Would You BUY or PASS? Last Light by Dean Koontz #FridayFiveChallenge

Welcome to the ‘Friday Five Challenge.’

Would you BUY or PASS if you had only a thumbnail image and five minutes to decide?

Welcome to the #FridayFiveChallenge.  The original idea comes from Rosie Amber, and you can join up at https://rosieamber.wordpress.com

The rules are laid out at the end of this post if you fancy having a go.

Here is my contribution for this week:

I didn’t know what word to use in my search this week, so as I had a lull in brain activity I decided to put up the Christmas tree.  As I finished and flicked the switch, the lights failed and I had to dash off to B&Q and then start all over again.  However, it did give me a little inspiration!  I typed ‘lights’ into the Amazon search bar and after scrolling down a few pages I found this:

Last Light (A Novella) (Kindle Single) by Dean Koontz

BLURB:

From bestselling author Dean Koontz comes an ebook original novella, the first of two tales that pave the way for his new novel, ASHLEY BELL. A woman with a good heart and a troubling gift. A man with a twisted soul and a terrifying talent. In this literal war of wills, only one can survive.

With just a touch, Makani Hisoka-O’Brien can see the deepest secrets that others conceal—and it frightens her. There’s danger in the terrible knowledge that floods her mind and haunts her conscience.

With just a touch, Rainer Sparks can learn the biggest problems that others bear—and it thrills him. There’s profit to be made making problems go away, by any means . . . including murder.

In a place as big as Southern California, these two might have never met and discovered one another’s chilling abilities. But good and evil have a way of colliding . . . with shattering consequences.

My Analysis:

I’m not fond of the cover, it’s a bit plain and doesn’t reveal anything about the storyline.  Perhaps as this is a novella designed to entice readers to Koontz’s new novel, Ashley Bell, then maybe the cover wasn’t top priority?  The author’s name did draw me in immediately.  I used to read Dean Koontz books when I was in my twenties and I loved them.  I haven’t picked anything up by him for ages – until now!  The blurb talks about a struggle between good and evil; a literal war of wills between a good-hearted woman and the twisted soul of a man, oh this is my kind of book.

Last Light is the first of two novellas, the second is Final Hour.  Both can be read as standalone titles tying in with Koontz new novel.  The cover of Final Hour is just as bland as Last Light, however, the cover for Ashley Bell is pretty cool.

The Stats:

There are 91 pages, and the Kindle price is £0.99.  There are 32 reviews on Amazon.co.uk, 25 of these are four and five stars.  I couldn’t find the Novella on Amazon.com, only details of the new release Ashley Bell (due out December 8^th)

Here is an example of a four-star review from Amazon.co.uk:

At last! This is Koontz back at his best, using the power of richly descriptive prose to plant seeds of mystery and suspense in the reader’s mind, prompting such paced page turning that at times one forgets one is actually reading. If this is any indication of how good ‘Ashley Bell’ is going to be, then I for one cannot wait for its release. Well done, Dean – about time.

BUY or PASS?

It’s a BUY from me.  For 99p it’s the perfect price to re-introduce myself to Mr Koontz novels.

Last Light – buy your copy.

Amazon UK

Amazon US – Unavailable

Take a look at who else has taken part in the Friday Five Challenge:

Rosie is ‘Dying for Christmas’ to arrive! – https://rosieamber.wordpress.com/2015/12/04/dying-for-christmas-by-tammy-cohen-fridayfivechallenge-thriller-mstamarcohen-transworldbooks/comment-page-1/#comment-17859

Cathy looks at a Norse Mythology – http://betweenthelinesbookblog.com/2015/12/04/fridayfivechallenge-buy-or-pass-magnus-chase-and-the-sword-of-summer-1/comment-page-1/#comment-3390

What is the Friday Five Challenge?

In today’s online shopping age, readers often base their buying decisions on small postage stamp size book covers (thumbnails), a quick glance at the book description and the review. How much time do they spend making that buying decision?

AUTHORS – You often only have seconds to get a reader to buy your book, is your book cover and book bio up to it?

The Challenge is this… IN ONLY FIVE MINUTES…

1) Go to any online book supplier,

2) Randomly choose a category,

3) Speed through the book covers, choose one which has instantly appealed to your eye,

4) Read the book Bio/ Description of this book,

5) If there are reviews, check out a couple,

6) Make an instant decision, would you BUY or PASS?

(then write a little analysis about your decision)