Reviews - Phantoms: A Thriller

534 reviews for:

Phantoms: A Thriller

Dean Koontz

3.72 AVERAGE

booklover_jac's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

One of the worst books I've had the displeasure of listening to on audible. Koontz has a bad habit of turning a short story into a novel by adding in excessive detail and often repeating things. I doubt I will read anything else of his.

ngallion's review against another edition

3.5

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

This is my third Dean Koontz book and I’m starting to see a trend. His writing is engaging and easy to read, his ideas are interesting, but somewhere around the 3/4 mark he drops from “hey, this book is pretty good!” to “I’m not sure he knows how to end this thing.” Phantoms has a better ending than the other books, but the way in which the survivors get out of their troubles seems surprisingly direct and wrinkle-free. They just kind of… figure out what to do and then do it. There’s a mild complication that happens, but it’s tied to a B (or maybe C) plot that’s so disconnected from the rest of the story that the book would have been better to drop it all together.

This isn’t at all a bad book, but like Koontz’ other works, it’s akin to a “turn off your brain and enjoy the film” fare that pops up frequently in movie theaters. Some folks will live this, but I find it to be just kind of a pleasant diversion.