I went through a spell in my late teens and very early twenties where I loved Koontz's writing, but I somehow never picked up Intensity. Now, with it having been several years since I'd read anything of his, I'm wishing I had read this back then, because I probably would've enjoyed it more. It would have been shocking and suspenseful, and I probably would have stayed on the edge of my seat from beginning to end.

In 2021, though, I mostly found Intensity shockingly... boring.

While the premise is intriguing — a young woman stays with her best friend's family for the weekend, only to watch a home intruder slaughter them all, leaving her the sole survivor — it was drawn-out, primarily due to the inclusion of the killer's POV. If his chapters had been left out, the story would've been half as long and twice as interesting. While Chyna's narrative is primarily focused on action, fear, and the thrilling aspects of her journey, Vess' chapters almost singularly focus on his own self-obsession and the mundanity that ensues, such as entire pages dwelling on how many words he can make from the letters in his name.

I'm still giving it 3 stars, so obviously, I didn't hate it, but I can safely say Intensity was a letdown and didn't motivate me to go back to reading Koontz's work any time soon. He's a talented author, but I don't think his method of storytelling clicks with me the way it used to. I'm glad that I read this, because it had been on my TBR for a very long time and now I can see what the fuss was about.

✨ Content warnings for:

Spoiler

home invasion, violence, murder, kidnapping, rape, imprisonment, animal abuse, animal death

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