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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
Wow this book. I’m gonna be thinking about it for a while. There’s a reason Dean Koontz has been at the top of his game for so many years!
What the hell even happened here? This started off great, with one of the most disturbing villains of all time. The dog angle provided a great foil.
But the way he discusses Woody and his autism, you'd think Koontz has some sort of worship for people with the condition. *I'm not saying anything negative about folks with autism, only that autism is not an inoculation against the loss of innocence, as Koontz writes in chapter 81 (page 234 in my Kindle version).
"The vehicle could not have been more ominous if it had been a long black Cadillac with tinted windows and a license plate that bore seven zeros." This is unexplained. I searched around and asked people, but I haven't found any reason seven zeroes would be ominous.
"She was off duty, not in uniform, and when she saw the money piled on the island, her nipples swelled instantly, enormously, against her white T-shirt." For real? Someone actually wrote this and published it? Is this supposed to be for laughs?
"The doorbell rang. As the chimes echoed through the house, a peal of thunder followed, a rending crash as if the crust of the earth must have cracked to its molten core." Oh, please. Could you be more melodramatic?
"Susurration" How many times does Koontz use this word in the book? Did he just learn this word or something?
There are just too many problems here to even take the story seriously after a certain point. I had to read to the end because I was invested, but I wish I had quit before the story got frustrating. The cheap thrills of the early part of the book weren't worth it. I don't understand how so many people can read these things (and so many more that I didn't bother noting in the first place) without being bothered by them.
But the way he discusses Woody and his autism, you'd think Koontz has some sort of worship for people with the condition. *I'm not saying anything negative about folks with autism, only that autism is not an inoculation against the loss of innocence, as Koontz writes in chapter 81 (page 234 in my Kindle version).
"The vehicle could not have been more ominous if it had been a long black Cadillac with tinted windows and a license plate that bore seven zeros." This is unexplained. I searched around and asked people, but I haven't found any reason seven zeroes would be ominous.
"She was off duty, not in uniform, and when she saw the money piled on the island, her nipples swelled instantly, enormously, against her white T-shirt." For real? Someone actually wrote this and published it? Is this supposed to be for laughs?
"The doorbell rang. As the chimes echoed through the house, a peal of thunder followed, a rending crash as if the crust of the earth must have cracked to its molten core." Oh, please. Could you be more melodramatic?
"Susurration" How many times does Koontz use this word in the book? Did he just learn this word or something?
There are just too many problems here to even take the story seriously after a certain point. I had to read to the end because I was invested, but I wish I had quit before the story got frustrating. The cheap thrills of the early part of the book weren't worth it. I don't understand how so many people can read these things (and so many more that I didn't bother noting in the first place) without being bothered by them.
Great book, although I do get a bit bored with the “dog worshiping” he does in all the books I seem to be reading of his lately. The story kept me interested, most of the characters where well written. I would have probably given it 5 stars except I didn’t care for the ending. I kept expecting a finale that never took place and there were a couple of things that occurred with the main antagonist that really needed to be explained in order for the ending to work. The ending wasn’t exciting nor did part of it make sense. Still a decent book.
Sometimes I feel he doesn’t get the credit of a Stephen King. He sure deserves it. He’s one of the very few who can thrill you, scare you, and always give you hope in people and of course dogs
adventurous
dark
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:
Yes
After last Dean Koontz book I read a couple years ago I said never again. Sigh, I was gifted this book. His style of writing and my style of reading don't mix. Yeh well the blurbs are always so good they suck me in. Then give me a dog in the story and I can't say no. I should have donated it.
I'll start with what I liked. There was a moment of intense fear in the middle, a child was in danger, a mother on the edge, that was the best scene in the book. I liked the connection made between man and dog, it felt right, even the wire while out there was interesting till it was repeated too many times.
Whoops I went into the what I didn't like part too soon.
What went wrong for this reader. Repetitive everything, how many times do we need to hear about how it works, what they thought... HOW MANY ? I got it the first 3 times okay. Second there was the weird over sharing of inner dialogs from these bad guys. Really what was that is didn't form a connection to them or the story it was just filler. The characters, except for the boy were cookie cut out unrealistically written poor actors. Finally and most importantly, all the ducks just got in a row so easily. All the right people showed up on time from far and wide, from some weird coincidence, all the right contacts were made, all the good people won, all the bad people lost.
Two stars is generous .
I'll start with what I liked. There was a moment of intense fear in the middle, a child was in danger, a mother on the edge, that was the best scene in the book. I liked the connection made between man and dog, it felt right, even the wire while out there was interesting till it was repeated too many times.
Whoops I went into the what I didn't like part too soon.
What went wrong for this reader. Repetitive everything, how many times do we need to hear about how it works, what they thought... HOW MANY ? I got it the first 3 times okay. Second there was the weird over sharing of inner dialogs from these bad guys. Really what was that is didn't form a connection to them or the story it was just filler. The characters, except for the boy were cookie cut out unrealistically written poor actors. Finally and most importantly, all the ducks just got in a row so easily. All the right people showed up on time from far and wide, from some weird coincidence, all the right contacts were made, all the good people won, all the bad people lost.
Two stars is generous .
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
As a lifelong Koontz fan, I could definitely see a lot of the things I loved about his writing in this book. I also absolutely could not stomach the main villain because he oozed constant misogyny and violence against women. While I understand that this is about the character's viewpoint and not that of the author, and that writing such a vile character is the mark of a great author, it also made the book really difficult to read and it took me a couple of months reading a chapter or two at a time to get through it. I loved the concept of dogs communicating with each other in much the same way as people, and Kipp as a main character was such a creative concept. I just wish there hadn't been things about it that were so off-putting it made me dread picking it up.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Cannibalism, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gun violence, Grief
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No