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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Cannibalism
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-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
Chosen as part of Linz the Bookworm's 2021 Reading Challenge for prompt #5 "Read a book that starts with the letter D"
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Will add review later
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Will add review later
4 ⭐️
I love the world that Dean Koontz builds. There are so many moving parts and they all come together nicely.
I love the world that Dean Koontz builds. There are so many moving parts and they all come together nicely.
I'm a sucker for a novel with a smart dog. This one was okay but The Watchers was better.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
DNF.
I have an overdeveloped sense of sympathy embarrassment, and while reading this book, I just felt embarrassed for Dean Koontz.
The characters were so uninteresting and the pacing was surprisingly boring.
I was offended at the "autistic" boy, and the constant referrals to his "developmental disability." I know the boy wasn't exactly autistic, but I just found it all offensive because that isn't how it presents. Also, if the boy could write his secret report, why on earth couldn't he answer his mother's notes with a note of his own??? Woody made no sense. Even just the fact that no kid would be named Woody these days pulled me right out of the story.
But it was the villain that made me stop reading. He's a ridiculous cardboard evil dude that I couldn't get into. When he smells the colostrum on Megan, who isn't pregnant or nursing, but is just "ready for him" that was when I tapped out.
On top of that, I'm starting to get the distinct feeling that Dean Koontz is trying to sneak his political views, which are decidedly far to the right, into his stories and regardless of your own politics, it gets a little heavy-handed and annoying.
Ugh. Just bad. I've returned to Dean Koontz a few times as an adult, but maybe he should stay in my teen years.
I have an overdeveloped sense of sympathy embarrassment, and while reading this book, I just felt embarrassed for Dean Koontz.
The characters were so uninteresting and the pacing was surprisingly boring.
I was offended at the "autistic" boy, and the constant referrals to his "developmental disability." I know the boy wasn't exactly autistic, but I just found it all offensive because that isn't how it presents. Also, if the boy could write his secret report, why on earth couldn't he answer his mother's notes with a note of his own??? Woody made no sense. Even just the fact that no kid would be named Woody these days pulled me right out of the story.
But it was the villain that made me stop reading. He's a ridiculous cardboard evil dude that I couldn't get into. When he smells the colostrum on Megan, who isn't pregnant or nursing, but is just "ready for him" that was when I tapped out.
On top of that, I'm starting to get the distinct feeling that Dean Koontz is trying to sneak his political views, which are decidedly far to the right, into his stories and regardless of your own politics, it gets a little heavy-handed and annoying.
Ugh. Just bad. I've returned to Dean Koontz a few times as an adult, but maybe he should stay in my teen years.
The plot centers on a few main characters: 11 year old Woody Bookman, who is autistic and unable to speak, his mother, Megan, whose husband was killed while working and Lee Shackett, a CEO of a research company doing experiments around transhumanism or life extensions of human beings. Lee is also Megan’s ex-boyfriend and her late husband’s colleague.
While this is a page-turning sci-fi thriller, a sub plot runs parallel to this story. Enter Kipp, a Golden Labrador who possesses the intelligence of a human being. He has just lost his owner to cancer and connects to a network of intelligent dogs through a telekinetic communication system called The Wire. While doing his research on his father’s death, Woody taps into this system by mistake and Kipp picks up a signal. Kipp senses that Woody needs help and goes in search of him.
All these characters come together when Lee escapes after an experiment gone wrong, killing 93 people. Unknown to him, is the fact that he has been contaminated by micro orgasms designed to create super-humans. In the case of Lee, who is rich, arrogant and entitled, the effects of this contamination turns him into a dangerous psycho – while his physique enhances considerably, his mind becomes more and more cavemen-like, primitive. In his efforts to run from the law, Lee is determined to reach Megan and take her with him – whether she wants to or not. Megan and Woody have no idea what’s closing in on them and what follows is Lee’s decline into madness, his thoughts and what really happened in the lab.
The characters in this story is very clear cut – no gray areas – they are either all good or pure evil. I usually don’t like characters that are too cookie cutter type but Koontz manages to inject something more here that is frighteningly close to reality - particularly the misogynistic views in certain parts of the story and how law enforcement generally operates after a tragedy occurs. Koontz is clearly a dog lover. He explores the connection between dogs and man in a way I have never read before.
What I loved about Koontz story is he managed to mix a sci-fi thriller and something that resembling a Hallmark family episode together. I felt I was reading something out of a Stephen King novel and watching Lassie at the same time. I didn’t like the sub plot intruding my page turner at first but I think by the time 3 quarters of the novel had gone by, I welcomed the wholesome family bit a little more. Woody’s and Kipp’s interaction were a relief to read and provided a balance-of-sorts when compared to the depraved, sicko that Lee Shackett turns out to be. Also, I enjoyed the very short chapters that didn’t normally drag the way they do in some novels. It was smart, creative, and fast paced.
What I didn’t love is the depiction of autism in this book. I’m aware enough that autistic behaviors do not happen by choice. Neither do they magically disappear after an enlightening but harrowing experience. I just thought the whole storyline with the autism seemed to have been over simplified intentionally. Also the ending wasn't polished. I didn’t think Koontz nailed the ending perfectly either – something's off. I think overall, the idea of the story was phenomenal but perhaps needed better execution.
2 stars!
While this is a page-turning sci-fi thriller, a sub plot runs parallel to this story. Enter Kipp, a Golden Labrador who possesses the intelligence of a human being. He has just lost his owner to cancer and connects to a network of intelligent dogs through a telekinetic communication system called The Wire. While doing his research on his father’s death, Woody taps into this system by mistake and Kipp picks up a signal. Kipp senses that Woody needs help and goes in search of him.
All these characters come together when Lee escapes after an experiment gone wrong, killing 93 people. Unknown to him, is the fact that he has been contaminated by micro orgasms designed to create super-humans. In the case of Lee, who is rich, arrogant and entitled, the effects of this contamination turns him into a dangerous psycho – while his physique enhances considerably, his mind becomes more and more cavemen-like, primitive. In his efforts to run from the law, Lee is determined to reach Megan and take her with him – whether she wants to or not. Megan and Woody have no idea what’s closing in on them and what follows is Lee’s decline into madness, his thoughts and what really happened in the lab.
The characters in this story is very clear cut – no gray areas – they are either all good or pure evil. I usually don’t like characters that are too cookie cutter type but Koontz manages to inject something more here that is frighteningly close to reality - particularly the misogynistic views in certain parts of the story and how law enforcement generally operates after a tragedy occurs. Koontz is clearly a dog lover. He explores the connection between dogs and man in a way I have never read before.
What I loved about Koontz story is he managed to mix a sci-fi thriller and something that resembling a Hallmark family episode together. I felt I was reading something out of a Stephen King novel and watching Lassie at the same time. I didn’t like the sub plot intruding my page turner at first but I think by the time 3 quarters of the novel had gone by, I welcomed the wholesome family bit a little more. Woody’s and Kipp’s interaction were a relief to read and provided a balance-of-sorts when compared to the depraved, sicko that Lee Shackett turns out to be. Also, I enjoyed the very short chapters that didn’t normally drag the way they do in some novels. It was smart, creative, and fast paced.
What I didn’t love is the depiction of autism in this book. I’m aware enough that autistic behaviors do not happen by choice. Neither do they magically disappear after an enlightening but harrowing experience. I just thought the whole storyline with the autism seemed to have been over simplified intentionally. Also the ending wasn't polished. I didn’t think Koontz nailed the ending perfectly either – something's off. I think overall, the idea of the story was phenomenal but perhaps needed better execution.
2 stars!
I'm not going to say very much except that I really wanted to give this book a better rating. Unfortunately, I feel like the end was a let-down.