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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
4.5
Frankly speaking, I just read this book because it was chosen as a book of the month for one of my groups here in goodreads. I don't regret reading it though. The plot is good, for one. Not the best, but good no matter. The characters are so invested (well, the main ones that is) so you'd almost feel what they feel.
First, Travis, Nora and Einstein are all so intriguing. All of their conversations are either hilarious, weird, funny or heartfelt to me. I love how they all got together. My Einstein, with his smartness and just crazy antics, he made me laugh so hard. Travis, who's as loyal as a dog (I mean that in a good way) because of what he's already been through and Nora. Nora, Nora, Nora who I thought I'd never like because she's just too darn reclusive at first. However, gradually, with Travis' help, she was able to "blossom" and find happiness.
Second, we have the other characters. Yes, Lem and all the others are "other characters" to me since I got bored reading their povs, including the killer's pov. LOL. "I enjoy killing", "This is how I kill", "I kiss them after they die" blah blah blah... it all gets so old and I just wanted to move on to the next page wherein I'll see Einstein's name again. So yeah, I didn't pay much attention to them.
Third, we have the outsider. BOO-HOO.. I'm ugly and I don't want you to look blah blah blah.. I wasn't super scared of this villain because he's too darn vain for his own good. Reading about his killings were, I admit, GROSS... and for a while there, I was a little scared because I can just imagine being chased down by a baboon-but-not-so-baboon-ish-anymore. So yeah, I was confident that he will die in the end, which he did, by the way. Serves you right, you vain little creature.
So there, all in all, it is a 4.5 mainly because the main characters amused me. I could relate to them with having a dog and just being loyal to that animal no matter what. The story would have been better if it was shorter though.
Frankly speaking, I just read this book because it was chosen as a book of the month for one of my groups here in goodreads. I don't regret reading it though. The plot is good, for one. Not the best, but good no matter. The characters are so invested (well, the main ones that is) so you'd almost feel what they feel.
First, Travis, Nora and Einstein are all so intriguing. All of their conversations are either hilarious, weird, funny or heartfelt to me. I love how they all got together. My Einstein, with his smartness and just crazy antics, he made me laugh so hard. Travis, who's as loyal as a dog (I mean that in a good way) because of what he's already been through and Nora. Nora, Nora, Nora who I thought I'd never like because she's just too darn reclusive at first. However, gradually, with Travis' help, she was able to "blossom" and find happiness.
Second, we have the other characters. Yes, Lem and all the others are "other characters" to me since I got bored reading their povs, including the killer's pov. LOL. "I enjoy killing", "This is how I kill", "I kiss them after they die" blah blah blah... it all gets so old and I just wanted to move on to the next page wherein I'll see Einstein's name again. So yeah, I didn't pay much attention to them.
Third, we have the outsider. BOO-HOO.. I'm ugly and I don't want you to look blah blah blah.. I wasn't super scared of this villain because he's too darn vain for his own good. Reading about his killings were, I admit, GROSS... and for a while there, I was a little scared because I can just imagine being chased down by a baboon-but-not-so-baboon-ish-anymore. So yeah, I was confident that he will die in the end, which he did, by the way. Serves you right, you vain little creature.
So there, all in all, it is a 4.5 mainly because the main characters amused me. I could relate to them with having a dog and just being loyal to that animal no matter what. The story would have been better if it was shorter though.
I struggled between three and four stars, ultimately deciding on three as I think a bit more could have been diced into the plot to make it more exciting. A good story, unique and I dug the simplicities of it. The dog was awesome and he and the Outsider, by far, the best characters of the book. I liked everyone, but as I said in a status update (sort-of), Koontz is more of a plot guy rather than a character one. His strength is in the story, which is cool, but sometimes his characterization skills seems a little unrealistic to me, especially when it comes to romantic relationships. He always did write villains exceptionally well, though, and the hitman was interestingly complex.
It was never boring as something was always going on, but for the most part little was seen of the big bads and most of it was on the relationship trio dynamic between Travis, Nora, and Einstein (the dog). How sweet and funny that dog was. I read a joke the other day that since this book Koontz seems to enjoy injecting a dog into almost all the romantic relationships in further books, and it does work well here. The ending was the shining area of the story, especially the last scene with the Outsider. Would have enjoyed more scenes with him and the psychological imbalances.
Overall recommended, Koontz fans should love it. For suspense fans looking for a thrill, may be better to have this one on the backburner for when in the mood for a more drama-laden story.
It was never boring as something was always going on, but for the most part little was seen of the big bads and most of it was on the relationship trio dynamic between Travis, Nora, and Einstein (the dog). How sweet and funny that dog was. I read a joke the other day that since this book Koontz seems to enjoy injecting a dog into almost all the romantic relationships in further books, and it does work well here. The ending was the shining area of the story, especially the last scene with the Outsider. Would have enjoyed more scenes with him and the psychological imbalances.
Overall recommended, Koontz fans should love it. For suspense fans looking for a thrill, may be better to have this one on the backburner for when in the mood for a more drama-laden story.
I enjoyed this book immensely and was enraptured by the dog, Einstein, even though I’m a cat person. This book follows a highly intelligent, genetically modified/engineered dog that escapes from a laboratory conducting experiments on animals to aid the government during the Cold War. Travis finds the dog who is being pursued by “the outsider” another infinitely more horrific experiment, brings him home, and learns he is gifted.
The Soviets have hired a mob hit man, Vince to kill all the scientists involved, and, in the process, learns about the dog and wants to find it. An NSA agent working with the program and his buddy a local sheriff are also searching for the dog and the outsider.
Travis and Einstein meet Nora, a woman raised to fear everyone outside of her reclusive aunt’s home, and save her from a being raped. Thanks to the dog the two fall in love and marry. They learn to communicate with Einstein through various methods but the Outsider finds them and they go on the run. They are now being pursued by the federal, the hitman, and the monster.
Overall the book was great and the dog heartwarming. There are a few reasons this was not a 5 for me. One was the science. I know this was written in 1987 and expected the science to be out of date, but in reality it is pretty much absent. I would have preferred more science even if it was from the 1980s. Next, my issues are with the way Nora is written. Her transformation from literal recluse who never ventured outside her home to a badass shooting an Uzi falls flat. More attention should have been paid to her overcoming her trauma. However, I take this with a grain of salt as it was written in 1987. If Koontz wrote this today I would hope he has learned to write more well rounded female characters.
The Soviets have hired a mob hit man, Vince to kill all the scientists involved, and, in the process, learns about the dog and wants to find it. An NSA agent working with the program and his buddy a local sheriff are also searching for the dog and the outsider.
Travis and Einstein meet Nora, a woman raised to fear everyone outside of her reclusive aunt’s home, and save her from a being raped. Thanks to the dog the two fall in love and marry. They learn to communicate with Einstein through various methods but the Outsider finds them and they go on the run. They are now being pursued by the federal, the hitman, and the monster.
Overall the book was great and the dog heartwarming. There are a few reasons this was not a 5 for me. One was the science. I know this was written in 1987 and expected the science to be out of date, but in reality it is pretty much absent. I would have preferred more science even if it was from the 1980s. Next, my issues are with the way Nora is written. Her transformation from literal recluse who never ventured outside her home to a badass shooting an Uzi falls flat. More attention should have been paid to her overcoming her trauma. However, I take this with a grain of salt as it was written in 1987. If Koontz wrote this today I would hope he has learned to write more well rounded female characters.
I really like the way the Koontz builds suspense and I don't read nearly enough of his books. Picked this up because of the Great American Read and devoured it in 4 days. Einstein was well built out and the side plots (there were 3 other plots going on) did not distract, but enhanced the drama. Well read!
Einstein best dog, good characters all around and I feel empathy for the villain of this book.
DNF at page 112
I really wanted to like this book. After my mom recommended it to me for a long time. I finally decided to read it. I can see people liking this book if they grew up with Koontz books, but even from the beginning there was no sense of urgency for me to continue reading, honestly had to force myself through the first hundred pages just to see if it picked up the pace. It sadly did not. Trevor was supposedly from the army. Did not get any experiences from the first 100 pages that would draw me to like this character, he honestly seemed like a weakling after he came home from the war. I understand that soldiers get PTSD from being in the army but Koontz did more telling than showing. Then we are introduced to Nora (ugh), she was abused as a child by her family, she was abandoned by her family and dumped on her aunt, then the aunt in a way abused her also. The aunt died, Nora inherited the house, and hasn't done anything to it since, besides remodel her old bedroom, then neglects the rest of the house. She was super weak when the TV repair man showed up at her house to fix her TV. He was a creep and continues to be a creep from the pages I read. Then we have Vince, he's a hitman. I don't know how his character was later supposed to be intertwined with the other two characters in the book. However, I don't care. But he obviously kills people but he's such a perv when he murders people. Last but not least (maybe), we have the super intelligent dog, he was supposedly altered in some way by a government lab along with a monster. He finds Trevor and goes with him. Trevor takes care of him, then the dog does human like demands, but completely on his own. I can't really say much about the dog because he doesn't do much other than getting candy bars from the glove compartment of Trevor's car, and get beer cans for Trevor. All in all, I didn't like this book very much and I want to go forget about this novel.
I really wanted to like this book. After my mom recommended it to me for a long time. I finally decided to read it. I can see people liking this book if they grew up with Koontz books, but even from the beginning there was no sense of urgency for me to continue reading, honestly had to force myself through the first hundred pages just to see if it picked up the pace. It sadly did not. Trevor was supposedly from the army. Did not get any experiences from the first 100 pages that would draw me to like this character, he honestly seemed like a weakling after he came home from the war. I understand that soldiers get PTSD from being in the army but Koontz did more telling than showing. Then we are introduced to Nora (ugh), she was abused as a child by her family, she was abandoned by her family and dumped on her aunt, then the aunt in a way abused her also. The aunt died, Nora inherited the house, and hasn't done anything to it since, besides remodel her old bedroom, then neglects the rest of the house. She was super weak when the TV repair man showed up at her house to fix her TV. He was a creep and continues to be a creep from the pages I read. Then we have Vince, he's a hitman. I don't know how his character was later supposed to be intertwined with the other two characters in the book. However, I don't care. But he obviously kills people but he's such a perv when he murders people. Last but not least (maybe), we have the super intelligent dog
This book is a veritable Classic in the scary book genre so it's been on my too read list for some time. Dang it I waited too long. This book is both frightening and loving all at the same time. Being a dog lover, I found an extra special place in my heart for the dog Einstein. I also loved the main character Travis and his background and current life situation made for an extremely well rounded character ,someone I could certainly cheer for. The character of Nora was like most female characters, secondary and the quintessential damsel in distress which I mostly find annoying but I tolerated her for the story. The inter-changing view with Vincent, a hitman I of coarse equated to Tom Cruise as Vincent in the movie Collateral, was a fascinating character as well. Without giving spoilers I thought the Book was elevated in that it brought about many questions of animal rights but also human rights while still giving thrills and chills.
I should have known better. But I was driving 12 hours alone and had to listen to something, and somehow this audiobook was the only one that made it all the way to my mp3 player. "It can't be too bad," I thought, "It has a hyper-intelligent golden retriever!" I was already lying to myself. I should have known.