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Your Heart Belongs to Me

by Dean Koontz

3.19 · rating details · 4,992 ratings · 642 reviews

From the #1 New York Times bestselling master of suspense comes a riveting thriller that probes the deepest terrors of the human psyche—and the ineffable mystery of what truly makes us who we are. Here a brilliant young man finds himself fighting for his very existence in a battle that starts with the most frightening words of all…

At thirty-four, Internet entrepreneur Ryan...more

Mass Market Paperback, 432 pages

Published October 27th 2009 by Bantam (first published January 1st 2008)

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Jan 22, 2009

Scott rated it

· review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I have a saying that if you can make it through the first hundred pages of a Dean Koontz book, you won't be able to put it down. This book is a perfect example of that. Though it doesn't have the usual formula recognizable in many of Koontz' books (several different stories that are woven together just in time for a momentous conclusion), it does have the usual Koontz "surprise:" things are not what you thought they were.

In short, this had all of the things that I have co...more

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Nov 27, 2008

Bill rated it

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I pretty much read this book in 2 sittings...I was that excited for some new Koontz. I thought it was great too. It's a great example of the new style of writing he has taken on in the past 5 years or so, yet totally unique in a sense that...I guess in a sense that he broke all the rules of classic storytelling. I literally turned page after page just wondering why he was taking the story where he was, and when it was all said and done I was sort of speechless. After finishing the book I felt li...more

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Oct 26, 2009

Miss Kim rated it

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Shelves: 2009, end-pissed-me-off, disliked-the-hero

Gah! Is someone going to come up with a cure for my compulsion to force myself to finish books that suck? I am a fan of Koontz, but this one is not worthy of a recommendation.

Ryan is a 30 something dotcom phenom. He starts to have heart problems and becomes paranoid that someone close to him is poisoning him, because he has barrels of money. It turns out he needs a transplant. He gets hooked up with a doctor that will get him on the top of the list 'at any cost'. He tells no one abo...more

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Feb 06, 2009

Donna rated it

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This was another Koontz dud to me. A rich, young internet guru suddenly starts having heart problems. But instead of accepting it as just "life sucks sometimes - even for the rich" he gets paranoid & starts thinking someone has done this to him, i.e. poisoning. So he tries to "take control" and find out who is plotting against him. Thus begins his downward spiral. For some reason, I just couldn't connect to this character or even commit to a decision - is he crazy or is ...more

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Feb 02, 2009

Becky rated it

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Shelves: 999-challenge, audio

Your Heart Belongs to Me is about a 34 year old internet entrepreneur, Ryan Perry. He learns of a terrible medical condition that limits his life to a year if he doesn't receive a new heart. The first thing Ryan does is begin to search for an answer about his condition. Years later, Ryan is visited by a woman claiming that she wants her heart back. And she's willing to use violence to get it.

I loved this book! It had romance, it had drama and mystery. Koontz's use of the English lang...more

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Jan 03, 2010

Joel rated it

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Shelves: do-not-own, fiction, read-in-2009

Until the last 40 pages or so, this felt like the Koontz book that might finally convince me to stop reading his new books. Then it was vaguely redeemed in the final pages. I do mean vaguely, though. The explanation of things is actually not very impressive, we find out that significant information was left out of the earlier story so that the reader can't too easily guess what was happening, and the wrap up is too tidy. The only reason I found it vaguely redeeming was the way it changed the...more

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Jan 15, 2009

Kristy rated it

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not typical Koontz - there was some mystery ALthough pretty early on I figured out where the story line was going with the organ donor thing not being on the up and up but I did not know who fit in where . No big surprises - it's very easy to figure out the second DR. was up to no good and the only thing you were unsure of turned out to be his paranoia - which I guess I was disapointed there was not more to the plot at that point!!! It left you with having to buy into his seeing "spirits an...more

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Sep 23, 2009

Elaine rated it

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Shelves: audio

just bought the audio Audible.com

A rich dot commer becomes ill and after visiting his doctor who tells him the possible causes of his enlarged heart could be poisoning among other things, Ryan quickly becomes suspicious of people, preferring to eat out of vacuum-sealed containers as a little-to-late precaution. His suspicions include watching other drivers on the road – don’t know what he expects in this latter suspicion.

This story has been more than enough in substanc...more

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Dec 10, 2008

Ellyn rated it

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Dean Koontz is normally an automatic read for me (although I never got into the sequels for "Odd Thomas") and this book lines up with his most recent releases as diverting enough, but it didn't wow me like his early work. Super-rich bachelor Ryan discovers he has a year to live and is put on a heart transplant list. A year after receiving a heart, he finds himself prey to a stalker who claims that the heart belongs to her. I liked the end, but the story was kind of slow and choppy a...more

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Feb 26, 2011

Matthew Tait added it · review of another edition

At 34, Ryan Perry has achieved his life’s ambition and then some: the head of successful software outfit and social-networking site that has seen him accumulate millions. Not only is he a Forbes magazine entrepreneur, Ryan is also dating an attractive fellow/surfer journalist (Samantha Reach) who isn’t far away from accepting his marriage proposal. So when he suffers a mild heart-attack and subsequently learns of its defect, his once placid world is altered radically. Ryan only has a short time ...moreAt 34, Ryan Perry has achieved his life’s ambition and then some: the head of successful software outfit and social-networking site that has seen him accumulate millions. Not only is he a Forbes magazine entrepreneur, Ryan is also dating an attractive fellow/surfer journalist (Samantha Reach) who isn’t far away from accepting his marriage proposal. So when he suffers a mild heart-attack and subsequently learns of its defect, his once placid world is altered radically. Ryan only has a short time to live … and will not live at all unless he finds a new heart.

Initially, I thought the premise of Your Heart Belongs to Me dealt with a fascinating condition that has been around since the first heart transplants – cellular memory. The theory (and stories) revolve around the notion that the brain is not the only organ that stores personality traits and memories; there have been many documented cases whereby a surgery patient has displayed new tastes in opinions, cravings, and other mild variations of habit. To a certain extent, this does form a basis of the novel … but it is only on the peripheral side-lines as Koontz tries his hand at marrying a slew of imaginings.

After switching physicians and a transplant success, Ryan goes on with life … albeit lacking Samantha. Then follows a reign of psychological persecution that makes his original fears of poisoning seem tame by comparison: some invisible phantom has access to his private quarters, can manipulate his security, and has taken to leaving him gifts such as gold heart pendants. His paranoia moves into an investigation that uncovers a world of voluntary euthanasia and identical twins. Some consider Koontz’s work to be tame, but try envisioning a house full of real corpses embalmed exquisitely for art’s sake. Personally, I am a fan of his somewhat flowery and obsessively metaphorical prose, but others might find it a little over the top and long-winded this time. There is little dialogue, and a lot of inner rumination by our protagonist.

When the plot-payoff finally arrives, the reader with either vehemently applaud or cringe with disappointment. Here there is no middle ground. By and large, Your Heart Belongs to Me is a book about subtext and texture. Seeing patterns to the plot not from the surface theme but from the implicit meaning of the tale … the things that the modern mind rejects on a conscious level. This is mid-range Koontz, but any author who can, without fail, elicit a tear from me in the closing stages of a book is an author who is ultimately doing something right.
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Dec 02, 2008

Friend the Girl rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: fans of the best of Dean Koontz

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I would have given this book four stars, but the last three pages really spoke to me, and for those three pages alone, five stars.

The premise is that a rich, fairly young man needs a new heart, and gets one in the nick of time, but it's only after he's adjusted to his extended lease on life that the weirdness starts. What was surprising was that roughly half the book deals with the pre-transplant life, and the threatening menace isn't really a huge part of the book. What was surprisi...more

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Jan 04, 2012

Dany rated it

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It was awesome! I think Dean Koontz was brilliant. (view spoiler)...moreIt was awesome! I think Dean Koontz was brilliant. (view spoiler)[I was so caught up in Ryan Perry's paranoia. I was completely taken by surprise by the ending and went back and reread the entire book again when I was done. I was so certain that Ryan was going to end up being schizophrenic that I didn't even catch what actually transpired. There was subtext beneath the subtext. DK painted this story with his words. The last chapter seems out of place at first but it can be compared it to an epilogue. I was so entertained by DK's style and sometimes felt hypnotized by it all. Very surreal for me at times. DK really took me into Ryan's head and I didn't know for sure what was real and what wasn't. Samantha had me guessing. The first chapter, I lol 3 times about the sandals, the bears, and Dr. Suess. Loved Cathy Sienna's 5 roots of violence and taproot of violence statements. It was my 19th DK book and I still think it's one of his best that I've read after having completed 52 novels of DK's. I just loved this book! I'm so impressed. DK said in an article that he wrote this entire book in a flow state. I noticed this quote from Ryan Perry in YHBTM, "Sometimes, when he fell into a hyperactive flow state while writing a piece of software, Ryan passed days like a hermit, living in his pajamas and shaving only when his beard stubble began to itch." I wonder if DK wrote YHBTM wearing his pj's? I never caught onto the possibility of illegal organ donation. I just watched a couple of movies on the subject too but still that didn't clue me in. I was so caught up in Ryan's self deception that I "hated the truth" right along with him. I haven't gone back and read a book again back to back but once or twice before in my life before YHBTM. I really enjoyed this book the 2nd time around and seeing it from a different point of view. At the end, when Violet is telling Ryan all the "implicit meanings" that he should've inferred from what Dr. Hobbs implied, I was like, wow, I didn't even catch one of them the first time! I loved the paraphrasing of Poe's poetry. And reading chapter 31 again was really creepy, knowing exactly how Lily's heart was taken. The sadness hearing the church bells knowing it was Violet ringing them for her sister. Well, I could go on and on. (hide spoiler)] I really got into this book. I loved all the metaphors and symbolism. Every chapter had something that made me think "wow!" It's one of DK's best. (less)

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Sep 13, 2011

Anne (Booklady) rated it

Shelves: fall-2011, god-awful, mystery-thriller

I hadn’t read Dean Koontz in a long while, and was excited to read Your Heart Belongs To Me. The Book Summary had me hooked! Thirty-five-year old Ryan Perry feels better than ever one year after a heart transplant that saved his life. He’s ready to get back to the business of life and to his have beloved Samantha – if she’ll have him back. He has his life that Cardiomyopathy almost claimed.
But on the transplant anniversary, he finds candy hearts on his pillow. The next night a heart pen...more

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Aug 10, 2011

Bobby rated it

Let me first start off by saying I was reluctant to pick up another Dean Koontz book. I read the synopsis and thought it would be a good February/Valentines thriller. In the past I have read Tick-Tock, which once I accepted the story was going to do whatever it wanted to, found it to be alright, and later read that Dean Koontz had meant for the story to have a comical infusion which made more sense but was still slightly unsatisfying. Next came Hideaway, a good story with a horrible almost no...moreLet me first start off by saying I was reluctant to pick up another Dean Koontz book. I read the synopsis and thought it would be a good February/Valentines thriller. In the past I have read Tick-Tock, which once I accepted the story was going to do whatever it wanted to, found it to be alright, and later read that Dean Koontz had meant for the story to have a comical infusion which made more sense but was still slightly unsatisfying. Next came Hideaway, a good story with a horrible almost nonexistant climax. I liked Demon Seed. The Face of Fear was okay. Despite my past experiences with Dean Koontz, I decided to take the risk and read Your Heart Belongs To Me. For about the first 130 pages the reader is jerked around following Ryan Perry's poorly jusitfied parinoia, and irrational impulsive decisions. On the cover of the book is a highly embelished quote from The Denver Post's review, probably only because Irrational Ryan makes a random stop in Denver, drives aimlessly until he comes upon a park that is "familiar" before returning to his hotel to retreat to his unconvincing delusions and parinoia. At page 138 the story finally delivers what the synopsis promises, a killer who torments Ryan with heart themed gifts and cannot be kept out by locks. FINALLY Ryan's parinoia seems justified because someone is actually coming after him. There are many allusions to Edgar Allen Poe's poems. I liked The Raven allusions peppered into the descriptions of Ryan's parionoid fear. At 243 the story falls off a cliff and there is no stopping its plummet. The connective tissue of the explinations is very weak. The motive and surrounding details are so out there that they severely undermine the first 130 pages. Ryan's redemption is also very colorless. The descriptions of Ryan's parents were left out for the most part except for a giant sentence on pages 266-267. When the reader later meets Ryan's father Jimmy, the character is so bad it damages the book. Jimmy belongs in a stoner comedy movie, he undercut all the tension, and any other emotion the poorly constucted events that unfolded once Ryan arrived at his father's house were able to muster up. The whole, "Call the cops, Im bleeding to death." "Wait I have to hide my stash of pot" is atrocious, if Dean Koontz was going to do that at least make the drug something of substance (pun ha!) where addiction would not make his actions so stupid and comical but understandable. I lost pretty much all care for what happened after that, if the writer dosn't care then why should I? The last chapter is so bad it's disgusting. What happens to Ryan? Oh how sweet, he gave away his fourtune and is living at St. Christopher's Ranch, an adoption center/school? for handicapped orphans! But wait! Don't forget the golden retrievers and Labadors, Dean Koontz! We know you like them, you have a book about a talking dog which I have not read and think I will stay away from after this, but let's put them in this story too! Because golden retrivers and Labadors will make everything golden and fuzzy..... You can tell Ryan has turned into a standup guy, what other kind of guy would refuse reconstructive plastic surgery for his ear and missing patches of hair and exploit, I mean, help handicapped children (cheap and almost insulting plot device). What is one of the first things Sam hears Ryan say after years of being apart? "Rudy here...is going to be a great dog groomer...He's already pretty good except he doesn't like the part where you have to express their anal glands." What a great thing to say to the woman you wanted to marry and have not seen for over three years; the anal glands belonging those gosh damn cute show dog golden retrivers. Sam leaves feeling touched and drives away only to stop and cry under some trees and think about life, because if Ryan can abadon his success to go live with the monks, nuns, and crippled children, then she should have no doubts about living life or becoming a successful writer despite three best selling books. Oh how I love happy endings. I hope when I vomit it soaks this shitty book so no one will be tempted to read it.(less)

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May 15, 2011

stella yip rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: dean-koontz

at first, i thought this is just your typical psychology book. but it turns out not . i did heard about this kind or organisation which they provide fresh, healthy organ to those who are in dire need and can afford it. which means, their client are probably millionaires and are desperate to live. but that just make them criminal and a murderer as the donor is been forced to die (literally) in order to give the organs to the client. humans have a tendency to fight for survival and they'll do any...more

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Feb 03, 2011

Mark N. rated it

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After having finished Koontz's "Your Heart Belongs To Me" today on my lunch hour, I found this website after doing a Google search to find out what others thought of this particular book. After having read a number of the reviews for it here, I think it's safe to say that for many, the book didn't live up to their expectations.

Given the short summary of the story to be found on the back of the cover, I think it's easy to get a false impression of what one might be in for w...more

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Aug 01, 2010

Maciek rated it

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Shelves: crap, thriller, read-in-2010

Another horrible creation from Dean Koontz. Once one of my favorite guilty pleasures - his books, while flawed, were entertaining. But now? Dissing his new novels is so easy it's not even funny.

Your Heart Belongs to Me (2008) is an attempt at a medical thriller, in the vein of Tess Gerritsen and Robin Cook. The premise is as follows: Ryan Perry, a 34 year old disgustingly rich guy has a heart problem and is in desperate need of a transplant. He recieves one, but soon starts receivin...more

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Feb 22, 2010

Dlora rated it

Shelves: suspense-thriller

I was very annoyed with this book. Koontz writes well and I still enjoyed many of his insights, but I was irritated with the protagonist's behavior. Very wealthy and very healthy, 35-year-old Ryan Perry learns that he has an enlarged heart and he reacts with full-blown paranoia. The doctor tells him that his heart problem might have been caused by several things, perhaps a disease, or poisoning, or a genetic disorder. Ryan jumps to the conclusion that he is being poisoned, perhaps by his girl...more I was very annoyed with this book. Koontz writes well and I still enjoyed many of his insights, but I was irritated with the protagonist's behavior. Very wealthy and very healthy, 35-year-old Ryan Perry learns that he has an enlarged heart and he reacts with full-blown paranoia. The doctor tells him that his heart problem might have been caused by several things, perhaps a disease, or poisoning, or a genetic disorder. Ryan jumps to the conclusion that he is being poisoned, perhaps by his girlfriend of a year that he has been trying to convince to marry him or by his house- and yard-keepers who love him like the child they never had. He hears odd tapping noises when he is alone and experiences disturbing prescient dreams and moments of deja vu. Finally Ryan wonders if he had been "loath to accept a mortal diagnosis about which he could do nothing [so he had:] busied himself seeking a bogeyman whom he could more readily engage in battle." Alternately, he wonders if perhaps his compromised heart function and the medications he was taking could have caused some of his paranoia and paranormal experiences. But it took a third of the book to get to that explanation! I was seriously put off.
He gets a heart transplant, his relationship with is girlfriend is seriously compromised, he fires his housekeepers, and then more odd things happen to fuel his paranoia again. But I don't want to give away the story.
Despite my irritation with the storyline, I did appreciate many ideas Koontz threw in the story: "Ryan Perry envied the cardiologist for his family and for the evident richness of his life, which was quite different from--and superior to--his riches." "Life was a struggle requiring optimism and confidence." "Be to do. Not: Be to be done to. . . . Exist to live, never exist to exist. Existence is an entrance, not an exit. To be or not to be is not the question." "We can shape our fates, but we can't control them."
In the story, Ryan's girlfriend was writing a book so there were several comments about the art of writing a novel that intrigued me. I was especially entranced with the idea of subtext in a novel, "the underlying, implicit meaning of the story, which the writer never directly expressed. Not all works of fiction had subtext; perhaps most did not. . . . Readers did not need to be consciously aware of the subtext to enjoy a story fully, because if the tale had been told well, they would subconsciously absorb the implicit meaning. In fact, the emotional effect of the subtext frequently could be more powerful when the reader was not able to put it into words, when it slammed him hard without his quite understanding by what he had been slammed." I guess when I finish a story and ask myself what did that mean?, I am wondering about the subtext. Thinking about subtext almost made me want to read this book all over again looking for it! I wonder if Kootnz's subtext in this story was that if we try too hard to control our lives, we lose important things and go a little crazy. Hmmm. It almost makes me want to give this novel a couple more stars.(less)

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Feb 04, 2010

Julie rated it

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Your Heart Belongs to Me was my first Dean Koontz novel. I had always wanted to add a Dean Koontz book to my "reading repertoire," but never really got around to it. Truthfully, they always looked a bit too scary for me. Not scary in a fun sexy "don't take me too seriously" Charlaine Harris way. As you can tell from my bookshelves, I like that type of book. Koontz, however, seemed scary in a "leave the light on at night," "cower in the shower" sort of w...more

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Dec 26, 2009

Neil Cokeley rated it

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Recommends it for: Dean Koontz fans they might like it!

Recommended to Neil by: I saw it when it came out!

Shelves: wouldnt-read-again

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Nov 27, 2009

D.m. rated it

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Recommends it for: thriller/horror fans

Shelves: thrillers

I would classify this latest novel by Koontz as a pretty typical weekend read. Fans will receive what they have come to expect from this from a long list of his psychological/horror thrillers.

The story pursues several themes, one of which concerns a love story between the main character of Ryan Perry for the enigmatic Samantha, who he adores and longs for in the confusion of the circumstances which unfold. Perry is a wealthy, successful creator of software with the world at his feet...moreI would classify this latest novel by Koontz as a pretty typical weekend read. Fans will receive what they have come to expect from this from a long list of his psychological/horror thrillers.

The story pursues several themes, one of which concerns a love story between the main character of Ryan Perry for the enigmatic Samantha, who he adores and longs for in the confusion of the circumstances which unfold. Perry is a wealthy, successful creator of software with the world at his feet but develops cardio-myopathy and requires a heart transplant. Perry's world turns upside-down when he thinks that someone is trying to kill him and so he goes into himself in an attempt to try to unravel 'the real' of his unfortunate circumstance, from that which has beset his mind and might merely be irrational thought and paranoia.

Within this theme, Koontz has described something very well, that in which strange circumstances have made way for the character of Perry to suffer much confusion (which Perry tries to unravel with the advantages of wealth and connections) within the context of a personal journey. Much is given to Perry's thoughts about his love for Samantha, which I feel goes on a bit much without a satisfactory outcome, and at the expense of the thriller side of the tale. Koontz builds up a scenario of one particularly strange character who uses dead bodies as 'art' but does not necessarily go anywhere with it and though the threat on Perry's life is throughout the novel, the outcome is only drawn in as a tie-up to a chain of events.

Although Koontz's novels are clever, and interesting, I find that much of what he writes has a very light touch, which I found in the two 'Odd Thomas ' novels I have read of his. I think there is room in his writings for a less delicate approach, as I have found in reading them that when the action does take place it's placed in such a manner that actual physical events lose some impact.

Like I said in the above, it's the sort of novel that one can pick up on a Friday and have read by Sunday. It won't disappoint if one reads it for the sake of some light to medium-weight reading enjoyment.
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Nov 18, 2009

BarkLessWagMore rated it

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Shelves: audiobook, suspense

At the beginning Ryan, a very well to do man, falls madly in love with Samantha, a woman nine years his junior. She appears to feel the same way and the relationship is going along swimmingly until one day he fears he's having a heart attack and visits the doctor. It turns out he has a heart ailment that may or may not have been caused by poison and begins to suspect his love of an unthinkable betrayal. Ugh, as if having a deadly heart condition wasn't enough of a worry!

Ryan's nosy sea...more

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Apr 06, 2009

Laren rated it

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Shelves: fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jul 25, 2011

Alfredo rated it

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Once upon a time I thought that Dean Koontz should consider retiring. His books began to be repetitive and the language convoluted. This lasted only a couple of books. I think that something happened to him that changed him deeply. His latter books were not like his earlier books, which were excellent and imaginative thrillers, but not much else.

His style suddenly shifted to being a combination of still excellent thrillers but with a moral message. Sure he can get preachy at times, and his dial...more

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Jan 18, 2009

Amanda rated it

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I wonder when he dropped the R.

Koontz's new book came from the library cause his last few books have disappointed. Too disappointed to spend money on a hardback.

This new novel is about a wealthy internet bachelor, Ryan Perry. He made his fortune with a social networking site, Facebook....or Be2Do. Probably the same thing.

Along with his beautiful, golden girlfriend, Perry enjoys a life of sun, surf and whatever the hell he wants. He experiences a seizure of sor...more

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Nov 22, 2010

Johnny rated it

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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I recognized the old Koontz in the slower pace of the novel, but it took way too long for the situation the synopsis promised to occur. The villain made only two appearances and therefore wasn’t menacing enough for me. She wasn’t a real presence and the way Ryan dealt with her (or didn’t deal with her) after she stabbed him left me wanting.

In fact, the entire ending left me wanting and I was really reading toward the main character’s demise. Yes, he should have died. It fit the story,...moreI recognized the old Koontz in the slower pace of the novel, but it took way too long for the situation the synopsis promised to occur. The villain made only two appearances and therefore wasn’t menacing enough for me. She wasn’t a real presence and the way Ryan dealt with her (or didn’t deal with her) after she stabbed him left me wanting.

In fact, the entire ending left me wanting and I was really reading toward the main character’s demise. Yes, he should have died. It fit the story, the elements were there. It wouldn’t have been a happy ending, but I don’t consider the actual ending happy either. To be honest, I feel sorry for the guy.

But there were many instances when I really liked the novel and kept wondering how Koontz would explain them, how he would tie it all together. Though here and there I got annoyed with him overexplaining things, and there’s an example of a one page summary of everything that has happened up till that point which I could have very much done without.

Ryan’s paranoia was longwinded again and really led to nothing, though I was very interested at first and it reminded me of the autophobia attacks in “False Memory”.

Barghest at first reminded me of the villain in “One Door Away From Heaven”, but then he has nothing to do with it all? You know what would have been an interesting outcome? Make it a full blown conspiracy, Sam asking Barghest to help her save Ryan by stealing the heart, then Ryan works together with Violet to uncover the truth and bring down the system. Make it more “Dark Rivers of the Heart” than “The Face”.

In fact, more than once I had to think of “The Face”. Ryan’s wealth really made him a hard character to relate to. It’s like having the famous father in “The Face” be the main character instead of the security guard. But I understand it had to be this way for this book to make Ryan’s “sacrifice” all the more important.

Ryan's paranoia, his search for the truth ... I don't know why, but suddenly I could identify with him. He was so on the wrong track with the whole conspiracy thing about possibly being poisoned and everything. Yet he was so ... obsessive almost - which is only natural, cause his life was on the line! A large part of the novel is Ryan trying to put two and two together: looking for signs all over the place which might explain things, thinking "This and this happened, so this must mean that." Reading about Ryan making those wrong assumptions was so recognizable; he's reading too much into stuff, which is something I do myself way too often.

The whole business with the twins, Ryan putting some kind of meaning in that, but then Ismay turning out not to be part of a twin ... It's kinda the same thing as with Ryan and Sam; first the perfect happy couple, made to be together, kinda like twins ... then in the end the direct opposite. It's kinda like that hard-to-explain subtext Koontz mentions throughout the novel. Two people who, at first glance, are so similar, identical in all kinds of ways, have so much in common. But eventually, it doesn't turn out that way at all.

Sam and Ryan not ending up together goes against so many personal instincts, but now I'm wondering whether it's truly that hard to understand. Whether this is not "more natural" than a fairy tale match-up. Sometimes, when you love someone, and you realize that the two of you being together isn’t the best possible future for the other person, and then it’s up to you to end it and let that person go.
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Jan 28, 2009

Ellen rated it

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This is a very readable book, like most of Koontz's novels. Although I love a mystery, the theme of the book made me uneasy (as it did with another author's book, "Heartsick," also briefly reviewed on my pages.)

The main character is neither likeable or unlikeable, and that may be the core of the problem. His illness and subsequent paranoia left me uncomfortable and I could not get beyond his medical condition to be swept into the mystery element, which starts too far into ...more

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Aug 30, 2011

Kingfan30 rated it

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I have read a number of books by Dean Koontz and generally enjoy them, however this one was lacking in suspense and I did not like the main character all that much. Could not see where it it was going at all and when it got there it was a bit of a bizarre story line. Certainly not his best.

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Apr 14, 2010

Sabryn rated it

· review of another edition

I can't help but wonder if an intern wrote this book for him. It has all of the classic Koontz elements: Cute banter, idyllic life suddenly threatened by uncontrollable forces, a plot twist with Manchurian overtones, transcendence from the evils of modern life into a purer state of being, and (of course) dogs. However, there are enough red herrings to make the book feel like a mishmash of several stories. These motifs, heavily threaded through the first half of the book, are suddenly and inexpli...more

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Jan 27, 2009

Laura rated it

· review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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About Dean Koontz

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.

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“Human beings are such knotted, desperate pieces of work-it's a rare thing to know one completely, to the core, and still love him.” — 61 people liked it

“No, if there's any ultimate redemption, it would be because I passed though your life without scarring you, and did not diminish who you are.” — 15 people liked it

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