Dark Rivers of the Heart
by
Dean Koontz
A man and a woman meet by chance in a bar. Suddenly they are fleeing the long arm of a clandestine and increasingly powerful renegade government agency -- the woman hunted for the information she possesses, the man mistaken as her comrade in a burgeoning resistance movement.
The architect of the chase is a man of uncommon madness and cruelty -- ruthless, possibly psychotic,...more
The architect of the chase is a man of uncommon madness and cruelty -- ruthless, possibly psychotic,...more
Mass Market Paperback, 592 pages
Published
June 29th 2007
by Bantam
(first published November 9th 1994)
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Ugh. I tried, really tried to like this. A number of friends, whom I consider readers of taste, recommended Koontz. I listened to an audiobook of this. Bleah. I mean, the plot was interesting enough to keep me until the end of the story, but the writing was god-awful. The style kept changing between a stereotypical "taut thriller" no-frills Hemingwayesque voice and this bizarre, baroque, almost delirious pseudo-poetry. Maybe that was a conscious technique (I hope so for his sake), but I found it...more
heh heh!
there's a blurb, one of many, from the orlando sentinel: "as it appears, george orwell was ten years late, and it is left to dean koontz to add the finishing touches to an orwellian future that is here and now. one of his best novels."
i chuckle because of so many takes i've read from others who flam-beau koontz for his vision...ha ha ha ha! i mean, i've often wondered if when our elected newbies get to where they're going if they're not taken into a room, w/o any windows or doors....wor...more
there's a blurb, one of many, from the orlando sentinel: "as it appears, george orwell was ten years late, and it is left to dean koontz to add the finishing touches to an orwellian future that is here and now. one of his best novels."
i chuckle because of so many takes i've read from others who flam-beau koontz for his vision...ha ha ha ha! i mean, i've often wondered if when our elected newbies get to where they're going if they're not taken into a room, w/o any windows or doors....wor...more
Nov 02, 2008
Daniella
rated it
1 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
only die hard Koontz fans
This book is made of fail.
I tried three separate times to finish reading Dark Rivers, but unfortunately, it simply couldn't hold my interest. At first, it seemed to have all the ear-marks of a fun, fast-paced, suspensful read. A man with a dark secret; a mysterious woman on the run from a secret, amoral government agency; a sociopathic serial killer cum secret government agent hot on their trail--all in all, this book could have been good. Hell, with its incorporation of high technology and cons...more
I tried three separate times to finish reading Dark Rivers, but unfortunately, it simply couldn't hold my interest. At first, it seemed to have all the ear-marks of a fun, fast-paced, suspensful read. A man with a dark secret; a mysterious woman on the run from a secret, amoral government agency; a sociopathic serial killer cum secret government agent hot on their trail--all in all, this book could have been good. Hell, with its incorporation of high technology and cons...more
Do you dare step through the red door?
Spencer Grant had no idea what drew him to the bar with the red door. He thought he would just sit down, have a slow beer or two, and talk to a stranger. He couldn't know that it would lead to a narrow escape from a bungalow targeted by a SWAT team. Or that it would leave him a wanted man. Now he is on the run from mysterious and ruthless men. He is in love with a woman he knows next to nothing about. And he is hiding from a past he can't fully remember. On
...more
Another great book by Dean Koontz. He is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. The books are great, the humor is welcome, and they usually keep me reading until late into the night.
Publisher's Summary
Spencer Grant had no idea what drew him to the bar with the red door. He thought he would just sit down, have a slow beer or two, and talk to a stranger. He couldn't know that it would lead to a narrow escape from a bungalow targeted by a SWAT team. Or that it would leave him a wanted man.
Now...more
Publisher's Summary
Spencer Grant had no idea what drew him to the bar with the red door. He thought he would just sit down, have a slow beer or two, and talk to a stranger. He couldn't know that it would lead to a narrow escape from a bungalow targeted by a SWAT team. Or that it would leave him a wanted man.
Now...more
Sep 23, 2012
Jane Stewart
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
suspense-thriller
3 ½ stars. Excellent action and suspense with smart things being done. But the ending was bad - took away the fun.
POLITICAL ISSUES:
Instead of a tidy, wrapped up, happy ending, things are unstable and open. The U.S. is not a good place to be. The bad guys (government) have NOT been stopped. They are compared to fascist Germany. The author wants readers angry at U.S. government abuses, hopefully to help bring about change. It sounds good to me. I’d love to see those changes. So, this book does hav...more
POLITICAL ISSUES:
Instead of a tidy, wrapped up, happy ending, things are unstable and open. The U.S. is not a good place to be. The bad guys (government) have NOT been stopped. They are compared to fascist Germany. The author wants readers angry at U.S. government abuses, hopefully to help bring about change. It sounds good to me. I’d love to see those changes. So, this book does hav...more
Having read the first 150 pages, I'm officially done with this novel. I usually have good luck with Koontz, but this is one of the exceptions. Reasons why I just can't bring myself to finish it are as follows:
1.) The story is so shrouded in mystery that it's hard to have a good understanding of what's happening and why. I'm sure it eventually all becomes clear, but I find it hard to get into a story when I don't even know the motivation of the main character.
2.) The cheese factor. Dean Koontz is...more
1.) The story is so shrouded in mystery that it's hard to have a good understanding of what's happening and why. I'm sure it eventually all becomes clear, but I find it hard to get into a story when I don't even know the motivation of the main character.
2.) The cheese factor. Dean Koontz is...more
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What the hell!? 700 pages and not even a decent ending. I shouldn't have expected any less from Koontz, Mr. I couldn't write a good ending if my life depended on it! I wanted a clear answer about what happened to these characters I had grown to like on this long journey. But no the bad guys are still on top even though I'm pretty sure Roy should be dead after he was blasted by a death ray, yes, you read right, a death ray. And they changed all the characters names at the end and I got a bit conf...more
Aug 18, 2012
Graceann
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
women who love suspense
Shelves:
suspense
There are many things I love about Dean Koontz and his novels. Here are two: (1) He often writes about things that could actually happpen (and, in this case, could very well already be happening); and (2) his female characters are rarely "damsels in distress." It is fun to read a suspenseful novel where the women aren't shrinking violets, screaming idiots or powerless victims.
Dark Rivers of the Heart starts with a gentleman named Spencer Grant, who strikes up a conversation with a lovely woman a...more
Dark Rivers of the Heart starts with a gentleman named Spencer Grant, who strikes up a conversation with a lovely woman a...more
One man walks into a bar with a red door, looking for the woman who could save his life. The same man is walking around with a scar and the weight of the world on his shoulders. Spencer Grant is trying desperately to forget his past but also to remember the one thing that is stopping him from moving on. The day he walks through the red door is the same day he finds himself being hunted by men in helicopters and on a perilous journey for his life through Las Vegas and the over stretched arms of t...more
Dean Koontz has done it again. I have a love/hate relationship with most of his books. He reaches out and grabs you by the throat and drags you through the white-knuckle adventure and doesn't let you go until the last page. His writing is so much more spell-binding than other people in his genre. The "hate" part is that I can't get anything done when I'm engrossed in his books. My business goes to pot, my house doesn't get cleaned. And after I escape, wrung-out and exhausted, I look around and a...more
I have not read a Dean Koontz book for years and I loved it! The story is slowly revealed bringing past present and future into play all to the end of the book with a climatic ending, and unlike many books of this nature, it is not all together predictable in what will happen. The characters are all very interesting and intriguing. I enjoyed many of the tid bits of information that were related to true events added to the story and the info at the end of the book really added to the ending, maki...more
This book just didn't do it for me. I'm a huge Koontz fan and I was pretty disappointed with this one. There were parts I really enjoyed and felt had the intensity that most of his novels have.. but MOST of the book moved too slow for me. I also didn't feel any closer at the end. I wouldn't recommend this book of his.
Good points: The first 95% of this book was mostly what I love about the good Koontz books - pulls-you-along, heart-pounding thriller material. Kinky, quirky characters. Also, Koontz' scintillating intelligence is featured throughout, adding an element of wonder to the story.
Bad points: Author dragged out the mystery of what was haunting one of the protagonists a bit too long. Got to the point where I just skipped ahead already, something I am usually too disciplined to do. Also, one of the psy...more
Bad points: Author dragged out the mystery of what was haunting one of the protagonists a bit too long. Got to the point where I just skipped ahead already, something I am usually too disciplined to do. Also, one of the psy...more
A large (487 pages) tome which, while enjoyable, is not among his best. AND it's more of a "thriller" than his more usual "horror" fare; the horror aspects are underlying, and indeed are mostly in the form of misuse of governmental power, property-forfeiture laws, downright evil people (although with some personality, I must admit) and a lot of contemporary (well, 1994-ish)technology. Mr. Koontz appears to have a political agenda (spelled out in his Afterward). The more overt horror comes closer...more
I have mixed feelings on this particular Koontz novel. On the positive side it's actually a decent read (when compared to newer Koontz novels) and has a nice pace.
The negative aspects I noticed:
a) Cliche' cat and mouse chase
b) Heroes characters that are all good
c) Villain characters that are all bad
d) Repetition in novels of plot devices (i.e- a major plot element in this novel I can list about 7 other Koontz novels that use the same device)
I think that Koontz tends to lend his main characters...more
The negative aspects I noticed:
a) Cliche' cat and mouse chase
b) Heroes characters that are all good
c) Villain characters that are all bad
d) Repetition in novels of plot devices (i.e- a major plot element in this novel I can list about 7 other Koontz novels that use the same device)
I think that Koontz tends to lend his main characters...more
I think the movement of the story was pretty cool. Though I do feel bad for the past that Spencer had. Just sad.
The good thing is that it all gets a little better in the end.
Koontz is a great writer, but after reading a few books, it gets a bit boring that he has the whole "its-almost-the-same-as-my-last-story-but-with-a-few-changes-in-character-and-situation-maybe-a-pinch-of-spirituality-for-fun-and-maybe-a-change-in-city-or-state" thing he's got going on.
But otherwise, he's awesome.
Like supe...more
The good thing is that it all gets a little better in the end.
Koontz is a great writer, but after reading a few books, it gets a bit boring that he has the whole "its-almost-the-same-as-my-last-story-but-with-a-few-changes-in-character-and-situation-maybe-a-pinch-of-spirituality-for-fun-and-maybe-a-change-in-city-or-state" thing he's got going on.
But otherwise, he's awesome.
Like supe...more
There was a time when I thought Dean Koontz wrote circles around Stephen King. He wasn’t famous. He had a cult following and he made you feel like you just discovered someone cool. He was the anti-King you could keep to yourself or share with a selected few. Koontz, of course, went the way of all flesh and began cranking them out and repeating himself. Fame? Well, if ‘Family Guy’ rips on you, fame has become your enemy. I haven’t read a Koontz novel since Odd Thomas became a regular character. T...more
Definitely my most favorite book - Koontz or not.
Critics of this book (I have just read some of the reviews) are quite understandable.I am a Filipino,but I am also a patronizer of the American politics.Many may say I do not know much,for I don't live under the American government,but they must also remember that this novel is not based on a true story.It's fiction,and everything is real and possible in a work of fiction.They can't criticize a fiction novel using reality as a basis,it's going to...more
Critics of this book (I have just read some of the reviews) are quite understandable.I am a Filipino,but I am also a patronizer of the American politics.Many may say I do not know much,for I don't live under the American government,but they must also remember that this novel is not based on a true story.It's fiction,and everything is real and possible in a work of fiction.They can't criticize a fiction novel using reality as a basis,it's going to...more
Let's see, an action-packed page turner with a likable hero, a likable dog (who establishes that the hero is likable), truly repulsively evil villains, a realistic background story that is now way closer to reality than when the book was written--what's not to love? The drawn out length of it. I would have preferred to slice off some of the fat in order to have a leaner steak, and a more taut drama. But, hey, I really liked it and if was long then I didn't have to go shopping for another book fo...more
Reading this book directly after "What The Night Knows," a couple of themes ring through across the stories: 1) striving for the purity of the human species, 2) art - painted art, in particular, 3) a man confronting a past horrific experience from his childhood, 4) loss of parents to said horrific experience.
Overall, I liked it better than "What The Night Knows." There are a few story lines that seem to finish out unexplained. It's not my favorite Koontz story, though I haven't read any that I s...more
Overall, I liked it better than "What The Night Knows." There are a few story lines that seem to finish out unexplained. It's not my favorite Koontz story, though I haven't read any that I s...more
Like in his other books, this one also has weird characters in the persons of Roy and Eve - 2 people, lovers actually, who have a common mission of bringing perfection to the world by killing those they think are imperfect. The book describes a society where there are a lot of secret, sinister (even evil) workings by very powerful people in government. It's appalling to think about it and it's probably exagerated, but it can be true for all we know. Just as it is acknowledged that evil is very m...more
I liked this book better than the first one I read by Dean Koontz. It just feels like there's a lot more in the book than there needs to be. It's too descriptive. You know from almost the beginning that something very traumatic (and interesting) happened to give Spencer the scar on his face. For me that was the point of the book - to find out what happened to give Spencer the scar. There was so much more in the book than that. There were offshoots from the main plot line that I don't think neede...more
Couldn't finish it. Just too much of a chore. Underneath all the extreme verbosity and excessive attempts at being intellectual and poetic there was a great story idea. Unfortunately, I really couldn't find it. When Koontz is good, he's good. When he's bad he's really bad. I got to chapter six but just found myself finding excuses not to keep going. Thankfully, I am finding that Phantoms is as good as I remembered. I also love Watchers and Intensity. This book is definitely one of his worst thou...more
I'm having a hard time writing a review for this one. I like the characters and their history but they just couldn't get me totally envolved with the story.
I like the fact that the story doesn't get far from what could happen in real life, except for a few moments towards the end. On the other hand I think it got a little boring.
I like the mistery envolving Spencer's past but at the same time I think that something is missing.
Anyway, I guess the bottom line is I like it but not enough to give it...more
I like the fact that the story doesn't get far from what could happen in real life, except for a few moments towards the end. On the other hand I think it got a little boring.
I like the mistery envolving Spencer's past but at the same time I think that something is missing.
Anyway, I guess the bottom line is I like it but not enough to give it...more
This was the third Dean Koontz book I read and it wasn't nearly as good as Watchers or Lightning. Spencer, the main character, is too much of an enigma to be very interesting (sometimes this works, like in The Bourne Identity, but not here) and he wasn't given enough character traits to make him come alive (talking to his dog isn't enough). Also, I didn't buy that he fell in love with "Valerie" overnight. Maybe if that night were depicted in the book, but we just have to take Spencer's (and Koon...more
***1/2
I used to read a lot of books by Dean Koontz when I was a kid, probably ten or twelve by the time I was in college. As I got into more authors and different kinds of books, expanding my boundaries a bit, Koontz books more often than not spent their time on the shelf and not in my hands. But recently I’ve gone back and read a couple, and re-read Hideaway and Dark Rivers of the Heart, my two favorites of his from my teenage years.
Hideaway held up decently, but while reading Dark Rivers of t...more
I used to read a lot of books by Dean Koontz when I was a kid, probably ten or twelve by the time I was in college. As I got into more authors and different kinds of books, expanding my boundaries a bit, Koontz books more often than not spent their time on the shelf and not in my hands. But recently I’ve gone back and read a couple, and re-read Hideaway and Dark Rivers of the Heart, my two favorites of his from my teenage years.
Hideaway held up decently, but while reading Dark Rivers of t...more
Initially, I had given this book 4 stars, simply because I LOVE Dean Koontz. But then, I thought about it and decided it really didn't deserve to be "really" liked. It just wasn't up to par with some of his better and more acclaimed novels. There were several instances throughout this book, where I just skipped over entire paragraphs and even pages. Especially when he went into the computer mumbo-jumbo in Part 2. Why was that even pertinent to the story? IMO, it just wasn't. I didn't need to kno...more
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Acknowledged as "America's most popular suspense novelist" (Rolling Stone) and as one of today's most celebrated and successful writers, Dean Ray Koontz has earned the devotion of millions of readers around the world and the praise of critics everywhere for tales of character, mystery, and adventure that strike to the core of what it means to be human.
Dean R. Koontz has also published under the na...more
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“They said there was no rest for the wicked. In fact, there was rest neither for the virtuous nor the wicked, nor for guys like Billy, who were uncommitted regarding the whole idea of virtue versus wickedness and who were just trying to do their jobs.”
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