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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A suspenseful listen available on kindle unlimited. An especially talented dog, a nonverbal 11yo boy, science gone wrong and the madmen behind it all! I’m far from a prude but this is graphic and vulgar in a way that doesn’t add anything to the story and actually seems out of place. I know Koontz has a million books and I haven’t read anything by him in 15+ years so if his thing is your thing, you’ll probably like this one.
DNF at an hour left : Horrible autistic rep
Honestly the overall story line was pretty good. I probably would have given it a 3.4-4 star. The autistic representation started out pretty eh. It’s the typical representation that we get all the time. Super genius, Sheldon cooper type, white, male. A harmful stereotype but get we it all the time so I’m used to it (although this book was published this year and the author should have researched autism better and consulted with the group he was actually writing about) I did love the mother son relationship. His mother is a good mother and never treats him like a burden. what really pissed me off and made me quit: they “CURED” his autism. Which is really offensive and unnecessary. There is no cure. If a “cure” existed we don’t want it. We do not need to be fixed. He could still have been autistic for the storyline.
Trigger warnings: murder, extreme violence, cannibalism, functioning labels, bad rep of autism, etc.
Representation: MC is autistic.
Representation quality: 0/5
Honestly the overall story line was pretty good. I probably would have given it a 3.4-4 star. The autistic representation started out pretty eh. It’s the typical representation that we get all the time. Super genius, Sheldon cooper type, white, male. A harmful stereotype but get we it all the time so I’m used to it (although this book was published this year and the author should have researched autism better and consulted with the group he was actually writing about) I did love the mother son relationship. His mother is a good mother and never treats him like a burden. what really pissed me off and made me quit: they “CURED” his autism. Which is really offensive and unnecessary. There is no cure. If a “cure” existed we don’t want it. We do not need to be fixed. He could still have been autistic for the storyline.
Trigger warnings: murder, extreme violence, cannibalism, functioning labels, bad rep of autism, etc.
Representation: MC is autistic.
Representation quality: 0/5
3.5 stars
I wonder if these smart dogs are linked to the one in [b:Watchers|32423|Watchers|Dean Koontz|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1532695250l/32423._SY75_.jpg|2200683] - this was a thought that kept floating over my shoulder throughout the book (somewhat annoyingly).
It's been a long time since I've read a Koontz book and it reminded me that he likes his characters to be fairly black and white. Not that this as an issue - it's just reminiscent of my high school days consuming his books, where I was really only exposed to good triumphing over bad (relatively unscathed too) type of stories and over the years have read some really depressing novels. Ah, lost innocence.
Has Koontz written such a horrific character as Lee Shackett before? I was a bit shocked when Shackett was "becoming" - that I thought he was one of the most awful character Koontz has written (to clarify: awful as in the character's actions, not a badly-written character), but I don't remember any of his books or characters (besides the other super smart dog), so he's been compared to some vague memory/lingering impression of Koontz villains.
Anyway, the Mysterium is cool, I want to be able to telepathically communicate with a dog (or animals, I'm not picky haha). Though the optimistic ending left me feeling sorrowful of the real world; I wish we could have something like that to help the current world a bit.
I wonder if these smart dogs are linked to the one in [b:Watchers|32423|Watchers|Dean Koontz|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1532695250l/32423._SY75_.jpg|2200683] - this was a thought that kept floating over my shoulder throughout the book (somewhat annoyingly).
It's been a long time since I've read a Koontz book and it reminded me that he likes his characters to be fairly black and white. Not that this as an issue - it's just reminiscent of my high school days consuming his books, where I was really only exposed to good triumphing over bad (relatively unscathed too) type of stories and over the years have read some really depressing novels. Ah, lost innocence.
Has Koontz written such a horrific character as Lee Shackett before? I was a bit shocked when Shackett was "becoming" - that I thought he was one of the most awful character Koontz has written (to clarify: awful as in the character's actions, not a badly-written character), but I don't remember any of his books or characters (besides the other super smart dog), so he's been compared to some vague memory/lingering impression of Koontz villains.
Anyway, the Mysterium is cool, I want to be able to telepathically communicate with a dog (or animals, I'm not picky haha). Though the optimistic ending left me feeling sorrowful of the real world; I wish we could have something like that to help the current world a bit.
Full disclaimer: I have been reading Koontz since high school, I love dogs, and I have a golden retriever. I say this because these factors make me unreliable on the subjective vs objective scale. This probably gets more stars from me than it should-it is the deep ingrained love of Dean Koontz. He is just such a nice guy. (I told you I was unreliable already...).
Here are my thoughts: Pros-Koontz makes his characters very black and white/good and evil. There is no nuance. And the ending is usually neat and tidy with good feelings all around. These can also be cons, but right now-it just went down like comfort food. Also, no dogs die. Cons-everything I said above (with the exception of letting the dog live). This first half of the book really sucked me in, got me in the feels, and created some great tension. The second half, everything just comes together. The evil goes off the rails (insert gruesome evil deeds here) and the good guys rally to save the day.
Not a complex or nuanced thriller, not one of his best cohesive stories. But it was just what I needed right now and it went down like a toasted cheese sandwich with tomato soup. Comfort food.
Here are my thoughts: Pros-Koontz makes his characters very black and white/good and evil. There is no nuance. And the ending is usually neat and tidy with good feelings all around. These can also be cons, but right now-it just went down like comfort food. Also, no dogs die. Cons-everything I said above (with the exception of letting the dog live). This first half of the book really sucked me in, got me in the feels, and created some great tension. The second half, everything just comes together. The evil goes off the rails (insert gruesome evil deeds here) and the good guys rally to save the day.
Not a complex or nuanced thriller, not one of his best cohesive stories. But it was just what I needed right now and it went down like a toasted cheese sandwich with tomato soup. Comfort food.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
I love Koontz but this was too much telepathy and golden retriever.
I like dogs. I like books about dogs. I like books about dogs with a happy ending.
Normally when I review, I summarize the book in my own words, but I think I will skip that for this one. Many people have already done that, and I think the artwork and the blurb speak for themselves.
The thing I love about Koontz’s writing, in which he does in Devoted, is that we meet characters in bits and pieces, and then they will all eventually come together in masterful storytelling. I also love that he includes lines from other books, such as “this momentous day” because it makes it feel like all the books are connected, and they are. Which might sound corny, but I love that I notice these things.
The characters are fantastic and ever-evolving, starting with Dorothy, and while she isn’t in the story for long, she makes a big impact because of Kipp. I love the science behind what is happening to the antagonist, Lee Shacket. His singular focus slowly breaks down as he evolves. He’s not the only bad guy in this book and as twisted as it seems, I like the varying bad guys coming for Megan, Woody, and Kipp because it creates the perfect tense atmosphere and you find yourself anxiously turning pages to find out how they will handle it.
A super fun, fast-paced thriller with the right balance of supernatural and suspense.
The thing I love about Koontz’s writing, in which he does in Devoted, is that we meet characters in bits and pieces, and then they will all eventually come together in masterful storytelling. I also love that he includes lines from other books, such as “this momentous day” because it makes it feel like all the books are connected, and they are. Which might sound corny, but I love that I notice these things.
The characters are fantastic and ever-evolving, starting with Dorothy, and while she isn’t in the story for long, she makes a big impact because of Kipp. I love the science behind what is happening to the antagonist, Lee Shacket. His singular focus slowly breaks down as he evolves. He’s not the only bad guy in this book and as twisted as it seems, I like the varying bad guys coming for Megan, Woody, and Kipp because it creates the perfect tense atmosphere and you find yourself anxiously turning pages to find out how they will handle it.
A super fun, fast-paced thriller with the right balance of supernatural and suspense.
Dévotion est un thriller efficace, qui manque peut-être un peu de subtilité quant au déroulé des événements, mais qui se démarque par sa patte particulière, son rythme haletant et cette impression que tout converge vers un jeune autiste et un chien qui, à eux deux, risquent bien de changer la face du monde ! Les amoureux des animaux et des romans où le danger semble arriver de tous les côtés devraient apprécier ce roman qui mêle habilement action et une science, dépourvue de garde-fous, dont les avancées s’apparentent parfois à un net recul de l’humanité…
Avis complet sur https://lightandsmell.wordpress.com/2021/09/27/devotion-dean-koontz/
Avis complet sur https://lightandsmell.wordpress.com/2021/09/27/devotion-dean-koontz/