Dean Koontz has turned out 5 (or is it 6) books this year. He is obviously going through a very prolific phase. It is unfortunate, but this book falls way short of typical Koontz brilliance. And I am a huge fan, having read every book he ever wrote.The Taking starts off strong with an interesting premise -- a new "War of the Worlds." It quickly falls flat,however, with his tried and true cookie cutter characters -- the young and in love couple standing alone against the world in search of truth, justice, and the American way.Add a dose of idiotic plot twists (animated corpses, self-mutilating dolls, buzzing walls, psycho-sentient dogs) and the usual paint-by-numbers limn of atmospheric melange meant to instill fear and trepidation. The only thing it instilled was boredom relieved by non-stop ennui.My recommedation, skip this book and try some of the classic Koontz: Dragon Tears, Intensity, and Mr. Murder, just to name a few.