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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
super boring!!!’
I had trouble putting this book down! It gripped me and made me invested in my characters. Unlike a lot of Liane-Moriarty books these days where there is an 'event' and everything infuriatingly hints at that, Koontz escapes this trope. We know something happens but until the last 100 or so pages I didn't care - the story was rich and intriguing enough to keep me hooked. My only hesitation to give it 5 stars is that some of the writing/prose was overly simplistic/repetitive which made some parts a bit slow.
Uh....
Did not like. 600 pages of setup for 100 pages of plot. Atheists are evil psychopaths, Native Americans weren't butchered, they just lay down and died because their culture was inferior, and you're sure brave, little lady. The big revelation is not a surprise and the ending lacks logic. Umm...Yep, those atheists. Fighting against everything good. Dang Ol Atheists.
The techniques are good. I did a lot of skimming, but was forced to keep turning pages to find out what happened. And the characters are mostly excellent, real people reacting in a variety of ways to an improbable situation. It's just that the MESSAGE is so crude and clumsy that it felt like an imposition, like the author was unwilling to play fair.
Now, say, Intensity, by the same author, gets much of the same point across--but does so in a way that I personally found enjoyable. This was just...a two by four of shouting and bad logic.
Did not like. 600 pages of setup for 100 pages of plot. Atheists are evil psychopaths, Native Americans weren't butchered, they just lay down and died because their culture was inferior, and you're sure brave, little lady. The big revelation is not a surprise and the ending lacks logic. Umm...Yep, those atheists. Fighting against everything good. Dang Ol Atheists.
The techniques are good. I did a lot of skimming, but was forced to keep turning pages to find out what happened. And the characters are mostly excellent, real people reacting in a variety of ways to an improbable situation. It's just that the MESSAGE is so crude and clumsy that it felt like an imposition, like the author was unwilling to play fair.
Now, say, Intensity, by the same author, gets much of the same point across--but does so in a way that I personally found enjoyable. This was just...a two by four of shouting and bad logic.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
With a large cast of characters it can be difficult to make them all interesting and lovable but even the villain is written to be compelling and tragic. Some parts are a bit slow depending on individual interests but overall the story is easy to get lost in as the strangers try to solve the mystery at the center of the story.
The ending shows a hope for humanity that can be difficult to feel but to imagine a world where we are finally able to embrace our differences rather than fear them and thus launch the human race into a new and brighter age is a gift the author passes on to the transfer.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Violence
Completely novice when it comes to this author, decided to check him out because vaguely remembering his name being mentioned along with King - glad to find out it is a completely different, distinctive voice. The strangest thing is, initially I had really hard time going into this novel - for some reason it took me a whole month just to get trough first hundred pages and I seriously considered just dropping the whole thing off, until one day everything clicked and the novel suddenly pulled me in with such force that I couldn't put it down, I gulped the rest 600 pages in four days.
Perhaps what bothered me in the beginning was the way Koontz slowly set the stage - in hindsight it looks completely logical but as he kept introducing completely unrelated characters who all live far away from each other and have no obvious connection, it tested my patience. This group of people all suffer from mysterious nightmares that seriously affects their lives and it just kept on and on - until suddenly reader start to connect the dots and everything makes sense. It came to the point that I talked to friends and read at the same time, completely engaged and lost in the story. Like some sweeping saga, it eventually just got bigger and bigger - King did something similar with "The Stand" but I enjoyed this one much more, even though it felt as it will never end, because Koontz is gifted with psychological perception and his characters behave like real people. Every now and than, there was some unexpected, stunning moment like this one:"That night in Chinatown, hope swept back into his world like a summer breeze stirring music from a cluster of wind chimes."
Perhaps what bothered me in the beginning was the way Koontz slowly set the stage - in hindsight it looks completely logical but as he kept introducing completely unrelated characters who all live far away from each other and have no obvious connection, it tested my patience. This group of people all suffer from mysterious nightmares that seriously affects their lives and it just kept on and on - until suddenly reader start to connect the dots and everything makes sense. It came to the point that I talked to friends and read at the same time, completely engaged and lost in the story. Like some sweeping saga, it eventually just got bigger and bigger - King did something similar with "The Stand" but I enjoyed this one much more, even though it felt as it will never end, because Koontz is gifted with psychological perception and his characters behave like real people. Every now and than, there was some unexpected, stunning moment like this one:"That night in Chinatown, hope swept back into his world like a summer breeze stirring music from a cluster of wind chimes."
Dean Koontz is one of my favorite authors,and this book is one of the reasons why. Although some of his works are hit or miss this one was very well written. You couldn't help but feel sorry for the characters as they all went through their own various ways of coping with what happened to them all. And not until almost they very end did I figure out exactly what it was that did happen to them. This, along with Lightning, are two of my all time favorite reads.
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The story definitely had an interesting concept, but it was hard to follow. All the different POVs made the storyline get lost.
One of my favorites by Dean Koontz. Haven’t read it in years and it’s still as good as ever!
An acquaintance recommended this book to my mother, who subsequently recommended it to me. The first time I read it I was up almost the whole night reading, as I could not put it down.
Re-Added - Same Book - Different Edition. January 21st 2025.