Sole Survivor

Rating:
Summary: One of my favorite Koontz books
Review: I love Sole Survivor for the simple reason that it's well-written and displays the human spirit at its best! Joe Carpenter has lost is wife and two little girls in a catastrophic plane crash. No one survived. Or so he believes, until he's visiting his family's gravesite one day and encounters the 'sole survivor'! Rose Tucker is that person. Petite, with an ethereal beauty, you wouldn't expect her to possess the strength of will she demonstrates in this story. The mystery is set, the chase begins, and Joe is racing toward a denouement that will blow his mind, AND the readers'minds as well. Koontz at his best. By the way, I saw the FOX network miniseries. It was good. Intensity is still my favorite miniseries, but that didn't take anything away from my enjoyment of Sole Survivor. Now I'm hoping that Mr. Koontz will do Lightning as a theatrical release. Years ago, when I read Lightning, it was my opinion that Rutger Hauer would make a wonderful Stefan, the anti-hero in Lightning. Now, I'm thinking Russell Crowe...An idea worth putting out there!

Rating:
Summary: Pulls at the heart...LOVED IT! & I don't usually like horror
Review: After a tragic airplane accident which kills his wife and daughters, one man is left as the "sole survivor" in his family. Devastated by his grief, he is tormented by a feeling of meaninglessness and no will to live...until a survivor(?) from the crash appears, with a little girl in tow. This one is for anyone who has ever wondered about life's meaning and what is in store for us after we die. While you may not get THE answer...in capital letters...or even a full theory about life's ultimate meaning or life after death, what you DO get is a riveting book that tugs at the heart. This one grabbed me from the start and never let go. I'm not a fan of otherworldly or horror type books, so this is really saying something.

Rating:
Summary: Best performance of Koontz!
Review: I have read quite a lot of Koontz' books. But this one is different. While reading it, I was exited and curious to know what is going to happen next. The secrets and reasoning is perfect. It really makes sense. Rose, Joe, and all other characters are well defined and Koontz does not loose you in bunch of names. You really know who everyone is and wonder what is the secret behind that character. Especially Rose...

Rating:
Summary: An excellent book, Koontz at his best
Review: I'm generally a slow reader, but this book was so good that I finished it in three days, faster than I've ever finished a book of this size. In an attempt to introduce my girlfriend to Dean Koontz books, this was the first book I had her read. She loved it too. This is a must read for any Koontz fan.

Rating:
Summary: Stunning
Review: If anyone were to try and describe this book as a bore, I couldn't conceive any reason why. This book held me completely spellbound. The book starts off with Joe experiencing these unusual chain of events on the one year anniversary of his wife and childrens plane crash. As the days progresses he comes into contact with families who had also lost their loved ones on this devestating flight, but as soon as he does come into contact with them, they begin to parish themselves due to unexplainable suicide and deaths. So what secrets does this "Sole Survivor" have? And will Joe feel these answers justify his loss? I know this book kept me captivated right down to the last page, and Joe's last decision.

Rating:
Summary: One of the Best of Koontz
Review: Sole Survivor is one of the best of Koontz who is my favorite author. Having read several other authors in the same category of fiction, I think Koontz's writing is incomparably the best. The story in Sole Survivor is beautifully and masterfully developed. It is full of suspense till the very last page. Koontz is absolutely clever...

Rating:
Summary: Uplifting
Review: This is yet another intriguing book from the master of menace.

Dean Koontz has always been my favourite author,and though this is not my favourite of his novels, it is unique and will definitely keep you intensely interested.

It is somewhat different from his other novels in that it moves slightly away from his usual structure and form but the plot is in the same what-the-hell-is-going-to-happen-next vein,that is a testament to his profound ability of bringing the story and characters together with easy grace.

His lucid manner and descriptive prose meld into an easy read. There was one specific difference in this book for me in that it left me feeling uplifted once I'd finished it,moreso than his other books.I especially like the way in which Koontz tries to teach the values which he holds in high regard, without sounding like an evangelist.

The book is a harrowing account of a young man's anguish after losing his family in an aircrash, and his journey from the doldrums to a place where he can once again love and care as he did before.

A breath of fresh air.

[e-mail]

Rating:
Summary: Slightly above average when compared to other Koontz
Review: Well, it seems like Koontz is a pyromaniac at heart. In three of the first four Koontz books I read, there was a serious fire of some sort (Fear Nothing, Dragon Tears, and Sole).

This one gets off to a pretty good start, and intrigue is quickly built on the mysterious organization that is apparently after the hero. There are great chase scenes with nonstop action, and it seems like the "bad guys" are unstoppable. The hero's sudden aggressiveness at the beginning is surprising, but a welcomed change-of-pace for Koontz. His emotion and state-of-mind are nicely expressed.

The main weakness is the pseudo-science that is to explain the "impossible" and mysterious happenings that take place, especially with the plane crash. There is always some suspension of disbelief required for a Koonz, but this amount is a little too much to swallow. The ending also feels a little too open-ended, with not enough finalization. The suicides are a little too much, and there are a few times when the bad guys are a too obvious in their "secret" pursuit, like at the used car lot scene.

Still not bad, and enough of a payoff to make the read worth it.

Rating:
Summary: Not one of his best but will hold me over till his new one
Review: I have been reading his books since the days of him writing under a different name. I am sad to say that this was probably one of my least favorite books of his. I cannot put my finger on it but I do no he spent way to long getting to the point of the book. Oh well there's next time.

Rating:
Summary: Pretty good but not his best
Review: In my review of Dean Koontz's "Dark Rivers of the Heart," I set forth the basic elements of the Koontz formula. "Sole Survivor" doesn't stray far from that formula, with the exception that there really isn't a love story. But like many of his works, the main character is an emotionally tortured male who encounters something unusual -- in this case, although his wife and two daughters died in a plane crash, a woman on that same flight seems to have survived, and with one of his daughters to boot. Thus begins a chase within a chase, where Joe Carpenter desperately seeks the woman and child, thereby leading to being chased by those who do not want him to succeed.

Along with the way, Koontz's fertile imagination spins a horrifying (though not in a repulsively gross way) scenario of Science Gone Wrong, involving genetic experimentation.

"Sole Survivor" gets by on a pretty compelling plot, but it doesn't have the depth of characterization and emotional resonance of his best works ("Dark Rivers of the Heart," "Watchers," or "Lightning").