The Servants of Twilight

Infobox Book |
name = The Servants of Twilight


image_caption = Cover of "The Servants of Twilight"
author = Dean Koontz
country = United States
language = English
series =
genre = Horror novel
publisher = Berkley Publishing
release_date = 1988
media_type = Print (Paperback)
pages = 432 pp
isbn = ISBN 0-425-12125-9
preceded_by =
followed_by =

"The Servants of Twilight" is a novel by best-selling American suspense author Dean Koontz. The book's plot revolves around a single mother being tormented by members of a religious cult whose leader believes the woman's son to be the Anti-Christ. A film adaptation was released in 1991.

The book was originally published as a paperback original under the pseudonym Leigh Nichols.

Plot summary

Single parent Christine Scavello and her young son Joey are confronted in a mall parking lot by a madwoman who claims that Joey is the Anti-Christ. After a distressing attack on the family home results in her dog being decapitated, Christine enlists the help of private detective Charlie Harrison. Harrison traces a van that is following Christine back to one Grace Spivey - a charismatic elderly woman who is the leader of a fanatical religious cult called The Servants Of Twilight.

Christine is provided with bodyguards for her protection; however, it is not long before one of them is killed in an attack by cult members. Christine, Charlie, Joey, and the new dog Chewbacca begin a tiresome cross country journey to escape the deluded members of "The Twilight". It seems that no matter how far they travel or where they go, Spivey's people find them. It is revealed that this is due to Spivey being a psychic who can see into the future, a gift that also plagues her with many sleepless nights.

After several more attacks (including a car bomb and an arson attack) the group tries to escape the growing threat of The Twilight by retreating to Charlie's lodge in the mountains. Here, Charlie finds himself falling love with Christine, and the two end up sleeping together.

Spivey is certain that Joey is the Anti-Christ, and continually has visions of the apocalypse where the child is the cause. Rather than considering herself insane or unjust, Spivey sees her need to kill the boy as a service to mankind. Her faith is so strong that she is able to enlist the following of many key members of the community, including police officers and a man named Kyle Barlow - a sociopath Spivey had saved from a life of crime.

The Servants of Twilight eventually track the group to Charlie's mountain lodge. After a chase and more gun fights in a treacherous blizzard, the family finds themselves in a cave in the side of a mountain. They are exhausted, Charlie has suffered a gun shot wound to the shoulder and Joey develops a serious illness, including hives to the face and a very pale complexion. Joey's change in mood causes Christine to wonder if he truly is what Grace Spivey claims.

The story reaches it climax inside the cave when Spivey and her last standing helper, Kyle Barlow, begin their descent to kill the child and stop the supposed rise of the Anti-Christ. Christine has no energy left to fight, and Charlie is barely conscious from his gun shot wound. It all looks very bleak as Grave Spivey raises a gun to Joey's head. Just before she pulls the trigger, however, Spivey is attacked by a barrage of bats who attack her and leave her for dead.

Kyle Barlow knows he must finish the job, but finds he does not have the ability to kill a child, even if Grace believed them to be the Anti-Christ.

The book closes with the end of the ordeal and with Christine and Charlie in a stable relationship. Charlie’s curiosity about Joey grows, as the boy's illness cleared up very quickly and mysteriously. The story ends with a slight cliff-hanger as Charlie finds evidence in the buried remains of the family's original dog, which isn’t the boy's dog at all...

Film, TV or theatrical adaptations

The film adaptation of The Servants of Twilight was made in 1991 after the book became an international best seller. The film starred Belinda Bauer as Chris, Bruce Greenwood as Charlie Harrison, and cult-favorite Grace Zabriskie as the cult leader Grace Spivey and was directed by Jeffrey Obrow. The film was met with a series of bad reviews and failed to make any impact when released. The film is currently available on DVD in most countries.

External links

* [http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/k/dean-r-koontz/servants-of-twilight.htm The Servants of Twilight Book Review]
* [http://imdb.com/title/tt0102882/ The Servants of Twilight movie at the IMDB]