Hailed as “America’s most popular suspense novelist” (Rolling Stone) Dean Koontz has entered a rich new phase of his writi...
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reviews
Jan 22, 2012
Mike (the Paladin)
rated it: 
The one about the little boy alien and the dangerous young mutant.
I like this book it is one of my favorite Koontz books. I'll say this, you won't find this exact plot elsewhere. It draws you in and gets you involved with the "participants". It's between a 4 and a 5...but I figure it tipped the scales and went on to a 5. As I said a favorite among Koontz's work for me...I've read it several times.
What else can I say? Not much without spoilers. There's a bit of More...
I like this book it is one of my favorite Koontz books. I'll say this, you won't find this exact plot elsewhere. It draws you in and gets you involved with the "participants". It's between a 4 and a 5...but I figure it tipped the scales and went on to a 5. As I said a favorite among Koontz's work for me...I've read it several times.
What else can I say? Not much without spoilers. There's a bit of More...
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Aug 12, 2011
Carol
rated it: 
I've come to the conclusion that Dean Koontz is a good writer with everything except for endings. This book is no exception.
The ending wasn't "bad" but it wasn't great and was a little lackluster considering the rest of the story.
The main story had me completely enthralled and kept me up a few nights. I really liked the characters and felt that the ever so tidy ending wasn't completely suited to the rest of the atmosphere.
All in all- the story I giv More...
The ending wasn't "bad" but it wasn't great and was a little lackluster considering the rest of the story.
The main story had me completely enthralled and kept me up a few nights. I really liked the characters and felt that the ever so tidy ending wasn't completely suited to the rest of the atmosphere.
All in all- the story I giv More...
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Mar 13, 2011
A MUMBO JUMBO GUMBO...: I enjoyed this book and wavered on the rating. I had a difficult time deciding whether to rate it a three or a four. I finally decided on three because, while it is an enjoyable read, it is not one of his best. Those who read and enjoyed the author's last book, "From the Corner Of His Eye", as I did, will, undoubtedly, enjoy this one, though it is not as good.
Here, this genre bending book, written with wry humor, has a series of subplots and colorful characters
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Nov 07, 2011
Dawn
rated it: 
I really don't like Koontz. He tells way too much, while at the same time withholding information from the reader to make himself look clever.
The worst thing about this book, however, was that he felt he needed to browbeat the reader with his hatred of utilitarianism throughout. It was pretty clear to me he didn't even have a basic understanding of utilitarian philosophy, and he was classifying some nutcases under the banner as typical examples.
Among philosophical metho More...
The worst thing about this book, however, was that he felt he needed to browbeat the reader with his hatred of utilitarianism throughout. It was pretty clear to me he didn't even have a basic understanding of utilitarian philosophy, and he was classifying some nutcases under the banner as typical examples.
Among philosophical metho More...
Jan 25, 2011
Alex
rated it:
It is kind of strange that two of the bestselling authors of our time, Dean Koontz and Stephen King, have both come out with a horror/thriller novel about aliens within the same year. Maybe there was a rash of abductions and sighting a few years before as these two eminent authors were laying their expensive words on the page or screen; or maybe it was all scheduled for some spectacular 2001 extraterrestrial event. If that was the case, what was it? Nevertheless, while King with Dreamcatcher
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Nov 17, 2010
Patrick
rated it:
Dean Koontz has a gift for lyrical description that sometimes tumbles into purple prose. It should also be noted that the most original character in this novel, 9-year-old Leilani Klonk, sounds more like a precocious 15-year-old. In the end, though, neither criticism matters, because what Koontz has written this time around succeeds on its own terms as a moral story of unexpected psychological depth.
A misnamed dog looms large in this story (anyone who reads Koontz could have seen th More...
A misnamed dog looms large in this story (anyone who reads Koontz could have seen th More...
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Oct 17, 2009
Annette
rated it: 
I've been thoroughly enjoying Koontz of late, and "One Door Away from Heaven" is no exception. I liked it best of any of the books outside of the Odd Thomas series.
In "One Door," a variety of unlikely characters are brought together to rescue a disabled 9 year old girl with highly disfunctional parents and an even odder 10 year old boy with some interesting...powers. Central to the plot is the subject of "bioethics," or rather "bio-non-ethics" as More...
In "One Door," a variety of unlikely characters are brought together to rescue a disabled 9 year old girl with highly disfunctional parents and an even odder 10 year old boy with some interesting...powers. Central to the plot is the subject of "bioethics," or rather "bio-non-ethics" as More...
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May 03, 2010
Maciek
rated it:
One Door Away From Heaven (2001) - spoilers...but do you really want to read it ?
This is basically a 700 page long borefest - formulaic characters, formulaic stories, formulaic preaching (The goodness of dogs and the evil of bioethics)
To kick off this brillian review, I'll start with the characters - they are of course scripted, which makes them unrealistic and idiotic and renders the reader unable to feel anything for them - do you care for a bunch of dolls running aroun More...
This is basically a 700 page long borefest - formulaic characters, formulaic stories, formulaic preaching (The goodness of dogs and the evil of bioethics)
To kick off this brillian review, I'll start with the characters - they are of course scripted, which makes them unrealistic and idiotic and renders the reader unable to feel anything for them - do you care for a bunch of dolls running aroun More...
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Nov 06, 2011
Charlotte
rated it:
This book was handed to me by my mum who suggested that it was a book that I would enjoy. I am very very open to suggestions, however I was not expecting anything of this kind. I am usually the kind of girl who reads vampires and fallen angels, or who reads novels about people with life dramas. So when I started reading this book and became confused about what it was actually about I was a little curious to actually carry on reading and in some ways I am glad that I am. I have never been the sor
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Dec 22, 2010
Stephanie
rated it:
Koontz has a really great talent for writing. I think his work is readable, he is a really great descriptive writer, and he can draw you into a story pretty well. But the story itself... well it's Koontz, so you can be pretty confident you've read this story before; simply with the characters shifted around and the settings changed. But yeah, it's the same story he's been writing for a while. You'll notice this if you keep up with his books. I like that he's a dog-person though, and I enjoy
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Aug 13, 2010
Johnny
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Feb 16, 2011
Stephanie
rated it: 
This is going to be a short one, since I read this a while ago, am lazy, and don't feel like investing a lot of time.
This book came to me as one of my Barnes & Noble impulse buys. Koontz is a decent enough storyteller, but the subject matter was a little out there for me (and I usually dig extremely strange things...). The little girl (name at the moment forgotten; see also: lazy) was probably the most memorable. Her mother was also decently developed, and I often contemplated how More...
This book came to me as one of my Barnes & Noble impulse buys. Koontz is a decent enough storyteller, but the subject matter was a little out there for me (and I usually dig extremely strange things...). The little girl (name at the moment forgotten; see also: lazy) was probably the most memorable. Her mother was also decently developed, and I often contemplated how More...
Dec 05, 2009
Manda
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Jan 12, 2009
Rebecca
rated it:
I loved the beginning of this book. In fact I loved it until the stories started to really merge at around the 450 page mark. I think it was probably 50-100 pages that didn't really need to be there. The ending however was wonderful, especially the end chapter, it wrapped up the story nicely.
The character of Curtis and his sister become Old Yeller had a way of making me identify with him and in part described the bond between me and my adopted cat (but as you will find when you read More...
The character of Curtis and his sister become Old Yeller had a way of making me identify with him and in part described the bond between me and my adopted cat (but as you will find when you read More...
Jan 24, 2009
Chana
rated it:
Pay Attention: This bioethics stuff is frightening. This is the same movement that gave Nazi Germany their racial purity program outline. As a work of fiction it was a long book, most of which I enjoyed. It was witty and fast-paced with some really interesting characters and action. The ending was really botched up though. It was too long, and just worse than sentimental. The answer to the question about what is behind the door "one door away from heaven" was convoluted and conf
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Mar 13, 2011
Tracey
rated it:
This book had been on my wish list for a while, but given that I have precious little bookshelf space these days, I ended up purchasing the e-book. Did I enjoy it? Yes, but I do think it was a little different.
The majority of the book follows separate plot lines and each time I settled into one of the plot lines I was reluctant to leave that character and jump to the next. I knew that that they must all come together in the end somehow, and probably spent too much time second guessing More...
The majority of the book follows separate plot lines and each time I settled into one of the plot lines I was reluctant to leave that character and jump to the next. I knew that that they must all come together in the end somehow, and probably spent too much time second guessing More...
Jun 13, 2010
Sarah
rated it:
I read this when I was in my early teens and loved anything vaguely horror/thriller-like. And I LOVED Dean Koontz. Until I read this book. I never realised before how much he is completely and utterly obsessed with dogs. If a character is ever cruel to one you can be sure that they won't be around long before some kind of terrible justice befalls them. I like dogs but he seriously takes it too far. That is the only thing I can say of interest about this book as it is long-winded, badly written a
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Jan 06, 2012
Martip
rated it:
Spoiler Alert. The orphan boy steals your heart. It's almost too bad he turns out to be an alien. The crippled girl's attitude seems just a little over the top for the tender age of 9, but a little suspension of belief and some tolerance of a little "over authoring" of that character helps pull you into almost a three, three, three stories in one. Each switcheroo is brief and clear enough to not be confusing, and I actually MISS the characters when the book was finished. Koontz is a ma
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Dec 27, 2009
Linda
rated it:
It has been a while since a read a Koontz book. I really enjoyed reading it because I was looking for a change of pace from what I had been reading. Long book, almost 700 pages but it had enough suspense to keep me coming back to read it at a time when I was to busy to read a lot. I think this took me about a month to read.
It is mostly a story about a boy who's parents were killed and killers are tracking him by extraordinary means, a intelligent nine year old girl's physical handicaps More...
It is mostly a story about a boy who's parents were killed and killers are tracking him by extraordinary means, a intelligent nine year old girl's physical handicaps More...
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Jul 20, 2011
J. S.
rated it:
I absolutely loved reading this book! One Door Away from Heaven is an exciting mixture of mystery, suspense, and science fiction with plenty of warmth and humor blended in. Though this book is now ten years old, Koontz brings up some important issues that are increasingly relevant today--especially assisted suicide and the "merciful" killing of the disabled. Koontz does an excellent job of showing us that even the most seemingly insignificant lives have great value, and that even if we
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Jul 21, 2010
Natalie
rated it:
This is another Koontz book I listened to on CD. Once again the "bad guys" were more then bad, they were evil. I spent a lot of time wondering when exactly the "good guys" would get together, but I eventually understood how all the threads were woven. I liked the feeling of hope for humanity this book left me with. I was also introduced to the concept of Utilitarian Bioethics. I'm curious about it and may just try to learn more. It was worth a listen, though I need to warn th
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Feb 11, 2011
Eva
rated it:
So... Koontz amazes me a lot. But this one... This just sucked.
In the beginning... the story starts with 3 main-characters. 1 character vanished al of the sudden to return in the last 10 chapters. Even though Koontz's story's could never happen in real life (just what you believe in I guess) but this was really to unbelievable. A 9-year old with the vocabulary of a 70-year old genius who studied English (Guess it is possible, but this wasn't believable,, far from it...), an alien-boy who ta More...
In the beginning... the story starts with 3 main-characters. 1 character vanished al of the sudden to return in the last 10 chapters. Even though Koontz's story's could never happen in real life (just what you believe in I guess) but this was really to unbelievable. A 9-year old with the vocabulary of a 70-year old genius who studied English (Guess it is possible, but this wasn't believable,, far from it...), an alien-boy who ta More...
Jun 02, 2011
Dis
rated it:
You rage you lose.
A complete piece of bile-riddled shit. I wish I could un-read this, I wish I could have my time back, I wish I could inflict bodily harm on the author of this for what he has done.
Overly-religious, a weird fixation on Golden Retrievers, so anti-Utilitarian that it makes you want to rage, and, most heinous of all, devoid of any good ending. Be prepared to be disappointed if you're simple, or be prepared to be pissed for days at a time if you are possessing More...
A complete piece of bile-riddled shit. I wish I could un-read this, I wish I could have my time back, I wish I could inflict bodily harm on the author of this for what he has done.
Overly-religious, a weird fixation on Golden Retrievers, so anti-Utilitarian that it makes you want to rage, and, most heinous of all, devoid of any good ending. Be prepared to be disappointed if you're simple, or be prepared to be pissed for days at a time if you are possessing More...
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May 10, 2011
Brenda
rated it:
I normally don't rate books with 5 stars but this was an excellent read. Loved the "heart-warming ET" side of the story ... but it also brought out the bioethics side in today's society. We read so many stories in the news of medical "mercy/suicide killings" of both the old and young. Even though this type of euthenasia is not legal ... it happens with the assistance of "well meaning" nurses, doctors, staff, visitors, ... and apparently Bioethics is taught in med
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Jan 11, 2009
Thee_ron_clark
rated it:
This is another solid Koontz novel. I would have to say that it is above his norm, which is pretty good in itself. I found this to be a fast read that kept me going. His starting all the major players off in different areas and slowly bringing them together worked out nicely in this one by driving me to find out what was becoming of the characters I enjoyed the most as the story moved forward. My only issue with this book was that I felt a few loose ends were left untied for being mentioned so f
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Feb 01, 2011
Tim
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Nov 10, 2011
E
rated it:
I had read several of Dean Koontz's books years ago. Then I read one that
really soured me on his writing. I don't even remember what the title was. This booked made
me a fan again. He can make even minor characters vivid and interesting. The plot was
interesting and almost unbearably suspenseful at the end. He sometimes gets way too intricate
in his details and descriptions, but sometimes he's a regular genius in bringing a time
and place to More...
Nov 21, 2010
Laura
rated it:
Uhhh I have a love/hate relationship with Dean Koontz and this book I hated. It was just over 600 pages and I think I enjoyed maybe the last 50 pages or so. The characters were unrelatable and I couldnt connect with anything or anyone in the book. For being such a long book I felt like there was little jolts of excitement but the amount of dullness surrounding it choked it out. The plot hops around between the different characters and you litterally have to wait til the book is almost over to un
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Aug 27, 2011
Angelica
rated it:
Bioethics intrigues me. But it also sends shivers on me. >.<
The world is full of broken people. Splints, casts, miracle drugs, and time can't mend fractured hearts, wounded hearts, wounded minds, torn spirits.
Even in the darkest moments, light exists if you have the faith to see it. Fear is a poison produced by the mind, and courage is the antidote stored always in the soul. In misfortune lies the seed of future triumph.
...a wasted opportunity wa More...
The world is full of broken people. Splints, casts, miracle drugs, and time can't mend fractured hearts, wounded hearts, wounded minds, torn spirits.
Even in the darkest moments, light exists if you have the faith to see it. Fear is a poison produced by the mind, and courage is the antidote stored always in the soul. In misfortune lies the seed of future triumph.
...a wasted opportunity wa More...
Dec 28, 2010
Julie
rated it:
#89 - 2010.
Reread it and was captivated as ever.
“Geneva, even if the girl isn’t making up all this stuff, even if she’s in real danger, you can’t take the law into your hands.”
“There’s lots of law these days,” she interrupted, “but not much justice. Celebrities murder their wives and go free. A mother kills her children, and the news people on TV say she’s the victim and want you to send money to her lawyers. When everything’s upside down like this, what f More...
Reread it and was captivated as ever.
“Geneva, even if the girl isn’t making up all this stuff, even if she’s in real danger, you can’t take the law into your hands.”
“There’s lots of law these days,” she interrupted, “but not much justice. Celebrities murder their wives and go free. A mother kills her children, and the news people on TV say she’s the victim and want you to send money to her lawyers. When everything’s upside down like this, what f More...
