SUSAN S. (susieqmillsacoustics) -
Helpful Score: 3
This is the master storyteller we've not seen in awhile! This book is quite creepy from the start, but seems a bit confusing in the beginning, however he weaves the tale so that it comes together in a surprising and amazing way. The plausibility and science are very well done. A ghosts story, but not a ghosts story. I could not put it down!
Melissa B. (dragoneyes) -
Helpful Score: 3
I've been a long time Koontz fan. The last 5 or 6 years I have been on hiatus from his books because they were becoming such disappointments. I love the way Koontz pulls you in and doesn't let go but lately he hasn't been doing that. Then I got this book and decided to try him again. Although the pull was only "somewhat" there in the beginning it still held my interest. That pull did arrive about the middle of the book and then all the way until the end. I could hardly put it down!
The Pendleton is a luxury apartment complex built on 77th Shadow Street. The building has had a lot of weird things happen there and people have died but that was a long time ago. But now the building has seemed to awaken and everyone who lives there will be fighting for their lives.
The book is set up differently than other Koontz books. He had sections that were short snip-its of the characters, he had a section on "The One", and sections on things that were happening in the Pendleton and around. The ones on the characters were my favorite parts to read. Although I found them a bit confusing because there were so many characters, it didn't take but one or 2 sentences in each section to realize who they were exactly. I found myself really liking a lot of the characters and not liking others but thought the development of each was enjoyable.
I personally recommend this book but it seems that some of Koontz's fans like this one and some didn't. Guess you'll have to give it a try and see what you think.
The Pendleton is a luxury apartment complex built on 77th Shadow Street. The building has had a lot of weird things happen there and people have died but that was a long time ago. But now the building has seemed to awaken and everyone who lives there will be fighting for their lives.
The book is set up differently than other Koontz books. He had sections that were short snip-its of the characters, he had a section on "The One", and sections on things that were happening in the Pendleton and around. The ones on the characters were my favorite parts to read. Although I found them a bit confusing because there were so many characters, it didn't take but one or 2 sentences in each section to realize who they were exactly. I found myself really liking a lot of the characters and not liking others but thought the development of each was enjoyable.
I personally recommend this book but it seems that some of Koontz's fans like this one and some didn't. Guess you'll have to give it a try and see what you think.
Helpful Score: 2
As someone who is a huge fan of Dean Koontz, I was over the moon about winning a copy of his newest novel in a giveaway. I think I might have even done a little joyful dance in my chair. I never could have imagined I'd be rating this one with 2 stars, though perhaps I should have suspected it. Dean Koontz is one of those authors that I either love his book with a passion or I absolutely hate it. I've read some stinkers of his, but I wasn't expecting this one to be among them.
All I expected from this book was a good old fashioned ghost story. And the back cover seemed to promise just that. The Pendleton is a luxury apartment building that has long been plagued by strange happenings. The original owner's wife and daughter disappeared shortly before he killed himself. And that was just the beginning of the troubles in this home. Now its all starting again and the residents can only hope to unravel the mystery and survive the night.
This book started out interesting enough and I was eager to see what comes next. But soon I found myself getting a bit bored. By the end of the book I really, honestly didn't care anymore. I didn't care who lived or died, I didn't care what happened to them after the novel ended. Frankly, if I hadn't won this in a giveaway I probably wouldn't have finished it at all. Here is where I think this book failed:
1. There was just too much going on. It got way too confusing. I can only keep track of so many events happening at the same time. And this book bounces around between 10 different things happening at once, then introduces 10 more. I couldn't keep track of everything and so I just kept getting confused. Have we seen this ghost/creature before? When? No? I don't know! This book dragged on so much that it felt like it took place over a whole month, when really most of it took place in 90 minutes of time.
2. Too many narrators. There are at least 12 different characters that take turns narrating this book, which is just too many. It made it so that I couldn't keep anyone straight. Ignis...is he the doctor? Or the ex-marine? Or maybe he's the security guy? No, maybe the security guy was Hawks? Well then who was the paranoid conspiracy theorist if is wasn't Hawks? Winny's mom is who again, Twyla or maybe Sparkle? And because I couldn't keep the characters straight I couldn't connect with any of them. And if I can't connect with the characters then I really can't care about what happens to them.
3. Too late on the solution. By the time the book got around to revealing what was really going on at the Pendleton, I was too bored and confused to even pay that much attention. And the solution is a pretty complex one, so I didn't care to pay attention by that point. It would have required too much brain power and my brain was still frantically trying to put the 1000 other pieces together.
At the end of the day I was very disappointed with this and thankful that it was over because my brain could relax again and not over stress itself anymore. This is going into the Koontz stinker pile.
All I expected from this book was a good old fashioned ghost story. And the back cover seemed to promise just that. The Pendleton is a luxury apartment building that has long been plagued by strange happenings. The original owner's wife and daughter disappeared shortly before he killed himself. And that was just the beginning of the troubles in this home. Now its all starting again and the residents can only hope to unravel the mystery and survive the night.
This book started out interesting enough and I was eager to see what comes next. But soon I found myself getting a bit bored. By the end of the book I really, honestly didn't care anymore. I didn't care who lived or died, I didn't care what happened to them after the novel ended. Frankly, if I hadn't won this in a giveaway I probably wouldn't have finished it at all. Here is where I think this book failed:
1. There was just too much going on. It got way too confusing. I can only keep track of so many events happening at the same time. And this book bounces around between 10 different things happening at once, then introduces 10 more. I couldn't keep track of everything and so I just kept getting confused. Have we seen this ghost/creature before? When? No? I don't know! This book dragged on so much that it felt like it took place over a whole month, when really most of it took place in 90 minutes of time.
2. Too many narrators. There are at least 12 different characters that take turns narrating this book, which is just too many. It made it so that I couldn't keep anyone straight. Ignis...is he the doctor? Or the ex-marine? Or maybe he's the security guy? No, maybe the security guy was Hawks? Well then who was the paranoid conspiracy theorist if is wasn't Hawks? Winny's mom is who again, Twyla or maybe Sparkle? And because I couldn't keep the characters straight I couldn't connect with any of them. And if I can't connect with the characters then I really can't care about what happens to them.
3. Too late on the solution. By the time the book got around to revealing what was really going on at the Pendleton, I was too bored and confused to even pay that much attention. And the solution is a pretty complex one, so I didn't care to pay attention by that point. It would have required too much brain power and my brain was still frantically trying to put the 1000 other pieces together.
At the end of the day I was very disappointed with this and thankful that it was over because my brain could relax again and not over stress itself anymore. This is going into the Koontz stinker pile.
Helpful Score: 1
This book was slow in the beginning but I'm glad I stuck with it. It has a lot going on at once and several different stories all rolled into one. But it is an excellent story and well written.
Helpful Score: 1
Really good read ! Creepy page turner ,dean koontz does it again !
Helpful Score: 1
I am a big Dean Koontz fan, but I have to say this is one of the worst books I have ever read by him. I found myself skipping pages just to get the book done. I was very disappointed.
I never know what to expect from Koontz. I was expecting this book to be possibly a kind of haunted house type thriller but in actuality it was more of a sci-fi what-if novel with themes of overpopulation and post-humanism. I was somewhat surprised at this because the recent Dan Brown novel Inferno also used these same themes but in a totally different way. Shadow Street took the reader into a very bleak future where mankind had been wiped out as a result of a need for population control and use of nano-technology to develop super-humans who were more-or-less immortal. A very scary portrayal of this future including the use of "pogramites" to eliminate the overpopulation. I would mildly recommend this book and rate it above some of Koontz' more recent novels but still not in a league with his earlier work such as Watchers.
This is honestly the first Dean Koontz book I did not like. I felt like he was trying to write like someone else and he epically failed at it. Too many characters - little to no character development. The storyline was very confusing - way too much scientific mumbo jumbo. I'm not actually sure what ultimately happened - I couldn't get it straight in my mind. I enjoyed the last two pages and that's about it.
If this book would have been his first manuscript, Dean Koontz would NOT be a best selling author....Most disappointing book I have ever read from him. And I have read 95% of his books...Made no sense what so ever....Stupid....Stupid...book...
Walter J. (reading-is-bliss) -
Koontz used to be my favorite author. I had read most everything he'd written and enjoyed most everyone of them, some more than others. There is no question he is a true artist. His ability to paint pictures with words has always amazed me and in so far as this talent is concerned I continue to believe there is no one who does it better. Yet as for his latest, 77 Shadow Street, the problem (at least for me) is the picture he has chosen to paint is a hideous one, not at all to my liking. I managed to read through it but did not enjoy it at all.
Kay H. (cookingkay) -
I wanted to quit this book more then I wanted to finish it. There are so many people in the book and it goes back and forth so much it gets confusing and easy to lose interest.
GAIL L. (my2luvsemmyandmally) reviewed 77 Shadow Street (77 Shadow Street, Bk 1) on + 758 more book reviews
A stinker of a book ! Very disappointing for a Dean Koontz book, but I do agree with some other reviewers who have also rated some of his other books that you either LOVE a book he wrote or HATE it! This one for me seemed way too drawn out with too many characters to keep up with which in turn made the storyline more confusing! I am a huge fan of Koontz.....but not with this book......just disappointed as I expected more.
Despite previous reviews, I thought this was very much a 'haunted house' story with other way-out-there paranormal elements thrown in. After reading complaints of too many characters generating confusion, I went into the story making a list of the characters and their distinguishing traits to keep me sorted. I also referred to the handy floor plan to follow along. Even so, I didn't feel that pulled me outside of the story but rather enhanced it. I was swept away, creeped out, and went sleepless a couple of nights; all signs of an enthralling tale. My only disappointment was the final scientific explanation that took the shine off an otherwise spine-tingling and unearthly novel. 4 stars.
This is one book that I would not read while alone at home. Both creepy and spooky at the same time. This is one of the better Dean Koontz books I've read. You gotta read this one!
Pure Dean Koontz..
