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3.23 AVERAGE
3.23 AVERAGE
What a read! I have always enjoyed Dean Koontz and his stories. They all paint a picture of intensity that makes you not want to put the book down. I also love knowing a lot of his locations due to his growing up in Southern Cali and can see all the scenes as if I were there.
This was a wild ride from start to finish and I'm glad I picked this book up.
Would you do anything for love? The main character went above and beyond!!
This was a wild ride from start to finish and I'm glad I picked this book up.
Would you do anything for love? The main character went above and beyond!!
Okay until the ending, was cliched. Main character was a bit of a sap and annoying.
An OK read, but I was expecting more from Dean Koontz. The beginning gave me high expectations that slowly fizzled out as the book went on. I was hoping for more sci-fi than the book had. This was not a scary book at all. I was hoping for more there, too.
I've always liked Koontz -- dark as his stories may get, there's always a feeling of hope to them. The good ultimately wins at the end, although it sustains heavy losses. BUT. He does tend to write whoppers, stretching even the broad limits of the imaginative fiction he writes. And with this book, entertaining as it is, he really out-ludicroused himself. (Hey, if he can fashion his own genre, I can make up words.)
"The Other Emily" has an irresistible hook. A man whose girlfriend disappeared 10 years ago meets her double, who even shares personality traits ... and, it seems, memories. I had a guess for the explanation early on, and I was pretty much right. However, there was a whole extra layer of incredulity to the big finish. Read it for the fun, but let me know if you roll your eyes!
"The Other Emily" has an irresistible hook. A man whose girlfriend disappeared 10 years ago meets her double, who even shares personality traits ... and, it seems, memories. I had a guess for the explanation early on, and I was pretty much right. However, there was a whole extra layer of incredulity to the big finish. Read it for the fun, but let me know if you roll your eyes!
Intriguing beginning - I found it suspenseful and captivating. It lost my interest in the middle as I had an inkling of where we were headed. Just ok for me but it did remind me that there are others of his books that are on my TBR list that I think I would really enjoy.
This book went from pretty-good to worse, and in reading it I was reminded of why I don’t often pick up Dean Koontz’s books: he seriously overwrites everything. There is no dark and stormy night—there is a menacing sea, thunder like distant cannons, lightning in fractal patterns, raindrops like timpani against the windows. The most irritating thing? He doesn’t just tell you once. He repeats himself, endlessly, sometimes in the exact same language.
So you have to rely on plot. The plot here is set up really well—man thinks he sees his girlfriend, long presumed dead, possibly via a serial killer, whom he visits to see if he can squeeze out information. For the first half of the book it all makes sense. You’re hooked, and can overlook the overwriting.
I like a touch of supernatural in stories, so my beef with the ending of the story is not that it’s too woo-woo. It’s just garbled and a bit stupid. Your mileage may vary, of course.
Three-minus.
So you have to rely on plot. The plot here is set up really well—man thinks he sees his girlfriend, long presumed dead, possibly via a serial killer, whom he visits to see if he can squeeze out information. For the first half of the book it all makes sense. You’re hooked, and can overlook the overwriting.
I like a touch of supernatural in stories, so my beef with the ending of the story is not that it’s too woo-woo. It’s just garbled and a bit stupid. Your mileage may vary, of course.
Three-minus.
Tantalizing mystery
Koontz did a great job with the slow reveals in this book, gradually revealing the secrets that were at the heart of the story. As always, his characters a strong and fully formed.
Koontz did a great job with the slow reveals in this book, gradually revealing the secrets that were at the heart of the story. As always, his characters a strong and fully formed.
This novel wasn’t “Odd Thomas”-level good, but it wasn’t bad. Koontz’s lovesick hero, still pining for his one, true love, a woman who disappeared the night, years before, when he committed a youthful, star-struck indiscretion, is confronted with the highly improbable situation of having a totally un-aged version of said woman walk back into his life. He knows that it’s far more likely that his Emily was murdered by a serial killer active in that area at that time, and yet another part of him is willing to contort his thinking into whatever pretzel justifies him believing that she is “his” Emily. I spent much of the novel trying to dope out how all of it could possibly make sense. It takes some wild imagination to get there, but Koontz perseveres.
I simply wish I could unread this book...
This is a book I should have DNF'd but I honestly thought it would have gotten better - spoiler - it doesn't. It get worse..
This is a book I should have DNF'd but I honestly thought it would have gotten better - spoiler - it doesn't. It get worse..
A multi-layered supernatural thriller
This story is mix of romance, tragedy, mystery, sci-fi, suspense, and the quintessential Koontz science twist. It is ultimately a story of good versus evil but Koontz does such a fantastic job of creating multi-layered characters and storylines that that’s an extreme oversimplification of what this story is. David is an accomplished writer whose long term girlfriend, Emily, disappeared 10 years ago and is presumed a unnamed victim of a serial killer. He is living a two dimensional life since her disappearance but that shifts when he encounters Madison, who looks and acts exactly as Emily did ten years ago at the time of her disappearance. As David tries to solve the mystery of Madison, strange and stranger events begin happening, causing David to try to follow more and more threads trying to make sense of the mystery while the intensity of the story continues to ramp up to its ultimate conclusion. The story includes what you’d expect from this genre - dangerous situations, end of the world scenarios, supernatural creatures, evil masterminds, heroes rising to the challenge, tragic back stories, mystical coincidences, synchronicity, and even some chuckles. Another good story from Koontz.
This story is mix of romance, tragedy, mystery, sci-fi, suspense, and the quintessential Koontz science twist. It is ultimately a story of good versus evil but Koontz does such a fantastic job of creating multi-layered characters and storylines that that’s an extreme oversimplification of what this story is. David is an accomplished writer whose long term girlfriend, Emily, disappeared 10 years ago and is presumed a unnamed victim of a serial killer. He is living a two dimensional life since her disappearance but that shifts when he encounters Madison, who looks and acts exactly as Emily did ten years ago at the time of her disappearance. As David tries to solve the mystery of Madison, strange and stranger events begin happening, causing David to try to follow more and more threads trying to make sense of the mystery while the intensity of the story continues to ramp up to its ultimate conclusion. The story includes what you’d expect from this genre - dangerous situations, end of the world scenarios, supernatural creatures, evil masterminds, heroes rising to the challenge, tragic back stories, mystical coincidences, synchronicity, and even some chuckles. Another good story from Koontz.