Shattered

Rating:
Summary: Disappointed!
Review: Talk about anti-cllimatic. I was very disappointed with the story in general. Koontz didn't seem to have his heart in this one. I kept expecting something to happen, but nothing much ever did. I don't expect for the book to necessarily be totally believable, but I found myself saying "There is no way someone in this situation would have done that." The ending was very dull. I think the only reason that I finished the book was because I HATE starting a book and not finishing it. This book also reminded me of the other Koontz book I had read - Whispers. It seemed too similar for my tastes and maybe that also took away something for me. I will however continue to give Koontz a chance, because some of his passages are written very well, and are pretty scary. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone I know.

Rating:
Summary: not that great
Review: The best thing I can say about "Shattered" is it was a quick read. There were lots of very small things that took away from this book, like characters who were introduced and then simply thrown away. I also agree with other reviewers who said that the ending was too fast and predictable. And another thing, why didn't Alex or Colin contact the police immediately after being attacked in their hotel room? Instead, they continue on their journey to San Francisco, with Alex hoping things would return to
"normal" and "fun". Do real people think like this immediately after almost having their heads chopped off?

Rating:
Summary: Highly Disappointing--My Hopes Were *Shattered*
Review: The book didn't even really sound that cool. I soon also saw that it was previously published under a pseudonym. He should have kept it that way.

It did remind me of Duel. But the book is just so...stupid. It was very predictable, and you hope that perhaps at the end it gets good, but it doesn't, I assure you. It ends dryly, and you feel cheated. Thankfully, it isn't too long. By far the worst Koontz I have read. He must have just left his imagination in his other pants or something.

Save yourself the time of reading this and read Dragon Tears, The Bad Place, Darkfall, Cold Fire, Hideaway, or one of his many other good ones.

Rating:
Summary: Koontz's older books are usually better, this one is dead
Review: This book is extremely boring and the suspense seemed almost predictable as to what was going to happen (therefore, it's not even suspense!). The ending was downright horrible, as was the rest of the book. If you plan on reading this as your first DK book, then I think you'd probably get a bad impression and never read from him again, even though his other books are superb.

Rating:
Summary: One of Koontz Worst!
Review: This book is ok. It does have an interesting plot. The problem with it, is it lacks good suspense. It has no depth in either the story or character development. Another thing is Koontz seems to repeat the same scenerio over and over again. This is one of Koontz worst. Of course this was one of his earlier novels. Koontz impoved as he wrote more. This book is good if you want an easy read, just don't expect to get anything too exciting out of it.

Rating:
Summary: A Koontz disapointment
Review: This book seems just as another cat and mouse novel.Ther is not really any character depth or anything of that sort.It just follow the leader and then kill him!The ending is unfufilling and leaves you unsatisfied

Rating:
Summary: A simple read but not a quality Koontz novel
Review: This book's about Alex who is driving with his wife's 11 year old brother across America from Philadelphia to San Francisco where his wife awaits them in their new house. Unbeknownst to them a mentally deranged man also sets out on a similar journey with the same destination in mind only he has some time to kill on the way. What Alex and Colin first think is a game they've created of the van which seems to be following them becomes deadly real.

This is a fairly short and simple novel which is very predictable in most parts. There's not really any twists in this story and its quality does reflect that Koontz has had thirty years of writing experience since this book. You also wonder why they didn't just contact the police when they first encounter their pursuer in the flesh. Still it's an easy simple read that will only take you a few hours. This would also make an excellent novel for young people who are first moving from Junior Fiction to Adult Fiction.

This rewritten version of the 1973 short novel written under the pen name K.R. Dwyer is pretty similar to the earlier version with subtle changes like "the Russians are our friends now" and things like that in general conversations between the characters.

Rating:
Summary: good ride, weak ending
Review: This is my third Koontz novel, and I continue to be impressed with his overall writing skills. What I am disappointed by is the way he often wraps things up too quickly and wayyy too abruptly. Ex. in this book he sets up a conflict between two Ohio cops who are trying to find the killer, then fails to ever mention them again. It is almost like he worked like mad on this book, got tired and sleepy towards the end, and just said "[scrap]it," wrote a [poor] ending and went to bed. A few pages of epilogue would have helped this book tremendously. What about the Ohio cops and their argument? What really led to the killer conpletely freaking like he did? How will Colin and Alex and Courtney face the future, given what happened with George? These are plot threads that could and should have been wrapped up more neatly than they were. All in all, a good read that could have been much better with just a little more effort.

Rating:
Summary: Readers THINK...
Review: This is not the typical horror story which explains all the gruesome events nor is it a mystery/thriller which is simply a murder/psycho case. It is something in between of each & has even more to offer.

True, the plot seems so simple --the drive from Philly to SF, a madman stalking our protagonists. However, I noticed that the readers are not spoonfed & even enjoy room for their own thinking & imagination. We all know that Lelan was suffering from an intense migraine, but was there a sinister force behind that caused it & made him think/act accordingly? Likewise, was there some evil force spreading around which cause people (e.g. gasoline man, the hotel lady & Capt. Ackridge) to act so envious & indiffirenly towards others? & what about the last part when Alex mentioned he had lost something --- was that caused by the dark force moving around Leland or simply human nature?; & will that change him for the rest of his life for better of for worse?

I agree there was a lot of loopholes in between & some incontinuity of events but that only made the simple story more unpredictable. & though simple & basic as it seems, it caters more to the imaginative mind.

Rating:
Summary: Reads like a breeze
Review: This is one of Dean's shorter novels, but more exciting than some of his longer ones. He does not linger on prose and his usual colorful descriptions - which slows the pace down. Instead, this is a novel that is very fast paced, short, and to-the-point. His innovative plot navigates around a rather simple idea: two innocents persued by a psycho across the continent of the US. The heroes are simple and in this simplicity they were interesting. I was also under the impression that Dean wanted us to sympathize with the villain, which I believe was successfully achieved. He is not Dean's usual blood-thirsty maniac, but is, in fact, seriously disturbed both mentally and emotionally. The novel is not very sharp on the suspense but its fast pace and continous flow of action is what makes it compelling. It ends abruptly, though, with some loose ends; unlike Dean's other books which always have a neat ending.

Overall, well worth the 5 stars. It's a light read.. something you could take on a weekend. Will get you thinking too...