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Amazon.co.uk Review
Typically with a Koontz novel, nothing turns out to be what it seems and the author relishes playing with you, tugging you this way and that in a meticulously crafted plot that tightens like a noose with every turn of the page. His characters are exceptionally drawn, driving the novel forward with realism and warmth. Micky is one of his more attractive young heroines but the real star is Leilani, a mature young girl whose plucky nature and sparkling dialogue instantly make her Koontz's most memorable creation. She is the embodiment of the very moral core of every Koontz novel; despite her deformities and dreadful upbringing, her buoyant optimism is what drives Micky on to do good. Likewise, it is Koontz's firm belief that despite the violence, pain and suffering, there is always goodness to be found in every person and situation if you are prepared to look for it. Koontz has once again delivered a work of spectacular fiction and proven why he is one of the premier novelists of his generation. --Jonathan Weir --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
On one track, we have a 10-year old boy, whose family has been slaughtered, fleeing cross-country from the killers. He comes upon the isolated Hammond farm in the wee hours inhabited by its sleeping residents. Within no time, the killers track the boy to the home and butcher the family. The boy continues his flight, taking along the Hammond's pet dog and the identity of the Hammond son, Curtis. Eventually, "Curtis" teams up with identical twins Cass and Polly - statuesque, street smart, pistol-packin', blond, ex-Las Vegas showgirls roaming the West chasing UFO sightings in a motorhome purchased with divorce settlement monies.
There's something strange about Curtis. His knowledge of the world is solely based on 9,658 viewed movies.
On a parallel track, we have 9-year old Leilani, born physically deformed like her older brother Lukipela because of their mother Sinsemilla's incessant and heavy drug use. Both Leilani and her mother are under the control of the former's stepfather, Preston Maddoc. The family travels around the country in a converted bus to sites of potential extraterrestrial landfalls. Preston claims that the ETs can heal Leilani's deformities. The girl knows better. The way she tells it, Preston, aka Dr. Doom, is a serial killer, who murdered her brother in the Montana woods on his tenth birthday. Leilani fears she's next.
Leilani befriends Micky Bellsong, a jobless, ex-con at rock bottom, who lives with her Aunt Gen in the Los Angeles area. After hearing Leilani's story, Micky decides to redeem her life by rescuing the girl from Preston and Sinsemella, but the three depart before she can act. To help track down and recover the girl, Micky employs private detective Noah Farrel, who's burdened with guilt for having let his father beat his sister into a permanent coma seventeen years before.
Have I lost you in the melodrama yet? In any case, all players eventually collide in Idaho at the dilapidated home of a pathetic recluse that gives new meaning to the term "pack rat".
This thriller is no better than a beach read, though it may take several days while soaking up the carcinogenic UV rays. That the book would have been better split into two is evidenced by the awkward last chapter, which made me think that the author, having arrived at his publisher's deadline, mused, "Uh-oh, now what do I do to wrap this up?"
The conclusion pretty much brings to closure the Leilani arm of the story, but leaves so much unclarified about Curtis's situation and future that I smell a sequel coming. That's fine, as long as it includes Polly and Cass.
ONE DOOR AWAY FROM HEAVEN better serves, perhaps, as an outlet for the author's loathing for utilitarian bioethics, that philosophy which condones (and, at its extreme, promotes) the elimination of those members of society deemed unproductive, i.e. those who are aged, deformed, insane, terminally ill, or just dirt poor.
The author also reveals his predilection for dogs. I'm a cat person myself.
I am normally turning the pages of his books quickly, engrossed in the story wanting more, but with this book they were being turned quickly to put me out of my misery!
Some of his old magic is evident with a few well-developed characters, with of course excellent main characters. For me however there seemed to be a lot of padding out with the story coming together too late and not enough revealed earlier in the story to build my anticipation and desire for more.
Do authors get a prize if they manage to squeeze in bit of Quantum Theory these days?
At least I got to sleep early, don't rush the next book Dean.
this is one of my favourite. Read more
Plot:
The plot is bizarre, which is nothing new for a Koontz novel, but this takes it to a whole new... Read more
2 to 3 story lines are a great way to create suspense. Read more
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