Breathless (2009), Dean Koontz
Out of Breath - My Favorite Author Gets a C+
I have always enjoyed Dean Koontz, but “Breathless” disappointed me a little. I give it a C+. The story revolves around a location in the Colorado Rockies, where Grady Adams and his Irish wolfhound, have just discovered two creatures unlike anything they've ever seen before. As they welcome these mysterious animals into their home, they discover that their arrival coincides with a wondrous event that will forever change the way we see the world. Through the eyes of Grady, a furniture maker and an retired army sniper; Camilia Rivers, a veterinarian who see her horses, dogs, and even a duck and a goat start acting in odd ways; a coldhearted killer named Henry Rouvroy, who is more than he seems; Lamar Woodsley a card counter and mathematician who has expertise in chaos theory; and finally, Tom Bigger, a homeless man that sees something wondrous which puts him on a quest to redeem his past, the book flows towards chaos.
Dean never ceases to astonish me with all the books he can produce in a year. After “Relentless,” I was ready for this next book to break the trend of “boy, girl, dog, overcoming bad,” that he has put out over the past few years. In other words, it seems that we are getting different variations of the same story. The story starts with the same feel as "The Taking," showing mysterious events and creating a sense of intrigue. But Dean must have gotten distracted by the yummy food at Zovs by the end of the book. The last chapter wrapped up all the loose ends in a few paragraphs, and I was still wondering how he was going to wrap up these intertwining stories.
The book has a fast paced plot, laced with just the right amount of dread, wonder, and redemption. But in the end we are left with a three-layered cake without the icing. I think the setup of the book was good, and there was a lot of characters with rich histories, many of them rooted in deep pain. The gentle furniture maker who used to be a military assassin, the dedicated veterinarian who was the victim of mental and physical abuse as a child, a first-time killer whose Harvard education and political pursuits blind him to reality, Tom who has distorted himself unimaginable to a normal person, and Dr. Lamar who reminisces about his friend who was killed by a senator. Overall we have an overriding mystery, two nearly indescribable creatures who appear out of thin air and display fuzzy-animal and human behavior. Why are they here? Where did they come from? What are they here to show us? And will they become guinea pigs in the labs of big, bad Homeland Security? And then the disappointing ending left me without a tip at the table. Two books this year and I am waiting for one that will bring me out of the chaos. I started the Lost City of Z. I’ll let you know what I think here!
I have always enjoyed Dean Koontz, but “Breathless” disappointed me a little. I give it a C+. The story revolves around a location in the Colorado Rockies, where Grady Adams and his Irish wolfhound, have just discovered two creatures unlike anything they've ever seen before. As they welcome these mysterious animals into their home, they discover that their arrival coincides with a wondrous event that will forever change the way we see the world. Through the eyes of Grady, a furniture maker and an retired army sniper; Camilia Rivers, a veterinarian who see her horses, dogs, and even a duck and a goat start acting in odd ways; a coldhearted killer named Henry Rouvroy, who is more than he seems; Lamar Woodsley a card counter and mathematician who has expertise in chaos theory; and finally, Tom Bigger, a homeless man that sees something wondrous which puts him on a quest to redeem his past, the book flows towards chaos.
Dean never ceases to astonish me with all the books he can produce in a year. After “Relentless,” I was ready for this next book to break the trend of “boy, girl, dog, overcoming bad,” that he has put out over the past few years. In other words, it seems that we are getting different variations of the same story. The story starts with the same feel as "The Taking," showing mysterious events and creating a sense of intrigue. But Dean must have gotten distracted by the yummy food at Zovs by the end of the book. The last chapter wrapped up all the loose ends in a few paragraphs, and I was still wondering how he was going to wrap up these intertwining stories.
The book has a fast paced plot, laced with just the right amount of dread, wonder, and redemption. But in the end we are left with a three-layered cake without the icing. I think the setup of the book was good, and there was a lot of characters with rich histories, many of them rooted in deep pain. The gentle furniture maker who used to be a military assassin, the dedicated veterinarian who was the victim of mental and physical abuse as a child, a first-time killer whose Harvard education and political pursuits blind him to reality, Tom who has distorted himself unimaginable to a normal person, and Dr. Lamar who reminisces about his friend who was killed by a senator. Overall we have an overriding mystery, two nearly indescribable creatures who appear out of thin air and display fuzzy-animal and human behavior. Why are they here? Where did they come from? What are they here to show us? And will they become guinea pigs in the labs of big, bad Homeland Security? And then the disappointing ending left me without a tip at the table. Two books this year and I am waiting for one that will bring me out of the chaos. I started the Lost City of Z. I’ll let you know what I think here!
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