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Innocence
(Innocence #1)
by
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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John Huntington
Yes and the guy who did it, did a great job
Community Reviews
Showing 1-30

Start your review of Innocence (Innocence, #1)

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

"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
"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

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

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 ...more
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 ...more

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 ...more
Reading the second time, I already knew how this story ended - and that was my biggest disappointment with my initial reading. For thi ...more

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

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

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
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

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 ...more
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 ...more

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 ...more
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 ...more

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
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

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
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

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

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
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

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
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

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 ...more
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 ...more

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
(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

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

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 ...more
I read this on audio and took all kinds ...more

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 ...more
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 ...more

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
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

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

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
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

Apr 11, 2018
Jason Parent
added it
So, yeah, I read this...

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 ...more
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 ...more

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
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

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
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

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

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
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

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 ...more
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 ...more
topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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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 |
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
Dean, the author of many #1 New York Times bes ...more
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