Rating: 
Summary: Unreal, but good for entertainment value
Review: This is a light sci-fi fairy tale to while away some free time. Not a Koontz masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination, but an entertaining read none-the-less. It lacks the usual creeps and shivers that are the Koontz trademarks in his other books.The main players seem based on comic book and "B" movie characters, like the pistol packing theatrical sisters, the super-intelligent (and radiant) disabled girl, the spaced out drug addict mother, the recovering drunk heroine with the heart of gold, the addled aunt, the extra-terrestrial child lost on earth, the clever pet dog, the detective with personal problems, and of course the psychopathic bad guy with the spotless public record. It's also got your standard Government cover-ups, invading aliens and truck stop and trailer park folk. The ending is soft, way too soft, after you've read through the whole book leading you up to it, it's a disappointing anticlimax Read it, but you'll probably read it only once.
Rating:
Summary: Two novellas in one....Rehashed plots...
Review: When Koontz is good, he's good. When he's bad...He's bad. This Koontz book was just more the the latter than the former. Mostly because NOTHING EVER HAPPENS. Also, The book is split with two separate storylines that never seem to merge until the end. Mickey, an ex-con, lives in a trailer park with her braindamaged aunt. She becomes concerned about a young neighbor girl whose stepdad is a serial killer. Can Mickey rouse herself out of her alcoholic self pity to help the child before its too late? Like most Koontz books, this book has promise, and started off pretty well. I liked the characters of Mickey, and Leilani. If Koontz had merely stuck with these two characters it would've been a great book. Does he do this? No. Next we are introduced to two totally different characters, an Alcoholic P.I. and a runaway kid with the obligatory semi-sentinent pooch. Soon these two characters are having their own adventures and we are stuck in chapter hopping mode with every other chapter featuring different characters. Annoying. Second, you'll find tons of rehash from earlier works. Two mentions of books by Nora Roberts...Intelligent 'psychic' dogs (I actually don't mind this premise as I LOVE dogs, but they always seem to be big dogs. How about a Psychic Pekingnese or Chihuahua?) Sexual Predator villains. Child abuse. Mistrust of the government and academia. Evil Scientists. Valiant disabled people. Good Christians. Bad Academics. And hero/oines who wallow in self pity. Need I continue? 3 Stars for a great premise, excellent start, and some engaging characters. Two stars off for the head-hopping and multiple character perspective, and the boy and dog story which was just plain dull and silly instead of cute.
Rating: 
Summary: KOONTZ IS THE KING
Review: Twenty-eight-year-old Michelina Bellsong, Micky, lives in a less than upscale California trailer park. She's seen her share of trouble.
Micky doesn't think too much of it when a new family appears until she meets 9-year-old Leilani Klonk who has not only a withered hand but must wear a brace on her deformed leg. The girl's body may be misshapen, but her spirit is not. She is upbeat and hopeful, an inspiration to Micky. However, there is more to Leilani than Micky realized at first. Fear seems to be embedded deep within the child. Leilani's mother is young, unsure; her father, Preston Maddoc, is an enigma, almost baleful, daunting. Moreover, Micky discovers that Leilani once had an older brother who was also handicapped. The boy disappeared after time spent in the woods with Maddoc. It is not long before Micky becomes convinced that Leilani is also in danger. Help from child protective agencies is not forthcoming, and while Micky tries to find her way through a tangled bureaucracy the Maddoc family vanishes. Despite the dangers she may face Micky sets out to find them. Ever a spellbinder, Koontz laces his tale with suspense, pathos, humor, and amazement.
Rating: 
Summary: Leave the Dogs in the Kennel
Review: I used to be a hardcore Dean Koontz fan. Koontz struck gold with False Memory, and his following book From The Corner of his Eye. Both books have a true Koontz style, one unique and pleasing to read. In One Door Away from Heaven Koontz attempts to further captivate readers with his style, but fails. The book was boring. It presented us with wacky characters, yes, but the plotline was about a psychopath tracking aliens around and hating people with deformities. I think the first, and most major failure here is that the plot is just simply boring. I got the feeling like he was recycling. I got the feeling like I had met most of the characters before. I hated the parts with Curtis and his annoying dog. The dog was the second down part. Koontz has developed a sort of "signature" where he adds a smart dog to many novels. Well, frankly, I'm damn tired of these canine characters. The novel was disappointing enough to bring me to the decision to boycott Koontz's further novels. Tonight, however, I will give him one last chance with "By The Light of the Moon." So far, I have not cracked a smile at his jokes and have only been annoyed by his endless lines of descriptions and, and, and, and, and... There is one straw left. He has a chance to refill the box, or present us with another canine wonder, thus extracting the last straw and helping me decided to boycott Koontz for the rest of my life.
Rating: 
Summary: Classic Koontz -- A return to form!
Review: It was a relief and a pleasure to read One Door Away, because I was afraid Dean Koontz had lost it with the painful False Memory. After reading F.M. I decided to lay off the author for awhile, but reluctantly picked up his new one. I'm glad I did! The characters are mostly memorable and interesting, the suspense is solid throughout, and the climax and ending are both satisfying. You know the usual Koontz plot device of doling out limited information very gradually before eventually revealing what is really going on? As you're reading it, you're thinking, "Something's going on here, but I can't figure out what..." Then later you're saying, "So THAT'S it!" Well, he does that in this book too, but it's not the dominant aspect of the story. (Thank goodness it isn't dominant ... it's becoming a Koontz cliche.) In fact there are multiple points of view and no less than four major storylines running in parallel, but naturally the writer brings them all together very nicely. At a time when I'm STILL struggling to finish the tedious King/Straub ode Black House, it was great to find a book that's actually entertaining from start to finish. (The reviewer who quit at page 250 should have kept going!) My only minor quibble is I would like to have seen the PI character Noah better developed. He basically disappears a third into the book. But that did not diminish my enjoyment much. Overall, One Door Away From Heaven is a great read.
Rating:
Summary: One Door Away from Heaven
Review: The Koontz of the darkly concentrated 1996 suspense masterpiece Intensity has clearly walked over a bed of glowing coals, emerged spiritually recharged by the Presence, and now disgorges sweetness and light along with suspense, even more so than in his most recent page-turner, From the Corner of His Eye (2000). Here, Koontz enters the field of bioethics, with medical utilitarianism facing moral values. Of course, with his fearless imagination at work, this is not your typical tract novel. Bilious Micky Bellsong's fractured spirit needs splints until she meets crippled young Leilani Klonk, who lives in the trailer next to Micky's and calls herself a mutant, not a cripple. Leilani's family believes in spiritual DNA infusions from aliens-in fact, they know her brother was abducted by aliens. Koontz tilts against a heartless idealism that sees humanity as just meat and allows euthanasia of infants with health problems, suffering old people, and those much better off with a little help getting dead and leaving life to the bioethicists. Do ETs actually show up? And if so, how truly alien is an alien? We're not telling. Certain to ring the topmost bell on all bestseller lists as Koontz lights up a dark galaxy.
Rating:
Summary: AND ONE STEP AWAY FROM THE TRASH CAN
Review: I can't believe that they even released this book. It took so much effort to get through just the first half!!! Then I put it down to read something that was actually interesting, picked it up again, tried to finish this book, and failed....there was just nothing interesting enough going on to hold my interest. And Koontz is such an absolute MASTER at writing!!! I have been a fan of Koontz since the early 80's...for over 20 years, he's the best around, and I NEVER thought that he would let me down so incredibly badly as to write something like this. It's just a bunch of elements culled from his past books thrown together in a hodge-podge mish-mash of mildly interesting events. Whoever wrote that this is one their favorite Koontz books obviously hasn't read his other books because NO ONE in their right mind would praise this book over ANY of his other writings.
Rating:
Summary: Dean Koontz--One Door Way From Heaven (2002)
Review: Certainly one of Koontz's more wittier works in recent memory, "One Door Away From Heaven" has a little bit of everything. As described in the novel's opening quotation (a Dean Koontz trademark that harnesses the essence of each of his literary accomplishments), "humor is emotional chaos remembered in tranquility", this saga of love, friendship, redemption, courage, and salvation embodies the fundamental nature of hilarity that Koontz attempts, and succeeds, to convey. The lives of four unusual individuals, Michelina Bellsong (an alcoholic living with her poverty-stricken aunt that self-loathes about the past she wants to forget), Leilani Klonk (an exceptional, yet mutated young girl, who happens to live with the alien-inquiring sociopath Preston Maddoc), Curtis Hammond (a runaway who possesses extra-terrestrial qualities that far surpass imagination), and Noah Farrel (a former private investigator whose life revolves around the care of his institutionalized sister) are turned upside down into a terrifying, amazing adventure into the darkness of evil. As Michelina becomes enthralled with the incredibly humorous Leilani, her purpose in life alters not only her perception of her past, but her future. When Leilani's safety is put into jeopardy by the utilitarianist Maddoc, she sets out to save the child and the extraordinary discoveries and paths that follow change all those involved forever. The marvelous Leilani is perhaps Koontz's most likable, eccentric character since his Roy Miro in "Dark Rivers of the Heart", with her dry, sarcastic attitude of her world that is mercifully amusing and captivating. Koontz seems to have put his heart and soul into this hilarious work of fiction, blending the characters together to mold a symphony of satiric comedy and epic, poetic spectacle. While "One Door Away From Heaven" may not be for everyone, even many Koontz fans, it is an addition that has enough excitement, lampoon, mystique, and dread that it is hard not to enjoy. Not absolute tranquility, but an excellent effort that exemplifies how remarkable people can transform everything.
Rating:
Summary: One Door Away From Heaven
Review: Some Parts were a little unbeliaveble but overall a very interesting book.
Rating:
Summary: KOONTZ IS THE KING
Review: Twenty-eight-year-old Michelina Bellsong, Micky, lives in a less than upscale California trailer park. She's seen her share of trouble.
Micky doesn't think too much of it when a new family appears until she meets 9-year-old Leilani Klonk who has not only a withered hand but must wear a brace on her deformed leg. The girl's body may be misshapen, but her spirit is not. She is upbeat and hopeful, an inspiration to Micky. However, there is more to Leilani than Micky realized at first. Fear seems to be embedded deep within the child. Leilani's mother is young, unsure; her father, Preston Maddoc, is an enigma, almost baleful, daunting. Moreover, Micky discovers that Leilani once had an older brother who was also handicapped. The boy disappeared after time spent in the woods with Maddoc. It is not long before Micky becomes convinced that Leilani is also in danger. Help from child protective agencies is not forthcoming, and while Micky tries to find her way through a tangled bureaucracy the Maddoc family vanishes. Despite the dangers she may face Micky sets out to find them. Ever a spellbinder, Koontz laces his tale with suspense, pathos, humor, and amazement.
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