29 December 2009
So, I've been a fan of Dean Koontz's books ever since I read Watchers. That enchanting book about an intelligent Golden Retriever, genetically engineered by the American intelligence community, which escapes and alters lives hooked me. Strangers was his next book that I read and it was like several books / stories rolled into one. His latest offering, Breathless, is somewhat similar to Strangers. It's several stories that culminate in a single ending, but somewhere along the way, Dean lost the magic. Breathless really comes across as more of a money-generating product than a wondrous story to be shared by the author.
Koontz's latest effort includes various storylines about:
- A military veteran sniper who now makes wood furniture by hand;
- A female veterinarian who was abused as a child;
- DOGS - they always play a major role in Koontz novels;
- A sociaopathic killer who has a
- twin brother who lives with his wife on a farm not far from the veteran sniper.
Of course, somehow they must all come together in just the right way to make the story unfold. In the midst of all of their stories is another about new life and the wonder of creation. (No, this isn't a religious docudrama, but something mysterious has to be in there somewhere) The big difference between Strangers and Breathless aside from the relative lack of character development that comparitively exists in the latter, is this: In Strangers all of the character stories were intricately linked to an event that made them part of the plot. In Breathless only two characters (and a dog) are connected to the "mysterious event" and everyone else in the story is linked to those three characters.
What's that mean? It means that the sub-stories focused on the killer and farming couple are essentially unnecessary to the story line right up until they link in with the story of the main characters. In other words, those sub-stories simply fill pages. Even with them, this book is no where near the Strangers 700+ page count - in fact, although I don't have it sitting next to me, I'm pretty sure it doesn't get close to 300. Half the pages could probably be cut and I'm left feeling like Koontz might have done better releasing the truly important 150 or so pages as a short story somewhere instead of putting it out in hardback as it with a cover price well over $20.
So, Koontz fans... I think he let us down with this one. Profitable for him? Absolutely. His fan base is too big for it not to be. A truly interesting, page-turner? Not so much.
I'm holding out hope that he does better with the next one... but I'll likely check it out at the library before I put my hard-earned dollars down at a bookstore to have one on my shelf.
Happy Trails!
