Rating: 
Summary: Koontz's Worst
Review: This book starts out good, not great but good, and then falls very short. Obviously he got the victim characters from our last big airline disaster which killed a young mother and her two daughters. This novel is poorly written, has too many cliches and senseless analogies. The plot becomes more and more ridiculous half way into the book.
The characters are not fully rendered and it is very hard to identify with them. The ending is a flop and leaves one with a wish that they had never opened the cover. I am very surprised that a quality publisher such as Knopf chose to pick this book up.
Rating: 
Summary: Equal to Strangers and Lightning - POWERFUL
Review: A powerful novel, full of meaning for almost anyone who has ever loved and lost. The story isn't half as powerful as the message and the delivery - but it will keep you in the chair long past your normal bedtime. If you were a Koontz fan of times past and had not been set on fire by his last few offerings, you'll want to read this one. Your faith will return - in more ways than one
Rating: 
Summary: Poor
Review: This book starts out good. Then half way through, you can figure out exactly where he is going. Then you waste your time reading how he gets to the point you have already guessed
Rating:
Summary: And the SEQUEL IS.....???
Review: After thousands of years, millions of questions and complete
wonderment regarding the "hereafter", one of the modern-day masters has come upon a wonderfully fullfilling look at the
beyond! This book is compelling, though at times can leave the reader questioning his/her own intelligence. The vehicle
used by Mr. Koontz to introduce the characters to the beauty
of an afterlife reflects the thoughts and beliefs of many throughout the world. Howver, there were many unanswered
questions....if the afterlife truly exists, and the spirit is
reborn, when and where will these characters again appear?
Do men in power EVER realize the gift which Nina so freely
and lovingly gives to others? Looks like a powerful sequel
in the making to me, Dean!
Rating: 
Summary: A great start then muddles into New Age confusion
Review: Every time I pick up a new Dean Koontz book I know that Im in for a great ride,yet Sole
Survivor seems to come up so short I am wondering if he just gave up? Joe
Carpenter,ex-reporter is in the midst of a downslide,his family gone in a plane crash he is almost
dead himself yet strange circumstances begin to emerge around the plane crash that leads him on
a fast paced search for answers...And this is where I ,and I bet every Dean Koontz fan are
disappointed..the ride is fun for awhile but when he begins to endlessly ponder the meaning of
Life,God and suffering we feel like we are either being lectured or listening to Mr.Koontz's
metaphysical ramblings after a few too many ...But as with all of Dean Koontz's work you still
are happy you jumped in the seat and stayed for the ride...however it ends ...
Rating:
Summary: A great start then muddles into New Age confusion
Review: Every time I pick up a new Dean Koontz book I know that Im in for a great ride,yet Sole Survivor seems to come up so short I am wondering if he just gave up?
Joe Carpenter,ex-reporter is in the midst of a downslide,his family gone in a plane crash he is almost dead himself yet strange circumstances begin to emerge around the plane crash that leads him on a fast paced search for answers...And this is where I ,and I bet every Dean Koontz fan are disappointed..the ride is fun for awhile but when he begins to endlessly ponder the meaning of Life,God and suffering we feel like we are either being lectured or listening to Mr.Koontz's metaphysical ramblings after a few too many ...But as with all of Dean Koontz's work you still are happy you jumped in the seat and stayed for the ride...however it ends ...
Rating:
Summary: great start; lousy ending
Review: I thought this book got off to a great start. Joe discovers new evidence in the airline crash that killed his wife and daughters. The book rolls right along, until you find out the secret behind the crash of the plane, and the mysterious survivor of the crash. The answer comes down to vague, new Age mystical mumbo-jumbo. If the ending had been more credible, this could have been a really good book
Rating:
Summary: Joe takes on business and the gov't looking for the truth
Review: At one time Joe Carpenter had it all. He had a loving wife, two adorable children, and enjoyed his job as a newspaper reporter. All that changed when Flight 353 crashed, killing 330 people, including Joe's beloved family. For the next year, Joe stayed in limbo, existing without living. Finally on the first anniversary of their deaths, Joe visits their graves, only to observe a woman, Rose, photographing their tombstones. Rose claims to be a survivor of that fatal flight, but before they can converse any further, a large number of high tech commandos appear and stage an attack in order to capture or kill Rose.
From that moment on, Joe's life changes as he now has a mission. He wants to know what really happened to flight 353 and why the cover-up. Ultimately, Joe wants to bring those responsible for the wholesale slaughter to justice. His investigation leads to the realization that on that flight Rose was carrying stolen government property that she planned to go public with once she landed. When Joe learns what the government and the technocrats are so desperate to hush up, he undergoes a new metamorphosis, becoming a man with a mission so divine that it will change the world as we know it.
Dean Koontz, renowned for his ability to challenge his legion of fans, goes one step further in SOLE SURVIVOR. He takes on the Judeo-Christian belief system, but cleverly camouflages his intent by intertwining his story line into a fascinating, but frightening techno-thriller. By the time readers comprehend what Mr. Koontz is trying to achieve, they are so caught up in the wonderment and implications of the tale that they eagerly await the final revelation. The grandmaster has successfully struck again with a novel that is guaranteed to make the Times best seller list not just because of the writer's fame, but because the book deserves it.
Harriet Klausner ----
Rating:
Summary: Dean Koontz--Sole Survivor (1997)
Review: Time and time again, Dean Koontz has the uncanny ability to re-invent himself with courageous, outlandish stories that captivate his readers with every riveting page. After brief hiccups with "Winter Moon" and "Icebound", Koontz delivers the strangely gleaming piece "Sole Survivor". Using the incredibly common fear of flight, he reels the audience in with a tale of despair, curiosity, corruption, and hope.The protagonist of "Sole Survivor" is Joe Carpenter, who is still trying to relieve himself from his grief-stricken world a year after the tragic plane accident that took the lives of everyone on board--including his wife and two daughters. He feels he has no reason to live, no purpose to continue, and shows no effort to communicate with others. While paying his respects to his beloved, deceased family at the cemetary, Joe encounters a strange woman named Rose, who claims to have been the sole survivor of the crash. Joe is exasperated by such a claim, but before he can get further answers, Rose vanishes without a trace. The events following his unusual encounter with Rose lead Joe to investigate numerous possibilities--perhaps Rose was not the only survivor on the plane, perhaps his wife and daughter could be alive somewhere, and if they are not alive, why was he spared? As Joe gets closer and closer to the answers, an awful truth becomes more and more clear. "Sole Survivor" is a tense, thought-provoking masterpiece that undoubtedly will be a supreme favorite for fans of not only Koontz, but the genre. Joe's emotions and actions are marvelously rendered in a brilliant web of dialogue, terror, and humor. With yet another tour de force work, Koontz again solidifies himself as a genius of suspense, creating one of his most moving and poignant efforts to date.
Rating:
Summary: One of Koontz's best
Review: Having read many of Koontz's books, this is one of his best. It is my second favorite after Watchers. It is thoughtful and eye-opening on issues of loss. It may be an especially good read and helpful for those who understand the emotional tension of a main character who has lost close family members. He writes that "peace is to be found in the acceptance of things that we are unable to change. That friends and family are the blood of life, and that the purpose of existence is caring, commitment."
|
