| Plot Summary of The Face |
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Bantam, May 2003, 26.95, 624 pp.
ISBN: 0553802488
Like most Hollywood superstars, Channing “The Face” Manheim finds celebrity a duel sword. Inside his Bel Air “fortress”, Channing receives plenty of “gifts” from his adoring fans. However, lately one particular idolater has begun sending macabre gifts like an apple cut in half but sutured back into one piece. Channing's chief of security, former LAPD cop Ethan Thomas, is concerned as the presents from this bizarre fan turn eerier, nastier and more threatening with each arrival.
Ethan is on full alert since the arrivals of the venomous bounty and protecting his employer's preadolescent son since his arrival. Following a clue, Ethan confronts a suspect, Rolf Reynard who shoots and kills him. The next thing Ethan knows is that he is alive inside his car with no wounds, but blood under his nails. Spooked, Truman knows something outside his acceptable range of perceptions is stalking the Manheim duo, but he willingly will risk his life in an attempt to stop this malevolence regardless of its origin and powers.
The problem with THE FACE is that the book is 600 plus pages of over the edge exciting suspense that hooks the audience into needing to finish it in one sitting (expect a long but gratifying night). The story line certifies why many readers consider Dean Koontz the king of the suspense thriller with an uncanny twist or three to the plot.
Harriet Klausner
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Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar
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"A retired police detective who is head of security for the most famous actor in America, has his job cut out for him and he must puzzle the mystery of some rather strange threats to the actor. Researching these bizarre threats carries him to an individual that begins his spiral into other worldly experiences that make him question his own grip on reality. "
Tracey Ray, Resident Scholar
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"Ethan Truman is an ex-police officer who has been hired by Channing Manheim (know as "The Face" for his rugged good looks), arguably the most famous actor in Hollywood, to be head of security in his mansion. Manheim has a son, Aelfric-Fric for short-who lives a very solitary life in the mansion, with no real friends and only the staff to keep him company. Fric's mother is a model who is rarely there, and doesn't particularly care about him. While Manheim is away filming a new movie, strange things begin to happen in the mansion, to Fric and to Ethan.
The main antagonist is Corky (Vladamir) Laputa, a professor at a nearby college. He is an anarchist and envisions himself as an agent of chaos. Along with a man by the name of Rolf Reynerd, Corky puts into motion a plan to infiltrate the Manheim mansion (which has tremendous security). Laputa gains information about the security system and of the general layout of the house from a man who used to be one on Manheim's security force, but who was fired for making prank phone calls to the infamous line 24 (The mansion has 24 phone lines, with line 24 being used specifically for calls recieved from the dead. Manheim's spiratual advisor, Ming du Lac, suggested they should set up an answering machine to answer line 24 in a white room with a locked blue door. No one is allowed to enter but Manheim and Ming du Lac.).
Laputa also gained information about the layout of the house from a woman who used to privately tutor Fric, and whom Corky was sleeping with. Laputa usually kills the people, mostly criminals, who have provided him with information, tools, etc. that he needs for his attack on the Manheim estate, so that they will not blow his cover (as he has many aliases).
Laputa and Reynerd (whom Corky had killed) sent a series of black boxes with strange contents as a warning to the Manheim estate. Ethan knew something was going to happen. When a series of strange occurences began happening to him and to his friend, Police Officer Hazard Yancy, he knows whatever is going to happen will happen soon. Ethan breaks into the room where the equipment to record line 24's calls is and as he listens to the one message, he realizes it's his dead wife warning him about the impending attack by Corky Laputa, although her warning is far more vague than that. Laputa successfully disengages the security system and the phone system and gains entry to the mansion. "
Monica Hughes, Resident Scholar
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"Ethan Truman is a detective hired to figure out a mystery. A famous movie star, simply known as 'The Face', has been getting threats and odd packages that don't make any sense at all. His few leads turn up no hope, and suddenly Ethan is getting strange premonitions of his own death! Somehow, each time he 'dies' he finds himself at the place he was moments before it occured. This turns out to be a helping hand from an old friend, Duncan, who he knows to have died, yet suspects may still be alive. Ethan has to figure out the clues he's receiving before it's too late! The sender of the horrific messages is a man who lives for chaos and goes by the name of Corky Laputa. He has a master plan to kidnap young Aelfric while his father is away on business, and the only one who can stop him is Ethan, with some help from the mysterious Duncan.
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Patti Ford, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of The Face |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Composition of Book
descript. of violence and chases - 30%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 30%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10%
Tone of story
- suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
Time/era of story:
- present (2000-2010)
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Horror Story?
Yes
Horror plotlets
- the mad stabber chased me!
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- police/lawman
Age:
- 20's-30's
- 40's-50's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
How much violence does he/she use?
- just the right amount
Ethnicity/Race
- White/American
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
- Very much smarter than other characters
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 20's-30's
Profession/status:
- scholar
- mastermind
Eccentric:
Yes
- obsessed
- deluded
- wild
- eccentric
- emotionally unstable
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- throughout most of the book.
Motive of antagonist
- kicks
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- California
Misc setting
- fancy mansion
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- moderately detailed references to deaths
How many deaths?
- 5-7
Sex
Yes
What kind of sex:
- vague references
Unusual forms of death
- perforation--bullets
Unusual form of death?
Yes
Amount of dialog
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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