The novel starts interestingly enough; a mysterious silver rain falls and animals start behaving unnaturally. Strange weather phenomenon is experienced over the globe. Soon it becomes evident that Earth is under attack. Things get increasingly strange and horrific from there.The problem is, the horror seemed very matter-of-fact, and the characters were so bland I had little reason to care what happened to them. The only thing that kept me reading was the element of mystery - what was behind the strangeness of some of the events?The mystery is largely resolved by the end (albeit with a couple of hanging threads). The ending itself comes as an interesting surprise and it wraps up the story, but the brief exposition at the end feels kind of tacked on.This is the first Dean Koontz novel I have read. On the basis of "The Taking" I won't be seeking out more.