The Forest of Lost Souls is, in many ways, a classic Dean Koontz novel, but sadly, it didn’t quite land for me. Despite a promising setup, the story ended up being a slow, challenging read, hampered by lengthy exposition and a plodding pace that left me struggling to stay engaged. While the plot is fairly straightforward and easy to follow, it lacks the tension and urgency that Koontz used to deliver so well in his early work.
One of the main issues with this book is that it feels overburdened with background and description—there’s simply too much story layered into what could have been a leaner, more focused narrative. Even when the action finally picks up, the momentum just isn’t there. It’s like the story itself is trudging along, much like the title’s lost souls. There’s a sense of everything moving in slow motion, with the narrative bogged down by excess detail. Instead of gripping suspense, we get an overabundance of context that stalls the flow, leaving the reader longing for something to truly latch onto.
I’ve been reading Koontz for years and have always appreciated his earlier works, which were brilliantly paced and truly gripping. Books like Watchers and Phantoms hooked me from the start, making me an avid fan. But over the last ten or so years, I feel like his stories have shifted; they still contain glimmers of his old brilliance, but they lack the punch and suspense I remember. Koontz has become hit-or-miss in recent years, and The Forest of Lost Souls unfortunately falls into the latter category for me. It’s one I wanted to enjoy, but the pacing and heavy exposition made it hard to fully immerse myself.
