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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I NEED an Einstein!! ❤️❤️❤️
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is my first Dean Koontz novel. I've read a few reviews that say that this book isn't necessarily a fair representation of his work, so I'll take their word for it. TL;DR is this book just didn't vibe with me.
I think the main reason it didn't work for me was that it's so long. Even books that I like that are long are a little trying, so I'm even less inclined to give a rating. But at like 500is pages, this felt especially so. Everything leads up to the last 25% of the book, which is certainly the most fast-paced that the book gets, but by this point I was mostly skimming anything that wasn't dialogue.
The characters were not very interesting to me. There were moments I was pretty annoyed at Travis, and Nora didn't fare a lot better to me. Vince honestly scared the pants off of me, and he's what initially made me not like this book. Absolute psychopath. Now, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that type of character, so this leads me to believe my attitude toward thrillers is changing a little. It felt especially explicit to me, and I got through his parts as quickly as I could.
The unveiling between Lem and Walt just felt... overdone. A lot of explaining. I think Lem could have gotten to the point a little faster without all the details, but of course you want to inform the reader. I can see that Koontz was really trying to humanize all of his characters, but it felt like too much.
The ending of the book just flew by. I think including Vince would have made so much more sense if this had been a funny book (I'm thinking Stephanie Plum), but by the end I just thought "why is he even necessary?"And listen, I'm a sucker for a good ending where everyone lives, and yay everyone has children or puppies, but honestly, oversweetened.
If there is one interesting element to the book, I think it's the emphasis on the importance of friendship and dedication to one another. Travis and Nora felt overdone, but I like that the couple's lawyer went above and beyond for them, because he saw it was the right thing to do, and that made Lem reconsider his life choices and work with the NSA.
I knew I didn't enjoy this book at 25%, and my book club had already discussed the book, but by golly was I determined to finish it.
I think the main reason it didn't work for me was that it's so long. Even books that I like that are long are a little trying, so I'm even less inclined to give a rating. But at like 500is pages, this felt especially so. Everything leads up to the last 25% of the book, which is certainly the most fast-paced that the book gets, but by this point I was mostly skimming anything that wasn't dialogue.
The characters were not very interesting to me. There were moments I was pretty annoyed at Travis, and Nora didn't fare a lot better to me. Vince honestly scared the pants off of me, and he's what initially made me not like this book. Absolute psychopath. Now, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that type of character, so this leads me to believe my attitude toward thrillers is changing a little. It felt especially explicit to me, and I got through his parts as quickly as I could.
The unveiling between Lem and Walt just felt... overdone. A lot of explaining. I think Lem could have gotten to the point a little faster without all the details, but of course you want to inform the reader. I can see that Koontz was really trying to humanize all of his characters, but it felt like too much.
The ending of the book just flew by. I think including Vince would have made so much more sense if this had been a funny book (I'm thinking Stephanie Plum), but by the end I just thought "why is he even necessary?"
If there is one interesting element to the book, I think it's the emphasis on the importance of friendship and dedication to one another. Travis and Nora felt overdone, but I like that the couple's lawyer went above and beyond for them, because he saw it was the right thing to do, and that made Lem reconsider his life choices and work with the NSA.
I knew I didn't enjoy this book at 25%, and my book club had already discussed the book, but by golly was I determined to finish it.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Violence, Stalking, Sexual harassment
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I really do like Koontz’s heroes. And even his villains are broken in a way that inspires empathy. But the portions that focus on the evil are beyond my capacity to enjoy. Without those sections this would be an incredibly sweet and unique story.
Very entertaining and suspenseful. One of the better books of the genre I've read in recent times. Yes, it is quite an old book.
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
My manager gave me this book to read, telling me that it is different to anything else she’d read, a bit spooky but also a thrilling read.
I feel like that’s an accurate description!
Some parts of this book were downright creepy, lets just say I couldn’t read this too close to bed most nights. But it’s also part mystery and part psychological thriller with government conspiracies and even a small dash of romance too.
We follow 4 main characters in this book who all have point of view chapters. One character that was a little less important as the story progresses, one that I hope NEVER to share thoughts with ever again, and two characters who I ended up absolutely adoring.
But we all know who the real star of this book is - I am looking at you Einstein.
Having a dog as a main character in a story needs to happen more often.
This book did have a couple of downsides though.
1. It has some pretty outdated views, especially around women and their appearance, but this book was written in the 80s, yet at the same time it features a really strong independent female lead.. so go figure?
1.5 also giving chocolate to dogs? Big no, no.
2. I found this book really stagnated in the middle. It has an explosive first chapter, and a thrilling conclusion, but there were points in the middle when I just wanted it to hurry up.
3. Some of the characters make some crazy decisions! I wanted to shake sense into some of them.
Yet it also had some real highlights too. It was really creepy, it gave me Stranger Things vibes and the foes in this book really did seem like good adversaries to our heroes.
It was also exciting, the anticipation stacked well in every chapter and every side-character had a role to play.
In the end I enjoyed this a lot more than I was expecting and would be interested to read more of his books in the future.
I feel like that’s an accurate description!
Some parts of this book were downright creepy, lets just say I couldn’t read this too close to bed most nights. But it’s also part mystery and part psychological thriller with government conspiracies and even a small dash of romance too.
We follow 4 main characters in this book who all have point of view chapters. One character that was a little less important as the story progresses, one that I hope NEVER to share thoughts with ever again, and two characters who I ended up absolutely adoring.
But we all know who the real star of this book is - I am looking at you Einstein.
Having a dog as a main character in a story needs to happen more often.
This book did have a couple of downsides though.
1. It has some pretty outdated views, especially around women and their appearance, but this book was written in the 80s, yet at the same time it features a really strong independent female lead.. so go figure?
1.5 also giving chocolate to dogs? Big no, no.
2. I found this book really stagnated in the middle. It has an explosive first chapter, and a thrilling conclusion, but there were points in the middle when I just wanted it to hurry up.
3. Some of the characters make some crazy decisions! I wanted to shake sense into some of them.
Yet it also had some real highlights too. It was really creepy, it gave me Stranger Things vibes and the foes in this book really did seem like good adversaries to our heroes.
It was also exciting, the anticipation stacked well in every chapter and every side-character had a role to play.
In the end I enjoyed this a lot more than I was expecting and would be interested to read more of his books in the future.
This time through, I listened to the audio book. I thought the voice actor was phenomenal and did my favorite story justice all the way to the end.
This book started like other basic thrillers, with the obvious question hanging in the balance, will Travis and Nora, who have seen so much sadness, win through with the uber-smart, uber- sweet golden retriever to live happily ever after?
Because Koontz is a writer of horror, I feared the worst possible ending. As an animal lover, I worried I was being set up for heartbreak. But I love how this book turned out! Read it for yourselves to see.
Because Koontz is a writer of horror, I feared the worst possible ending. As an animal lover, I worried I was being set up for heartbreak. But I love how this book turned out! Read it for yourselves to see.