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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
As a die-hard Dean Koontz fan for more years than I can remember, it has been a while since coming back to one of Dean’s alternate worlds. And my god, I was not disappointed.
While I do not normally read books that stray this far from reality, Dean has always had a way of creating a fictional world that seems so possible and true that you almost forget that these situations don’t exist. DEVOTED was a perfect example.
Woody and his mother, Megan have been living a private life since his father was killed in a work-related helicopter accident. Woody, a high-functioning autistic boy who has not spoken a word in his 11 years, finds himself uncovering the truth behind his father’s death while investigating the company he worked for and the men behind it. What he doesn’t know yet is that he is gifted in ways he could never imagine and his connection to some special canine friends may just be the thing that not only saves Woody and his mom, but mankind.
A deeply moving story filled with incredible bonds of love and canine friendship. And as we always expect from Dean, one amazing Golden Retriever!
While I do not normally read books that stray this far from reality, Dean has always had a way of creating a fictional world that seems so possible and true that you almost forget that these situations don’t exist. DEVOTED was a perfect example.
Woody and his mother, Megan have been living a private life since his father was killed in a work-related helicopter accident. Woody, a high-functioning autistic boy who has not spoken a word in his 11 years, finds himself uncovering the truth behind his father’s death while investigating the company he worked for and the men behind it. What he doesn’t know yet is that he is gifted in ways he could never imagine and his connection to some special canine friends may just be the thing that not only saves Woody and his mom, but mankind.
A deeply moving story filled with incredible bonds of love and canine friendship. And as we always expect from Dean, one amazing Golden Retriever!
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I'm breaking a rule to only list my 5-star ratings because I hated this book with such a fervent passion I HAD to one-star it, and now I'm reviewing because I am completely baffled by the high rating this work of utter garbage has. Y'all. I love me some Dean Koontz. Odd Thomas is one of my favourite books of all time. I practically raised myself on his novels. Seriously. I'm a fan. But this book was AWFUL. It was the same book he's written zillion and seven times before (gifted kid! Abnormally smart dog! Genetically mutated monster! Sad widow! Strong Silent Good Guy!) but way, way better. Give me Watchers, give me Fear Nothing and Seize the Night, give me LITERALLY ANY OTHER BOOK BUT THIS.
By the time we got to bullet-pointing the happily ever afters I was so angry I wanted to set this thing on fire (but it was loaner and I had to give it back).
If there hadn't been talking dogs, this would have been a DNF
By the time we got to bullet-pointing the happily ever afters I was so angry I wanted to set this thing on fire (but it was loaner and I had to give it back).
If there hadn't been talking dogs, this would have been a DNF
I am so done withDean Koontz books. I got sucked in because it had a dog. I loved his early novel Watchers but not this one. Too much with the bad guys. Not enough dog. Poor character development.
This is a better entry than Koontz has produced for awhile, characterized by all his usual plot features (evil monster created by reckless science, adorable disabled child, idealized romantic partners, golden retrievers, untrustworthy police) and highlighted by telepathic dogs. One star off for all the preaching mixed in with the prose. I don't disagree with Koontz but author morality lectures to readers were last popular in the 19th century.
Devoted was a hard book to read in places. It was mostly successful in the theme of genetic mutation. I really enjoy Dean Koontz books but, in this occasion, it was neither a favourite or one that I disliked. It’s very much a book that gets very strange, very quickly. It’s a case of constantly reminding yourself that this is SCI-FI. I’ve noticed other reviewers likening it to Koontz’ other work – The Watchers, which I haven’t read, not sure if that is to my detriment or not? The book to me, felt like it just moved too slowly, and I did feel myself getting bored.
The story in Devoted focusses around Woody Bookman, an autistic child, super genius that is limited by his inability to speak. He lost his father three years previously and has compiled an expose on how killed his father through the means of hacking within the dark web. He plans to hand this over to his mother before events take a walk-through crazy town and my brain wants to give up at multiple different points. One of my problems with Devoted is the amount of characters that we are introduced to, it’s not really what I had come to expect from Koontz.
Now I get that Devoted is largely a science fiction novel and anything can more or less happen within its pages but some of it was quite hard for me to get my head around. SPOILER ALERT – when Woody was suddenly cured of his inability to speak, although his mother was overjoyed with this seemingly amazing miracle, I really got the feeling that it made her immensely happy. It allowed her to move forward. It just didn’t sit right with me that she was happier with her son changed, would you really want to change the very being your child was?
My other problem was the character Lee Shacket. I think some of the scenes were both unnecessary and unwanted from a reader’s standpoint. I enjoyed the actual plotline and the road that Koontz was attempting to go down with Shacket, but I don’t think that the execution was nailed. Being in this individuals head was extremely unpleasant. As a seasoned reader of thriller, I have come to learn what goes on in a psychopath’s head, but we don’t need to know every depraved thought. If the author had cut more than a few of his chapters, the book would have moved along at a timelier pace.
Devoted wasn’t an awful book but it could have been executed so much better. I loved Kipp but then I’m a total dog person. His interactions with Woody was pure and wholesome and it gave me a warm feeling inside. The writing as always with Koontz was excellent but I feel that the content needed a bit of polishing.
The story in Devoted focusses around Woody Bookman, an autistic child, super genius that is limited by his inability to speak. He lost his father three years previously and has compiled an expose on how killed his father through the means of hacking within the dark web. He plans to hand this over to his mother before events take a walk-through crazy town and my brain wants to give up at multiple different points. One of my problems with Devoted is the amount of characters that we are introduced to, it’s not really what I had come to expect from Koontz.
Now I get that Devoted is largely a science fiction novel and anything can more or less happen within its pages but some of it was quite hard for me to get my head around. SPOILER ALERT – when Woody was suddenly cured of his inability to speak, although his mother was overjoyed with this seemingly amazing miracle, I really got the feeling that it made her immensely happy. It allowed her to move forward. It just didn’t sit right with me that she was happier with her son changed, would you really want to change the very being your child was?
My other problem was the character Lee Shacket. I think some of the scenes were both unnecessary and unwanted from a reader’s standpoint. I enjoyed the actual plotline and the road that Koontz was attempting to go down with Shacket, but I don’t think that the execution was nailed. Being in this individuals head was extremely unpleasant. As a seasoned reader of thriller, I have come to learn what goes on in a psychopath’s head, but we don’t need to know every depraved thought. If the author had cut more than a few of his chapters, the book would have moved along at a timelier pace.
Devoted wasn’t an awful book but it could have been executed so much better. I loved Kipp but then I’m a total dog person. His interactions with Woody was pure and wholesome and it gave me a warm feeling inside. The writing as always with Koontz was excellent but I feel that the content needed a bit of polishing.
Not a fan. Boring. True to formula. Same old, same old rehashed stuff. This felt clinically written with no real passion. Not a fan.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This was good. I liked most of the concepts. I thought the bad guys were a little too graphic but maybe I'm just getting to be an old fuddy duddy. Overall I enjoyed it. I would like to meet one of Mr. Koontz' dogs because they are obviously amazing.