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3.55 AVERAGE
3.55 AVERAGE
Meh, it's okay. Nothing against the book exactly, but I just am not into most serial killer type of books. They bore me for some reason. This one was unique for sure, and Koontz wrote well, but again it was meh for me. Characters were better than some of his other books though and seemed real, and we did get several scenes with the dog. Review soon
Really interesting connections to make in this book. At points I figured out things quicker than Harry and Connie, and other times, I was lost as could be. Kept me on the edge of my seat.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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
Police officers, a homeless man, and a mother and son on the run face a mysterious evil. Koontz's powerful storytelling and ability to create nuanced characters weaves a tale that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Dean Koontz never disappoints. Another amazing book and I can't believe I took a month-long break from reading this just because the character's personalities bothered me. Once things picked up they REALLY picked up. I couldn't put it down and finished the last 3/4 in two days. Bryan/TickTock was such a perfect villain and the descriptions had my skin crawling.
This is probably at the bottom of my list of books I've read by Koontz so far. It was fine. There were parts I really enjoyed. And, as per my usual comment after reading Koontz, the characters are likable. The evil-doer is definitely sinister, but I couldn't quite buy into the explanation for his super-natural behaviors (and I am pretty open-minded in this department). I think the book is largely a combination of repetitiveness and not enough information. In other words, a lot of time is spent explaining certain things multiple times (or even repeating certain sentences over and over), while other things are not sufficiently explained. (Get it?)
I also experienced something that I'm not sure I have before: I do not like the title. I understand the title and why it was chosen (or why its definition was worked into the story), but I am very unsatisfied with it. Mostly because I can think of several better titles.
I am still not sure how I feel about a dog as a partial narrator. Did it add to the book? His presence was necessary, but I'm not sure about his point of view. Did it detract from the book? Probably not. It might have affected a better written book more.
I also experienced something that I'm not sure I have before: I do not like the title. I understand the title and why it was chosen (or why its definition was worked into the story), but I am very unsatisfied with it. Mostly because I can think of several better titles.
I am still not sure how I feel about a dog as a partial narrator. Did it add to the book? His presence was necessary, but I'm not sure about his point of view. Did it detract from the book? Probably not. It might have affected a better written book more.
I am going to be doing Dean Koontz reviews differently than my normal reviews.
I like this one.
Personal feeling to the story:
Reading it for the third or fourth time I am stuck by how dark and dismal the world is that these characters inhabit. The sections from Woofer’s point of view were a nice touch and added some needed lightness to this book.
From beginning to now Dean Koontz has been slowly moving from horror to life affirming, so I think his books should be gauged on a horror to life affirming measure.
With 1 being as horror filled as finding out that Jessical Fletcher from “Murder she wrote” moved in next door and 10 being as life affirming as that one dream you can never remember but when you wake up you know you had it and feel so good.
This was about a 3 on the meter. There is a lot of gore and horror in this book. At times it almost seems the characters wallow in it.
A room full of jars with eyes, that a psychopath will occasionally rub on himself
The slaughter of a homeless camp by a Alien golem
A rave where a girl has her arm torn off.
A list of random crimes cataloging man’s inhumanity to his fellow man, (which the author in a afterword states were all real crimes)
Weirdness/wacky content. A book written as straight with not at least a little bit of weirdness in them would not be a Dean Koontz book. The only weird/wacky thing in this book is a shoot out with a grenade wielding, Elvis song quoting a homicidal gunman.
500 word synopsis.
Golden Retriever Watch:
No Golden Retriever but we do get to read a bit of the story from a mutt’s poin
I like this one.
Personal feeling to the story:
Reading it for the third or fourth time I am stuck by how dark and dismal the world is that these characters inhabit. The sections from Woofer’s point of view were a nice touch and added some needed lightness to this book.
From beginning to now Dean Koontz has been slowly moving from horror to life affirming, so I think his books should be gauged on a horror to life affirming measure.
With 1 being as horror filled as finding out that Jessical Fletcher from “Murder she wrote” moved in next door and 10 being as life affirming as that one dream you can never remember but when you wake up you know you had it and feel so good.
This was about a 3 on the meter. There is a lot of gore and horror in this book. At times it almost seems the characters wallow in it.
A room full of jars with eyes, that a psychopath will occasionally rub on himself
The slaughter of a homeless camp by a Alien golem
A rave where a girl has her arm torn off.
A list of random crimes cataloging man’s inhumanity to his fellow man, (which the author in a afterword states were all real crimes)
Weirdness/wacky content. A book written as straight with not at least a little bit of weirdness in them would not be a Dean Koontz book. The only weird/wacky thing in this book is a shoot out with a grenade wielding, Elvis song quoting a homicidal gunman.
500 word synopsis.
Golden Retriever Watch:
No Golden Retriever but we do get to read a bit of the story from a mutt’s poin
It was interesting at first but seems to go back into the real world pretty quickly. All of the characters felt one dimensional and I just lost interest in the plot around 50 pages in.