Despite the corny aspects (a protagonist named Ironheart? Give me a break!), I found this to be one of Koontz's better novels -- right up to the ending, which has to be the most ludicrous and anticlimactic endings I've read in a Koontz story. I was so disappointed I threw the book across the room. What makes it so annoying is that the first 2/3 of the book is great fun, and leads you to believe that something truly amazing is afoot, but the resolution is trite and lacking in imagination. The way events were building, I expected the book to build to a stunning climax -- but instead it was disappointingly clichéd and a real letdown. It's not a waste of time, but it's not up there with Dean Koontz's best work, in my opinion.