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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
A fantastic story that paired thriller, mystery aspects with the heartwarming relationship between dogs and their people. I enjoyed the whole thing and would definitely recommend.
TYPICAL DEAN KOONTZ
Too much of this book was spent on describing with elaborate detail the mannerisms and lifestyle of the characters. All of his criminals had the best and most elaborate set ups in their living conditions. It became boring and was unnecessary. I skimmed through at least a third of the book, and of course, as usual, after all the building of tension, the ending occurred in one paragraph. I think I’m done with Koontz books.
Too much of this book was spent on describing with elaborate detail the mannerisms and lifestyle of the characters. All of his criminals had the best and most elaborate set ups in their living conditions. It became boring and was unnecessary. I skimmed through at least a third of the book, and of course, as usual, after all the building of tension, the ending occurred in one paragraph. I think I’m done with Koontz books.
It probably doesn't help that I just re-read Koontz's Darkest Evening of the Year, about a special Golden Retriever who forms a bond with a gifted but differently-abled child, but this felt so derivative. The bad guys are the baddest guys you can imagine, with no redeeming qualities, the good guys are so totally good and perfect that they don't feel real in any way.
Another good Dean Koontz novel but the ending felt a little anti-climactic.
Another amazing story by Koontz! It has a lot of the elements of previous novels by this author, but put together in a unique way and with a twist. I'm glad to own the audiobook, so I can listen again.
The heart of this book is the relationship between an intellectually advanced dog and a high-functioning autistic boy. When the scenes are centered on these two, it's beautiful and imaginative. But the increasingly-convoluted plot also features more evil villains than you can shake a stick at, simplistically portrayed, with lots of obsessions and deviant tendencies. (Think excessive wealth, sexual perversion, mutation and cannibalism.) Thankfully, we don't read about their sex and violence in TOO much detail, but it's enough. Koontz is wonderfully idealistic on the one hand, but excessively fascinated with the bad guys on the other hand, and the novel gets more and more comic-booky as it goes along. A fun read, but Koontz's 1987 "Watchers" -- also featuring an unnaturally-intelligent golden retriever with evil enemies -- did it much better.
Definitely not his best. Don't really think the characters were that well rounded or deep. Seemed like a lazy plot. Kept me interested enough to finish, but that was about it.
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I read this alongside Dean Koontz's memoir, A Big Little Life: A Memoir of a Joyful Dog Named Trixie. In his memoir, he talks about how his own dog inspired him to include smart, loyal canine characters in his thrillers. So that was a fun way to read this. Overall, this was an entertaining thriller. I loved all the "good guy" characters, including the dog of course. The "bad guy" characters got a little tiring at times and I kind of skimmed over their shenanigans.
Dog stories always get me
And dean joints does a marvelous job with dog stories. Of course, this is more murder/conspiracy/sci fi being that it is Koontz but I love how he captures the heart of dogs. I also love that in the end people + dogs triumph
And dean joints does a marvelous job with dog stories. Of course, this is more murder/conspiracy/sci fi being that it is Koontz but I love how he captures the heart of dogs. I also love that in the end people + dogs triumph