My first David Morrell book was Brotherhood of the Rose, which was also my first time liking movie so much that I wanted to read the book. David is a very talented writer, and you can tell that he does his research and really knows what he's talking about! For instance, one of the main characters in this book is a pilot. David learned how to fly planes and is now a pilot as well.

The Shimmer introduces us to policeman Dan Page right in the middle of an unusual car chase. Dan had the day off and was flying his small plane, when he gets pulled into a car chase which does not end well. Dan's day does not get any better when he returns home to find his wife Tori gone, leaving a short note that she's gone to visit her mother. Even more surprising is the news that Tori was going to drive, but never made it. Tori is eventually located by the local police chief in a small Texas town called Rostov. Dan flies down immediately, and things go from strange to downright weird.

Rostov seems like a nice enough small town....aside from the spooky abandoned military base, a huge observatory and, oh yeah, the appearance of mysterious lights that not everyone can see. Some people have positive reactions to the lights, but some become angry and one angry observer opens fire on the crowd, killing several bystanders. Despite the massacre, Tori does not want to leave the Lights, so Dan decides to investigate in order to save his marriage and solve the mystery.

This was not what I'd call the usual Morrell thriller, as there's a touch of science fiction because of the Rostov Lights. Are they a natural phenomenon, a government experiment, ghosts, or possibly alien visitors?

I think Morrell did a great job incorporating the mystery of the Lights, the possible government involvement, the various townfolk, and the relationship between Dan and Tori. Enjoyed this story much more than his last few books, and am now intrigued about the real-life lights in Marfa that inspired this story.

Gave this book a 4 out of 5 rating as I think the writing was very good, it had a well thought-out plot, and the characters were both believable and interesting. I couldn't wait to read what came next, and recommend this story to anyone who enjoys a good thriller with a touch of the paranormal! ( )

There's just no way a person can pigeonhole this book. It's a novel that's a blend of sci-fi, fantasy, suspense and action-packed thriller. Personally, I think it defies categorization, unless you lump it into one of my favorite categories -- escape reading.

In an afterward following the novel, David Morrell explains that he used the true-life, strange-light phenomenon in Marfa, TX as his inspiration, moving them to the fictional town of Rostov, TX in his book. As the novel opens, Dan Page, a police officer in Santa Fe, is trying to unwind by flying his small plane, but unwittingly becomes involved in a high-speed chase on the ground that doesn't end well. He returns home to share his day with his wife Tori, but she's nowhere to be found. Tori has gone off to visit her mother, 800 miles away, by car. Dan alerts authorities along the way to keep a lookout for her car, and she turns up in the tiny little town of Rostov, where he eventually finds her staring out over the desert at some mysterious lights in a viewing area where other people are waiting for the lights as well. Dan doesn't understand, but people who can see the lights are mesmerized by them. In the midst of a gathering crowd, one crazed man begins a wild shooting spree to make people stop looking at the lights. This is where the action begins, and it doesn't let up from there.

It's a fun read, although sometimes the characters are bit larger than life and maybe just a wee bit stereotypical, but then again, this book isn't purporting to be great literature. If you want something just a little different, and if you can suspend your disbelief for a while, you might enjoy this one. This is more for people who like action-type thrillers, a genre that is not my cup of tea in the larger sense of things, but this one was fun. ( )

Police officer Dan Page’s wife disappears en route to her mother’s house. Tori ends up in the remote town of Rostov, Texas where for centuries mysterious lights have attracted and mystified onlookers and residents alike. Tori becomes obsessed by the lights. What causes these colorful, patterned lights that some people can see clearly and others cannot? Those that can see the lights become mesmerized and believe in special powers, sometimes healing, of the Rostov Lights. The main story of The Shimmer is that of the strained marriage of Dan Page and his wife, Tori, who recently found out she has advanced stage breast cancer. One night there’s a shooting by a crazed gunman where Tori heroically saves a crowd of people. This event instantly brings more attention to the strange lights and to Rostov. Media outlets and curious onlookers descend on the small town. While Rostov detectives try to figure out what happened, Page does his own parallel police investigation. He finds out curious details about the lights and a covert military operation dating back fifty years. Author David Morrell has based his thriller The Shimmer on real life events based on the Marfa Lights in Marfa, Texas. Throughout the novel, he weaves intriguing, yet ordinary, characters into the mix. Morrell explains things very well and does not get caught up in military or technical mumbo jumbo or minutiae that would only confuse a reader. Instead he focuses on the story and the characters: why these people are where they are and doing what they are doing. What is their unique relationship to the Rostov lights? All this makes The Shimmer a suspenseful, relatively satisfying thriller. ( )

Dan Page is having a bad day. Flying the small airplane he inherited from his father usually provides him with an escape from the pressures of being a Santa Fe policeman, but today Page finds himself involved in one of those high speed chases the news people so much love to follow while pretending they are not hoping for a chase-ending crash of some sort. This one does end in a crash and, despite having done everything correctly, Page cannot help but feel a bit guilty about his role in the chase as he heads home to his wife.

The problem is that his wife, Tori, is nowhere to be found, and she has left behind only a short note telling Page that she has gone to see her mother. Page’s confusion becomes genuine concern when a phone call to his mother-in-law reveals that Tori has chosen to drive the 800 miles to San Antonio rather than fly there. After she fails to arrive in San Antonio as scheduled, Page, who has alerted authorities to be on the lookout for Tori’s car, is more confused than ever to learn that his wife has stopped in the little West Texas town of Rostov.

Rostov, Texas, is no ordinary small town. The mysterious lights that have appeared just outside town most nights for more than 100 years have turned Rostov into a tourist attraction, and Tori Page is just one of many who have become mesmerized by their existence. Tori is so taken with the lights, in fact, that she finds it hard to wait for darkness and is oblivious to everything around her when her husband finds her in the viewing area provided for those in town to see the lights. What happens later that night is just the beginning of a nightmare that Dan and Tori Page will be lucky to survive.

Fans of David Morrell’s thrillers are not likely to be disappointed by "The Shimmer," a novel involving elements of the supernatural, government plots to produce new super-weapons, religious fanatics, mass murder, miracles, and a handful of dedicated lawmen who never give up despite the overwhelming odds stacked against them.

"The Shimmer" is an action-packed thriller but it only works as well as it does because Morrell has peopled his plot with characters about whom the reader will care. It all begins with Tori and Dan Page, two ordinary people caught up in extraordinary circumstances that make them realize how much they still love one another. Working with the Pages to solve the mystery of the lights, and to contain the nightly violence the lights cause, are some of Rostov’s finest citizens, including the local police chief, a deputy, and an antique dealer who knows as much about the lights and their history as anyone alive. Morrell’s use of flashbacks to the experiences previous generations had with the Rostov lights gives the book a realistic feel that makes its fantastic plot all the more thrilling.

This one will be a page-turner for thriller and sci-fi fans, alike.

Rated at: 3.5 ( )

I probably would have skipped right over David Morell's The Shimmer if it hadn't been brought to my attention. Morrell is frequently referred to as the father of the modern action novel though I must admit, I didn't recognize his name. He is probably best known as the creator of the character Rambo and for his award-winning novel Creepers. The Shimmer is his most recent offering and is heavily based on the ghost lights that appear near Marfa, Texas and the stories and theories surrounding them. It was this that particularly interested me when I was offered a copy of the book to review.

Just outside of the small cattle-town of Rostov in southeastern Texas, something bizarre occurs on an almost nightly basis. Strange lights appear and no one knows for certain what they are or what causes them. Even stranger, not everyone one can see them. People are almost inexplicably drawn to Rostov and the mysterious lights. Victoria Page remembers seeing them as a child and on a whim decides to see them again, disappearing without telling anyone. Dan, her husband, follows her there, concerned about her and desperate to save their crumbling marriage. Brent Loft is a news anchor searching for a story, hoping to make it big, while his camera operator, Anita, simply needs the extra cash. Colonel Warren Raleigh has both a military and a personal interest in the phenomenon, much like his father and grandfather before him. Edward Mullen has become obsessed with the lights after his wife died, an obsession that leads to tragedy--neither the first nor the last to befall Rostov.

For as many primary characters that are used in The Shimmer (and I haven't even mentioned them all), characterization is really not the books strong point. While not exactly stock characters, none of them have much depth and their personal relationships (particularly between Tori and Dan) come across as too easy. The first thee quarters or so of the book were the best. Unfortunately, by the time Morrell reaches what is supposed to be the climax, it doesn't feel like much of climax and the ending falls a bit flat. I found the lights and their mystery to be much more interesting earlier in the book before they started behaving differently for some reason, in almost an intelligent or deliberate sort of manner, which seemed a bit..."out of character" is the phrase that comes to mind.

Overall, The Shimmer didn't leave much of an impression on me. It wasn't a bad book, neither was it a great book; I feel rather ambivalent towards it. The story was an entertaining enough diversion, but it failed to really grab me. In addition to some clever alternate history, I did like how Morrell was able to tie many of the Marfa lights stories together (I recognized several of them from reading up on the lights before The Shimmer arrived on my doorstep) and managed to hit upon most if not all of the major theories that attempt to explain the phenomenon. Morrell also includes an afterword in which he discusses the Marfa lights and his inspiration for The Shimmer further. I found this section to be very interesting; perhaps the book would have been better had he not decided to novelize his research, though by doing so he has written a very accessible, if fanciful, introduction to the real-life mystery.

Experiments in Reading ( )