Rating: 
Summary: Another Great Dean Koontz effort
Review: I really enjoyed this book. The writing is great and something that I wanted to savor. More in line with his Fear Nothing and Seize the Night books. I was very disappointed with False Memory and only mildly impressed with From the Corner of his Eye but I think this one is really good.
Rating:
Summary: Koontz- A Return To Form
Review: In recent years I have grown tired of Dean Koontz's books. I found where at one time I looked forward with anticipation to each new release, I was now feeling obligated to read each new effort with little joy.
One Door Away From Heaven is a welcome return to Koontz's earlier more engaging writing. The characters are well drawn and engaging(although as is the case in most of his books children and canines are far too adult). While the book starts off slow it begins to pick up steam and by the end you will find that you don't want to put it down. At times Koontz gets a little too preachy and practically hits you over the head with his message, but at least he has a message to get across. With recent novels you had gotten the feeling that this was an author with nothing left to say. With One Door Away From Heaven Koontz shows he still has a story or two to tell.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent
Review: Dean Koontz @ his v. best. Kept my attention the entire time. Could NOT put this book down. Read it cover to cover in about 2 days. Definitely recommend this one!!
Rating:
Summary: DIFFERENT . . . yet undeniably engaging!
Review: Well . . . I've already read some of the reviews of readers over in the UK (you can see them to, at amazon.co.uk), and --I'm sorry to say-- they didn't enjoy it as much as I did. This book IS discernibly different from his older books (Darkfall, Phantoms, Lightning), but I feel that his change in writing is that of a good one. There really isn't much else to say except that if you start to read it . . . FINISH IT. You may like it, and you may not. Whatever the outcome, I think that Dean Koontz, as portrayed through the many characters in his many novels, has changed --and this is not a bad thing, as I've said before. That's life, right?Anyway . . . a great and different book. Read it.
Rating: 
Summary: Koontz has stumbled yet again into boring, preachy drivel.
Review: I think that this will be the last Dean Koontz book I will buy. I have over 20 of his books. I used to find him exciting and easy to read. Of late, however, I have found his books are no longer exciting in the least. There is virtually no plot in this latest offering from him. It also contains his most annoying character yet. An alien boy who wonders around saying inane things. Too much of the narrative is taken up with Koontz complaining about the shape the world is in, the evils of Hollywood, and the corruption of Politicians. And worst of all, what used to make Koontz novels such fun to read is an interesting sicko. There is none in this book. The sicko we do get is not fleshed out anywhere near enough and is just ludicrous. For those of you who have never read Koontz, steer clear of this. I would suggest you read Mr Murder, Dark Rivers of the Heart, and Watchers.
Rating: 
Summary: What has happened to the master storyteller?
Review: I have been a hardcore Koontz fan for over fifteen years, and I must say that it's tempting to give this book five stars simply because it was written by one of my favorite writers. The construction of the book was similar to "From the Corner of His Eye." There were several seemingly related subplots that Koontz attempts somewhat unsuccessfully to bring together. Some of the characters were reminiscent of other Koontz creations. The drug-crazed mother brings back memories of another drug-crazed mother in "Intensity," and the wonderdog is back, bringing to mind the lovable Retriever in "Watchers," who was much more believable than Ol' Yeller. Not a total disappointment; however, I long for the Koontz of "Dragon Tears," "Lightning," and Mr. Murder." I want a novel, not a collection of short stories, which is how this book reads.
Rating:
Summary: A BIG disappointment
Review: Living in a trailer park in California, Micky Bellsong thinks about her life, and the choices she has made until a new family moves next door and gives the chance to go on a quest she never would have expected. Leilani Klonk is the nine year old new neighbor who will befriend Micky and spin a tale of such un-believable horror that Micky will question all that she has believed in. Leilani, has high spirits for a young girl with a brace on her leg, a deformed hand, a drug addicted mother, and a step-father who is a killer. Leilani begins telling a story about her mother's drug problem, her consistent habit of choosing the wrong men, and how her mother's latest mistake is a professor with a taste for killing elderly women and children, and a belief that upon Leilani's tenth birthday aliens will come down to earth and either cure her problems with her leg, or take her to their planet. The further Leilani goes into her story she reveals that she had an older brother, also disabled, who went off into the woods with her step-father, hunting alien spaceships, and never returned. As the bond between Micky and Leilani grows stronger, and the tenth birthday approaches, Micky goes to child protective services to take action and get Leilani out of that house, but in the midst the family disappears in the night, leaving Micky with no choice but to travel across country and search for the young girl she has become so close to. 'One Door Away From Heaven' is a well-written story, but one that disappoint Dean Koontz's legion of fans. While the story remains creepy with the sub-plot of the step-father's serial killing, the rest of the novel gets jumbled up with aliens, hallucinations, mother/daughter relationships, child custody, and a cross country road trip. With his new novel, Dean Koontz tries to take suspense in a new direction...but where? I found myself struggling to stay focused on this book, and after about 250 pages (this novel clocks in at a whopping 608 pages) I put it down, I just couldn't finish it. Dean Koontz has not written a truly great suspense novel since 'Intensity', and since he, and another heavy hitter in the horror writing genre, find it necessary to churn out these cross genre disasters, I am going to stick to my favorite author of horror, John Saul. A BIG disappointment! Nick Gonnella
Rating:
Summary: Well done and a little different
Review: This is a little different to the usual run of the mill Dean Koontz books in that it has all the scary bits, but it has some of the most well defined of all of his characters. The young girl Leilani, one of the central characters, is a truly spectacular creation, and her good friend Micky is equally interesting. But it is the "young motherless boy" (to tell you more would be to give it away) and his adventures are really the heart of the book, and very entertaining it is too. If I have one small criticism, it is that the evil monster in the book takes his time to show his hand. He is a very good baddie, but I got a little impatient waiting for him to show itself in all his glory. And when he finally got around to acting on it, I thought that he was a little incompetent (which of course was good for our heroes). It is a good read, well paced and full of action, and all in all a good read. It also makes some interesting and amusing comment on people who travel the country seeking signs of extra terrestrial activity, amd more serious comment on the extremes of bio-ethicism. However it is not his best (try "Strangers" and "Dark Rivers of the Heart" for classic Koontz), but it is a satisfying read.
Rating:
Summary: Purely enchanting
Review: This is, for my money, THE most magical, THE most beautiful of Koontz's novels to date, the jewel in the crown of his body of work. Michelina "Micky" Bellsong is a young woman still looking for herself after a stint in prison on a bum rap. Moving into a California trailer park with her eccentric but loveable Aunt Geneva, who hasn't been right since she was shot in the head 18 years ago, Micky is just looking for work, sobriety, and stability. And then one day a new family moves into the trailer next door. Micky and Aunt Geneva fall instantly in love with the child of the new neighbors, a precocious 9-year-old with birth defects named Leilani Klonk. At dinner one night, the mature-beyond-her-years Leilani confides to her new friends that her UFO-chasing step-father, who she calls Dr. Doom, kills disabled people for fun while her mother is so strung out on drugs and booze that she's hanging on to sanity by only a hair. Leilani matter of factly states that she had an older brother, also born deformed, who was "taken to the stars" by Dr. Doom to be healed by aliens, though she's pretty sure he was actually taken into the woods and killed. And Dr. Doom has promised Leilani a healing before her 10th birthday, which is rapidly approaching. When the family suddenly disappears, Micky is terrified for the girl and takes off in search of her. At the same time, a 10-year-old boy is on the run from men who have killed his mother. He has no one to comfort him but a newly homeless black and white dog he calls Old Yeller. The boy, calling himself Curtis Hammond, is so special and so resourceful that we know right away there's something so unique about him that he just might be X-Files material. In a story only Dean Koontz could weave, the paths of all these wonderful characters are destined to converge and ignite to make magic. While the suspense mounts to unbearable levels and you chew your nails, the darling Old Yeller will at the same time steal your heart. While this is a thriller in all respects, it is also heartwarming with its message of hope and optimism ... and a little peek into the dreams of dogs. Read it for yourself to discover the joy of what that means!
Rating:
Summary: Dynamite
Review: Mr. Koontz has done it to me again! He has "knocked my socks off." He has created (as always)rich characters, tense scenarios, and intricate threads that leave me pining for the synchronicity which, I know, will tie the package up in a neat and happy bundle. Once again, I was not disappointed; moreover, I was moved to tears by this delicious tale. I made myself to put it down, so that I might savor it over at least a few days. Fans, you will not be disappointed with this one!
| 
