dean koontz. i love this guy, but he just sold me the same plot again.....

[Edited 7/12/10 6:27am]

. pointless diatribe.

[Edited 7/12/10 6:28am]

XxAxX said:

. pointless diatribe

[Edited 7/12/10 4:15am]

Odd Thomas has got to be, in my opinion, is a book with a collection of characters who have got to be some of the most charming and endearing characters in modern pop literature.

It's got a stupid plot, a cheesy climax, and still it managed to charm the socks off of me. The strength of odd Thomas was not it's plot---it was how the characters interact and navigate their way through the plot. It was the fact you believed the story teller, Odd Thomas, is truly a man in his 20's, not not just the voice of the author (which you'll get from Anne Rice's tired ass narratives).

The main issues I see with Koontz is that he's not as good as Michael Chrighton in suspense, and not nearly as good at Stephen King in horror. Both the late Chrighton and currently living King are able to drop plot 'hints' throughout their stories at end up dazzling you later on in the book with that (of course! Why didn't I think of that?) epiphany. A genius example of this is Stephen King's description of bedside objects in Gerald's game, which become uber important later on in the story. Koontz's hints in Odd Thomas seemed too obvious and amateurish in comparison.

However, to me the strength of Koontz is that you can read one of his books front-to-back in a day or two if you wanted, and be pretty darned entertained. His books have none of that "lawd help me please finish this book" sense that King's books like "The Stand" have.

Now back to Odd Thomas. I was extremely disspapointed in the second installment of that series. The first book was so charming, and the second book was almost devoid of charm.

I read only 2 chapters of the third book which seemed like an honest effort to rekindle the spirit of the first book, but my personal life went in the crapper so I had to shelve the book. Perhaps I should pick up "forever odd" again.

TheVoid said:

XxAxX said:

. pointless diatribe

[Edited 7/12/10 4:15am]

Odd Thomas has got to be, in my opinion, is a book with a collection of characters who have got to be some of the most charming and endearing characters in modern pop literature.

It's got a stupid plot, a cheesy climax, and still it managed to charm the socks off of me. The strength of odd Thomas was not it's plot---it was how the characters interact and navigate their way through the plot. It was the fact you believed the story teller, Odd Thomas, is truly a man in his 20's, not not just the voice of the author (which you'll get from Anne Rice's tired ass narratives).

The main issues I see with Koontz is that he's not as good as Michael Chrighton in suspense, and not nearly as good at Stephen King in horror. Both the late Chrighton and currently living King are able to drop plot 'hints' throughout their stories at end up dazzling you later on in the book with that (of course! Why didn't I think of that?) epiphany. A genius example of this is Stephen King's description of bedside objects in Gerald's game, which become uber important later on in the story. Koontz's hints in Odd Thomas seemed too obvious and amateurish in comparison.

However, to me the strength of Koontz is that you can read one of his books front-to-back in a day or two if you wanted, and be pretty darned entertained. His books have none of that "lawd help me please finish this book" sense that King's books like "The Stand" have.

Now back to Odd Thomas. I was extremely disspapointed in the second installment of that series. The first book was so charming, and the second book was almost devoid of charm.

I read only 2 chapters of the third book which seemed like an honest effort to rekindle the spirit of the first book, but my personal life went in the crapper so I had to shelve the book. Perhaps I should pick up "forever odd" again.

i came back to delete this thread, but since you've posted ... anyway, who am i to critique the master? just another part time hack, me. sorry about this mean spirited rant.

but actually, i have to agree with what you say about the Odd Thomas series. i love that story and the Frankenstein series. those characters examine their own lives, and grow. they are a mixture of darkness and light. especially the Frankenstein character. he is not only aware of his own inherent failings, he struggles to overcome them, becoming even more human than humankind. i love it when koontz writes like that.

still, i bought and read 'relentless' this weekend. it was not fresh. in past threads here i've joked about how the same characters keep turning up in his stories, as follows:

the man (usually a wounded hero, having lost someone special and still agonizing over the loss), the woman (angel/saviour with whom he falls in love or is already in love), the precocious kid (the lame/genius/orphan) the trusty (genetically enhanced, magically intelligent) golden retriever/doggie.

together, these four embark on a journey/car chase the goal of which is to stop the mutated/genetically altered/monster/virus from destroying humankind. this multiple hero's journey is not just a thrill ride of car chases and buildings that explode right after our heroes leave them, the journey is also one of self-discovery, wherein they learn that love triumphs over evil every time.

sure enough, 'relentless' is about: a man, a woman, the precocious kid, and a talented (for once, non golden retriever) who stop an evil monster/demon who focuses on and chooses their personal lives to destroy. over the course of a lengthy and extended car chase (and yes, the house explodes just as they leave it). they turn the tables on the evil monster and prove that, once again love conquers all.

bah. my real problem is i'd rather be writing. but i have to sign off and get to work.

i guess i really, really envy dean koontz.

[Edited 7/12/10 6:23am]

i also read 'The Girl Who Played With Fire' this weekend.

now THAT was dark. Stieg Larsson is compelling. i kind of don't enjoy the way all of his characters endlessly boink each other, but that's just me.

not sure if i want to read the third book in the series. probably will though.

I'm reading "Caught" by Harlan Coben. So far so good.

Shoewhore said:

I'm reading "Caught" by Harlan Coben. So far so good.

harlan coben is a great writer

I'm currently reading this. It's a good read so far.

I've recently read all 3 Stieg Larsson books. Great trilogy. Not great literature, but very fun reads. Can't wait to see the movies too. Lisbeth rocks!!

BlackAdder7 said:

Shoewhore said:

I'm reading "Caught" by Harlan Coben. So far so good.

harlan coben is a great writer

This is the first book of his I've read. It sucked me right in though!

Empress said:

I've recently read all 3 Stieg Larsson books. Great trilogy. Not great literature, but very fun reads. Can't wait to see the movies too. Lisbeth rocks!!

i was joking about this series to myself as i started reading book #2.

"well, at least i know one thing," i chuckled as i opened the book, "the heroine survives to star in another book."

and while in the first book he wrapped all the loose ends up (and even tossed in a few extra, just to wrap those up too), this second book is a departure from that style. good stuff

[Edited 7/12/10 16:19pm]

TheVoid said:

XxAxX said:

. pointless diatribe

[Edited 7/12/10 4:15am]

Odd Thomas has got to be, in my opinion, is a book with a collection of characters who have got to be some of the most charming and endearing characters in modern pop literature.

It's got a stupid plot, a cheesy climax, and still it managed to charm the socks off of me. The strength of odd Thomas was not it's plot---it was how the characters interact and navigate their way through the plot. It was the fact you believed the story teller, Odd Thomas, is truly a man in his 20's, not not just the voice of the author (which you'll get from Anne Rice's tired ass narratives).

The main issues I see with Koontz is that he's not as good as Michael Chrighton in suspense, and not nearly as good at Stephen King in horror. Both the late Chrighton and currently living King are able to drop plot 'hints' throughout their stories at end up dazzling you later on in the book with that (of course! Why didn't I think of that?) epiphany. A genius example of this is Stephen King's description of bedside objects in Gerald's game, which become uber important later on in the story. Koontz's hints in Odd Thomas seemed too obvious and amateurish in comparison.

However, to me the strength of Koontz is that you can read one of his books front-to-back in a day or two if you wanted, and be pretty darned entertained. His books have none of that "lawd help me please finish this book" sense that King's books like "The Stand" have.

Now back to Odd Thomas. I was extremely disspapointed in the second installment of that series. The first book was so charming, and the second book was almost devoid of charm.

I read only 2 chapters of the third book which seemed like an honest effort to rekindle the spirit of the first book, but my personal life went in the crapper so I had to shelve the book. Perhaps I should pick up "forever odd" again.

hey i forgot to mention, read stephen king's "a buick 8" recently. i ended up falling in love with king all over again. and, you are right about how koontz is an easy read.

and, yes the second book in the Odd Thomas (the monastery madness) sort of turned me off the series for a while. the third book in Odd Thomas is also strange. but, it's worth reading because of how Odd Thomas sort of, kind of, i don't want to spoil it. but if you loved the character of stormy in the first book, you should read the third one.

[Edited 7/12/10 9:20am]

BlackAdder7 said:

Shoewhore said:

I'm reading "Caught" by Harlan Coben. So far so good.

my socks don't fit right

we still love you dear.

Do plays count? I read The Norman Conquests - a trilogy by Alan Ayckbourn. It's faaaaaaaabulous.

One of the theatre groups here is going to perform it this season. The three plays take place in three rooms of a house, with the same people, on the same weekend. They're going to do them in repertory over a month, with the same cast for all.

I want this show bad.

Genesia said:

Do plays count? I read The Norman Conquests - a trilogy by Alan Ayckbourn. It's faaaaaaaabulous.

One of the theatre groups here is going to perform it this season. The three plays take place in three rooms of a house, with the same people, on the same weekend. They're going to do them in repertory over a month, with the same cast for all.

I want this show bad.

sure, plays count. good for you!

Do plays count? I read The Norman Conquests - a trilogy by Alan Ayckbourn. It's terrible!

One of the theatre groups here is going to perform it this season. The three plays take place in three rooms of a house, with the same people, on the same weekend. They're going to do them in repertory over a month, with the same cast for all.

I loathe this show bad.

I've posted a thread about this before, but this has got to be one of the oddest, most charming, and deeply disturbing books I've read in ages:

There are parts of the story where I couldn't tell dream from reality.

But the characters are wonderful, and I found myself getting teary eyed

in one of the chapters (very rare for me).

And this book is possibly one of the best books I've ever read

[Edited 7/12/10 9:33am]

XxAxX said:

Genesia said:

Do plays count? I read The Norman Conquests - a trilogy by Alan Ayckbourn. It's faaaaaaaabulous.

One of the theatre groups here is going to perform it this season. The three plays take place in three rooms of a house, with the same people, on the same weekend. They're going to do them in repertory over a month, with the same cast for all.

I want this show bad.

sure, plays count. good for you!

In the last month, I've read The Norman Conquests, 84 Charing Cross Road, The Glass Menagerie and Dinner With Friends. Charing Cross and Menagerie will have their auditions in the next month or so.

This season has a lot of potential!

TheVoid said:

I've posted a thread about this before, but this has got to be one of the oddest, most charming, and deeply disturbing books I've read in ages:

There are parts of the story where I can tell dream from reality.

But the characters are wonderful, and I found myself getting teary eyed

in one of the chapters (very rare for me).

And this book is possibly one of the best books I've ever read

murakami! wind-up bird chronicles

XxAxX said:

TheVoid said:

I've posted a thread about this before, but this has got to be one of the oddest, most charming, and deeply disturbing books I've read in ages:

There are parts of the story where I can tell dream from reality.

But the characters are wonderful, and I found myself getting teary eyed

in one of the chapters (very rare for me).

And this book is possibly one of the best books I've ever read

murakami! wind-up bird chronicles

YES!

I haven't read it yet. Any good?

TheVoid said:

XxAxX said:

murakami! wind-up bird chronicles

YES!

I haven't read it yet. Any good?

i don't know, haven't finished the books all the way through yet. it's complicated. put it aside to read 'sex lives of cannibals' and never took them back up. heh. love the title though. i do sense it will be a reading marathon i'd better be ready for.

[Edited 7/12/10 9:51am]

I've just finished reading Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger. It was pretty good.

florescent said:

I've just finished reading Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger. It was pretty good.

what's it about? funny? scary?

any monsters in it?

XxAxX said:

florescent said:

I've just finished reading Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger. It was pretty good.

what's it about? funny? scary?

any monsters in it?

Nah, not scary or funny...

Have you read or seen the film The Time Traveller's Wife? It's by the same author.

I hat trying to describe books... but it's about a woman from London who dies and leaves everything to her twin nieces who live in America and who never met her. They go to live in her home and find out stuff about her... twists and turns about the past... and the dead woman's ghost is there too and communicated with them.

...and it has a sad ending.

God, i'm so crap at describing plots....

florescent said:

XxAxX said:

what's it about? funny? scary?

any monsters in it?

Nah, not scary or funny...

Have you read or seen the film The Time Traveller's Wife? It's by the same author.

I hat trying to describe books... but it's about a woman from London who dies and leaves everything to her twin nieces who live in America and who never met her. They go to live in her home and find out stuff about her... twists and turns about the past... and the dead woman's ghost is there too and communicated with them.

...and it has a sad ending.

God, i'm so crap at describing plots....

i haven't read it yet. that sounds like a good read. thanks for the tip!

XxAxX said:

florescent said:

Nah, not scary or funny...

Have you read or seen the film The Time Traveller's Wife? It's by the same author.

I hat trying to describe books... but it's about a woman from London who dies and leaves everything to her twin nieces who live in America and who never met her. They go to live in her home and find out stuff about her... twists and turns about the past... and the dead woman's ghost is there too and communicated with them.

...and it has a sad ending.

God, i'm so crap at describing plots....

i haven't read it yet. that sounds like a good read. thanks for the tip!

It's brilliant. and you're welcome.

florescent said:

I've just finished reading Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger. It was pretty good.

This has been sitting in my "to be read" pile! Maybe I'll move it to the top.

Shoewhore said:

florescent said:

I've just finished reading Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger. It was pretty good.

This has been sitting in my "to be read" pile! Maybe I'll move it to the top.

It's not as good as The Time Travellers Wife, but it's still good.

I cried my eyes out at the end... that's always a sign of a good book for me.

Shoewhore said:

florescent said:

I've just finished reading Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger. It was pretty good.

This has been sitting in my "to be read" pile! Maybe I'll move it to the top.

i am usually reading two or three books at a time. does anyone else ever do this?

sometimes, my 'to read' pile is way bigger than it should be.

i have a LOT of books in there that i started reading, put aside and never picked up again.....