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sohare1981's review against another edition
2.0
I went into this story not knowing anything about it. It's been in my to-be-read pile for a while, and when I saw it at my local library, I decided it was time to try. The story is told from several points of view but it mainly revolves around the characters, the 11-year-old Aminty and her father, Jeffy.
They're living their simple lives years after their wife/mother walk out on them and seem to be content in their quiet little world when an eccentric man thought to be homeless leaves Jeffy with "the key to everything" and asked him to keep it for him, but not use it. When accidentally activated, they're thrown into a dangerous life-risking life hiding from the shadow state and thrown into parallel worlds where evil things have taken place that their timeline hasn't.
I was a little put off by the many different narrators. Yes, Jeffy and Aminty were featured more, but then the author likes to what I call head-hop. A few scenes from Jeffy, one or two from Aminty, then throws you into the main antagonist of the story Fallack, then occasionally into an ed-point, and a different timeline Michelle, to some Fallack's teammates, to a random hotel security guide. It seems like every time Koontz introduced a character; he then put a scene in that character's point of view. A bit unnecessary, and I think limiting it to two, maybe three points of view would have been sufficient.
Not only that, because it is a "parallel world" story, you have to keep track of what world they're in though Koontz tends to call these timelines, which I think is a whole different concept. But I may just be nit-picking at that terminology. So you really have to pay attention to who and where they are. The head-hops got to be a little too much for me, but overall the story was good. There were surprises, and I would like maybe one or two worlds or more interaction with the worlds. This is my first read of Dean Koontz, and I feel intrigued enough to consider reading some of his other works.
They're living their simple lives years after their wife/mother walk out on them and seem to be content in their quiet little world when an eccentric man thought to be homeless leaves Jeffy with "the key to everything" and asked him to keep it for him, but not use it. When accidentally activated, they're thrown into a dangerous life-risking life hiding from the shadow state and thrown into parallel worlds where evil things have taken place that their timeline hasn't.
I was a little put off by the many different narrators. Yes, Jeffy and Aminty were featured more, but then the author likes to what I call head-hop. A few scenes from Jeffy, one or two from Aminty, then throws you into the main antagonist of the story Fallack, then occasionally into an ed-point, and a different timeline Michelle, to some Fallack's teammates, to a random hotel security guide. It seems like every time Koontz introduced a character; he then put a scene in that character's point of view. A bit unnecessary, and I think limiting it to two, maybe three points of view would have been sufficient.
Not only that, because it is a "parallel world" story, you have to keep track of what world they're in though Koontz tends to call these timelines, which I think is a whole different concept. But I may just be nit-picking at that terminology. So you really have to pay attention to who and where they are. The head-hops got to be a little too much for me, but overall the story was good. There were surprises, and I would like maybe one or two worlds or more interaction with the worlds. This is my first read of Dean Koontz, and I feel intrigued enough to consider reading some of his other works.
crashmore's review against another edition
3.0
Enjoyable but not my favorite Koontz read. This one was kind of a slow burn and didn't have the same level of action and conflict I generally like in his books. Still fun and worth the time I just usually enjoy Koontz books more.
pq_bkclb's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
A nice family adventure. I held my breath at times and i didn't want to put the book down.
slelaindy41's review against another edition
3.0
Fun read! Some things that were too wildly convenient, like the meeting of certain person's along a road that immediately led to a whole thing (trying not to spoil), but all in all another fun story from Koontz that's easy to read and meant to entertain. Would give 3.5 stars if I could.
bjt1977's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Popcorn, beach, casual...common Dean Koontz material. The villain is an unnuanced lunatic, the heros are perfec, the plot only makes sense if you fully suspend logic, but he knows how to write, it has good pace and is easy to plow through when you don't want to think too hard about the material.
dnemec's review against another edition
4.0
This is the first Koontz book I've read in over 5 years and it was terrific! The key to everything, parallel universes, killer robots and a time-travelling mouse. Definitely worth your time!!!
davidkeithley81's review against another edition
4.0
A fun novel. I love Koontz’s take on multiple or parallel universes. As with most of his books in the last 10 years, his central theme is about goodness winning over evil. He can become overly sappy, but I love the message.
justjoel's review against another edition
3.0
My copy of this book was an ARC won via Goodreads giveaway, which has no bearing on my review.
This is the first Koontz I've read in a few years. I read a ton of his stuff in my late teens and early twenties, and I still feel like stories from that era are his strongest.
This one was a little different, pretty much straight sci-fi. At times it kind of felt like Koontz's own Watchers had been mixed with Blake Crouch's Dark Matter.
As stated above, my copy was a review copy, so maybe some things were changed, but this felt like a lot of repetition and page filler at times. I can't say I loved it, but I liked it. The characters were fairly solid, with the exception of the primary antagonist, who came off as a bit odd, even as far as homicidal sociopaths go.
Overall, it's worth a read if you're a fan of Koontz (or Dark Matter, for that, er, matter) but it's not as tight as some of his earlier works.
3 out of 5 stars.
This is the first Koontz I've read in a few years. I read a ton of his stuff in my late teens and early twenties, and I still feel like stories from that era are his strongest.
This one was a little different, pretty much straight sci-fi. At times it kind of felt like Koontz's own Watchers had been mixed with Blake Crouch's Dark Matter.
As stated above, my copy was a review copy, so maybe some things were changed, but this felt like a lot of repetition and page filler at times. I can't say I loved it, but I liked it. The characters were fairly solid, with the exception of the primary antagonist, who came off as a bit odd, even as far as homicidal sociopaths go.
Overall, it's worth a read if you're a fan of Koontz (or Dark Matter, for that, er, matter) but it's not as tight as some of his earlier works.
3 out of 5 stars.
bookbloggerjanine's review against another edition
4.0
Elsewhere by Dean Koontz
I give this book 4 stars
Spooky Ed entrusts Jeffy Coltrane and his 11 year old daughter Amity with hiding an object—something he calls “the key to everything”—and tells Jeffy that he must never use it. After accidentally activating the key,Jeffy and Amity discover the device allows them to jump between parallel planes.
But they aren’t the only ones interested in this device.
Falkirk is also in pursuit, determined to use its grand potential for profound evil. Unless Amity and Jeffy can outwit him, the place they call home may never be safe again.
An mysterious fast paced adventure that is full of suspense,An entertaining and scary read.lt had me gripped and turning the pages of this race against time,good verses evil tale..l was rooting for Jeffy and Amity and detested Falkirk right from the start.
With thanks to Netgalley,Dean Koontz and Harper Collins UK
I give this book 4 stars
Spooky Ed entrusts Jeffy Coltrane and his 11 year old daughter Amity with hiding an object—something he calls “the key to everything”—and tells Jeffy that he must never use it. After accidentally activating the key,Jeffy and Amity discover the device allows them to jump between parallel planes.
But they aren’t the only ones interested in this device.
Falkirk is also in pursuit, determined to use its grand potential for profound evil. Unless Amity and Jeffy can outwit him, the place they call home may never be safe again.
An mysterious fast paced adventure that is full of suspense,An entertaining and scary read.lt had me gripped and turning the pages of this race against time,good verses evil tale..l was rooting for Jeffy and Amity and detested Falkirk right from the start.
With thanks to Netgalley,Dean Koontz and Harper Collins UK
chantalsbookstuff's review against another edition
3.0
It didn't quite hit the mark with its heavier focus on science fiction rather than horror. While the story was imaginative, it felt dragged out and never-ending. It's not a bad book, but it doesn't quite measure up to his best work either.