Reviews
Trio of quality books explore facets of faith
June 14, 2014
Best-selling novelist Dean Koontz frequently includes spiritual struggles in his novels, and Innocence (Bantam Books, 2014, 338 pages, $28) is no exception. Here we meet Addison Goodheart, a young man driven to live beneath the streets of a great city because his face repels his fellow human beings. Raised by an alcoholic mother who could barely stand the sight of him, and then adopted by a man with a similar likeness, Addison survives by emerging from his shelter only at night, hiding his face and avoiding contact with people.
Until he meets Gwyneth. She is a young girl, an heiress, who is being pursued by a maniac who wants what remains of her fortune. Together she and Addison fight back against this man and his thugs. While we follow them in their flight through the city, Addison sees what he calls the Clears and the Fogs, which seem to be angels and demons.
To reveal more of the plot of Innocence would give away the ending. Suffice it to say that Koontz, like Evans, is not for everyone, but again he clearly appeals to tens of thousands of readers.
Read the full article @ Smoky Mountain News.
Breathless review
May 11, 2014
From 2009:
Dean Koontz is an amazing stylist when it comes to writing novels. I enjoy the way he puts words together and the energy of his pacing. When it comes to dialogue, he’s got a definite ear for the way people speak. He’s been in the writing business for a long time, and his passion is always clear. Primarily, he’s been lately known for his thrillers, but those readers also embrace his “feel good” novels.
For these kinds of books, Koontz usually plays his characters as innocents caught up in a macabre web involving criminals and heavy-handed bureaucrats with sinister agendas. That’s what Koontz was going for it in his latest book, Breathless, but somewhere along the way he dropped the ball.
Oh, there are innocents aplenty. The book opens with Grady Adams, a small time furniture maker living life at a slow pace with his wonder dog, Merlin. I actually thought the opening was very reminiscent to the opening pages of an earlier Koontz book, Watchers. Even the creepy noises and things that happened out in the forest seemed to echo that book.
Read the full review @ BlogCritics.org.
Odd Thomas Film Reviews: The Final Chapter
April 11, 2014
Just two this week and no new ones for six days. Really folks, this should end it.
- Blu-ray Review – Odd Thomas – St. John News
- Don’t watch ‘Wolf of Wall Street’ with your mom – USA Today
Bride of Odd Thomas Film News
March 15, 2014
The media blitz seems to be slowing down as there’s only three this week.
- Odd Thomas Starring Anton Yelchin Arrives on Blu-ray & DVD March 25th – Gotham News
- Can Hollywood Treat Dean Koontz Right with ‘Odd Thomas’? – KFGO
- Laurel Harris Gives Us a Behind-the-Scenes Look at Odd Thomas – Reelz
Bride of Odd Thomas Film Reviews & News
March 8, 2014
Image Entertainment Invites Odd Thomas into Your Home – Dread Central- Odd Thomas – Screen Daily
- Odd Thomas Blu-ray – Blu-ray.com
- Action/Adventure ODD THOMAS Coming to Blu-ray/DVD, 3/25 – BroadwayWorld.com
- ‘Odd Thomas’ Should Have Been a TV Pilot – Bloody Disgusting
- Review: ‘Odd Thomas’ Starring Anton Yelchin, Willem Dafoe And Addison Timlin – IndieWire
- Odd Thomas Review – Den of Geek
- ‘Odd Thomas’ Movie Review – About.com
More Odd Thomas Film Reviews & a Clip
February 25, 2014
Another link dump…
- Odd Thomas: Film Review – The Hollywood Reporter
- Paranormal thriller Odd Thomas – TBN Weekly
- Odd Thomas Review – We Got This Covered
- Anton Yelchin Dodges Terrifying Demons in This Exclusive “Odd Thomas” Clip – Complex
CineVue reviews Odd Thomas
February 8, 2014
Sommers wastes no time in hurling the viewer straight into the alternate universe of his protagonist. The exhilarating actions are accompanied by an extensive narrative delivered by Yelchin’s husky and confident tones. For those unfamiliar with the Koontz’s source material, the narrative provides additional information that at times feels like explanatory-overload but with a plot this complicated, narrative is a definite requirement. Sommers, who adapted the screenplay himself, is clearly passionate about his subject and packs a great deal in to the 90-minute runtime. His directorial flair is as energetic as the script – picture Back to the Future’s Hill Valley Town Square laden with Mummy-esque special effects.
Read the full review @ Cine-Vue.com.
Beauty and a new Beast
January 26, 2014
An Irish review of Innocence featuring an image from Demon Seed:
Koontz’s latest novel, Innocence, is an intriguing and compelling take on the Beauty and the Beast fairytale. Raised in total isolation in the countryside, Addison Goodheart is a young man unlike other young men. As he says of himself, “when they saw me men and women alike recoiled, but their fear quickly gave way to fury” and, always, they immediately tried to kill him.
Read the full review @ Independent.ie.
Horror Novel Reviews: Innocence
January 7, 2014
Dean Koontz has proven himself to be a master of character development. He has a unique skill at being able to create relatively innocent children or adults, and then of putting them into highly dangerous situations with villains who are filled with such inner darkness that there’s not a shred of light emanating from their souls, if they have one.
Such is the case with Innocence.
Read the full review @ HorrorNovelReviews.com.
Innocence Review in People Magazine
January 7, 2014
You can find it on page 54 of the 13 January 2014 issue.
Bookreporter reviews Innocence
January 4, 2014
Having spent most of his career penning primarily suspense and horror novels, the Dean Koontz of the past decade or so has turned far more introspective. The end result has been works of fiction that deal more in characters, spirituality and faith than being driven by traditional good versus evil in supernatural settings.
INNOCENCE is primarily the story of two very unique individuals. Calling New York City home, but inhabiting a sort of netherworld of their own, the mysterious Addison meets up with Gwyneth on a snowy evening while most of the city’s residents are sleeping. Addison has lived in an underground series of rooms for most of his life and has an odd appearance that is constantly covered by a ski mask and a hood. Gwyneth sports a Goth look that strangely resembles the eerie marionettes both she and Addison fear and seek out.
Read the full review @ bookreporter.com.
Innocence featured on The Nook Blog
January 4, 2014
It’s not much, but it The Nook Blog did a post on Innocence back on December 27th.
A Grace of Softness in a Hard World
December 15, 2013
Here’s a review of Innocence with a definite Catholic perspective:
I was reminded of Riva when I began reading best-selling author Dean Koontz’s latest novel, “Innocence.” Its main character and narrator, Addison, is a young man for whom the unkindness of strangers (and even family members) is the norm.
Addison says, “When I entered the world, the twenty-year-old daughter of the midwife fled the bedroom in fright…When the midwife tried to smother me in the birthing blanket, my mother, although weakened by a difficult labor, drew a handgun from a nightstand drawer and, with a threat, saved me from being murdered.”
Though Addison loved his mother, she could barely tolerate being around him. He observed, “She tried hard to love me, and to an extent she did. But I was a unique burden.”
Read the full review @ Patheos.com.
Winning mystery thriller by Dean Koontz: Odd Thomas
December 15, 2013
Here’s a German review of the Odd Thomas film:
Blockbuster director Stephen Sommers (“The Mummy,” “Van Helsing”, “GI Joe”) has taken perhaps the most popular hero of bestselling author Dean Koontz. The question is naturally Odd Thomas – a young man who communicate with spirits and can foresee disaster.
In his first film adventure from 10 December is going to have on DVD and Blu-ray, the hero faces a special challenge: snack chef Thomas (Anton Yelchin) knows immediately that his city is in great danger when a stranger enters the fast-food restaurant.Because this has countless Bodachs in tow. These are dark, shadowy figures who are nourished by misfortune and destruction of people and surrounded evil.
But what exactly will happen? When Thomas supported by his girlfriend Stormy (Addison Timlin) and Police Chief Wyatt Porter (Willem Dafoe) hires research, it quickly becomes clear: The life of all urban residents in peril.
Read the full article @ hitchecker.de.
Dread Central review of the Odd Thomas film
December 7, 2013
After a two-year legal battle to get Stephen Sommers’ latest supernatural thriller out in theatres, Odd Thomas is finally making its premiere at this year’s Toronto After Dark film festival, and fans of the novel written by Dean Koontz will definitely get a kick out of this genre bender as it stays true to significant portions of the source material.
Opening with a self-deprecating voiceover, Odd Thomas sets its quirky tone right off the bat by introducing viewers to Odd (Yelchin), a young, small town line cook who happens to have clairvoyant abilities—such as seeing ghosts. With the help of police chief Porter (Dafoe) and his annoyingly cute ice creamer scooper girlfriend (Timlin), Odd uses these skills to help avenge murdered souls and yet always remains under the radar and continues to live a seemingly normal life.
Read the full review @ DreadCentral.com.
Innocence review & Dean interview @ Shelf Awareness
December 7, 2013
Of course, Innocence is a book, and so ultimately there will be much of the fairy tale in Addison’s account of how he becomes 18-year-old Gwyneth’s companion–not so much her hero or protector as a bearer of witness. Gwyenth’s father was murdered by the man who had stolen much of his fortune, the same man from whom she was running earlier (who has an even more sinister fate in mind for her). Addison tags along as she tries to find evidence of this villain’s crimes–and stays with her as she scrambles to protect those closest to her from the inevitable attempts at revenge. He has fallen in love with her, and his devotion is absolute. “She would always be blameless,” he tells us, “for I knew the purity of her heart.”
Read the full review and an Interview with Dean @ Shelf-Awareness.com.
Two articles about Beautiful Old Dogs
November 24, 2013
10 Beautiful Old Dogs To Celebrate Senior Dog Month
While many people just naturally think of adopting a puppy, there are so many reasons to adopt an older dog. Now a new book pays tribute to this unique canine group and also shows us many reasons why senior dogs are special. Beautiful Old Dogs: A Loving Tribute to Our Senior Best Friends, edited by David Tabatsky, is filled with gorgeous photography by the late Gary Gross. While Gross may have been noted in fashion, he later went on to become a leading dog trainer. This book captures purely stunning photos of senior dogs in their glory in an effort to show how beautiful and loving senior dogs really are, along with uplifting essays and poetry by Anna Quindlen, Ally Sheedy, Christopher Durang, Doris Day, Dean Koontz, Marlo Thomas, and others.
Spokesdog’s Book Review: Beautiful Old Dogs
When I was asked to review this book there was something about the title that made me anxious to get to it. The title is short, sweet, simple and says it all.
Have you noticed some grey hair on your dog’s muzzle? Does it seem your dog is growing more lumps on a monthly basis? Have you noticed your dog is napping more? There is no way for humans or animals to beat the aging process although humans trying to fake out the mirror may pay for a little nip or tuck here and there. Dogs seem to take aging in stride as they are not consumed with our vanity.
Dean Koontz's 'Innocence' Is A Fall From Grace
November 24, 2013
Heads up: the reviewer didn’t like it.
Dean Koontz’s newest novel, Innocence (December 10; Bantam), is virtually guaranteed to be a runaway holiday bestseller. With a primo release date and the tried and true name of Dean Koontz stamped on the cover, grandmas everywhere will be salivating to slide this gift-wrapped treasure into the soft hands of their bookworm grandsons. After 30+ years of repeated bestsellers, Koontz is no longer an author, he’s a brand. He represents something you buy because you’ve always bought it, like a particular type of canned chili––he’s not particularly good, but you stick to what you know. And when it comes to Christmastime, a new Dean Koontz hardcover is like a strangely familiar glitter, winking at you from a Barnes and Noble easel rack.
Read the full review @ Bloody Disgusting.
The Best Sci-fi/Horror Mash-ups
September 7, 2013
Demon Seed gets a mention in this great article on Film Equals about films that combine horror and science fiction.
Between birth and burial…
September 25, 2012
“Between birth and burial, we find ourselves in a comedy of mysteries. And if you don’t think life’s a comedy—well, friend, you might as well hurry along to that burial. The rest of us need people with whom we can laugh.”
-Odd Thomas, in Odd Apocalypse