Breathless

by Dean Koontz

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 mystery. That night, a pair of singular animals will watch Grady’s isolated home, waiting to make their approach.

A few miles away, Camillia Rivers, a local veterinarian, begins to unravel the threads of a puzzle that will bring to her door all the forces of a government in peril.

At a nearby farm, long-estranged identical twins come together to begin a descent into darkness. . . . In Las Vegas, a specialist in chaos theory probes the boundaries of the unknowable. . . . On a Seattle golf course, two men make matter-of-fact arrangements for murder. . . . Along a highway by the sea, a vagrant scarred by the past begins a trek toward his destiny.

In a novel that is at once wholly of our time and timeless, fearless and funny, Dean Koontz takes readers into the moment between one turn of the world and the next, across the border between knowing and mystery. It is a journey that will leave all who take it Breathless .

Genres: Fiction, Horror, Thriller, Suspense, Mystery, Fantasy, Science Fiction

413 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

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, the author of many #1 New York Times bestsellers, lives in Southern California with his wife, Gerda, their golden retriever, Elsa, and the enduring spirit of their goldens, Trixie and Anna.

Facebook: Facebook.com/DeanKoontzOfficial
Twitter: @DeanKoontz
Website: DeanKoontz.com

Reviews

[Maciek · Rating 1 out of 5]

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.

(Three minutes pass)

-So you know I devised this new cool story about this dude who mets this girl. I'm even gonna put a dog in it. Or two dogs ! And wait wait, these dogs, these dogs will be special ! Intelligent and all ! And they're all will be fighting against...against...the evil government!
Isn't that brilliant ?
-But you've been doing exactly that story for the last 20 years...
-And does it sell ? Yes it does ! So shut up ! Besides it will be even more awesome than my last story about a guy a girl and a dog !
-How come?
-Well...did I told you that these dogs will be special ?
-Eeerm...yes?
-Oh. So maybe...maybe I'll give them hands?
-Hands?
-Yes hands. How about it?
-Well...
-And they'll appear out of thin air! How awesome is that?
-Erm...very?
-Right. They've been buying such stuf for decades so it must be good.
-And what about the characters?
-What? Oh yeah. So there will be this dude who has a tragic past and this girl who has a tragic past and they'll fall in love and live in happiness. I even got a title that feels good - after all, it was a fabulous movie - Breathless!
That ok?
-But is that...all?
-What?
-I mean maybe put some refreshing thoughts into it?
-He he he...I've got just the thing.

(4 hours later)

-Haha! These evolutionists can kiss my butt now. My arguments are virtually uncounterable. HAHAHA! Tell me mirror on the wall, who's the smartest of them all? And these poor bastards even think that I write fiction. Fiction! These fools!
-Mr Koontz ?
-What?!?!?
-...sorry to disturb you sir, but there seems to be a problem with your thesis on the theory of evolution...
-WHAT ??????
-Our source tells us that you got it all wrong and such theories can be easily disproved by basically anyone who knows how to use google...
-BULLSHIT! You know how much do I sell ? MILLIONS! Millions of books! And you're just an ugly cow! Get out! GET OUT!

(5 hours later)
-Mr. Koontz, we've just received a 300 000 $ advance for the next Frankenstein story!
-Hmm..alright, I'll get to it.
-But you said the last one was final?
-I'll get to it.
-But what about "Breathless"? Should we shelf it?
-Publish it.
-But you haven't even finished it! And it hasn't been checked for mistakes by our consultants!
-I SAID PUBLISH IT.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The well is running dry on these stubbornly formulaic novels.

Interesting-sounding premise that quickly devolves into Guy Meets Girl, but with magic dog-like things.

This one is sort of a mashup of the worst parts of Watchers and Strangers.

Multiple subplots take meandering Trips to Nowhere.

Characters are introduced only to be discarded or never mentioned again—after spending chapters on their exposition.

Predictable conclusion.

[Cody | CodysBookshelf · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book begins in the woods. An ex-Army guy is out for a stroll when he sees something strange, life-changing: two creatures that look like dogs, but with human hands. They seemed to have escaped from a lab, or something. From there unfolds a tale of massive government conspiracy and permanent changes in the natural order of things.

Oh, sorry. If you thought I was describing Dean Koontz’s 1987 blockbuster hit, Watchers, you’d be wrong. It is in fact the setup of his 2009 non-hit, Breathless. Because apparently two decades is long enough before devolving into this level of self-imitation.

The title of this book is fitting. The sheer stupidity of the plot and characters did indeed leave me breathless . . . from laughing so hard. First off, this book has like six subplots going on, and it’s only 330 pages. The font is massive, the chapters are James Patterson-level short . . . and most of these characters don’t even meet each other. Seriously. There are two plot lines in this that have nothing to do with each other or the unfolding ‘main’ story, but they’re given almost as much attention. The hell, Koontz? And almost every thread is left dangling because the narrative ends more abruptly and with more force than the time I slammed my Honda Civic into a ditch and flipped it through a wood-log fence. On the whole, I preferred the experience of that car wreck to reading this steaming pile of dog crap.

Speaking of dogs . . . what is with the fetishization of dogs? It’s common knowledge Koontz has a weird thing for furry friends, but this book takes it to another level. Not only are the two dogs-slash-people-slash-monkey (Alex Jones, is that you?) prevalent here — their origins never being explained, by the way — but the main character also has a dog. Yay. By the story’s end there’s a half-baked love interest between the ex-Army, muscle man (oh he’s so tough and dreamy and emotional while not emotional at all!!! Squeeee!!!!!) and the local veterinarian, but I’m pretty sure the dude would rather be slipping it to Fido. That would’ve made for a better read than whatever the hell this is.

I can’t. I just can’t. What did I just read? I feel like I’m having an aneurism. And that isn’t even touching Koontz’s explanation for why the theory of evolution is completely and totally bunk. But I won’t go there. I can’t. I’d prefer not to put a bullet in my head, tyvm.

[Gavin Troy · Rating 2 out of 5]

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.

Worse. The book follows a large number of different characters, alternating per chapter. But why? One character isn't tied into the main plot at all, another has no effect on it, and a third and fourth briefly collide—but again with no effect on the main plot.

Effectively this book is idle writing with no purpose and no ending. Very disappointing for Koontz.

[Tessa Nadir · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mi-a placut mult dedicatia de la inceputul romanului care suna asa: "Lui Esop, cu o intarziere de 26 de secole, si cu scuzele de rigoare."
Romanul are 3 parti si fiecare dintre ele are un titlu interesant: "Viata si moarte", "Moarte in viata" si "Viata in moarte". Foarte inedit construita, cartea are un crescendo continuu si reuseste sa creeze o conexiune intre niste personaje care aparent sunt foarte diferite si nu au niciun fel de legatura unul cu celalalt. Il avem astfel pe Grady Adams care impreuna cu Merlin, ogarul sau irlandez, intr-o seara de septembrie, in timpul unei plimbari in padure observa niste animale bizare, nemaiintalnite. In momentul in care le deschide usa casei sale si le ofera adapost, viata lui de pustnic se va schimba radical, caci in curand, reprezentanti ai guvernului si politiei ii vor tulbura linistea.
Doctor Camilla Rivers, o veterinara experimentata, dar cu un trecut dureros are o experienta ciudata cu niste caini golden retriever salvati dintr-o ferma ilegala de crestere. Apoi, experienta se repeta si cu niste cai, iar totul va escalada atunci cand primeste un telefon de la Grady Adams pentru a le examina pe cele doua animale ciudate ce seamana foarte tare in comportament cu oamenii.
Henry Rouvroy calatoreste din Washington in Colorado pentru a-si intalni fratele geaman, un fermier pasnic pe care nu-l mai vazuse de foarte multa vreme. Ajuns acolo il ucide si ii ia locul. Totusi, dupa ce cadavrul dispare si are tot felul de halucinatii ciudate, aluneca din ce in ce mai mult pe panta abrupta a nebuniei.
Doctorul Lamar Woolsey, un expert in teoria haosului, dupa ce reuseste sa pacaleasca in mai multe cazinouri dealerii de la Blackjack este oprit pe aeroport si chemat de urgenta pentru o chestiune secreta si importanta ce tine de cele doua animale descoperite.
Tom Bigger, un vagabond cu un trecut tumultos are o revelatie intr-o noapte ce il face sa porneasca pe autostrada pentru a-si indeplini destinul. In drumul sau e ajutat de o haita de coioti.
Liddon Wallace si Rudy Neems se intalnesc pe un teren de golf si planuiesc sa o omoare pe nevasta lui Liddon. Dupa ce acesta il paraseste pe Rudy are parte de o experienta stranie in care isi vede trecutul si viitorul simultan inr-o clipa.
Cum o sa se lege drumurile tuturor acestor personaje, cat si ce se va alege de cele doua animale ciudate ramane sa descoperiti citind romanul.
Recomand aceasta carte iubitorilor de animale, in special de caini, deoarece pot afla foarte multe informatii legate de animale in general. Oricum, printre temele preferate ale lui Koontz, mereu se numara animalele inteligente, melanjul dintre animal si om si tematica sfarsitului lumii.
Am observat in mai multe carti ale autorului ca reuseste un nemaipomenit balans intre cruzime si blandete, creand psihopati fara inima si contrabalansandu-i cu oameni extraordinar de buni la suflet.
In incheiere atasez cateva citate care mi s-au parut relevante:
"... cu cat iti impartaseai mai mult trecutul, cu atat mai putin oamenii puteau sa vada cine erai acum, concentrandu-se pe ceea ce fusesesi inainte si te straduise-si din rasputeri sa nu mai fii."
"Aidoma lui Hamlet, nu avea niciun fel de existenta morala, niciun simt al ordinii sacre. Insa, spre deosebire de Hamlet, aceasta stare nu-i producea disperare."
"Nu vedea nimic inaltator in animalul numit om, nimic superior, demn, exceptional. Numai doua roluri existau pentru fiintele umane: cel de pradator si cel de prada. De stapan si supus. Cel care porunceste si cel care indeplineste comenzile."
"... oamenii erau nimicul nascut din nimicul aflat intr-o calatorie perpetua spre nimic, nada, zip, zero, nil, nul, neant."

[Nik · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is CRAP. If you bought it, downloaded it, got it as a gift, save yourself the migraine and gouge your eyes out with spoons now, rather than read this and then be forced to do it to distract yourself from the pain of going past the title page. Seriously, that's where it all goes down hill... stop there! I think Dean Koontz is just banking on his loyal followers because he knows we will faithfully buy whatever he publishes. Well I for one am not going to be fooled by you again Mister! After the horror of Breathless, The Darkest Evening of the Year and Relentless I am officially putting you on probation. Not another dime to be sunk unless I've pre-read the book and just have to have it in my collection!


DK is capable of so much better and when I recommend him as an author I want to be able to say "He's great, anything by him is golden!" Sadly with some of his recent junk that isn't the case. If you're a new fan don't let this be your deterrent, if you want a good start try:
Intensity, Sole Survivor, Shattered, Phantoms.... hell ANYTHING but this dreck!

P.S.-After reading this back and feeling like a betrayer I will say that Puzzle and Riddle were not entirely horrible, I will add another star for their lack of sucking... but that is honestly the most I can give in good conscience.

[Tom · Rating 1 out of 5]

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 tie together), but with a few pages left in the book I realized that this was it. I don't want to spoil the book in case someone finds themselves trapped in an airport and every other book at the newstand is sold out, but the anticlimactic ending of this book made me want to get my money back - even though I got the book from the library.

Besides being a pointless bore of a book - don't get me started on one of the characters whose rant against evolution made me physically ill. In order to support the story that new species appear out of thin air (yeah, I know, great start); the brilliant mathematician postulates that evolution is impossible because the earth hasn't been around long enough for the trillions of random mutations it would take to get from a single cell organism to even a simple worm. Who ever said that evolution is only a process of random mutations!?! Basically he ignores natural selection - keyword being selection. With millions of generations of billions of individuals, you can have trillions of mutations. Some will help and some will hinder. The mutations that benefit the organism generally will be passed on and there will be a cumulative effect. A bacterium doesn't spontaneously give birth to a worm. That's like saying 'Hamlet' couldn't have been written because it would take a million monkeys typing on a million typewriters a million years to write it. And that's just part of the nonsense that put me off.

So overall, skip this book. And if you see me eyeing another Koontz snoozer in a couple of years - just remind me how pissed off this last one made me. (Last one - Of course you would expect an explosion of speciation after a major extinction event - and you don't need supermonkeys popping out of thin air to get there! Ok, that was the last one I promise)

[Fred · Rating 3 out of 5]

September 2018 Group Read

Koontz is the best, but I agree with many reading their comments with this book - too many plots to follow & in addition to Grady Adams & Henry Rouvroy... Additional plots made it more confusing...

Liddon Wallace (lawyer) hired Richard Neems to kill his family but stopped by Simon Northcott?
Tom Bigger, a homeless man who betters his life?
Dr. Cammy Rivers (veterinarian) & Grady with Puzzle & Riddle (woodland creatures) dealing with the Department of Homeland Security?

March 2015 read

The flow is different from other Dean Koontz books. Attacks & escapes from killers & phantoms not linked in the story.
A mountaineer Grady Adams, his dog Merlin & friend Dr. Cammy Rivers (veterinarian) saving 24 golden rare retrievers.
Henry Rouvroy kills his twin brother (Jimmy) & Nora (Jimmy's wife) for further crimes.

[Lucy'sLilLibrary · Rating 1 out of 5]

Erm…. WHAT?

I have never understood why people have so much hate for Dean Koontz I have read about 4/5 of his books and haven’t rated one under 3 stars well until now.

I just didn’t understand this book at all it jumps around chapter to chapter and doesn’t have any flow. I kept thinking that all these strange little stories inside stories would all come together and make perfect sense but oh no, no such luck.

It felt like 3 or 4 different books mushed into one. The ending was one of the most disappointing endings I have ever read it just didn’t finish anything nothing was resolved or explained.

I mean I love dogs too but these dog/monkey creatures with hands? I think I read that right – well its beyond bizarre.

here was also no character development with any of these people, yes one is a psychopathic killer who has lost his mind but he is still pretty one note. There is some gore in this one with description of both fantasies and killings but they are just ok – I expected more from Dean Koontz.

I will continue to read Dean Koontz but I wouldn’t recommend this one if you want to read on go for: Life Expectancy, Funhouse or even Demon Seed. But this one – nah give it a miss this wasn’t worth my time!

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Dean Koontz. Some of his novels are better than others, and this one falls somewhere in the middle. This is a very thought provoking novel, with some very interesting theories and ideas, making it unique. But, there were some characters involved that I just didn't get what the purpose was in putting them in the book. This could also be considered a cautionary tale. Never involve homeland security. Power does go to the head, and can make an otherwise intelligent person stupid. There were also some pretty cool quotes, but the math went over my head. I do recommend the book, but there was something lacking, I just can't quite explain what.

[Lesli · Rating 2 out of 5]

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.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to say that its been a while since I picked up a Dean Koontz novel (yes I know I read the serial mini-books last year) but this was the first novel in a while and I have to say that I really enjoyed it. One of my complaints in the past is that his books can get a little formulaic - I guess consider the number he pumps out (and I think he writes them all himself he does not work with a team of writers like some of the more prolific ones out there) but I think the time away meant that this book was fresh and new even if it was not published recently.

To prove that it had been a while I could not guess where his story was going in fact it felt like as I reached half way point that it was a series of separate stories but they did draw together in the end even if some of them were a little obscure but it worked and it gave a suitable satisfying ending to it all even if there were aspects that were not explained at all they were just assumed.

I guess one of the points with his work is that there is a lot of - so what happened next - I can think of a number of his books where I wished there was another chapter or at least a little more explanation but I guess there is always that adage of finish on a high. Anyway I was a great change and reminds me that sometimes a totally different book can be as good as anything for keeping reading exciting and different

[Sud666 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dean Koontz can write a really great story. I like a lot of his works. Then there are times, like this, where he pens a tale with much promise and then leaves you with an ending that will make most people either frown or wince. I frowned because it was a shitty "mailed in via email whilst I'm in Fiji" ending. I winced because for 75% of the story there is a great potential payout of an ending-but, alas, it turned out to be a Ponzi scheme that collapsed.

Breathless starts well, though vaguely. "Something" happens all over the world at once. What is it? The author describes it as a weird confluence of events based off a singularity of an event. Sound complicated? It sorta is, if you think about the premise. Anyways... that event affects the lives of the following people:
Grady Adams- a craftsman in the Rockies and his cool-ass Irish Wolfhound (Merlin)
Camilla Rivers- local veterinarian near Adams
Jim/Henry Rouvroy- twin brothers that live nearby and have their own dark encounter
Lamar Woodley- PhD in Chaos Theory (think Jeff Goldblum's Dr. Malcom from Jurassic Park)
Tom Bigger- homeless guy who decides to go on a journey
Liddon Wallace/Rudy Neems- scumbag lawyer type trying to put a hit on his wife, Neems being the hitman

Those diverse characters each go through their own travails-though the main aspect of the story revolves around Adams and Dr. Rivers (the veterinarian) and their mysterious new life forms that they name Puzzle and Riddle. Are you at least intrigued? Yeah, so was I. I wanted to see how it all tied in together. It didin't. The ending was rather lazy. The whole Adams as a former Army Ranger and the whole "my buddy died because of Senator X" story was never fleshed out. It's kind of a "what? oh? Umm cool...guess we won't elaborate on that topic other than vague references..cool". In fact most of the stories seem to have no connection. The whole homeless guy going to where he was needed was certainly a "huh?" moment. Now as I review it-I consider giving it a one star. But no..I did read this thing. It did have potential. For most of the book I was going with the story (even factoring in huge unexplained parts of background that seemed important) hoping to see where this all tied together. It doesn't. Not really. Koontz realizes this, likely by his fifth Mai-Tai in Fiji, and then just ends this story so he can go back to soaking in the rays. This truly is a story that just collapses in the end, Ponzi-like, unable to payout all the varied story-arc investments. There is nothing there. I could have eaten a weed brownie, drank 2 fingers of Glenfiddich and still could have likely, on the fly, written better endings that made more sense. I would gladly have helped Mr. Koontz out with some ideas on how to tie in these utterly random characters in the end. However, Mr. Koontz doesn't know me. We've never met. So he didn't invite me to Fiji for mai-tais and to throw around ideas for a sensible ending. In fact, the chances of that happening make more sense than some of these tenuous endings. So, realizing this, Mr. Koontz just made banal "links" between all the characters. "Whaaaa? The dead Ranger's daddy is a Dr who knows Ranger B who is mad at Senator too-oh he's found an animal and here is the Dr.! Army Rangers Lead the Way!!!"If that was confusing..then what did I tell you and Mr Koontz? Do NOT write complicated stories whilst in Fiji consuming weed brownies and drinking mai-tais or 30 yr old Scotch! Also..don't read this book.

[Y · Rating 1 out of 5]

.


Suddenly, Simians!


...would've been a much better title for the book. There wouldn't even need to have been any story. Suddenly, there were sentient simians is about all you need to know about the book.

Alternatively, The Mary Sue Monkeys might also be acceptable.

I think this one takes the cake. THE worst DK book I've read yet. Your Heart Belongs to Me and The Darkest Evening of the Year should be proud; though they're still awful, awful things, I could almost say I'd rather reread either of them, but come near me with a copy of Breathless and I will drop you with a shotgun.

Warning: CAPS and italics abuse follow.

There's just...there's just no freaking point to ANYTHING THAT HAPPENS in the book, on top of everything else that's just STUPID about it.

The main characters...why are they main characters? What's the point of them? They are the ultimate versions of Generic Good but Personality-free DK Male Protagonist and Generic Good but Personality-free DK Female Protagonist, but at least most GGbP-fDKM/FP are a central point to the story. If Grady and Camille were to get a bullet put into their head within the very first paragraph each are introduced in, would anything about how the story turns out have changed? No, not one bit. It would've still turned out exactly the same, with the MAGICAL CREATURES POPPING FORTH INTO EXISTENCE and making humanity worthwhile through the sheer will of their BEING.

They don't even have any particular development in terms of personalities, but WHAM BANG, they get these RIDICULOUS TRAUMATIC BACK STORIES. Does it matter that Grady is a vet? Does he ever actually need to use his sniper skills within the book? He threatens one Precisely One-Dimensioned Supremely Cartoony Evil but Pointless Bad Guy with it, a "bad guy" who is as pointless as the two protagonists. Nothing he does has any ill and/or long-lasting consequences on ANYTHING that happens within the book; he's just there for DK to bitch about something.

I know he loves to rehash themes and tropes like he bought them in bulk at a fire sale, but the Super Drugged-Out Psycho Bitch Mom and her Evil Boyfriend (Occasionally Husband) of one of the female characters (and it is always a female character) has been done before, multiple times. At least those had some sort of bearing on the character. Does this affect Camille in any way? It causes her unpleasant memories exactly once, during an utterly pointless interrogation, and supposedly had some flimsy part in why she became a vet, but other than that? There was absolutely zero reason why she couldn't have had a perfectly normal life, with two perfectly normal loving parents, and turned out EXACTLY THE SAME.

..I just realized that Grady is a vet(eran) and Camille is a vet(erinarian). HO HO HO [/hollow laughter].

And to add to even MORE POINTLESSNESS, you spend the entire freaking book wondering how the hell Murderer Twin and Ugly Hobo (frankly, the only interesting character in the entire damn book. His entire ordeal probably could've been fleshed out and made into its own book. Which would've been better than this one.) are going to have their plot lines tied into the main story. THEY DON'T. Camille meets Murderer Twin to absolutely no negative consequence, and Ugly Hobo sees SUDDENLY, SIMIANS and ends up rescuing some random chick due to it, and THAT'S IT. THAT'S ALL, FOLKS. You cut out their subplots completely, and IT DOESN'T AFFECT HOW THE STORY PLAYS OUT. AT ALL. YET AGAIN.


EVERY GODDAMNED CHARACTER IN THIS GODDAMNED BOOK IS SO COMPLETELY INCONSEQUENTIAL TO THE ENTIRE STORY THAT THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO FREAKING REASON FOR THIS BOOK TO EXIST AT ALL.

Here, go watch this gif for about three hours. You'll get more out of it than bothering to read this book.



At least the damn dog in this book wasn't a Golden Retriever. You know, I would love to read a DK book wherein the main dog is like...a Pomeranian. Or a Papillon. Or goddamn, a Chihuahua. It would be the best Koontz book ever.

[hotsake (André Troesch) · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first 90% of the book was pretty engaging and set up a pretty tense adventure and then the story shit the bed hard and dumped a lame, abrupt, and disappointing ending on me. 2.75/5.

[Rebecca · Rating 1 out of 5]

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 crushing me with disappointment.
'From the Corner of His Eye' was a unique, refreshing book with a spiritual twist- until he began beating his readers about the neck and head with the same theme and his personal views on religion in nearly every subsequent book.
So, what did I learn from this book?
I learned that Dean Koontz loves animals, especially dogs (duh) and has only disdain for most people. Dean Koontz also seems to believe that in order to evolve fully, we must become animals again.
I learned that Dean Koontz apparently believes that there are two kinds of people in the world... animal -loving, plain-living saints, and psycho mass murderers.
I learned that Dean Koontz believes that the mass murderers read Ralph Waldo Emerson and self-help books, and the saints apparently only read Dean Koontz.

Look, I find nothing wrong with inserting your own beliefs and opinions into writing. I think that it is, in fact, one of the things that separates good writers from great writers, when they can bring you around to their way of thinking without even making you aware that you are being convinced, when a story is written in such a way that it opens you up to a lifestyle or an idea you'd never thought about before. But when the story becomes more about being a vehicle to get your opinion expressed, than about the story itself, that's just ego. Maybe now I'll stay away for good...

[Suspense Magazine · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 a changing world when faced with a decision to blindly follow authorities or stand up for what they believe is right.

As a somewhat jaded member of humanity, I find myself a bit cynical and am not often shocked by what I find between the pages of my preferred escape mechanism…books. This is not true of the pieces written by Koontz; with dazzling imagery, the characters become real as their intensity—and often times innocence—soar off the pages. Offering his readers an overhead view of life in his world, “Breathless” is without a doubt his best.

www.suspensemagazine.com

[Steve · Rating 1 out of 5]

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 straight-forward thrillers that he has published recently (VELOCITY, THE GOOD GUY, THE HUSBAND). Personally, I enjoyed ODD THOMAS. Are they the best novels? No. Do they serve a purpose in my reading schedule? Definitely. Every now-and-again I need light reading. Dean Koontz usually can usually fill that role.

But BREATHLESS? Man. It was just bad.

Surely you can hear the built-in marketing campaign that comes with the title of the novel? The new Dean Koontz novel will leave you…BREATHLESS! How I wish that were true. Bored? Check. Bewildered (in the bad way)? Check. Disappointed? Double-check. Breathless? Not even close…unless you count the aftermath of my screaming in frustration at having to finish this book.

BREATHLESS starts out fine…good even. We are introduced to a few characters that are decent, and that are put in interesting situations. The main inciting event deals with Grady Adams, an ex-military type, and his dog, Merlin (it’s a Dean Koontz novel, of course the PoV has a dog), as they discover a pair of unexplainable animals in the field their (Adams’ and his dog’s) home. I don’t want to go into it too much, because the mystery behind these animals is the driving force of the story--well, what little of it there is. We also are introduced to Camillia Rivers, a local veterinarian with a dark past (are there any other kind in a Koontz novel?), who also gets involved with these two mystery animals. For the mandatory Dean Koontz creepy character, we get Henry. His opening chapters were great. All of this stays entertaining for approximately 100 pages.

And then we meander. Endlessly.

The pasts of the characters, rather than actually adding to the story, are just there as filler. They don’t actually influence anything. Being paper-thin would be an improvement over what we get here. As we move along, we are introduced to more characters that serve no purpose in the story, and whose resolutions are solved with Deus Ex Machina. On character in particular, Tom Bigger, reminded me instantly of the characters I hated in Stephen King’s THE STAND. You know, the ones that wander endlessly. Doing nothing.

Kind of like the last two-thirds of this novel I am reviewing.

The realization I came to upon finishing the novel, is that this was just a conglomerate of unrelated novellas and short stories that are forced together through contrived, thin plot threads. Henry’s story meets with that of Grady and Camilla for a whole paragraph. Tom’s never meets that of the main characters (his resolution is the Deus Ex). It was infuriating, to say the least.

The writing? It was your typical Dean Koontz. If you like his writing style, then you will like the writing style of BREATHLESS. The book itself will probably only be enjoyed by the most die-hard Koontz fans, and even then it’s no sure-thing.

BREATHLESS just isn’t good. The idea is marginally interesting. The characters are worse than paper-thin. The cohesion between plot-threads is absurd where it even exists at all. The ending is anti-climatic and rushed. This should have been a novel to grab new readers, but instead it will push them away.

The good news? I only paid $8 for the hardback due to the ridiculous Amazon vs. Walmart price war (huzzah!). And no, it still wasn’t worth it (booooooo!). Also, this isn’t typical of Dean Koontz. BREATHLESS is an aberration. I fully expect a new novel shortly that will get him back on-track. At least I hope this will be the case. I need my simple novels after reading guys like the awesome Erikson.

That said, don’t read BREATHLESS. It just isn’t worth it. Be grateful I read it for you.

Content: There’s nothing here that would offend a reader…well, except for the book itself…

[Dustin Manning · Rating 2 out of 5]

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 detailed yet terribly arch typical characters Koontz has what seems to be an innate ability to tie up every situation in the last few pages, which allow his books to be incredibly fast paced. The has become a let down to me in his last few books, this one taking the cake. Completely unconnected characters that never become connected, never explained (and not in the great artsy-film way of no nice bow ties) events (what i can only explain as a "split personality throw away) and worse of all.... Koontz belief system.
What I mean is this.. imagine if I was a best selling vampire and werewolf novelist who suddenly became entrenched with the belief of science and atheism and whose next book(s) disallowed for all vampires / werewolves and nothing that Darwinism and evolution would not allow for. My vampire / werewolf novels would suck. Koontz apparently does not believe in evolution and has some interestingly far out beliefs in the government and society that are seeping unfounded into the books tipping the scales.
One of the worst books of his career and it deeply saddens me.

[Jed Lamprey · Rating 1 out of 5]

Most of the way through, this seemed like a typical Dean Koontz novel - and then at the end, just as I thought I was going to find out what's been going on (Koontz *used* to make sure there was a semi-logical/reasonable explanation for the events of the story) for the past few hundred pages - he does a *MASSIVE* about-face and turns the book into a poorly disguised creationist screed. Worse, all the arguments he tries to make are completely incorrect. Koontz used to do enough research that you could more or less trust what he said, but now he has gone so far off the facts that I can only come to the conclusion that the facts didn't fit his worldview, and so he just plain lied. I will be able to reread his old stuff with enjoyment, but I will never again read a new Dean Koontz novel - he is no longer a thriller writer, but just another of the many "Christian" writers who have sprung up in the wake of the "Left Behind" series. I am sorry Mr. Koontz, but your talent has completely abandoned you. Take a page from people like Bill (Calvin and Hobbes) Watterson, who recognized that they didn't have anything left in the tank, and leave the stage with people wanting more, instead of descending into such awful mediocrity that it calls even your early, good work into question.

[Deb]

Thought Provoking

Great story and well worth the read. A friend of mine and I have been discussing how man came to be. There is so much wonder throughout this book and it was amazing how this book had similar linear ideas. It's spooky, a killing that is unexplainable, and strange unknown animals. I recommend Dean Koontz fans will not be disappointed.

[Tim · Rating 1 out of 5]

Talk about a letdown. After a great and interesting start this story takes a nosedive. Maybe that's why its breathless. I don’t understand why Koontz could not keep it together as he drifts further away from the topic of interest as the story goes along. 3 of 10 stars

[Birgit · Rating 2 out of 5]

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 engaging way he used to in previous novels. The connections between the characters are forced and while they do add to the story they are just too arbitrary. As for the idea of the book itself, which is an approach to Intelligent Design in the form of the appearance of the purest creatures the world has ever seen - especially compared to the evil that humans brought into the world - it is just really, really lame. Not only are the characters sadly one dimensional, but the way he implements the basic idea of the book is just a crude disappointment.
In short: I am a huge Koontz fan, but it seems that this author is past his prime. Everyone who read "Odd Thomas" will know what I mean, though I am aware that some might disagree, but to me it feels it went downhill since then.

[Jamie · Rating 1 out of 5]

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!

Don't get me wrong; usually I enjoy books where a handful of characters are introduced independently of each other, where you try to guess how their lives will ultimately intertwine and what will happen once they do. Here, only a few of them actually do mesh in the end, and just what exactly is the point of the other random pawns on this chessboard? If you figure it out, please share, because I'm still scratching my head.

To say Koontz phoned this one in would be an understatement. To say it's lazy storytelling at its laziest would be an even bigger understatement. Obviously this was just a filler novel, something to fulfill a contract with his publisher. Don't even bother.

[Robert Reiner · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow..this book should have been titled "Lifeless". Is this really a book written by the successful Dean Koontz? I have this weird rule that if I start a book, I have to finish it. I need to change that rule I think because this one was torture. It truly is horrible. The characters are uninteresting at best. The end is horrific (which is probably the only reason it can be found under Horror in your bookstore). The only possible way you might find bits and pieces of this book interesting is if youre a HUUUGE dog lover. I personally am not, but Dean Koontz apparantly is because the dog is the only character in this book with any personality and since he can't talk it doesn't really do much for me. Ugh...i'm so angry that such a proven great writer gets away with writing something this bad and makes alot of money doing it. I think he even realized how bad this book was which explains the rushed ending. I'm gonna move on to another author for now till this book is long gone in my memory bank

[Siobhan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m a big Dean Koontz fan, but Breathless was a massive disappointment. Even with authors I label favourites, I know there will be books I won’t enjoy, but Breathless was even harder than I thought. In fact, it came close to receiving a one-star rating.

There were plenty of elements introduced at the start of this one, a lot of build-up, and I was eager to see how the pieces came together. I wasn’t loving the story, but I was curious. Then, when the pieces finally fell into place, I was let down. Everything was so rushed, and there was no real conclusion with this one. It felt more like the rough idea of a story rather than a complete story.

If you’ve yet to read Koontz, I’d recommend staying away from this one. It’s far from the best example of his work.

[Mike (the Paladin) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Again a book I must move to the top of my to read list and right over to my currently reading list. Why? It's a library book and people have it on hold. I can't lay it aside and read several books ahead of it.

Well, first let me discuss Koontz and his work a moment. My wife was the "horror" fan and it was through her that I tried my first Koontz book some years ago. It was probably Watchers, but I'm not completely sure. There is quite a bit of discussion lately about the "new" Koontz. As it happens I like the "new" Koontz a lot as a rule. I read several of his books over the years and some I found to be very "good reads". There were others that left me cold. I thought a lot of them seemed to read like outlines for screen plays or something while others were good almost in the extreme.

In the last few years Mr. Koontz has written some books that for me would go on my "favorite books" list. One Door Away From Heaven, By the Light of the Moon, The Taking, I like all of these immensely.

Unfortunately in the last 3 books I've read by Mr. Koontz he seems to have been ambivalent about the actual story or plot. This one is not as bad as I found Your Heart Belongs to Me, or The Darkest Evening of the Year, but the flaws here are slightly different.

Mr. Koontz seems to have developed a longing (and within that a vision) for a better world, one where the flaws and evil we live with....and perpetrate, have been removed. He being a dog and animal lover has in a couple of books seen the innocence and unconditional love of dogs (and to a lessor extent other animals) as a path or conduit to "that" (possibly God's but I don't want to put words in his mouth or pen) love. We have that here in this book along with the idiocy of humans which always seems to want to damage or destroy that.

That part of the book is okay, not as well done as some of his books, but not bad. The problem comes in the construction and plotting of the book. The plot, and for that matter the characters are disjointed and just don't hang together. It seemed as if a lot of the characters from some of Koontz's other books decided to get together and "do a book". We had the "psychopathic/sociopathic deteriorating evil villain who considers himself a superior and intellectual individual, the single female (in this case a veterinarian) who is lonely but not admitting/aware of it, The single man who lives alone with his dog who is strong and reliable, you get the idea. There are also familiar supporting characters.

The problem is that the book while relating "what they see and what goes on, never really jells into an actual story. So as much as I'd like to rate the book higher I go with a 3 star rating and it only just got that.

On the flip side I'm not giving up on Dean Koontz, and I hope I'll like the next one better.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

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 characters, and he could have used a much more firm hand at editing (I would have cut out entire chapters, honestly) but, aside from its flaws, the basic plot is magical and sweet. There are two main characters that are very likeable, and there is a sense of wonder to the book that makes it somewhat fresh, and certainly not boring. The ending left me feeling a little let down, though. He had so many subplots going, that at the end, things that I had expected to fall together or somehow connect, didn't. In fact, one of his subplots just kind of fizzled out as if he either forgot about it, or he felt like he'd made a point with it that was so subtle that I missed it. He left way too much just kind of hanging out there for us to figure out on our own. I had hoped for a bit more substance, but maybe he'll write a sequel.

[Janean Worth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't read a Koontz book in years - but I'm glad I picked this one up. I have no idea why I've been away from his books for so long. As usual, Mr. Koontz's style and story are both top notch!

Breathless has masterfully interwoven subplots, the lives of strangers, all coming together to entangle purposefully in the end. I really enjoyed how detailed the character descriptions were in Breathless.

Another thing I greatly enjoyed about the book is the way that the author writes about animals. I can tell, from reading the book, that Mr. Koontz is an avid animal lover like myself. At first, when I picked up the book and started reading, I almost put it down again. I'm often afraid to read books with animals in them because, usually, the animal ends up being a sacrifice to move the plot along later in the book. The lovely descriptions of the Irish Wolfhound made me fall in love with him almost instantly, and I did not want anything (even if it is just fiction) to happen to him. I needn't have worried, however, because Mr. Koontz seems to love animals as much as I do, and his lovely fictional companions were all treated humanely.

If you love suspense and action - and animals - you'll enjoy this book

[Baba · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable and nicely understated speculative-fiction / thriller in which a pair of strange animals suddenly appear in the Mid-West causing repercussions that may mean the world will never be the same. 7 out of 12.