Alright!
Welcome to the very first month of Isaac Hunter’s Official Online Book Club. We started on January 1st, 2026, and are currently reading Lightning by Dean Koontz. So, let’s dive in and go through our mid-month check-in and encouragement.
If you are finding this post after January, by all means, join in anyway. Better late than never!
Alright here we go…
– Mid-Month Check-In –
!! ISAAC HUNTER’s BOOK CLUB !!
The book we are currently reading in January is Lightning by Dean Koontz. This is, hands down, my absolute favorite novel. The story, the characters, and the writing all had a deep and lasting impact on me as a teenager. I have read it several times, but I still remember reading it for the first time during a lazy summer, just after school got out. My best friend at the time suggested I read it and gave me a copy.
- Favorite Character so far: I really like Laura as a young girl, but I also love Thelma, too.
- Favorite Scene: When Stefan explains to Laura who he is and why he’s done what he’s done to reshape her life.
- Main Thought: I like that the first half of the book is a mystery to be solved. Laura is being protected by an unknown stranger, an unseen force, and we have to figure out who he is and why he’s helping her (or if he is actually helping her).
My Favorite Book EVER
It is no mystery that Lightning by Dean Koontz is my all-time, 100%, hands-down, my favorite book I’ve ever read. I never knew exactly why that was until I discovered that Koontz handles theologically rich subjects and asks some of the same questions I ask when writing. I’ve loved this book so much that my wife and I are now reading it together.
So, Here is a sneak peak at the discussion questions that we will wrestle with at the end of the month:
What does it mean that Laura’s life is protected long before she knows it — and what does this suggest about destiny, free will, and whether a person can be ‘chosen’ without their consent?
Provide your answers in the comments below. Bonus points if you can relate your answer to one of my books or characters. Look forward to discussing this with you and the other discussion questions at the end of the month. 🙂
Lightning by Dean Koontz
A storm struck on the night Laura Shane was born, and with it, a mystery that would follow her through life. A mysterious blond-haired stranger appeared out of nowhere, saving her from a fatal delivery. Years later, he returns during another storm to save her again. This pattern continues throughout her life; whenever tragedy looms, this man arrives in a flash to protect her. But who is this silent guardian? Is he a guardian angel sent from above, the devil in disguise, or the master of a destiny far beyond the reaches of time and space? As powerful and malignant forces gather around her, Laura cannot shake the certainty that her life is part of a grander, more terrifying plan. The adventure—and the terror—have only just begun, and the answers will shatter her world.
!! Post Below to Join the Club !!
If you would like to join us in Isaac Hunter’s Official Book Club, post a comment below saying that you are present and accounted for. And if you are reading this months or years after January 2026, by all means, join in after the fact, post down below, and start reading. Better late than never!
!! IF YOU LIKE KOONTZ YOU WILL LOVE MY AURORA SERIES !!
You can purchase the first book in the Aurora Series right now for a limited time up to 70% OFF, so act now while we still have copies in stock!
Check out this excerpt from my novel, Our Daughter:
“Okay, mom,” Randy said.
“You behave yourself and be nice. You’re lucky to have company while you wait for the doctors.”
The woman turned and started back the way she came.
“The nurse said it would be twenty or thirty more minutes, so we’ll eat quick and be back up here before they take you in, okay?”
“Okay, mom.”
“Sorry for him,” the woman said to Katie as she walked by.
“He’s funny.”
Katie grinned.
As the woman left, Katie noticed the boy moving around again on the bed. Before she realized what was happening, the tiny lump disappeared and she could hear the faint sound of bare hands and feet on the tile floor.
He was low crawling under the beds toward her.
A moment later, Randy popped his head out from under the nearest hospital bed, craning his neck around to look up at her.
“Hello, there,” Katie said.
Randy disappeared back under the bed, the bed sheet draping down almost to the floor. Katie could still see three little fingers pressed to the tile.
“What are you here for?” Katie asked, readjusting her seat in the chair, trying to get the ache in her chest to lessen.
For whatever reason, the wheelchair was really uncomfortable.
“Why are – “
Randy’s voice trailed off for a moment as he looked around.
“Why are you here?”
“I’m getting my leg fixed,” Katie said. “See?”
Randy poked his head back out from under the bed and looked at the leg she was pointing to.
“What’s wrong with it?”
“The doctor said it’s broken,” Katie said. “Shattered.”
“Ouch.”
“Yeah. Ouch.”
“Can you feel it?” Randy asked, able to stay out from his hiding place.
“I can feel it, but it’s not too bad,” Katie said, then tapped the IV in her arm. “This thing is giving me medicine of some kind for the pain. At least that’s what the nurses said.”
“Why are you – “
Randy stopped mid-sentence.
He scooted out from under the bed entirely and slowly crept over to er on all fours.
“What are you, some kind of spider?” Katie asked, giggling a little.
“What are you?” Randy echoed.
He was now only about a foot away from her chair and sat there, his legs folded up under him, gawking up at her.
“What are you staring at me for?”
“I’ve never – “
Randy put out a hesitant hand and ever so gently touched her arm.
“Are you some kind of ghost?”
He looked around again.
“Are you – ”
He leaned in, talking in a whisper.
“Are you dead?”
A nurse came around the corner and stopped abruptly, spotting the empty bed in the far corner where Randy should have been.
“Randy Andrews,” the nurse said, her hands now on her hips. “You get right back into the bed and you stop playing around, please. They are ready for you in surgery.”
Katie watched as Randy scrambled on all fours under the beds and back up onto his, pulling the sheet back over top of himself again.
She started to ask him about his question, but couldn’t get the words out before his parents appeared at the door.
Katie sat there quietly, watching Randy stare back at her from under his sheet. She glanced over at his parents and the nurse, noticed Randy’s dad had no hair on the top of his head.
Are you dead?
What kind of question was that?
The snap of the wheel locks being disengaged on Randy’s hospital bed jarred Katie out of the confusion she was in.
The doctor she’d first seen was now at the door, waiting for Randy.
He was his surgeon.
They wheeled Randy out of the room, his parents following right behind, disappearing to the left, heading for his operating room.
The pre-op room was empty again.
Dead.
Are you dead?
What kind of crazy question was that?
The nurse came back through the double doors.
“It won’t be long now,” she said.
“Okay.”
Katie tried not to think about the dull ache growing just behind her sternum.
The nurse disappeared around the corner as Katie watched the double doors to the operating rooms slowly shut.
Buy my book Our Daughter and begin the adventure of a lifetime, as you uncover the mysteries behind Katie Cadora’s new life after the horrible accident that stole her mother away from her. Will she find sure footing again? Will the pain ever stop? Will she discover the secrets her new foster family are keeping from her? Is the boy’s question right? Is Katie Cadora actually dead?
Click here and grab your copy today and jump into this Witch Gnostic Heresy trilogy with both feet!
But, trust me when I tell you, there are deceivers in our midsts! Get started in this bone chilling suspense novel right away and find out why….sometimes….you’re just better off DEAD!
!! Get Your Copy Today !!
What do you think?