekly

Koontz ( The Bad Place ) leads us a nice chase for about two-thirds of his latest thriller, after which he sinks into soap opera. Responding to an inexplicable compulsion, ex-schoolteacher Jim Ironheart flies from Southern California to Portland, Ore., where he averts, at the last minute, the accidental death of a schoolboy. Local reporter Holly Thorne, taken with Jim's piercing gaze, sets up a computer search for data on similar rescues. She finds a dozen such cases across the U.S.; every news item mentions a mysterious ``Jim'' with penetrating eyes. As she follows the story of a lifetime, Holly realizes Jim is being guided by some strange Power. Confronting him, she finds he has no idea of the source of the Power. Now in love with Jim, Holly starts sharing his nightmares and abandons the story to help him. Their initially exciting adventures then yield to rather tepid encounters with ``The Friend,'' who may be: an alien on earth for 10,000 years; ``The Enemy'' in disguise; a projection of Jim's hyperkinetic personality; or all of the above. Suspense succumbs to psychobabble, ushering in a predictable ending. Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club main selections; Mystery Guild featured alternate. (Jan.)

A man on a mission must come to terms with his forgotten past in this gripping thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Dean Koontz. In Portland, he saved a young boy from a drunk driver. In Boston, he rescued a child from an underground explosion. In Houston, he disarmed a man who was trying to shoot his own wife. Reporter Holly Thorne was intrigued by this strange quiet savior named Jim Ironheart. She was even falling in love with him. But what power compelled an ordinary man to save twelve lives in three months? What visions haunted his dreams? And why did he whisper in his sleep: There is an Enemy. It is coming. Itll kill us all... ? Intrigued by reports of a man who has saved twelve lives in just three months, reporter Holly Thorne investigates and finds herself attracted to the tortured saving angel Intrigued by reports of a man who has saved twelve lives in just three months reporter Holly Thorne investigates and finds herself attracted to a tortured angel Een journaliste komt in contact met een man die op wonderbaarlijke wijze allerlei reddingen verricht.