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Innocence

(Innocence #1)

Dean Koontz (Goodreads Author)

3.72 · Rating details · 22,256 ratings · 2,492 reviews

He lives in solitude beneath the city, an exile from society, which will destroy him if he is ever seen. She dwells in seclusion, a fugitive from enemies who will do her harm if she is ever found. But the bond between them runs deeper than the tragedies that have scarred their lives. Something more than chance—and nothing less than destiny—has brought them together in a wo ...more

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Hardcover, 338 pages

Published December 10th 2013 by Bantam (first published 2013)

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Dec 13, 2013 Alejandro rated it liked it

Shelves: horror, politics, religion, novel, paranormal, romance

This novel was of those cases where you begin to read it and you are sure at that early point that you will give it a 5-star rating, then the story was still in the first part and there were some moments not very entertaining and then you know that you are enjoying the reading but the book will get a 4-star rating as best, but certainly not less than that, and bam! in the final "laps" of the run, in the third part, you don't understand why such a simple and enjoyable story gets so complicated an ...more

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Mar 01, 2018 Bobby Underwood rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

"The sky shed itself as heavily as it had on Cathedral Hill, such blinding crystalline thickets that I couldn't see farther shore, as if snow meant for decades were released today because the world did not have decades left until its end."

"With cloaks and robes and cerements of white whirling and swooning in every quarter, the city looked as if it must be populated by more ghosts than living people, and all those spirits were agitated in their haunting."

Effortlessly flowing yet meticulously craf ...more

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Dec 10, 2013 Evie rated it it was amazing

What started off as a lyrical story of a boy rejected and tormented by the society, ended up in a completely mind-blowing way. Koontz took his already skilled, captivating and meaningful prose to a whole new level of *what-the-f**k-have-I-just-read*. This book is not what it initially seems to be. It's so much more than that. It's different from his previous novels - and, boy, you won't believe just HOW different it is! I know it will stay with me for a very long time and I will probably never b ...more

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Jan 03, 2014 Maciek rated it it was ok

Shelves: thriller-mystery-suspense, read-in-2014, reviewed

Dean Koontz's latest novel is a little better than most of his recent works, but is still not a good book. I read it because my curiosity got better of me - the book actually got good reviews, and for the first time in years more people on Amazon gave it a positive rating rather than the negative - so I had to see for myself.

All of Koontz's novels are stories of the ancient conflict of good versus evil, and it seems to me that the closer he gets to knocking on heaven's door the more he's into sp Dean Koontz's latest novel is a little better than most of his recent works, but is still not a good book. I read it because my curiosity got better of me - the book actually got good reviews, and for the first time in years more people on Amazon gave it a positive rating rather than the negative - so I had to see for myself.

All of Koontz's novels are stories of the ancient conflict of good versus evil, and it seems to me that the closer he gets to knocking on heaven's door the more he's into spirituality and all that wacky stuff (I guess decades of living in southern California also play their part). It's no different with Innocence, which is essentially a fable presented as a suspense novel - it's a retelling of the Beauty of the Beast, which gets name dropped in the text, and one so dependent on flashbacks that nothing really happens throughout the whole text with its pacing of a glacier. This thing is slow.

Addison Goodheart (I'm not kidding, that's the name of the main character) - is a person so deformed that whoever sees him has an instant urge to hurt and batter him, to the point of murder. Exiled from his home by his own mother who could not stand the sight of him, he was adopted by a man who had the same condition - and who was killed in front of his eyes because of the way he looks. To survive, Addison spends his days in an abandoned bomb shelter in an unnamed city and only ventures out at night - to steal some food to restock his supplies, and sneak into the local library to read at night. One day he discovers that he's not alone there, and fate (with a little help of Dean Koontz) throws him with Gwyneth, a young goth girl who's in great danger - she's pursued by a man who killed her father (fathers don't make it far in this book), and who's a stock Koontz villain - a despicable man with rape fantasies (these things get old after a while too). Addison falls in love with Gwyneth on the spot, and vows to give her all the help he can, while he's not busy being worried about the situation in the Middle East (for someone living in a bomb shelter the main protagonist sure reflects a lot of what are probably Dean Koontz's personal beliefts - but I'm not saying anything).

Innocence is almost a textbook example of how not to write a suspense novel - the language is obviously carefully polished - but to the point of sounding artificial and fake. All of Dean Koontz's characters sound like Dean Koontz and his ideas about how characters like that should sound - there's little to Distinguish Addison from Odd Thomas, Koontz's most popular creation, and the female character is obviously modeled after his beloved wife Gerda (which I think is very sweet, but doesn't make for good writing nonetheless). Despite these flaws, Koontz does manage to set up a certain mood in the opening chapters - only to destroy it with the bad puns he just cannot resist (when a book falls down Addison remarks that someone must be using the weapon of knowledge in an unconventional fashion. ARGGGH). Koontz also constantly holds the reader's hand to make sure that they don't miss anything - he openly names the story of the Beauty and the Beast so that the reader doesn't miss the analogy, and when Gwyneth is being harsh to a character he actually explains that the tone of her voice means that she's being harsh to that character. It's as if he not only didn't trust his readers to not understand the simplest metaphors and analogies that he uses but also didn't trust his own characters to say what he told them to say.

Perhaps the novel's worst offense is its unrepentant use of flashbacks, which do really take away any small spark that this story might otherwise have ignited and instead from making the reader want to race to its end make him feel as if he's stuck in some kind of a literary bog. The whole novel is narrated in the first person, which is especially bad as it single-handedly breaks the narrative flow and jumps between one uninteresting event and another. Instead of tracing the characters' journey in real time, their stories are dependent entirely on the flashback that Addison narrates, which take up whole chapters - however short they might be. The flashbacks begin with a moment of textbook dramatism ("on a night of heavy snow...") and end with an obligatory cliffhanger, while another story slowly takes shape in the main chapters. For a novel which has so many chapters, not much really happens - I can think of only a few events which somehow took hundreds of pages to take place. It's all stretched beyond dimensions and feels boring and slow.

The book ends totally out of the left field, and not in a good way - the ending is a surprise but then it shouldn't be considering most of Koontz's recent novels (at least these published since the early 00's), which made me wonder if he's secretly gearing up to write a couple more volumes for the Left Behind franchise, which is one series I'm glad to have missed out on. It might be unexpected but not in a good way - certainly not for me.

The whole book feels incomplete, as it lacked a sense of purpose or clear direction, and was more of a bunch of ideas sewn together rather than a work which came out of inspiration and subsequent careful thought. It's readable but that's about the best I can say about it - I won't recommend it and can safely say that no reader will miss anything if they won't read it, and if they're curious about Koontz they'd do much better to read his earlier novels. They're cheesy but fun, in a way the 80's tv movies were. Innocence is a bit cheesy but no fun, and mostly it's unremarkable and forgettable rather quickly.

On the other hand, here's a really nice clip with Dean Koontz talking about his experiences with reading books as a young boy, and how his passion got him where he is now. I might not like most of his new books and not like much about his old ones, but there's no question that he has worked really hard for his success and seems like a genuinely nice and sweet guy, and one that I'd like to have dinner and conversation with (even if his books do make him come out as a paranoid recluse who has kind of lost touch with the world outside). If I only liked his books more... ...more

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Apr 30, 2013 Dustin Crazy little brown owl rated it liked it

Recommends it for: J.S. Bailey

Shelves: read-in-2013, group-reads, read-in-2020, religion-or-lack-thereof, fairy-tales, dogs, first-reads, arc, fall-2013

Innocence was the Koontzland - Dean Koontz Group Read for January 2020. I had promised to give this another try once it was selected as a Koontzland Group Read again. Here we are over 6 years later. I believe perceptions can change. I enjoy reading my favorite books again and again just like I enjoy listening to my favorite songs and re-watching my favorite films.

Reading the second time, I already knew how this story ended - and that was my biggest disappointment with my initial reading. For thi Innocence was the Koontzland - Dean Koontz Group Read for January 2020. I had promised to give this another try once it was selected as a Koontzland Group Read again. Here we are over 6 years later. I believe perceptions can change. I enjoy reading my favorite books again and again just like I enjoy listening to my favorite songs and re-watching my favorite films.

Reading the second time, I already knew how this story ended - and that was my biggest disappointment with my initial reading. For this book, I really have to get in the right mindset to appreciate what the story has to offer.

I didn't finish until April when the world-wide impact of COVID-19 allowed me more time for reading. Of course with our current crisis, I saw many similarities to events in Innocence: a character that wears a mask, several characters self isolating, a virus impacting world-wide, the idea of an apocalypse.
Here are a few relevant passages which brought to mind the film, Contagion and COVID-19:

"Ebola virus, Lone Ranger, and flesh-eating bacteria, and way pumped up, the shit's totally enhanced, airborne, they say worse than atom bombs. It eats you up from the inside out. How's that for bad?"
_______

"The bathroom, hot water, soap, wash yourself," and she said, "Move, move, now, let's go."
_______

"Do you have sanitizing gel in the glove box, anything, do you have anything?"
_______

"Addison, I assume you know what has come into the world."
"A plague, you mean."
"The plague, I think, after which the long war between mankind and microbes will have ended."
_______

"It'll be worse than bad. Latest word is that they engineered the weapon, the bug, for a 98-percent mortality rat. It exceeded their expectations. Then they lost control of it."

__________________

Favorite Passages:

The music seemed to issue from the air, as if passing through a membrane from another, unseen world parallel to ours.

Perhaps those who lived in the open would have found the idea of an invisible world too fanciful and would have dismissed the notion.

Those of us who remain hidden from everyone else, however, know that this world is wondrous and filled with mysteries. We possess no magical perception, no psychic insight. I believe our recognition of reality's complex dimensions is a consequence of our solitude .

To live in the city of crowds and traffic and constant noise, to be always striving, to be in the ceaseless competition for money and status and power, perhaps distracted the mind until it could no longer see - and forgot - the all that is. Or maybe, because of the pace and pressure of that life, sanity depended on blinding oneself to the manifold miracles, astonishments, wonders, and enigmas that comprised the true world.
_________

I favored a theory involving the unseen world parallel to ours that I mentioned earlier. If such a place existed, separated from us by a membrane we couldn't detect with our five senses, then perhaps at some points along the continuum, the membrane bulged around a small part of that other reality and folded it into the stuff of ours. And if both worlds, in their becoming, arose from the same loving source, I liked to believe that such secret havens as this would be provided especially for those who, like me, were outcasts by no fault of their own, reviled and hunted, and in desperate need of shelter.
_______

The more familiar that a place becomes, the more mysterious it becomes, as well, if you are alert to the truth of things. I have found this to be the case all of my life.
_______

As I crossed the yard, the wind made dead leaves caper at my feet, in the way that small animals, familiars to a witch, might dance around she whom they served.
_______

The clump-and-thud of avalanching books suggested that someone must be using the weapon of knowledge in an unconventional fashion.
_______

. . . they were all selfish perverts when you really got to know them.
_______

I had remained hopeful that, among the millions on this Earth, there might be a few who could summon the courage to know me for what I am and have the self-confidence to still walk part of this life with me. The girl, mysterious in her own right, was the first in a long time who seemed as if she might have that capacity.
_______

The fallow soil of loneliness is fertile ground for self-deception.
_______

"People have lost their history, the what and how and why of things. They know so little of the places where they live."
_______

"If I touch you, you'll pull the hood off my head. Or if instead you make the first move and pull the hood off my head, then I'll touch you. We hold each other hostage to our eccentricities."
I smiled again, an unseen smile. "We're made for each other."
_______

. . . I wanted more than peace and survival. I felt that I had a purpose that could be fulfilled only elsewhere . . .
_______

. . . electrified by a sense of possibilities that might transform in positive ways . . .
________

To one degree or another, I have been happy most of my life, in part because the world has infinite charms if you wish to see them.
_______

Sometimes your life rolls away with you, like a big stone going downhill fast . . .
_______

. . . the seams of my life were split, and I didn't believe that I could sew them up again.
_______

In spite of my yearnings, I remained satisfied not to pursue the impossible and to settle for the miraculous.
_______

. . . I thought that perhaps she lived in a different dimension form mine and was capable of exploring this world, though I could not cross into hers.
_______

Insanity is rapidly becoming the new normal.
_______

"The flame delights the moth before the wings burn."
_______

. . . in reality we, too, were speeding forward aboard the train of time, on different journeys . . .
_______

. . . sorrow like a river ran beneath her words.
_______

We sat there in the yard, in the rocking chairs, for a while longer. I couldn't say with certainty if it was ten minutes or an hour. We sat in silence, and the stars that crowned the night seemed to descend around us, until the house and the woods and the lane that connected us to the outer world all disappeared as if behind a veil, and a great host of diamond-white stars sparkled above and to every side of us, and encapsulating dome of stars under which we were safe.
_______

"The yew is the graveyard tree, symbol of sorrow and death."
_______

At the moment, I needed to see a firmament of stars, needed to gaze past the moon and through the constellations, needed to see what can't be seen - infinity.
_______

The 1930s art deco movie theater - The Egyptian - had been an architectural wonder in its heyday. All these years later, abandoned and in a state of decay, the building still possessed a little magic.
_______

In mere hours, trust had ceased to be a choice and had become, with love, the foundation of all my hopes for the future.
_______

"I never lie, either. But sometimes I evade. And so do you."
_______

There is no end of wonders and mysteries: fireflies and music boxes, the stars that outnumber all the grains of sand on all the beaches of the world, pinhead eggs that become caterpillars that dissolve into genetic soup from which arise butterflies, that some hearts are dark and others full of light.
_______

To believe in luck, you must believe that the universe is a roulette wheel and that instead of paying out to us what we have earned, it pays out only what it wishes. But it is not a spinning wheel of chance, it is a work of art, complete and framed by eternity.
He said that because we live in time, we think that the past is baked and served and eaten, that the present is coming out of the oven in continuous courses, and that the future is not yet even in the mixing bowl.
_______

To understand the universe, our world, and all of life in the world, you have to step out of time . . .
_______

In truth, Father said, at the first instant of the universe, all of time was present, all our yesterdays and today and all our tomorrows, everyone and everything that was and ever would be existed at that moment. But more amazing still, in the first instant that the universe came into existence, the fabric of it also included all the infinite ways that things might have been, countless of them terrible in the extreme and countless others glorious.
________

"That's over. All of it is over. We're moving on to something new."
_______

I had lived more than two-thirds of my life in those windowless rooms, and for the most part they had been years of contentment and hop. I felt as though ten thousand conversations between Father and me were recorded on those concrete walls and that if I could only sit quietly and attentively enough, with adequate patience, they would replay for me. Nothing in this world, not even the most mundane moments of our lives, is without meaning, nor is any of it lost forever.
_______

. . . I discovered what I was and who I am. What might have been but never was . . . Well, it all became possible again.

___________________________

From my initial reading Fall 2013:

I absolutely loved this story until chapter 73 (approximately the final 35 pages) :-( From then on it was a disappointing disaster. Wow!

Until Chapter 73, these are my thoughts as I was reading Innocence: Amazing, Beautiful, Sweet, Delightful. A story of Love, Friendship, Trust, Destiny, Time and the Magic of Life. In chapter 73, information is given to the reader about the two main characters and at that point it was make it or break it for me. I saw that Dean would either blast off into a rocket of amazement and wonder or derail. I asked myself, "Is Dean going to be able to pull this off?" In my opinion, the story derailed. For me, the magic and wonder was lost and I was filled with anger. Dean, and those who appreciate the main message of this story, might conclude that I have a lack of innocence.

Dean has ridden a fine line with his religious beliefs in his writing and in some books (most specifically The Taking) done really nice and thought-provoking work. In Dean's two most recent novels, Deeply Odd and Innocence, I believe he has crossed into territory where his religious views take away from the story. This really saddens me.

Thank you to Bantam/Random House for giving me the opportunity to read this book 3 months in advance of release date!!!!! ...more

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Oct 17, 2013 Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin rated it liked it

Shelves: own

www.melissa413readsalot.blogspot.com

I don't know how I feel about this book. I liked it, I love so many of Koontz books, but I don't know. Sometimes I think it's because I'm tired or in some kind of mood that a book doesn't hit me the right way. Or maybe I just liked it okay and there is no other reason, but you, the reader of this review.. why should you care? Read what you want and decide for yourself :)

This book is sorta like Beauty & the Beast.

But it's not like Addison (beast) goes out def ...more

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Dec 18, 2013 Tom LA rated it did not like it

I really don't mean any disrespect to the author or his readers, but I genuinely wonder how in the world anybody could call this a good novel, when it reads as if it was written by a 13 year old. No, the prose is excellent - I am talking about the content.

This is nothing more than a young adult novel, or, even worse, the novelization of a manga comic book, even though I hope today's teenagers are fed with something better than this shallow, lazy and unimaginative stuff.

However, if you have a ta ...more

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Jan 03, 2014 Carbunkle Flux rated it did not like it

I remember reading Ticktock by Dean Koontz and being surprised at how clever, creative and simultaneously intense it was. So naturally, I gravitated towards this book when I read the description. It sounded interesting! I mean, a man who can't be seen and a woman who can't be touched finding each other and escaping bad guys? Sure, why not.

Innocence, in actuality, is a simultaneously entrancing and frustrating book.

At first, I was intrigued by Addison Goodheart, the book's main character. He was I remember reading Ticktock by Dean Koontz and being surprised at how clever, creative and simultaneously intense it was. So naturally, I gravitated towards this book when I read the description. It sounded interesting! I mean, a man who can't be seen and a woman who can't be touched finding each other and escaping bad guys? Sure, why not.

Innocence, in actuality, is a simultaneously entrancing and frustrating book.

At first, I was intrigued by Addison Goodheart, the book's main character. He was born with some vague deformity so grotesque that the midwife actually tried to smother him out of horror and his mother, who at first defended him, nearly tried to murder him herself no less than five times. Something about his face- specifically his eyes- inspires people to violence.

Then there's Gwyneth. Gwyneth is Addison's love interest; a woman with a crippling social phobia where she cannot tolerate being seen or touched except by very specific people. Addison happens to fall into that specific because his own eccentricity (where he refuses to let anyone see his face) intrigues her.

There are unfortunately problems with both of these characters and the very core of this book's plot. It's hard to elaborate because every one of this book's issues is so entrenched with all the other issues it has that I can't find a good starting spot.

Oh, I know! I'll start the plot flow.

This book flows like a roller coaster that grinds to a screeching halt every 10 seconds. One chapter, we're advancing the plot! Then Addison flashes back ten years so we can learn more about his amazing adoptive father for a chapter. Then a chapter of minimal plot advancement. Then a flashback for Addison to grieve about his mother. It got so ridiculous towards the middle of the book that it took Addison and Gwyneth literally a third of the book to finish an awkward romantic dinner in her apartment. Even worse, this dinner didn't even move the plot forward. It was all exposition!

This book is almost all exposition! Nobody bothers to drive it forward at anything but a snail's pace until the very end. Major plot points are revealed by Addison and Gwyneth talking about them. Addison himself is so frustratingly passive that he could have been written out of the story and only the ending would change. Gwyneth is so frustratingly secretive that all the major plot details have to be revealed at the very end. This is not a good combination for a healthy book flow.

And then there's the plot itself. It doesn't know what it wants to be. Is it a story about a girl trying to incriminate her father's murderer? Is it a story about a girl being chased by the spirit of a crazed murderer who possesses marionettes? Is it a story about a girl who is protecting a comatose child from evil? (notice how none of these subplots seem to involve Addison) Or perhaps it's a biblical apocalypse story? ...

The book jumps from subplot to subplot and then Addison's tormented past and never dwells on any of it for long. It ultimately develops nothing to satisfaction. The big climax is awkward and lackluster and the way everything tied together in the end was so bizarre that I needed time to properly comprehend what just happened and how I felt about it.

I think I ultimately decided that it was a terrible book. ...more

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Oct 16, 2013 Mike (the Paladin) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

Well again I find myself in the minority about a given book. This book will be hard to review in any detail without spoilers. I'll try and then maybe put a few remarks in under a spoiler tag.

First I vacillated a little here between 4 and 5 stars and finally went with my old rule that "it's a 5 star read to me". In the end our judgements about most anything will be at least somewhat subjective. Movies, music, TV shows, food, drinks...pets and books will be "our judgements"

Well at least I hope the Well again I find myself in the minority about a given book. This book will be hard to review in any detail without spoilers. I'll try and then maybe put a few remarks in under a spoiler tag.

First I vacillated a little here between 4 and 5 stars and finally went with my old rule that "it's a 5 star read to me". In the end our judgements about most anything will be at least somewhat subjective. Movies, music, TV shows, food, drinks...pets and books will be "our judgements"

Well at least I hope they are, at least if we think for ourselves they are.

So anyway, what can I say about this book? There has been a lot said and written about the "periods" in DK's writing. I personally like many of the "new period" books. If I try to give you another of DK's books that has some of the same feel of this one it would probably be The Taking.

The book also (while not as "good") puts me in mind of C.S,Lewis' Perelandra, part of his Science Fiction Trilogy.

Look being careful not to reveal plot, story line or anything about characters I'll say this. Yes Mr. Koontz's faith does come through here in a way. It's not in detail and at best you'll only be able to make a guess at what he himself actually believes and the book doesn't follow Christian theology in many ways. But if you're an atheist you'll probably not get into it. Of course I could be wrong there as I read many books with an atheistic point of view and like many. I also read books from other religious points of view...none of that somehow forces me into some belief system against my will so....

There are certain questions dealt with here that are answered in a way that handles objections that are often brought up in the face of faith and they're done in a way that tells a good and interesting story.

If the book has a flaw I thought possibly the early part of the book introing our male protagonist may have been dragged out a little but I stayed interested and involved in the character's story so...not a big issue. For you who are concerned about it the book's semi-religious nature doesn't show up until you get to the climax and it isn't (at least I didn't think it was) heavy handed.

So without spoilers I like this book and think it makes it just over the line from 4 stars into 5. I recommend it...know going in that there is a theistic viewpoint in the book.

(view spoiler) ...more

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Dec 14, 2013 Monnie rated it it was amazing

Eloquent. Thought-provoking. Simple. Complex. How do I love thee? Those are just some of the ways. Without doubt, this is one of the best, most beautiful books I've ever read. I couldn't wait for it to end, yet I kept clinging to the hope that it wouldn't.

To be sure, it's a story of good versus evil; it's full of fantasy, mysticism, hope and love interspersed with plenty of thrills and chills. It's Romeo and Juliet against the world, though not necessarily the world as we know it - but then agai ...more

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Mar 22, 2014 Susan May rated it did not like it

Shelves: 2014

Long-winded pointless descriptions, especially toward the end seem to be written by someone studying creative writing & not a bestseller whose sold 450 million books.

A plot that doesn't know what story it wants to tell, a lack of any suspense or good character development are just some of the reasons this book is a bore.

I've had enough of Koontz's religious overtones & increasingly bloated style. He used to be a great genre writer but something has gone wrong in the past decade with him. After ...more

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Dec 10, 2013 Max rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, very-top-picks

Beyond brilliant, possibly the best fiction I have ever read. Fantastic twist - don't read any spoilers, just let the story unfurl as told by the author. I am blown away by the quality of the writing and the story line. It's just perfect! ...more

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Jun 25, 2018 Dean rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Powerful written with much insight in the human condition!!!
A thriller, a modern fantasy tale, and even an allegory summarizing the default and deteriorated human race in the midst of a world spinning and whirling faster and faster that has become unbound and crazy...

The story deals with an outcast hiding beneath a city and avoiding human contact at any price!!
Its also a tender love story full of emotions between two Loosers...
But above all its a tale about endurance in spite of hate, enmity, an ...more

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May 04, 2013 Tracy rated it it was amazing

Shelves: own-it, favorites, tracy-s-200-in-2013

O.M.G. Has Koontz gone modern? Is he dabbing in the apocalyptic world? Could he be starting something new? I absolutely LOVED this book! My head is reeling so I will have to come back for the review. Need to sort some things out.

Addison is a creature of the night living in the bowels of the city with no companionship or even the thought of ever having anyone to converse with much less be drawn to until the night in the library when he sees Gwyneth. She quickly becomes his confidant and friend. G ...more

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Mar 20, 2018 Davyne DeSye rated it it was amazing

EDIT/UPDATE: It ought to tell you something about how much this book wormed its way into my mind that I had to read it again, less than six months after reading it the first time.

This time, already knowing the story, I had the pleasure of being able to focus more on the author's craft, to appreciate the foreshadowing, to read and re-read passages for the sheer pleasure of how the words were put together and the images elicited. But -- wow, still a story that came at me from a direction I wasn't EDIT/UPDATE: It ought to tell you something about how much this book wormed its way into my mind that I had to read it again, less than six months after reading it the first time.

This time, already knowing the story, I had the pleasure of being able to focus more on the author's craft, to appreciate the foreshadowing, to read and re-read passages for the sheer pleasure of how the words were put together and the images elicited. But -- wow, still a story that came at me from a direction I wasn't expecting and is sticking with me for reasons I can't fully explain...

ORIGINAL REVIEW:
Surprising, lyrical, terrifying and heartwarming…

This book was nothing that I was expecting. I’m not even sure I know how to go about writing a review.

While on its surface this is an interesting story and contains some really beautiful writing, it is the allegory of good versus evil that made this book a real winner for me. The glimpses of evil that Koontz gave were thankfully short-lived but made me shudder – I don’t want to believe evil is so abundant. The time I spent in the mind and heart of Addison were a balm to me and an inspiration. For me, this book was a paean to hope, love, beauty, optimism, honor, and yes, innocence.

In the story, Addison must hide from the world. (In the beginning, I thought this would be a beauty-and-the-beast story, but it wasn’t.) He must hide from the world because one look at his face inspires hatred and murderous rage. By sheer happenstance, he meets a girl, Gwyneth, with severe social phobia. They are an odd but perfect couple, she agreeing never to look at his face, and he agreeing not to approach her too closely and never to touch her. Together, they must flee an evil man determined to kill Gwyneth and anyone close to her.

Quite honestly, I could not imagine how the author would convince me that everyone’s reaction to Addison would be as horrible as it was. What could inspire such hatred and rage? The answer, to my mind, was perfect and heartbreakingly understandable.

I’m giving this book five stars – a rating I usually save for books I will likely read again. In this case, I’m not sure that I will read it again, but I’m not sure I need to. Bits and pieces of this book are inside me forever. What more can I say? ...more

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Jun 03, 2013 J.S. Bailey rated it really liked it

Whoa. Whoa, whoa, whoa.

(A more coherent review will come later after I have pondered the touching eerieness of this novel.)

Okay, I'm back!

First of all, many thanks to Crazy Dustin for his part in helping me obtain this ARC. And thanks to Random House for sending out the ARCs, and thanks to Dean Koontz himself for writing this story and even signing it.

[Clears throat]

To begin, Innocence reminds me of Koontz's Odd Thomas and Chris Snow books because it is told in the first-person from the point of ...more

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Dec 14, 2013 Deborah rated it did not like it

I was sorely disappointed with this book. It's been obvious to me that Mr. Koontz was gearing up to write a book involving biblical lore and I really wish he hadn't gone there. I'm in mourning today for one of my favorite authors. :( ...more

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Oct 08, 2015 Steven Walle rated it it was amazing

Dean Koontz is an amazing writer in my opinion. This book was about the end times and the ones who make it through the final count down.
The charictor development was incredible and the story line was riveting.
I recommend this book to all.
Enjoy and Be Blessed.
Diamond

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Mar 25, 2014 Bark | Ladies Of Horror Fiction rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: horror, audiobook, thriller

I never quite know what I’m in for when I start a new novel by Dean Koontz. He’s written some books that I love to death and a few others that put me to sleep. He was also one of the first authors I read as a young teen so I always grab his new books hoping for the best but bracing for the worst. This time it worked out and it didn’t turn out to be another “Your Heart Belongs To Me” or “Velocity” with jerky protagonists who annoyed me from beginning to end.

I read this on audio and took all kinds I never quite know what I’m in for when I start a new novel by Dean Koontz. He’s written some books that I love to death and a few others that put me to sleep. He was also one of the first authors I read as a young teen so I always grab his new books hoping for the best but bracing for the worst. This time it worked out and it didn’t turn out to be another “Your Heart Belongs To Me” or “Velocity” with jerky protagonists who annoyed me from beginning to end.

I read this on audio and took all kinds of notes but I’m feeling lazy so I’m going to ramble out onto this white page whatever comes to mind and I’ll do my best not to spoil anything.

Basically this is a book about a young guy named Addison. Addison was born with some sort of affliction that makes people fly into a murderous rage when they see his face. Seriously. They want him dead. Thusly, he cannot allow himself to be seen and must hide in the shadows and live underground. Don’t bother asking me to reveal what that affliction is because I won’t do it. I spent most of the book wondering what the heck was so wrong with him and you’ll have to do the same. Be careful about reading spoilerific reviews because I feel it will ruin the book for you. All is revealed in the end and I thought it was quite beautiful. But that’s me. You might be annoyed.

After Addison’s heartbreaking childhood is revealed in flashback you’ll want to give him a big hug. Despite it all, he’s grown up sweet natured and, yes, rather innocent as the title says. He finally makes a friend named Gwyneth who is able to look past his aversion to being looked at and she honors his wishes. Gwyneth has some major quirks of her own. She’s lived her life in seclusion due to “social anxiety”, she can’t abide being touched and has been protected and doted on by her wealthy father. But he’s been murdered and Gwyneth is hell bent on exposing his evil murderer, thus forcing her out into the world to fight evil with the help of Addison. The two make a great pair and become insta-friends. I believed it. There is much more going on here (but not too much for my tired brain) and I loved all of it. There are packs of dogs (yay!), there’s a plague brewing (yay!!), and there are sinister marionette’s (evil dolls! Yay!!!). These are a few of my favorite things and they’re all wrapped into one book, how could I not love it? Well, that’s easy. The story could’ve tanked due to Koontz’s penchant for excessive wordiness and lame characters with unrealistic dialogue. But there was none of that here. Or if there was it didn’t bother me. I haven’t liked a Koontz book as much as this one since I read Odd Thomas.

That’s not to say it’s perfect. The murderer is a Koontz classic, a one-note evil guy, cursing worse than me when I run out of chocolate and spreading his evil wherever he goes because he feels like it. The story is almost perfect though and that’s more than good enough for me. I found only one of the plot elements a little unclear (pun alert, if you’ve read it) but Koontz may be setting this up as another series. Anyway, it read that way to me which was slightly annoying because I never follow through on reading series. But that’s my problem.

I read this as an unabridged audiobook and the narrator took a little getting used to. He reads at a very leisurely pace as if he and I have all the time in the world, but he does vulnerability oh-so-well and the story was so compelling that I quickly fell into it, rather than falling asleep.

Innocence was lovely and sweet and has an interesting, twisty plot that kept me guessing and reading until the very end. If you read it, I hope you love it as much as I did. ...more

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Oct 19, 2013 LaDonna rated it really liked it

Shelves: giveaways

To get the technical stuff out of the way, I won a free ARC through the GoodReads First Reads giveaways.

Many years ago I read everything Koontz had written, but fell away from reading the horror genre in general well over a decade ago. I remember that I had always liked his writing style for the genre, but again, it has been a long time since I've picked up anything by him. When I read the synopsis in the giveaways I decided to enter to win it as it sounded like an unusual read.

An unusual read i To get the technical stuff out of the way, I won a free ARC through the GoodReads First Reads giveaways.

Many years ago I read everything Koontz had written, but fell away from reading the horror genre in general well over a decade ago. I remember that I had always liked his writing style for the genre, but again, it has been a long time since I've picked up anything by him. When I read the synopsis in the giveaways I decided to enter to win it as it sounded like an unusual read.

An unusual read it certainly was. I have never read anything remotely like it, and I have to say this is a good thing. I can't seem to find a good way to sum the book, or my feelings about it up. Until 3/4 of the way through I can't imagine what possibly could be wrong with the narrator and his "father" that they would bring out so much hate in the human race, and when I did find out I was even more astounded...and it may have changed my outlook on humanity. Sounds melodramatic, but this is a story that will certainly make you think about the world we live in and the creatures which inhabit it - and about what kind of end we are headed toward.

Definitely a poetically written book, and I was mildly surprised by the number of words in the book that I was not familiar with. I consider myself to have a pretty vast vocabulary, and consider my husband my equal in this area, but there was quite a list of words we were not familiar with. For geeks like us, this is a good thing.

Bonus points for making marionettes even creepier than I have always thought them to be. Not a small feat. I know most people find clowns make their skin crawl, and while I can't say I've ever been particularly fond of clowns, marionettes have always made them look like teddy bears in comparison. Koontz' portrayal of the ones in this book remind us of his background in the horror genre.

I can't really put my finger on what exactly drew me to this book, as it is not really something in retrospect I could see myself picking out, but I am glad that it did. As voracious a reader as I am, it is not often that a book really creeps into my soul the way this one did, and certainly rare for one to leave me pondering the state of the universe the way this one has.

Though I realize this is a new direction for this "old" author, I am feeling inclined to revisit the entire body of his work after this read. I will certainly be looking forward to what comes after this. ...more

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Oct 01, 2013 Fred rated it it was amazing

Shelves: html-href, re-read, horror

Innocence and Wilderness (Group Read - January 2020 - 2 books)

Second read - January 2020

A second read shows me how/why “Fogs & Clears” are no longer needed.

Addison & Gwyneth are hated, trapped by “Fogs” not protected by “Clears”.

Finally, when roads are closed by Homeland Security keeping “Bad Men” to flee calling it a “plague”. Bailey (Gwyneth’s dad) helps their seclusion in a wooded cabin. Where the wolves appear as just dogs, they help turn a Jeep of men threaten them away from an escape ...more

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Jan 20, 2014 Monique rated it did not like it

Shelves: wanksters-one-star-books

What the? Huh? Yup my first one-star book of the year and it took an unheard of week to read and seriously I really tried to get into this one and was sadly super sadly disappointed..I thought from the beginning I was getting a Beauty and the Beast retelling and then when elements of the supernatural crept in I still was willing to ride, when another strange secluded girl comes in the picture and there seems to be a friendship/romance I was with it but when they never fully explain anything, whe ...more

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Dec 17, 2013 Karen rated it it was amazing

Quite probably the best book I read this year. Once again, Dean shows not only his incredible imagination but also the depths of his compassion for the unwanted, the unloved, the marginalized in our society.

Written in first person, this is the story of Addison Goodheart's life as an outcast. He stumbles into a mystery and learns much more than he expected! ...more

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Apr 11, 2018 Jason Parent added it

So, yeah, I read this...

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Dec 20, 2013 Amy Lignor rated it it was amazing

This author is one who never stops surprising readers. In fact, this new novel will leave some absolutely breathless, as Koontz builds an incredible plot that not only offers his signature ‘eerie’ moments, but also delves into love, loss, and attempting to find one’s identity by having to deal with the blatant sins and vices every human carries with them.

In the simplest of terms, we have a young man who is anything but simple. He has escaped pain and death from flames, bullying, and became a soc This author is one who never stops surprising readers. In fact, this new novel will leave some absolutely breathless, as Koontz builds an incredible plot that not only offers his signature ‘eerie’ moments, but also delves into love, loss, and attempting to find one’s identity by having to deal with the blatant sins and vices every human carries with them.

In the simplest of terms, we have a young man who is anything but simple. He has escaped pain and death from flames, bullying, and became a social outcast at a very young age. You see, people can’t look him in the eye. If they do, they attempt to kill him on sight. The boy knew, just by the way his mother acted by sending him out to live in the woods because she couldn’t stand the sight of him, that there must be something terribly wrong with him. And when he must face the loss of his parent, he finds himself in the City, walking the streets at night, completely covered, head down, living each day in fear as he tries to escape any gazes that could focus on him and cause his death. He meets up with a man he calls Father; a man with the same type of ‘illness’ he suffers from. Father moves the boy down below the city in a small group of rooms set within subway walls and tunnels so that they remain out of sight from everyone. There, he teaches him about survival and the ways of the world.

We also have a girl who is strong, determined, and wealthy, who has a great deal of power, yet is also a social outcast. To keep hidden in plain sight this girl chose to use costumes, dressing herself up with nose rings and lip piercings, putting herself out there as a Goth so people would simply walk by her and pay her no mind. She can alter the world with her gifts, and her fear of ever being touched makes it impossible for anyone to get close to her.

One night these two meet in the NYPL. He has come up from below the basement to discover the girl racing away from a true monster who wants to stop her from her mission of seeing him destroyed. A friendship between the two is formed; a romance is built that is never spoken about or shared, especially seeing as that the boy - now 26 - knows he is hideous to look at and has no chance with her if she ever sees his face. As they both hide behind their fears and masks, a plot unfolds that is both magical and frightening.

From an evil marionette that sits in the window of a toy store; to the very real world that’s filled with hate and the absence of mercy for our fellow man - Koontz has created a stunning, mysterious, suspenseful story that will have readers engrossed in every word. But the most amazing thing about this book is when Koontz opens the door to reveal why people are so afraid of this duo when they look them in the eyes.

Enthralled, captivated, this is one reviewer who can say this story has opened my eyes to faith, wonder, and a sadness I’ve never felt before. With this unforgettable story I will read over and over again throughout the years, Dean Koontz has given to me the gift of sight; as well as the realization that perhaps I didn’t really want to see - that absolute truth is a whole lot more frightening than any ‘monster’ a writer could possibly invent. If I knew Mr. Koontz I would thank him for Innocence, because not only did he once again entertain, but he taught me something I will cherish forever.

...more

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Dec 23, 2013 Ti rated it it was ok

Shelves: books-sent-to-me

The Short of It:

Interesting characters and setting, but lacking that special something that makes you think about a book long after reading it.

The Rest of It:

One can argue that Dean Koontz does not write books with substance. Yes, his books lately have been a little different from the books of his past. I guess his books have always been page turners, meant to captivate a reader for a short amount of time, but some of his older books have stayed with me for decades.

This is not one of those times ...more

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Feb 14, 2014 ♥ Marlene♥ rated it it was ok

Shelves: dean-koontz, fiction, kindle, fantasy

What happened to Dean Koontz. Does he have someone else write his books?

Back when I was a teen the day that King or Koontz books were published translated into Dutch cause I did not read English back then) I would buy and devour them.
I have been such a big fan of both readers but alas I have to say Dean Koontz is really lacking lately.

What was the name of his not so old book, quite recent about a house? ah .. 77 Shadow Street, that was so terrible and alas this is the same.

Terrible because of th ...more

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Jan 04, 2020 Cody | CodysBookshelf rated it really liked it

Shelves: dean-koontz

In some ways Dean Koontz’s most un-Koontzlike novel yet (purple prose and dog saviors aside), Innocence is a strange, unyielding work that doesn’t offer much in the way of cheap thrills or a taut narrative—things that are Koontz’s bread and butter. Koontz says the entirety of this story came to him in a dream; that is quite evident . . . the narrative has the languid, reality-bending quality of a dream. The reader knows this one isn’t much grounded in reality.

I almost gave this three stars, but ...more

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May 19, 2013 Crystal Craig rated it liked it

Shelves: 2014

I've been staring at the computer screen for ten minutes thinking about what to say about Dean Koontz's latest offering. The first thing that comes to mind, thank God it was better than his previous book, 77 Shadow Street; I suffered through that one.

I love the cover on this book. It's what first got my attention. The plot sounded really good too. Let's just say I had high hopes for this book and I was not disappointed for the first half. I enjoyed the main character, Addison. He was unique and ...more

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May 25, 2018 Scot Parker rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites-horror

Wow.

This book blew me away with its beauty and its message. In his novel Innocence, Koontz has created a stunning allegory of the darkness in our world. On the surface, this book follows a young man with a disfiguration so unsettling that it provokes immediate violence in anyone who sees his face and a young woman with such an intense social phobia that she cannot bear the slightest touch. Beneath this veneer, this is a story about the evilness of humanity, our wanton destruction of the world, o Wow.

This book blew me away with its beauty and its message. In his novel Innocence, Koontz has created a stunning allegory of the darkness in our world. On the surface, this book follows a young man with a disfiguration so unsettling that it provokes immediate violence in anyone who sees his face and a young woman with such an intense social phobia that she cannot bear the slightest touch. Beneath this veneer, this is a story about the evilness of humanity, our wanton destruction of the world, our love of violence and our inhumanity towards each other.

The surface story is interesting in and of itself. The characters are beautifully portrayed, the writing is elegant, and the tragedies are heart-rending. The allegory though is masterfully constructed and woven throughout the story. It carries religious undertones, which typically are a turn-off for me as a staunch atheist, but Koontz's story was so compelling that these did not detract enough for me to even question whether I'd be rating this book 5 stars or not. The themes crafted into this allegory could hardly be more relevant to the present world we live in.

I'm puzzled why this book isn't rated more highly on Goodreads. After reading reviews, it seems clear that some people did not understand the allegory, did not understand what Koontz was doing behind the superficial story of Addison and Gwyneth; this may account for the negative reviews. It's also entirely possible that the allegory provoked a reaction of anger or disgust in some; perhaps it hit too close to home or perhaps they rejected Koontz's pessimism regarding the state of the world we live in. I personally suspect that for many, it was because Koontz alluded to some disconcerting, often painful truths. Of course, opinions regarding books are in large part a matter of personal taste, and some people may have simply not enjoyed the book for other reasons. Still, I think it deserves a higher rating.

The bottom line: this book is a fantastic, deep, rich allegory of our world and of the struggle between good and evil, set against the backdrop of two young people struggling to survive with mysterious conditions. I strongly encourage everyone to give it a try. ...more

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topics	posts	views	last activity
What's the Name o...: SOLVED. Adult Horror. Man has hide his face, since childhood. He thinks he looks normal, but if someone looks upon his face, they try to kill him. Read around 2008. [s]	4	20	Jan 24, 2021 04:18PM
Koontzland - Dean...: Innocence and Wilderness (Group Read - January 2020)	33	34	Feb 04, 2020 08:56PM
What's the Name o...: SOLVED. Young man can’t let people see his face because it makes them angry. [s]	6	28	Nov 18, 2018 10:32AM
Around the Year i...: Innocence, by Dean Koontz	1	14	Jan 13, 2017 10:35PM

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About Dean Koontz

Dean Koontz

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Acknowledged as "America's most popular suspense novelist" (Rolling Stone) and as one of today's most celebrated and successful writers, Dean Ray Koontz has earned the devotion of millions of readers around the world and the praise of critics everywhere for tales of character, mystery, and adventure that strike to the core of what it means to be human.

Dean, the author of many #1 New York Times bes ...more

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“Each book is a mind alive, a life revealed, a world awaiting exploration, but living people are all those things, as well—and more, because their stories haven’t yet been completely told.” — 90 likes

“Love is absorbing, related to affection but stronger, full of appreciation for—and delight in—the other person, marked by a desire always to please and benefit her or him, always to smooth the loved one’s way through the roughness of the days and to do everything possible to make her or him feel profoundly valued.” — 26 likes

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