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Feb 02, 2012

Maciek rated it:

Somewhere in California...

-Say Dean, how about a new book ?
-A new book ? eee....but I just completed the last one a week ago !
-Dude if you want to roll with us, you've got to stay fit. James Patterson
releases 4 books a year, and King came back from retirement..the bastard.
-Oh noes ! What should I do ?
-Dude you've been writing for the last 40 years and you ask me that ? I'm your agent, not your muse !
-...right. I have an idea, wait a moment.

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60 comments like (51 people liked it)

Apr 10, 2011

Karen rated it:

I'm shocked to say that I actually kind of liked this book. I used to be a big Dean Koontz fan. I read Watchers, and Twilight, and many of his books back in the 80s and 90s. Then, I felt like he started writing formula thrillers. They seemed too predictable, and I quit reading his books. This past week, I was desperate for something to read, so I picked this book up at my grocery store, figuring it would be a quick, meaningless book. I was pleasantly surprised. There are too many characte More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Jan 30, 2012

Birgit rated it:

This book will give you exactly what one would expect from a Dean Koontz novel. The good, the bad and the ugly (literally) and how their fates are interlinked with eachother. Strange occurances involving the sudden appearance of mysterious white fluffy creatures. A smart dog, even though this time round it's not a Golden Retriever. And the authors old familiar figurative language.
Even though Koontz had all the right ingredients, he simply didn't manage to put them together in the same engag More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 04, 2010

Johnny rated it:

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0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Sep 07, 2010

Lesli rated it:

Not even close to as good as classic Koontz, barely as interesting as Life Expectancy. The last four chapters totally jump the shark; and my mediocre enthusiasm was crushed into apathetic disgruntlement. Mr. Koontz, if you wanted to wax philosophic, don't torture us with a less than stellar novel....even better don't couch your ideas in fiction and have your characters speak your ideology.

0 comments like (7 people liked it)

Aug 14, 2010

Gavin rated it:

Ugh. Usually I can expect Koontz books to be great. This, however, doesn't even come close to his better works. The actual writing style is still excellent, but there is much more to a book than that.
*This book has no plot.*
I mean literally. The publishers obviously recognized this, as the blurb describes the events in the last few chapters. The tagline (Wonder still exists in the world – But not if Homeland Security has anything to do with it) is nothing less than false advertising. More...

0 comments like (11 people liked it)

Nov 18, 2011

Quintin rated it:

Intriguing book from the first chapter right up to the last chapter - no, this does not actually include the last chapter itself. I really liked where the book was going and the winning formula is the mystery that shrouds the story all the way through to the reveal during the last few chapters. Ones imaginations comes up with so many different predictions of where Dean is going with this, but I found myself terribly disappointed with the ending.
Obviously I am not going to give anything More...

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Aug 14, 2011

Rachel rated it:

Disappointing. While Breatheless starts out interesting and fast-paced it quickly becomes typical of Koontz's work, thematic, and formulaic. Half-way through the book I realized that not much had happaned yet.. then 300 pages in (100 to go) and I still felt this way. Near the end I thought there was going to be a sequel; how could he wrapped everything up, explain the creatures, tie all the characters together in such few pages. But I was wrong. Koontz left me wanting more, and not in a good way More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Jul 28, 2011

Lemurkat rated it:

It appears in this novel that Dean Koontz has had several ideas of stories that won't quite make an entire novel, but if he throws them all in together, well, he'll be able to tie them together, won't he just? Not exactly... There are four plots going on here. The actual, real plot involves an ex-war veteran and his dog discovering two animals in the woods. Animals, that sound rather a lot like sifaka lemurs (but they're not, they're something new, something extraordinary and very cute). Th More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jul 22, 2011

Alexis rated it:

It was nice, I was really into it! It honestly had me questioning my understanding/belief (they're one and the same, i suppose) of the universe and what can and cannot be.
I was intrigued by a few things- the really cool animalthings, which I had hoped would have some sort of foot in reality, yah know? Kinda part of the reason that everyone loves National Treasure-at least the first one, i cannot speak for the sequels- Obviously the plot is exaggerated and there is no gold, but most of the More...

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Jul 16, 2011

Dmdutcher rated it:

A good premise, busted execution to the point where it shouldn't even have been published.

A man with his Irish wolfhound is out walking him in a meadow one day when he comes across two strange animals. Meanwhile a veterinarian notices an odd event in all her animals look towards the distance, as if waiting for something. It's a good start, but then Koontz for some bizarre reason adds about 4 more characters who don't even matter to the plot. They never come in contact directly with the More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 01, 2011

Yachiyo rated it:

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1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Jun 13, 2011

Yorkshiresoul rated it:

Breathless is the 352nd Koontz has written featuring a single, dog owning man with unusual skills or powers, who meets a pretty, single woman with issues, together they discover something is not right with the world and have to go on the run.

Quite often in my book reviews I have complained about the length of a novel, pointing out that to make more readable it could have been severely pruned (Harry Potter pt.7), or even remained in the author's word processor and never publish More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 07, 2011

Bernice rated it:

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3 comments like

Apr 29, 2011

Lily rated it:

Breathless by Dean Koontz
Reviewed by Moirae the Fates

In the stillness of a golden September afternoon, deep in the wilderness of the Rockies, a solitary craftsman, Grady Adams, and his magnificent Irish wolfhound Merlin step from shadow into light…and into an encounter with enchantment. That night, through the trees, under the moon, a pair of singular animals will watch Grady's isolated home, waiting to make their approach.

A few miles away, Camillia Rivers, a local vet More...

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Apr 29, 2011

Brian rated it:

It used to be that any book from Dean Koontz meant several hours of real fun. Some of his stories from years ago were so amazing to read that I would become disappointed as the thickness of the unread pages in my right hand would diminish. His stories often had several characters with their own story within the book and part of what made them so fun was seeing the different characters come together into one main story. Lately though, his books seem to have lost that ability to make me dread the More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 17, 2011

Victoria rated it:

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0 comments like

Mar 25, 2011

Jamie rated it:

Truly terrible. I'm typically a big Koontz fan, but I could scarcely recognize his hand in this story... if you can even call it a story. There is absolutely zero plot to this book. I'm not exaggerating here. I wasn't disappointed with the plot -- it simply wasn't there to be had. It's just chapter after chapter of introduction that vaguely alludes to Maybe Something, but Something never comes. You keep reading, figuring he's got to get to the point eventually, right? Wrong!

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0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Mar 12, 2011

♫Krista♫ rated it:

Actually I'd say 3.5, but I enjoyed it enough (because I am entertained easily) to give it a 4. The humor was fabulous, and the plot--eh, could have been better, but I can't say I hated it. The characters? I really enjoyed the characters a lot. I was a bit iffy with the whole, "Seriously, another dog?" But I'm a dog lover, so I let it slide. Did I enjoy Puzzle and Riddle? For the most part up until the end when *SPOILER* they started talking. That kinda ruined it for me and all the flu More...

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Jan 23, 2011

Benito rated it:

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0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 26, 2010

Ashley rated it:

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0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Oct 04, 2010

Christy rated it:

Recluse Grady Adams and his Irish wolfhound Merlin spot two white, unidentifiable animals while on a walk one afternoon. That evening, the two animals make their presence known and Grady calls his good friend, veterinarian Camillia Rivers. Camillia is fascinated by the animals, who show distinct human characteristics, but can find no record of such species. When she calls two former colleagues, she puts in motion a series of events that could lead to the destruction of the two friendly animals. More...

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Jun 30, 2010

Rebecca rated it:

I don't know why I keep coming back to Dean Koontz. As his preoccupation with some sort of L. Ron Hubbard-esque blend of aliens and spirituality progressed, I swore that I would stay away.
When I realized that I had bought one of his books that I already owned because its plot and characters were so indistinguishable from all of his other books that I had forgotten it completely, I swore I would stay away.
But I keep coming back. 'Odd Thomas' brought me back briefly, before eventually More...

1 comment like (5 people liked it)

Mar 09, 2010

Amanda rated it:

I really don't know why I keep trying to read these books. Although, to be honest, I only picked this one up because it has a dog on the cover. I got halfway through before I got super annoyed and picked up another book. It fails.

Dean Koontz could have been on to a good story. If he hadn't taken more than 200 pages to do NOTHING. I get what he's trying to do, I do. It's like six different people and how their lives intertwine, like crash, and from chapter to chapter it's supposed to More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 12, 2010

Suspense Magazine rated it:

You know a book is good when you forget to eat. You know it’s great when you forget to sleep. When you temporarily lose sight of all around you, you know that it is another masterpiece written by Dean Koontz.

“Breathless”, Koontz’s newest adventure is a much too brief glimpse into the lives of several strangers, linked by an invisible thread much greater than themselves. Grady Adams—a powerful and private man—and Camilla Rivers—a deeply damaged healer—are thrust into the epicenter of More...

5 comments like (3 people liked it)

Feb 09, 2010

Tom rated it:

I am officially done with Dean Koontz! Every couple of years I see one of his books, read it - and remember why it's been years since I've read one.

It took me ~4 hours to read 'Breathless' and even that was too long. The story never really goes anywhere. Halfway through the book there seem to be 3 only marginally related storylines, and then he inexplicably starts two more totally unrelated to the original ones. I kept reading hoping that they would lead to something (or at least ti More...

0 comments like (7 people liked it)

Jan 18, 2010

Steve rated it:

When talking to authors I know, I hear frequently of that moment when several seemingly unrelated ideas come together. They become a “perfect storm” of sorts, and often lead to an amazing novel.

Unfortunately, BREATHLESS, by Dean Koontz, doesn’t meld separate ideas into a perfect storm. The result is more like…a perfect train wreck.

Let me state, for the record, that I actually enjoy some the stories that Koontz writes. I can appreciate the transition he made into straig More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Dec 27, 2009

Ellen rated it:

Yes. I needed the book equivalent of mashed potatoes after this brutal semester, and I don’t have a problem mixing it up. As a child, my mother never fretted over the comic books I read, because I was devouring classics right along with them. Also, Dean Koontz does not pretend he’s writing the next great American novel.

The writers who irk me are those that produce dreck and try to pass it off as lit-TRAH-chur. For instance, let me assure you Robert James Waller that no man talks on More...

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 22, 2009

Dustin rated it:

What a disappointment. I own and love roughly 97% of Koontz's catalog and over the past few years I am becomming more and more displeased with his writing. his characters are still the best in the buisness, no one writes more compelling characters than Koontz. No matter that the bad guys are whole heartedly bad and the good guys/girls are good to the bone (albeit with a shadowy past, but that past ends up being part of why we care for the good guy/girl).
In addition to incredibly det More...

2 comments like (6 people liked it)

Jan 11, 2011

Tina rated it:

Breathless kept me intrigued, but mainly because the perspective jumped every two or three pages. Unfortunately, this also served to make it feel more like a collection of short stories than a novel. Likewise, there just wasn't enough focus on the characters to make them endearing or understood. True, every major character seemed to be on the verge of some revelation about their tough past, but instead of letting the information out slowly, to tease the reader, Koontz either blurted it out all a More...

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