Reviews

The Face by Dean Koontz

brandonstanwyck's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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? Yes

3.25

delimeatz's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

the bad guy’s name is corky laputa. that’s all i have to say 

judythereader's review against another edition

3.0

Ethan Truman, retired police officer, has taken a job as head of security to the most successful movie star in the world - a man nicknamed the Face. In the weeks before Christmas, strange gifts beginning arriving. They feel like threats to Ethan, but the police disagree. Finally, the sender makes a mistake and Ethan is able to track him down. He goes to speak with him, conning his way into the department and dies. That's where things get weird.

There are 5 main characters in this books - Ethan, the 10-year-old son of the Face, Fric, Ethan's current best friend Hazard Yancy, a cop, Ethan's ex-best friend Dunny Whistler and Corky LaPuta.

This is an exploration of evil and redemption. Not just the bad need redemption, a theme I have always loved. That's why Casablanca is one of my favorite movies. It's also about love and loyalty. Emotionally, this is a sweeping novel. Koontz shows the many faces of life, good and bad.

To be honest, I didn't get the name of the book until the end. It made sense in the beginning when you thought the book was going in a specific direction and then for a long time it didn't and then you get hit over the head a bit with it.

I did this as an audio book. It was read by Dylan Baker, a character actor I respect very much. He did a great job. Of all the voices he did, Fric's was the best because he resisted the urge to do a "child" voice. Too many readers do that and the voice becomes whiny or too young. You knew this was a young person, but not an obnoxious one.

I did enjoy this book, but it only got 3 stars because it was too long. Any mystery or thriller needs missed opportunities or needs the hero to take too long to figure out the clues. That's how you build suspense. But I had certain clues figured out by disc 7, the target had already been explained to the audience and Ethan didn't have it explained to him until disc 15. I felt there could be some condensing in there.

All in all, though, a very worthwhile read.

batgirlaly24's review against another edition

5.0

it had been a few years since reading this book, and without giving anything away, I was surprised at every turn all over again. my one complaint is a Dean Koontz writing anomaly that I see in every book I've read by him. it annoys me to no end. in some parts of the book, he'll list things, one specific example in this book I remember is food. he literally uses one or two PARAGRAPHS to list out all the food one of the characters is capable of making. to be completely honest, when I see those lists starting, I skip to the next paragraph. the lists are never relevant to the story. other than that, good suspense, good twists, great bad guy, and the supernatural elements were nicely sprinkled in, but not an overwhelming aspect to the book.

jennereads's review against another edition

3.0

This book is a fun page-turner. It contained a good amount of suspense, mystery, and spookiness. Corky is one of the more sinister characters in my experience. And all the more scary because he seems plausible. There could be people in the world spreading misery and chaos as he does. Ethan, Fric and the other main characters are likable enough. I definitely rooted for them, I just didn't love them. I did like the ending, for all its strangeness. Overall a fun read.

bill_muganda's review against another edition

Will finish it later

mephistia's review against another edition

5.0

It's a really creepy, interesting book. Dean Koontz has an inimitable style that is crisp and concise while still captivating the reader. The premise is fascinating, and his characterization of the villian had me laughing aloud in spots.

suz_n_van's review against another edition

5.0

This was a truly freaky book that made me jump and actually scream at one point. I loved it.

melg's review against another edition

4.0

Okay, so about 3/4 of the way into the book, I'd planned to give it 3 stars because it drags on around that point, more than any Koontz book I've read, without any real purpose. The ending was good enough to change my mind, however, and the story overall was very enjoyable. That part of it felt like grinding through, though, which is super disappointing from the literary genius that is Dean Koontz. Not his best work, but certainly worth a read.

pascwp's review against another edition

1.0

I had to dnf. Not into it at all. I suspect it's because I went with the audio book and not the physical copy.