The Vision :: essays research papers

The Vision by Dean Koontz Most people are skeptical about psychics and psychic powers. In the book The Vision by Dean Koontz, there arises a real convincing psychic Mary, who has visions of murders that are yet to happen. But, a new twist to the story causes Mary to see a different kind of vision. Murders more gruesome than ever. More difficult to see. Harder to pursue. All these factors cause the reader , and possibly be someone she loves? Or maybe a haunting truth about the past. The story takes place in various locations of modern day California. Some of the story takes place in Los Angeles, but the most momentous part of the story takes place in a little town called King's Point. The town is on the Pacific Coast Highway, and expensive houses dot the shoreline. Pertaining to the visions, Dean Koontz vividly describes the scene of each of them, as they take place. For example, he takes the reader to one of the scenes of a murder. A small beauty shop in Santa Ana, California. He forces the reader to picture the various aspects of a normal beauty shop, such as, the exterior. The neon lights, the palm tree, the jade-plant hedges, and the money-scented air. He informs the reader of the scent of the shampoo, cream rinse cologne, and perspiration. He tells how the floor was covered in air, and the purple color of the walls, and the plush purple carpet. He describes the sound of the hair dryer and the gunshot in which the murderer shot the cashier. As one can see, the author thoroughly describes the setting. The main character is of course, Mary Bergen. She is the author of a syndicated newspaper column about psychic phenomena, and the one who pursues the visions in which the murderer creates. The true identity of the murderer is not clear until the end of the book. Max Bergen, Mary's husband, and Alan Tanner, Mary's brother, each try to help Mary pursue her visions to catch the killer, and to free Mary's life of the horrible stress that encompasses her. But Max and Alan don't get along very well. Alan feels that Mary could of picked a better man to marry, because he believes that all Max is after is Mary's money, and that Max doesn't really realize how fragile she is. Max knows how Alan feels, but obviously disagrees. Max is pretty a strong man, six inches taller, and forty pounds heavier then Alan. Although Max had promised Mary that he would never physically fight another person, he feels a strong need to fight Alan, but knows that won't stop him from being so arrogant.