False Memory

Rating:
Summary: What a beginning, and middle....!
Review: This book went with me to the bathroom, stayed with me as I did household chores, and it kept me up late at night....until the final 1/3 of the story put me to sleep. I think Koontz had a contract to fulfill or some other commitment, because the last third of this book trails off to a silly, annoying conclusion. What a shame.

Rating:
Summary: Another Fantastic Read
Review: I LOVE Dean Koontz. His work is great and his writting style is superb. He has the most amazing imagination and this book I feel, is one of his best. I have read 95% of his work and this didn't let me down. Right from the start you are hooked and if you are into thrilling reads that you just can't put down, then I highly recommend this for you. The plot was unique and keeps you entertained.

Rating:
Summary: Forgettable
Review: Dean Koontz is one of my favorite authors and has been for a very long time. I own most of his novels and there are only a few which I didn't particularly care for. Mr. Koontz' novels have been classified as being "horror" but I've never found them to be frightening. His novels are thought provoking and always make me feel as if "it's possible". When I first started reading False Memory, it reminded me a lot of one of his previous novels "Night Chills" and I thought why am I reading this again. False Memory's beginning was slow and I had to push myself to get through it but somewhere around the half point it picked up to a level which held my attention. It took me five days to complete this novel which is quite unusual for me. I skipped over a lot of pages as they were too descriptive and unnecessary to the plot of the story. While I must admit when I reached the end of the novel - I did enjoy its outcome but it was definitely not one of my favorites. False Memory didn't do much for me. Mr. Koontz is a great storyteller who has written so many unforgettable novels that I have gotten great pleasure from and since I'm a major Dean Koontz' fan, I'll be purchasing his next novel and the next and the next. He's definitely a man ahead of his time.

Rating:
Summary: Flash in the pan type of book
Review: Well, what can i say? I have enjoyed reading Koontz for a few years now and find that all the old stuff is great, but the last few books have been shockers! It takes a fair bit to put me off reading a book but unfortunetly Koontz has done it to me again. I forked over my hard earned cash for this book and wish i never had, i should have opted for the manga comic. Okay, it was pretty damn good in some places but it almost feels like Dean is just churning them out without the heart he used to put into his work. All the novels before "icebound' were deep and gripped you like a vice, this book sort of takes hold of you like you would a greased up piggy, great fun when you grab it but otherwise a great big mess. Being a psychology gratuate also sort of made this book a bit silly to me. I hate to dis anyone but i think Dean should probably sit back and reflect on the value of deep characters, and possibly fire his editor.

Rating:
Summary: A Standout Book by Master Author Dean Koontz
Review: An author who makes you feel deeply for the characters he creates. An author who takes you on a fictional roller-coaster ride you will never, ever forget. An author who makes nightmares almost as real as reality itself, yet never takes away our basic hope in the fundamental goodness of humanity. Dean Koontz is one best-selling author who manages to accomplish all of these things in his strange and wonderful stories, and so much more. This is particularly true in his standout book False Memory. The focus of False Memory is on Martine and Dustin Rhodes, a young married couple living their lives in a small, but gorgeously restored Victorian in the pretty (I've been there) Southern California coastal town of Corona Del Mar. She is a successful video game designer, he is an equally successful house painter. These characters are so well-drawn and believable that, within only the first few pages of False Memory, it's easy to think of them as your next-door neighbors, best friends, even members of your own family. Making us feel that strongly about his characters like this is but one mark of just how good a writer Dean Koontz is. And not only do we feel that strongly about Martie and Dusty, we want to know what happens to them and we want them to win in the struggle Koontz has written for them. From the get-go of False Memory, Martie and Dusty are drawn into a set of circumstances that become more and more strange and bewildering and frightening as the minutes and the hours pass by. Along the way, Koontz makes rare medical conditions such as agoraphobia and autophobia as real for us as he does his very appealing characters. He also invokes the nightmare of brainwashing in a way that is entirely credible to the point of being horrifying because of the mere possibility that things could happen in this world exactly as Koontz describes them. I suspect False Memory has a large basis in factual events and actual persons, making it all the more chilling. Throughout this study of evil, Koontz's writing is by turns elegant and poetic, as well as a pure pleasure to read. The book is long and densely plotted, but always easy-to-follow and the suspense never slackens. By the end of False Memory, Koontz has made a powerful statement about just how important love and friendship are to us as human beings if we are to not only survive, but find more than a measure of happiness, in a world ripe with peril and danger. If you have any feeling at all, you'll be shedding a tear or two, or at least have a good-sized lump in your throat, by the time you turn the final page as I did. Considering how many novels Dean Koontz has published (thirty-seven, by my count, including False Memory, with a thirty-eighth, From The Corner Of His Eye, on the way), I am a relative newcomer to his books. I have read his Fear Nothing, Seize the Night, The Door to December, Sole Survivor, Dark Rivers of the Heart, Mr. Murder and Intensity titles and recommend each of them as highly as I do False Memory. Enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: First 2/3 of book was riveting, then it went downhill
Review: For the first 2/3 of the book I'd give it 5 stars. The whole idea of mind control is fascinating and the characters of Martie and Dusty are particularly well-drawn. Because they're so normal, their descent into the psychological hell that has been created feels all the more scary. I couldn't wait to turn each page. As I got nearer to the end I felt cheated. The wrap-up was implausible and the tie-in with Dusty's mother and the incidents at their house seemed silly. Even the final scenes with the Doctor could have been done with more finesse.

Rating:
Summary: Sinister!!
Review: This book is crazy-good! Koontz depicts the ulitmate in the sisister demise. The characters are believable and worthy. This is one of the best books I've read by him.

Rating:
Summary: Very Bizarre
Review: This was a very twisted story. I thought Koontz did a good job on the characters, especially Dusty and Marty, and let's don't forget Skeet. The doctor's character was a bit too much for my taste. I agree with the other reviewer's regarding some chapters were just too long. Koontz detailed everything, in some parts of the book this was ok, in other parts, I lost interest. I think the doctor is one of the most evil and wicked characters I have read in a thriller. In my opinion, this was a turn off. Don't get me wrong, a thriller needs to be juiced up, however, this doctor was just pure sick. I think Koontz went a little overboard on describing the doctors games in the past and future, it was to grocely detailed. Overall, I would recommend reading it only if you like groce and evil villians, Koontz does a good job on this guy.

Rating:
Summary: A Very Good Book.....Scary as in it could happen to you!
Review: I enjoyed this book very much. It is the first book by this authour that I have read and the first book I ever rated. Might have something to do with the book itself I suppose... ha,ha,..Then why a 4 start rating you might ask....that is because I did find myself wanting to skip through some parts of the book where the storyline was getting good but there was all these unnecessary explainations thrown in to slow me down. Other than that I give it an excellent rating and reccommend it to anyone who is looking for a good read.

Rating:
Summary: GOOD TO THE LAST DROP!
Review: Dean Koontz is such a gifted and skilled individual when it comes to writing. I have read all of his novels and practially loved every one of them. He is a very unique author that combines Stephen King and John Sandford together. I believe that "False Memory" was one of his best novels. I like it a lot that Dean Koontz is starting to get away from the supernatural books that he used to write and is writing more mystery and believable type books. There is nothing supernatural in "False Memory." It is about a crazy doctor who wants to turn all of his patients crazy and puts them into a deep sleep in their sessions and hypnotizes them to do evil things, even kill people. Marty, the main character, must try and stop this deranged doctor before Marty's best friend is turned crazy. Dean Koontz will always be one of my favorite authors and I am greatly awaiting his new thriller, "FROM THE CORNER OF HIS EYE" on DECEMBER 26, 2000!