The City by Dean Koontz

This is the most boring book written by Dean Koontz.

A few reviewers have said it's slow in the beginning and to wait for the pay-off but this entire book is just too awful. For me, the pay-off never came.

It is so bad I was wondering through the entire read if this was actually ghost-written.

Some have said Koontz keeps reinventing himself as if this were in the vein of, say, The Husband or Relentless. Not in a long shot.

It reads nothing like a Koontz novel and I felt like it was a complete waste of time. It gives you the full-life story of a boy named Jonah and his relationship with "The City" (or is it a woman?)

It used to be that Koontz could keep me riveted to the pages without having to resort to Dan Brown-ian style ending to chapters; i.e. "And then the horrific happened..."

Do yourself a favor - skip this book -  if you're a Dean Koontz fan, reread Sole Survivor or The Taking.


This book was provided for review, at no cost, by Bantam Publishing.

What the Night Knows by Dean Koontz

Koontz's latest has to potential to keep you awake through the night and clutching a crucifix.

It has the potential.

What the Night Knows is Dean Koontz's response to Paranormal Activity. There is a great possibility that the evil represented by the killer of this book will frighten you back to God.

However, there is also the chance that you will read through the first chapter and toss this book in the garbage.

What the Night Knows tells the story of Detective John Calvino. His family was murdered by a lunatic named Alton Turner Blackwood years ago. Blackwood made a name for himself by killing a string of families before attacking the Calvinos.

Now that Calvino is grown with a wife and children of his own, he fears that a new rash of family murders is linked to Blackwood.

The only thing is, Blackwood's been dead for years.

The Koontz-suspense is present in this story as is a return to the Koontz-disgusting images of death.

I was disappointed in this story. I thought he captured each character's unique voice by how he altered the writing for each person. The Calvino kids were especially fun to read.

However, I found it quite hard to get past the Koontz obsession to bring out all the sly sexual implications and abuse. Even under the excuse of "it's from the evil villain" didn't help me pass this book with aces.

This scare-fest of a book could have been so much better. Let's see what he cooks up for us next time.

From the Corner of His Eye by Dean Koontz

You can never get a continued line of success from Dean Koontz. From the Corner of His Eye proves to be a story built around an intriguing concept, yet leaves you exhausted from all the excess story.

This is a very thick book; there are over 700 pages to be devoured. The majority is typical Koontz with a detestable villain who believes himself to be perfection and the purely good character(s) whom the villain wishes to destroy.

Following the vanishing of the bad guy, Junior Cain, Koontz attempts to continue the story as if we care what happens to the other characters. And we don't. Once the bad guy is defeated, we don't care what happens 20 years into the future.

I did enjoy the thoughts behind the use of quantum physics and all of the "other places" that could exist. I just didn't enjoy flipping through the years. Going from the 1960s to year 2000 makes a reader as tired as if they were viewing them in a slide-show.

Bottom-line, the story is good until the villain exits. Then the story becomes a waste of time.

Darkfall by Dean Koontz

Darkfall is a story that never really got off the ground for me. Dean Koontz is hit or miss with every single book. You can never know if the story will be terrific or horrific.

Darkfall was horrific.

Two homicide cops are following the murders of members of a crimelord family. The bodies appear to be chewed and mangled.

Turns out, a voodoo bad guy is out to get the crimeboss and he sends out little demon/goblins to do his dirty deeds.

Because the police are hunting for answers, the voodoo man decides to turn the goblins on them; specifically, the children.

This makes "police man" angry and now it's all or nothing. Which man will die?

Throw in a few vague references about the devil, God, and hell and you've got a very sub-par Koontz novel.

Breathless by Dean Koontz

Dean Koontz has created another novel that deals with creatures that appear otherworldly in Breathless.

You'll follow a number of characters before they all connect in the last few chapters.

They are: Grady Adams and his wolfhound, Merlin. These two live near the woods and are the first to discover the mystical beings.

Henry Rouvroy who visits his twin brother on a farm. Henry is a bit unstable.

Then you meet the veterinarian, the drunkard and Homeland Security all rushing headlong after these creatures.

Like most of his books, Koontz delivers a twisted tale of good verses evil. While the current trajectory of planet earth is heading toward anarchy and chaos, these new beings may be exactly what Someone had in mind to return us to utopia.

But, of course, Koontz leaves the discover of meaning and "the moral of the story" up to each reader.

This book felt similar to his earlier book, Watchers. And I was confused as to why there were so many separate storylines happening. But you will discover what Koontz was trying to teach the reader through each plot line.

Is it possible to have the next step in human evolution without evolution?

A Big Little Life by Dean Koontz

Dean Koontz has finally written a non-fiction book about his love for dogs. Particularly the dog that changed his life, Trixie.

In A Big Little Life, Koontz gives you an insider's look at what it was like to be part of the Koontz family while Trixie was alive.

While very similar, in story, to Marley and Me, Trixie is the complete opposite - she's been trained to help handicapped people but because of an injury had to retire.

Seeing as this is a book about the life of a dog, you know the ending will be sad (as most animal stories are) but Koontz adds his special blend of humor so the death is that much more heartbreaking.

After learning about Trixie, you'll come to agree with her family when they say they believe she was something more than a dog.

Excellent read - 5 out of 5 stars.

Relentless by Dean Koontz

The latest from Dean Koontz will send you into an emotional roller coaster.

Relentless is a story about an author named Cubby who reads a negative review from a highly regarded critic. When he stumbles into him during a lunch, the terror begins and never lets up.

It's an emotional roller coaster because you'll feel terror one moment, and the next sentence will having you laughing.

In one chapter in particular, you'll feel the kind of dread that leaves you empty and longing for someone to hug.

Relentless is Koontz at his best!

There are scenes of violence, and the characters do use foul language that may or may not have been needed.

Like most Koontz stories, you'll find the themes that you've come to expect: an intelligent dog, a dead cat, the power of faith and love.

Relentless gets 4 out of 5 stars for excellence!

Velocity by Dean Koontz

Dean Koontz seems to be a hit and miss for me. I have really enjoyed his, Sole Survivor, The Taking, Phantoms, Watchers, and the Frankenstein novels; but I couldn't even finish his works such as: The Vision, The Bad Place, Intensity, Odd Thomas, or The Husband.

So I go into his books with strong hesitation. I'm never sure of what I'm going to get. Some of his novels are great; with strong characters and a driving story. Others are lame-brained with horrid graphic detail.

I actually only read Velocity because it was given to me.

This tale follows Billy Wiles - bartender and seemingly innocent man until a serial killer decides to use him as the decider. Billy finds a note beneath his car's windshield wipers that reads,

If you don't take this note to the police and get them involved, I will kill a lovely blond schoolteacher. If you do take this note to the police, I will instead kill an elderly woman active in charity work. You have four hours to decide. The choice is yours.

What would you do? Would you think it a terrible joke? When the first death is reported, Billy knows it's for real and he is thrust into one choice after another. Leaving us with the question: "Why?"

This was one of Koontz's better stories. I kept turning the pages to find out what was going to happen next. The chapters were very short which helped in the speed in which I read this book. And by the time I realized the identity of the killer; it was one of those "I should have saw that coming" moments.

The negative comments I have for Velocity is that there are some graphic parts near the end of the novel. But I think they were needed to create how you would feel for a character.