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dblue236's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
As a lifelong Koontz fan, I could definitely see a lot of the things I loved about his writing in this book. I also absolutely could not stomach the main villain because he oozed constant misogyny and violence against women. While I understand that this is about the character's viewpoint and not that of the author, and that writing such a vile character is the mark of a great author, it also made the book really difficult to read and it took me a couple of months reading a chapter or two at a time to get through it. I loved the concept of dogs communicating with each other in much the same way as people, and Kipp as a main character was such a creative concept. I just wish there hadn't been things about it that were so off-putting it made me dread picking it up.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Cannibalism, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gun violence and Grief
minx6469's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
As a fan of Dean Koontz, I was mildly disappointed with this novel. The characters seemed recycled from other stories and the plot was woefully predictable. Koontz has also become repetitive and verbose on certain ideals which can leave the reader feeling lectured.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gore and Cannibalism