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Ricochet Joe
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Can an ordinary guy make extraordinary choices in a battle between humanity and unearthly evil?
Joe Mandel is a perfectly ordinary guy from a perfectly ordinary town—a college student and community volunteer who dreams of one day publishing a novel. When a series of strange intuitions leads him to a crime in progress, Joe jumps headlong into danger without hesitatio
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Kindle Edition, 95 pages
Published
December 28th 2017
by Amazon Original Stories
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“I might be a writer someday.” — Joe
“Oh, I hope not. You seem so nice.” — Portia
It’s deadly serious as this wonderful little novelette from Dean Koontz begins, but in telling how young Joe Mandel reached that moment in time — so to speak — the narrative is filled with sweetness and charm. There is almost a whimsical tone to Ricochet Joe which is quite refreshing. Joe lives in the small town of Little City, population around twenty-thousand. His life there is pretty good, and he considers himself ...more
“Oh, I hope not. You seem so nice.” — Portia
It’s deadly serious as this wonderful little novelette from Dean Koontz begins, but in telling how young Joe Mandel reached that moment in time — so to speak — the narrative is filled with sweetness and charm. There is almost a whimsical tone to Ricochet Joe which is quite refreshing. Joe lives in the small town of Little City, population around twenty-thousand. His life there is pretty good, and he considers himself ...more
Ricochet Joe
By: Dean Koontz
Narrated by: James Patrick Cronin
This tells about an average Joe that sudden acts strange, unique powers. The sheriff's daughter is with him. What she tells him blows his mind! Time, space supernatural, aliens, parasites, and powers. Twists and turns! Awesomeness.
Great narration.
By: Dean Koontz
Narrated by: James Patrick Cronin
This tells about an average Joe that sudden acts strange, unique powers. The sheriff's daughter is with him. What she tells him blows his mind! Time, space supernatural, aliens, parasites, and powers. Twists and turns! Awesomeness.
Great narration.
Joe Mandel is an average guy. He leads a normal life, has normal friends, a normal family and normal life plans, if wanting to be a writer is normal. He even volunteers to help his comunity. The day he heads out to pick up trash on the side of the road with a local group, Volunteers for a Better Future, turns out to be the last day his life will be normal. The weird feeling he gets about an elderly woman being mugged.....the weird feeling he gets about a business owner being threatened by thugs.
...more
This is a short story from Dean Koontz and I believe it is not connected to any of his novels. In this one, Joe has developed powers that when he touches an item he sees it connected to another item that eventually will lead him to a crime. Next thing he knows he is thrust into a battle between cosmic beings that have been waging a war for some time.
This was my first experience with a kindle in motion ebook. I wasn't impressed with this aspect. I can see that one day this feature will enhance th ...more
This was my first experience with a kindle in motion ebook. I wasn't impressed with this aspect. I can see that one day this feature will enhance th ...more
Of Course There’s A Golden Retriever
A phenomenal short story by Dean Koontz that includes all of Koontz’s magical story elements; love, mystery, death, magic, pondering life and its meanings and of course; a golden retriever.
A phenomenal short story by Dean Koontz that includes all of Koontz’s magical story elements; love, mystery, death, magic, pondering life and its meanings and of course; a golden retriever.
Ricochet is right!
If you have not read The Silent Corner or Whispering Room, I suggest you do though it's not completely necessary. Art Bell had a fantastic interview with Dean Koontz on parallel universes and his own personal experiences with them. I wish it were still available as it would be the perfect supplement to understanding the story. Pardon the cryptic review, but the story is excellent and fascinating in its musing on time and space.
If you have not read The Silent Corner or Whispering Room, I suggest you do though it's not completely necessary. Art Bell had a fantastic interview with Dean Koontz on parallel universes and his own personal experiences with them. I wish it were still available as it would be the perfect supplement to understanding the story. Pardon the cryptic review, but the story is excellent and fascinating in its musing on time and space.
2.5 stars
Not my favorite Koontz - I won't be continuing a series with this one.
Not my favorite Koontz - I won't be continuing a series with this one.
Throw away all your concepts of reality, people. This story twists and turns and pushes you to a conclusion a character adjusts to with maddening pace. You can pretty much get used to anything, can't you? Reality being stripped away from a single person before some semblance asserts itself even as that semblance isn't exactly as it appears? Maybe then you get an idea of what our hero Joe goes through in this ninety five page story. Koontz is poetic, funny, terrifying and likely in my head or som
...more
I saw this on Kindle Unlimited, which I finally decided to give a go for a month during the free trial, and well, it's Koontz so I couldn't pass it up! It has graphics and photos riddled throughout that while didn't enhance my reading experience, was fun to see here and there throughout this short read.
Ordinary Joe becomes not so ordinary. Has no idea where he wants to go in life and then meets Portia and automatically knows that wherever he goes, he'd like for her to be there. Then this book go ...more
Ordinary Joe becomes not so ordinary. Has no idea where he wants to go in life and then meets Portia and automatically knows that wherever he goes, he'd like for her to be there. Then this book go ...more
This was a silly little self-indulgent novella. My parents love Dean Koontz, and I used to really enjoy him, but this was not particularly intriguing, interesting, or engaging.
This went real weird, real fast.
So I saw "Ricochet Joe" reviewed on another blog and it sounded like an interesting enough novella, especially given there was a time I would devour several Koontz books a year. I was hesitant because it was "Kindle in Motion" title but when I saw that through Prime, I could borrow it for free, I figured I had nothing to lose.
Joe is an average college student in an average small town. One day, he starts "ricocheting" around town - meaning he would touch an object and a word would pop in his hea ...more
Joe is an average college student in an average small town. One day, he starts "ricocheting" around town - meaning he would touch an object and a word would pop in his hea ...more
It was engaging. I enjoyed it. But it’s the beginning of a story. It’s not fully developed or complete.
This is a 95 page short story. It’s fun with new ideas involving good and evil creatures on earth. The end was partially complete. But this story needs to be continued, the powers explained, and justice in the end.
I was disappointed to find that my Kindle Voyage e-reader would not show the “Kindle in Motion” graphics. Apparently that only works on tablets and smart phone apps. The instructions ...more
This is a 95 page short story. It’s fun with new ideas involving good and evil creatures on earth. The end was partially complete. But this story needs to be continued, the powers explained, and justice in the end.
I was disappointed to find that my Kindle Voyage e-reader would not show the “Kindle in Motion” graphics. Apparently that only works on tablets and smart phone apps. The instructions ...more
A modern fable
In Ricochet Joe, Dean Koontz has produced a tightly packed story with heroes you can recognize and love, facing a nameless and repellent evil from Elsewhere. Just as Joe goes from innocence to worldly wisdom in almost the blink of an eye, you will find yourself quite willing to embrace the concepts of malleable space/time and otherworldly evil that appear in this most ordinary of towns. Koontz proves you don’t need an oversized novel to create a believable modern fable with depth a ...more
In Ricochet Joe, Dean Koontz has produced a tightly packed story with heroes you can recognize and love, facing a nameless and repellent evil from Elsewhere. Just as Joe goes from innocence to worldly wisdom in almost the blink of an eye, you will find yourself quite willing to embrace the concepts of malleable space/time and otherworldly evil that appear in this most ordinary of towns. Koontz proves you don’t need an oversized novel to create a believable modern fable with depth a ...more
2.5 stars rounded up to 3 because it is a Kindle in Motion story
Standard Koontz fare. Golden Retriever, hero with unblemished heart, a battle between good and evil.
The first 2/3 of the book I was curious about what would happen, the ending was muddled and difficult to follow.
Haven’t been reading very many of DK’s books the last couple years, and I used to be a DK addict. His work has been cookie cutter and boring to me.
Standard Koontz fare. Golden Retriever, hero with unblemished heart, a battle between good and evil.
The first 2/3 of the book I was curious about what would happen, the ending was muddled and difficult to follow.
Haven’t been reading very many of DK’s books the last couple years, and I used to be a DK addict. His work has been cookie cutter and boring to me.
Another of my walk-the-dog audiobooks. Weirdly interesting. It mixes paranormal with time travel. The whole parallel universe different time lines thing both infuriates and astounds me. I don't understand how it all works, and we don't even know if it's true- it's just a theory. But... what if it is?
This was an enjoyable and captivating short story involving good vs. evil, an innocent young hero, quantum theory, parallel universes, and a golden retriever. I liked the Kindle in Motion animated illustrations. I wonder if there will be more stories featuring Joe Ricochet. I hope so.
A Dean Koontz short story. It’s a great story. Battle between true innocence and pure evil. A evil that has been here as long as time. Time is not black and white like you may view it. Dean Koontz at his best. There’s even a Golden Retriever, his signature breed.
Jan 12, 2018
Andrew Shaffer
added it
Reads like notes for a YA novel that was never fleshed out.
Mini-Review:
Currently on KU Read & Listen.
Cool premise & I followed every step, twist, fall and dive into the unknown. Solid short story with clearly etched characters. If DK decided to flesh this one out into a book, I would be in line to read it. A different take of time, choices & the cost of being chosen. ...more
Currently on KU Read & Listen.
Cool premise & I followed every step, twist, fall and dive into the unknown. Solid short story with clearly etched characters. If DK decided to flesh this one out into a book, I would be in line to read it. A different take of time, choices & the cost of being chosen. ...more
3.5 stars.
A nice audio book that draws the reader in and never lets them go. This proves that Mr. Koontz still has the ability to write novels/novellas at the highest levels he has maintained throughout these many years. His style, imagination and sense of plot development has not decreased one word - as is proven in this work. Ending could be a vastly improved, though.
A nice audio book that draws the reader in and never lets them go. This proves that Mr. Koontz still has the ability to write novels/novellas at the highest levels he has maintained throughout these many years. His style, imagination and sense of plot development has not decreased one word - as is proven in this work. Ending could be a vastly improved, though.
Getting back to old self
This was an interesting diversion from Dean's current books. The story line is good and, of course, lends itself to many more Ricochet stories. The Kindle in Motion is great. That will open a whole new field of ebooks!! Not as good as the Moonlight Bay stories. We've been promised for ten years to have the third book, but, I think, for some personal reason, Dean won't release it. Meanwhile we settle for stories like this. It is an interesting new direction.
This was an interesting diversion from Dean's current books. The story line is good and, of course, lends itself to many more Ricochet stories. The Kindle in Motion is great. That will open a whole new field of ebooks!! Not as good as the Moonlight Bay stories. We've been promised for ten years to have the third book, but, I think, for some personal reason, Dean won't release it. Meanwhile we settle for stories like this. It is an interesting new direction.
A thoughtful quick read
Some seem to find Koontz easy to hate. I've always been entertained by his book. Never knew anything about this one because it was never advertised but it was an enjoyable quick read.
Some seem to find Koontz easy to hate. I've always been entertained by his book. Never knew anything about this one because it was never advertised but it was an enjoyable quick read.
I don't know if this book is actually long enough to be considered a book, but if you removed all the prose about a girl drinking an ice cream soda this entire grouping of words would probably fit on one piece of loose leaf. Single spaced, of course.
This book "reads" (in quotes, because I listened to it) as if it's a first draft and Koontz was just trying to fulfill a contract commitment. Seriously, he spends more time discussing the aforementioned ice cream soda than he does Joe's being chosen ...more
This book "reads" (in quotes, because I listened to it) as if it's a first draft and Koontz was just trying to fulfill a contract commitment. Seriously, he spends more time discussing the aforementioned ice cream soda than he does Joe's being chosen ...more
Extremely abrupt ending. Disappointing
This is a mildly entertaining little thriller. It has a pretty good premise, but the whole thing seemed a bit under cooked. The problem isn't that it's short; I love short fiction, but for a short story or a novella to work, I think it has to have one really interesting twist, thought, or a character who springs vividly to life, or just a bunch of laughs (nothing else is necessary if a book makes you laugh). There's nothing like that here. Koontz goes from point A to point B without any twists o
...more
My rating: Two and a half stars
Not what I expected...
I love Dean Koontz, but this story felt a bit rushed. I would have liked a little more character development and interaction. The ending felt abrupt and left me with a few unanswered questions. I feel this would have been better executed as a full length book, not a short story. That being said, I enjoyed the main characters (Joe and Portia) and would definitely revisit this world if another installment is written!
Not what I expected...
I love Dean Koontz, but this story felt a bit rushed. I would have liked a little more character development and interaction. The ending felt abrupt and left me with a few unanswered questions. I feel this would have been better executed as a full length book, not a short story. That being said, I enjoyed the main characters (Joe and Portia) and would definitely revisit this world if another installment is written!
The story was too short, but I really liked the moving pictures idea.
3.5 stars. A fun story but with a little too much "later-Koontz" cheesy/whimsy to be especially thrilling or engaging for me.
Fun, engaging and enjoyable. I really liked this one. The characters and the story were really good. Would have liked to see more of this world and these characters, but it was great fun.
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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| Koontzland - Dean...: Ricochet Joe--a brand knew Koontz e-book! | 8 | 36 | May 05, 2018 02:01PM |
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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
Dean, the author of many #1 New York Times bes ...more
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