Rating: 
Summary: My first impression of Dean Koontz
Review: I am an avid Stuart Woods reader, but sadly I have run out of his books! Many friends have suggested reading Dean Koontz. From the comments they have made, he seemed to be the kind of author I would like. I have purchased several books that sound interesting and that I assume I will like. This book was the first that I have read out of those books. I hope that I was not led astray by my friends and I hope that this book is not a vision of what his other books will be like.When I first started reading this book, I thought it was going to be great. I was really intrigued after the first few chapters, when Joe was trying to deal with the loss of his family, who died in a tradgic plane crash. It has been a year since the accident, and he cannot quite cope with his loss. Who could deal with this when you entire family is lost and world turned upside down? I believe the events of 9-11 made this more heart felt. Then things started to go down hill. Families of other victims in the story started killing themselves, and a mysterious doctor seemed to be responsible. Joe starts to research this woman and discovers that she was the sole survivor from the crash. When visiting the crah site, he discovers that she was not the sole survivor, however, but that she did escape with a young child, Nina...which happens to be the name of his daughter. Through the rest of his book, Joe is strung along, believing that he is helping this doctor woman who is hiding his long lost daughter and he will soon be reunited with her. ...
Perhaps the ending was my biggest disappointment of this book yet...I thought this ending [was bad]!
Rating: 
Summary: From a Dean Koontz Fan - This is worst of his work
Review: I have read many Dean Koontz books...and this one is certainly the least enjoyed. The book started out good...in fact it was interesting for the first 1/2 to ALMOST 2/3rds...but I grew tired of the story line. The ending was confusing...and the plot and presentation...simply did not seem typical of Dean Koontz. If you want to start reading Dean Koontz...please do not read this one... If I had read this one first...I probably would never read anything more from Dean. This book was tough to get through....And I read about 50 books a year. Feel free to send me an email to respond to comment if you would like. I just didn't understand who the girl was at the end of the book-named Nina...but it wasn't his Nina.
Rating: 
Summary: Fly Me to the Twilight Zone
Review: Passable Koontz, but he's written better. Koontz's less impressive efforts fall short because his explanations for whatever bizarre phenomena are occurring in his stories are unconvincing or forced, and such is the case here. I won't spoil it, because Sole Survivor is still worth a read, after you've gone through Koontz's better books and are still hungry for more. What's good: as always, the characters. Koontz's protagonist characters are always sympathetic, and his psychopaths the most credible in literature. The action is steady, but gets off to a slow start. What's not so good: the slow start, for one thing. Too much time is spent discussing the searching behavior syndrome of survivors, which is interesting but goes on too long. And the explanation for what's behind the bizarre phenomena driving the story is one of Koontz's weaker attempts. He's done better at the same kind of thing in previous books - which I won't list, because I don't want to give anything away. Still, a good read. It doesn't disappoint. The miniseries was pretty good, too.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting, but quite preachy
Review: I liked the book and thought the storyline was very intriguing. His descriptions tended to get long-winded, but i was very curious to see how everything tied together. However, instead of having a unique, crafty, ending, he ended up preaching to me a sermon on New Age. This isn't consistent with my world view, so at that point I felt cheated out of a good ending. I wanted something original, not a typical opinion about what happens after death.
Rating: 
Summary: Careful! In my review I spoil the ending
Review: This book is not perfect, because sometimes it does tend to be a little redundant, and to describe superfluous stuff while the dialogue is running. An other thing: it gives away revelations too slowly, sometimes, like a stripper being overlong in doing her job. And, always about rythm, I found Mr Koontz could take more care about Joe's emotional reaction after the suicide house, just to keep everything more glued together.
Anyway, I loved this book. It's great and, after depicting a generally decaying, crazy world, it gives a beautiful message of hope and light at the very end. I certainly didn't find the book "too short" ("too long", just in case...)
It's about acceptance, accepting ourselves, accepting the death, but more...
It's about revelation, revelation of what everything is and why..
It's about, ultimately, opening our hearts to something bigger than our rationality. The end reminded me a lot of Dante's "Paradiso", the moment when Dante asks if he can take a look at God Himself, and Mary lets him. Dante writes that he could see God for an istant, and that that was a sense of completeness, of total harmony. But, he says, he can only describe what's left of his "sense" of having seen God, just like when you awake from a dream, you can't remember what you were dreaming, but you can remember the feeling it gave you.
Let's have hope, Mr. Koontz, like you suggest, since I see this world has gone real mad. And let's hope your uncle's values won't ever be lost.
Rating: 
Summary: A very well written thriller
Review: After reading Dean Koontz's novel, Sole Survivor, the impression and impact of Koontz's style and writing standards remain the best. This story portrays a man of anguish and grief. Joe, the main character, is a man troubled by the loss of his family, whom were lost one year prior to the day of the story. Curiosity and interest drive Joe to find the real story behind the plane crash, which claimed the lives of his wife and two daughters. Many unexpected turn of events, such as unexpected suicides and very peculiar events, create a sense of interest and conjecture. The book reaches out and grabs the reader, creating a visualization making the reader feel as though they are almost part of the events of the novel. While continuing through the book, the events and characters only seem to become more and more life-like. I feel as though this book is very good if you're looking for a thriller, attention loss is at a minimum and utmost enjoyment is achieved.
Rating:
Summary: Worst Koontz book ever!
Review: I listen to the audiotape of this book and was boring as the drive I was making (between Ely Nevada and Salt Lake City Utah). Dean Koontz is my favorite author but this is his worst book. The ending is very depressing.
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Summary: Might have made a good novella...
Review: The version I read (listened to) was an unabridged audio version, and did it ever need to be abridged. The pace was excruciatingly slow. Koontz seemed stuck on full description mode - scenes which took three to four minutes to play out took about twenty minutes to describe. The entire book moved in slow motion, even the action sequences. I found myself not paying attention for long periods of time, but I never had to back up and begin again. Each minor plot point was repeatedly pounded into my skull. I've heard that a good writer shows instead of tells. In this book, Koontz did both ad nauseum. The story is about the mysterious circumstances surrounding a plane crash, a doctor (one of the two sole survivors of the crash - even the title doesn't work), and a surviving family member, a former newspaper journalist. If you can stay awake, you will follow the journalist as he pursues the doctor, avoids the hired thugs of a major corporation, questions the metaphysical and supernatural aspects of his encounters, and explores the depths of his own depression at great length. I almost rated this a 2 due to Koontz's well-written prose (occasionally silly, usually beautifully written, but way too much of it), and the fact that the story did become interesting during the last hour or so of the reading. Unfortunately, the brief interest only held for a short period and the story dwindled to a close, long and slow but still leaving larqe questions unanswered. If the story were reduced to no more than 10% of its current volume, it would be enjoyable. If the story adequately explored everything it hinted at, it would have been much more interesting. As it was, I only finished through sheer determination.
Rating:
Summary: Dissapointing
Review: I absolutely loved Intensity, so went to the bookshelves in search for another promising Dean Koontz thriller. How upset I was to find Sole Survivor, an attempt at fear that stopped short with his lack of beleivability. I feel so fooled, and am quite upset I wasted my money with such anticipation
Rating:
Summary: An excellent read, but too short.
Review: Dean Koontz is one of the most incredible writers I know of. I have read several of his books, and they all made me want to read more. Sole Survivor is one such book. It starts out in a totally normal setting and spirals into a journey through the afterlife and redemption, through heaven and hell, like a roller-coaster poace version of Dante's Inferno. My only complaint is the pace, and that the book ends far too soon. We are left with many unanswered questions and untraveled paths. This book could have been a lot more gripping and a lot more exciting if it were just a bit longer. I hope Mr. Koontz writes a sequel...I can't wait to see what he has planned for his characters next. May his talent never diminish.
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