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False Memory

False Memory

List Price: $7.99
Your Price: $7.19
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Almost, but then...
Review: When I began reading False Memory I just could not put it down and at some point some part of me wanted so bad to finish it so I could tell everyone it was the best book I had ever read. Some of the reasons for this included:

- Koontz taking this rare psychological condition and working around it with such brilliance (the part were Marty starts to throw away every kitchen utensil she lays eyes on while fighting the uncontrolable fear that she's surrounded by weapons is just PERFECT)

- A great parallel storytelling with the whole first part of the book going from Marty to Dusty, back and forth and then from the couple to Susan, back and forth

- A villian you just can't not hate.

However, the last 200 pages lost the grip. The great psychological thriller was all of a sudden dumped with the victims not only discovering they were being brainwashed but reversing the situation (and still with 150+ pages to go). Suddenly you have a machine gun shooting in the middle of the desert and then enter a sinister Institute of Rogue psychologists (which never had a real role in the novel). At some point the word "President" started to flash red lights in my mind though luckilly Koontz thought well and didn't fall in the tiresome "political conspiracy" thing.

Finally the Keanuphobic character which appears out of the blue just seemed to me an easy way out from a story so complex that required a better ending. And yes, the final chapter was borderline corny.

However I will not let this final quarter of the book make me forget the hold this book had on me throughout the first part and some of the second. I found the ending weak and just too convenient but if you are willing to let that pass you are in for a great read. Me, I would have liked Koontz to stay with the phobia storyline which has such a great potential for the thriller and horror genres.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A SUSPENCE THRILLER YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS!
Review: This was my first Koontz book and it wont be my last. This book kept me interested with its twists and turns. It could have been a little shorter but it was still an excellent book. Each of the characters has a mental condition so if you like psychologial thrillers this is the book for you! One day out of nowhere Martie, a computer designer becomes overwhelmed with the fear of herself, a condition called Autophobia. Susan, Marties best friend has a intence fear of open spaces and then there was Skeet, Marties husband's brother who claims to have seen an angel when threating to kill himself. Koontz has an exceptional talent, bring the all the characters to life and leaving nothing unanswered. I encourage everyone to read False Memory its a book no one should miss!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: "Terrifying concept--a bit too wordy for my taste"
Review: This was the second Koontz book I've read (the first being Intensity). The format was identical to Intensity. The only difference being, this book took its own sweet time in identifying the villian. This book truly drags. The villian in this book is the best you will ever come across. I found him more despicable than even Hannibal Lechter. The concept is utterly creepy. Just the thought of someone having the power to get into a mind and brain-wash it is terrifying. The character; Susan was very well played. Some of the others: Dusty, Martie, Skeet, etc., etc., seemed somewhat shallow. The final destruction of the villian needed to be more gruesome, to justify his inhumane mutilation of others. Koontz does have an absolutely amazing way with words. I just wish he would use a few less, and get to the point.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A different way of looking at the same story.
Review: For those of you who have read Koontz novels before, you will recognize the same formula, only told differently. The characters, Marty, Dusty, and their dog Valet are great. The only question I had was how were they so wonderful when the families (mainly Dusty's) are stuffy and just plain not nice people.
The story was good enough to keep me interested until I got to page 180 or so. Then I was totally sucked in and could not put this book down. That was roughly when the story started to fall into place and make sense and you found out who the villain was. Many of the other characters in the story were enjoyable and interesting and the story really started to pick up speed and keep you at the edge of your seat.
The villain was definitley interesting, especially as the story reflected back on the past as to what the villain had done and how he came to be.
I would recommend this book to anyone.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A memory you will remember...
Review: I have been a DK fan for years, and was very hesitant about writing this review, but I must say that he is showing 'true form' with this one. I thought INTENSITY was great, but lacked something that I just couldn't put my finger on - and this book has all of what that one lacked.

I love the way DK develops characters, and always have, and the ones in this book are real and you really do feel for them in their struggle all the way through (which are really never sure it they are 'going to make it'). I won't tell you the plot, however I will disclose it is a 'good vs. evil' unlike any I have ever read. This is a true rollercoaster of a ride from start to finish, despite some rather odd stuff going on here and there (as one would expect with his novels).

Overall, I was 'creeped out' with this ride DK took me on - very intense and scarily believable - you just wanted to root for the 'good guys' from the moment you had a grip on what was going on... I won't say that there weren't moments of predicability here and there, however for a seasoned bookreader it had me going for the 25+ DK books I have read. Has he done better? Yes. Is this one better that the 'blind guy' junk of the past few books - most definitely. Is it up to "Watchers" - tough call, but heck, if you were him, could you do any better?

Give it a try...

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: I Feel Stupider for Having Read this Book
Review: The title says it all, but I'll add a few lines. The premise of the book is very good, which was why I picked it up. Unfortunately, I did not know that I was entering the perfect world of the 4.0 GPA house painter and his video game programmer wife. While the plot is very believable, every bit of verbage around it was ridiculous and overdone. Might be good for a cheap romance novel, but certainly not the "Psychological Thriller" the cover claims it to be. Much, much (!!!) too slow paced to be that. By the way, this is the first review I've ever written here. Usually I'd say to each his own, but I fear that others in this case may lose intelligence as I did if they read this book, so I just thought I'd warn you before you do it!

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: A Good Sleep Aid
Review: I gave it two stars because it helped me get to sleep,sorry Mr. Koontz.I enjoyed the moonlight bay stuff though but,zzzzzzz....

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Suspensful mind controlling read...
Review: This is only the third book I've read by Koontz, but each one gets better. This book kept me on the edge of my seat wanting to know the outcome.

It begins as a normal day for Marty Rhodes, until she finds she can't even look in the mirror without freaking out. She's diagnosed with autophobia, a fear of one's self. But is she really experiencing this phobia or is it something more powerful, something unfathomable?

This novel delves deep into the subject of mind control. I can't say too much here without giving away some of the best parts of this extraordinary novel. Koontz has definitely done a great job on this one. It'll make you wonder, could this happen to me?

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: His best book in years
Review: I have to admit, I picked up this book because it was BIG, so I figured I'd get a lot of words for my money. The last few Koontz books I've read were disappointing, and I wasn't expecting too much from this one. But I was very pleasantly surprised. I'm not going to discuss the plot as other reviewers have done so very well. I do think the book was very heavily influenced by American Psycho, which is okay; everything is influenced by one thing or another. And this book is a real page-turner, it just might keep you up all night, as it did me.
Dean Koontz is a terrific story teller and certainly knows how to build tension and keep his readers guessing. I just wish he was a better writer as too often the cutely humourous conversations, really tired metaphors and trite similes make me feel like throwing the book out the window. But, I guess, we all have our individual talents, and Koontz most certainly has a talent as a story-teller.
This seems like a really mixed review, doesn't it? What can I tell you? This is a very, very good thriller, very fast paced and almost impossible to put down. But the prose is just adequate at best and sometimes absolutely awful. This is not literature, just a good read.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Little Mind Magic
Review: A little mind magic. That's exactly what this book is about.
Given a hypothesis that the insertion of memories into a person's
mind is a possibility, and that this possibility can affect the life of a person, or the lives of a group of people, to their ultimate end, Koontz builds a story that intrigues and mesmerizes (pun intended). This book includes one of Koontz's most diabolical villains, as well as an outcome and unexpected protaganist that provides the final solution in a very Koontzian manner.


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