Rating: 
Summary: The impossible... possible.
Review: I am a fan of Dean Koontz. That should be stated first. There are moments in his books that will stay in my mind forever. His ideas can be brilliant. His suspense can be unbearable. His characters can be unforgettable. But what I found with "One Door Away From Heaven" was that so much effort was put into making the main characters unforgettable, that the story never caught up.
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A short plot synopsis:Leilani Klonk is a disabled girl whose parents are evil. They believe that aliens will tkae her away and heal her, although Leilani suspects that her father will just kill her. Leilani meets Micky Birdsong and her aunt Geneva and tells them her story. Micky then decides to do whatever it takes to help the endangered girl. Meanwhile, a little boy makes his way across the country, being chased by the government and something even more sinister. All these plot lines come to a head in the conclusion. ------------------------------------------------------------- The novel is 600 pages and the story spans only a few days. Most of the pages are filled with character devolopment that at times fall somewhere between sugary and obnoxious. Nevermind the fact that Koontz mines some of his usual themes (i.e. a dog who knows good from bad) and character traits (i.e. wry wit, self depreciating humor). These things can be overcome with a fresh plot or ground breaking suspense. But neither is done here. The plot has many tradional Koontz trademarks (aliens, a brilliant psychopath, dogs, everyday people being heroes) and it really doesn't delve any further than that. Even the non-traditional themes of Bio-ethics and of a Creator (God) aren't explored enough to add freshness to the storyline. They barely peek through the traditional Kooontz material. I was a little disappointed in the ending of Koontz last novel From The Corner of his Eye. It is the same again in this novel. What little mystery and suspense the story holds in the first half of the novel goes unused in the end. In summary, I found One Door Away From Heaven to be a novel of good intentions. A lot of time and effort was put into making us enjoy the characters and have our heart strings pulled. But the characters (which are very likeable or dislikeable in the case of the villians) become so extreme in their traits and we get to see SO much of every step they take, that the plot is muddled and uncohesive. So, even though I liked the characters immensely, they won't stick in my mind as great. A lack of cohesive plot makes them float away from my memory. I thought that would be an impossiblity. But alas, it is not.
Rating: 
Summary: Delightful, scary, fun book to read...
Review: Had so much fun reading this book, parts of it were very scary and had me on the edge of the seat. Many different characters make this book a mixed bag of emotions as you read and you just know you're not going to like what happens while it spins you around for one exciting turn of events after another. DEAN KOONTZ still remains my favorite author after this read.
Rating: 
Summary: A MUMBO JUMBO GUMBO...
Review: I enjoyed this book and wavered on the rating. I had a difficult time deciding whether to rate it a three or a four. I finally decided on three because, while it is an enjoyable read, it is not one of his best. Those who read and enjoyed the author's last book, "From the Corner Of His Eye", as I did, will, undoubtedly, enjoy this one, though it is not as good. Here, this genre bending book, written with wry humor, has a series of subplots and colorful characters with improbale names that propel the story forward. Twenty eight year old Michelina Birdsong is a young and beautiful woman with a troubled past. Livimg in a trailer park with her eccentric aunt, Geneva, she lacks focus and is overly fond of lemon flavored vodka. It is as if she has lost the will to live. When she gets new neighbors in the mobile home next door, one of whom is the precocious and physically deformed nine year, Leilani Klonk, her heart is touched most unexpectedly by the pathos of her young life. As Leilani is living with a drug crazed mother and step-father, a sociopathic "doctor" who may be a serial killer, Mickey finds herself wanting to make Leilani's life better and in doing so, redeeming her own. When Leilani and her family precipitously abandon their mobile home one night, Michelina, fearing the worst for Leilani, springs into action and finds herself in hot pursuit of this family, hoping to avert a tragedy. Meanwhile, a young motherless boy, who calls himself Curtis, and his dog, a labrador with whom he has a most unique relationsip, are racing away from their own potential Armageddon. This boy, too, is precocious and quite gifted, but seems to lack a true understanding of the ways and customs of those whom he meets. He is just a beat off. Still, while there is something odd about him, it is clear that, though he seems to have unusual gifts, he has a pure spirit and is a good boy running from a great evil. His pursuers, seemingly invincible and other worldly, will stop at nothing to get a hold of Curtis and keep him from his mission. The journey that Curtis makes is quite astonishing. At some point the paths of these main characters improbably cross and all is made somewhat, though not totally, clear. The book, which is an imaginative blend of suspense, science fiction, and bioethical philosophy, has somewhat religious or quasi-spritual overtones, as it boils down to the quintessential battle between good and evil. In this book, Koontz continues on the path he forged with his previous book, "From the Corner Of His Eye". To where that path will ultimately lead, however, remains to be seen.
Rating: 
Summary: not "watchers", never will be
Review: One star is the minimum? I cant go lower?
Since the first review I wrote for this book never made it in, Ill keep this one short and to the point (I suspect that by quoting some of the worst lines I disqualified myself). Ridiculously over-written, From Heaven makes me wonder if Koontz has gone back to college; he writes like a sophomore english major who just discovered the wonders of metaphors and similes. There were lines in this book that had to be read twice, just so I could get the full effect of their bad-ness.
The story had potential, I'll give him that, but Koontz doesnt have what it takes to turn it into something. The main character, a little boy, meets his fate early on in a -- oh wait, thats not true. Thats what I WANTED to happen, but you'll have to see for yourself how he turns out. I will tell you that hes supposed to be cute, in a Forrest Gump sort of way, but trust me, he's not. You want him to die, because you just dont care.
"Watchers" was the first Koontz book I read, and it remains my favorite; whether thats for sentimental reasons or because its actually a great story I cant say for sure. Since then, Koontz has gone steadily downhill; I thought he had hit rock bottom with "Intensity" (or maybe he did, and now he employs a drill for reaching those lower depths), but apparently I was wrong.
This book actually has the ability to aggravate me, to put me in a bad mood - watching 'the out of towners' did the same thing to me - and thats not what a book should do.
Mr. Koontz doesnt have a fraction of the talent he used to; either that, or he just got lucky with "Watchers" when his talent level was still sub-zero. He cant write, and hes getting bad at telling stories. An enjoyable author only has to do one of those well and hell survive; Koontz cant to either one. He cant write about dogs anymore (PLEASE dont try again to write from the dogs perspective, I beg you), his characters are all the same (beautiful but troubled); in short, this book is bad, bad, bad. Dont read it.
Rating:
Summary: One Door Away From Heaven
Review: I finished reading this book at 4:30 this morning, and I cannot express adequatly how much I enjoyed it. I was introduced to this author years ago when I read "Watchers" and "Lightning." Thinking that all of his books were as wonderful as these two, I started reading everything he wrote, only to be disappointed. I don't like reading about evil "creatures." Therefore, I haven't been a dedicated fan of Dean Koontz books for a long time. Then, when I read the review on "One Door Away From Heaven" on Amazon.com, I decided to give this author another try because the review indicated that this story wasn't as weird as some of his other books. And, I wasn't disappointed. I was thrilled when the dog, "Old Yeller" appeared in the story, with his amazing "talents." It reminded me of the book "Watchers" (which is still my all-time favorite). The love and compassion Dean Koontz has for dogs is very evident in these two books. His charcter description and development in "One Door Away From Heaven" is so intense, you feel you actually know these people, and you feel so involved in their lives. The story challenges your imagination, but not to the extreme some of his other books do. This story is exciting, as well as intelligently stimulating. I recommend it!
Rating:
Summary: Even better than I expected
Review: "Where are you when you're one door away from Heaven?" This book leads you gently to the pretty profound answer, but the story around the ride sure isn't gentle! I think Dean Koontz' work has evolved pretty significantly with From the Corner of His Eye and now One Door. He's moved from, IMHO, a Stephen King wannabe, to a solid author with his own outlook, a little more spiritual than King. This book gives you reasons to think in new ways, which is one of the things I look for in a good book. Read it!
Rating:
Summary: INTENSE! heart throbber!
Review: THIS is pure excitement from beginning to end...with colorful, fun, ready for enlightment down to earth characters! OOps...except for one or two... You will be glued to this non-stop keep on the move
bestseller, as only DEAN KOONTZ, can do.
ALTHOUGH, you won't always be happy with their choices, and
where the book leads, you will stay for the ride. GOOD story, good fun, good reading...and you might even learn something.
Rating:
Summary: Oh Heavenly Dog!
Review: From the onset his novel showed promise, plus added a triple interesting race against some triple deadly and swift space monsters hunting for the good guys. Then it ended just as smoothly and satisfying as a "classic" Dean Koontz novel should. Three cheers and a dog biscuit! Woof!
Rating:
Summary: Fans of the 'old' Koontz, do not bother with this book!!!
Review: Where is the old Dean Koontz? This book is really weak compared to his earlier works. It is really slow, and takes forever to develop a weak story line. I found myself not caring what hapenned to any of the charactures, tough to get through when you have a 600 page book! I am not good at giving up on a book and struggled through to the end hoping that it would have some merit. Sadly it does not. The last 100 pages or so finally ties together the sub-plots but even then just does not make exciting reading. I really feel that this time he has taken the 'dog' theme way to far. In this book a special relationship between an Alien boy and a stray dog is just plain silly. All in all, a 1* story that could have been written by a high school student. Come on Dean, we know you can do better!!!
Rating:
Summary: One door away from boredom
Review: I have read most, if not all of Dean Koontz's novels and have loved just about every one of them. However, I found this one the most boring of all and couldn't wait until the end. I usually can read his novels in a short amount of time, but this one I found hard to pick up night after night. Nice try, can't wait for his next one, hope it's better than this.
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