The new thriller from Dean Koontz is an emotional rollercoaster telling the story of five days in the life of an ordinary man -- a story that will challenge the way you look at... more
This review already contains more than 120 words. As a Ciao member you could earn up to £5 with this review.
never especially likely to do the same thing twice in a row. Here he gives us a suspense novel with a supernatural element--Jimmy's dying grandfather prophesies at...
Advantages: Fast-paced, gripping thriller with light moments of comedy Disadvantages: Some loose uses of poetic license in the wrong years.
...nights.
As the Tock's life becomes inextricably entwined with the history of the circus, as the might of the clowns and the aerialists comes to bare on Jimmy and his beautiful wife, they are forced to make life changing decisions in order to keep their loving family together. Koontz writes the story so well that you find yourself willing the Tocks to succeed, not to fall foul of the traps the Beezos and the Vivacementes may be setting for them in ... ...more.
Whatever your usual genre of choice, Life Expectancy has enough of a level of romance, comedy, excitement and terror to suit all tastes and it's a highly recommended read.
If you're looking for any clues as to "who dunnit", the only thing I shall say is: syndactyly. ...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Would you listen to it ...
Story
Characters
Listenability
How does it compare to ...
very helpful
25.04.2005
High Expectations Review ofLife Expectancy - Dean Koontzby
Callinore
Advantages: Intriguing Story, Easy Read. Disadvantages: Not enough character motivation and rather simplistically told.
...a very clever and disturbing life ahead of him.
Sadly I found the writing style a bit clunky and disappointing given the expectations I had of Dean Koontz as an author. Later it occurred to me that this style, which lacked much character development and a real feel for the locations and motivations in many parts, was due to the story's autobiographical protagonists telling it, rather than Koontz as a writer. Perhaps it wasn't representational of ... ...faith in the books momentum and to be sufficiently absorbed in this fictional world in order to really feel for the characters.
As the story progressed I found this inexperienced writing style less cumbersome, but still found it a bit forced in places. Twice the storytelling protagonist(s) try to trick the reader and this I found a little patronising, and led to a removal from the fictional world's momentum. Although the first person narrative allowed ...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: Light, fast-paced, twists in the plot... Disadvantages: Slighty too light for my taste - read in a day..
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* LIFE EXPECTANCY BY DEAN KOONTZ*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"When the hand of fate reaches out to touch an ordinary man....."
"The Master of our Darkest Dreams" THE TIMES
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* THE PLOT *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
'Life Expectancy' is a tale told from the point of view of Jimmy Tock, whose life we pick up at the time of his birth where his anxious father, Rudy is separating his time between his labour-pained wife, Maddy and his father, ... ...then follow Jimmy through his life as he meets each danger date and the impact it has on his life and that of his wife Lorrie and eventually, their three children, Annie, Lucy and Andy. As they face each new danger with courage and near fatalities, the Tocks come to realise how the clown Konrad Beezo is enmeshed in their lives and struggle to extract themselves from each new danger only to know they face another....
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* MY THOUGHTS ...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: Great premise, some nice dialogue, generally good characterisation Disadvantages: Very odd tone in places, pedestrian storyline spoils strong opening
...analogy. Dean Koontz's Life Expectancy suffered from exactly such a problem, for me. The premise is a fantastic, tantalising one; setting out with the end of one life and the start of another in quick succession. The dying man, one Josef Tock, awakes from the grip death was increasingly applying to him, and makes a series of prophesies concerning his soon-to-be-born Grandson, whom he is destined to miss by minutes. The first set of his ten predictions ... ...a terrible day in the life of young Jimmy Tock. Having made his prophecy, he dies, and the child is born, instantly fulfilling the first five predictions, giving his parents cause to believe the likely accuracy of the second set. Thus Jimmy's life begins, and must continue, taking in all five days. What lies beyond, and of what nature is the evil that stalks him? For me, this is a gripping, teasing premise; one can't help but read on, if only to ...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: Well writen, Great Characters. Disadvantages: It has to end.
...five days in the boy's life where pain and death will seek him out, days of great terror and torment.
Rudy faithfully records his fathers warnings on the back of a circus flyer.
After his message is imparted, Rudy's father abruptly dies leaving both him and the medical staff stunned.
Overwhelmed by grief, Rudy returns to the fathers lounge to see Beezo and the delivery doctor in the middle of a formidable argument.
Beezo's wife, an aerialist ... ...Jimmy has a healthy happy life with two loving parents and his Grandma Rowena.The Tock family lead a simple life, they take joy from each other, the community they live in and from food.
Jimmy is following in his fathers footsteps to become a master baker, and dinner at the Tock home is all about enjoying each others company and celebrating the wonders of pastry.
As the first day of his grandfathers predictions daws near, Jimmy and his family try ...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
The new thriller from Dean Koontz is an emotional rollercoaster telling the story of five days in the life of an ordinary man -- a story that will challenge the way you look at good and evil, life and death. Jimmy Tock comes into the world on the very night his grandfather leaves it. As a violent storm rages outside the hospital, Rudy Tock spends long hours walking the corridors between the expectant fathers' waiting room and his dying father's bedside. It's a strange vigil made all the stranger when, at the very height of the storm's fury, Josef Tock suddenly sits up in bed and speaks coherently for the first and last time since his stroke. What he says before he dies is that there will be five dark days in the life of his grandson -- five dates whose terrible events Jimmy will have to prepare himself to face. The first is to occur in his 20th year; the second in his 23rd year; the third in his 28th; the fourth in his 29th; the fifth in his 30th. Rudy is all too ready to discount his father's last words as a dying man's delusional rambling.But then he discovers that Josef also predicted the moment of his grandson's birth to the minute, as well as his exact height, weight, and the fact that Jimmy would be born with syndactyly -- the unexplained anomaly of fused digits on his left foot. Suddenly, the old man's predictions take on a chilling significance. What terrifying events await Jimmy on these five dark days? What nightmares will he face? What challenges must he survive? As the novel unfolds, picking up Jimmy's story at each of these crisis points, the path he must follow will defy every expectation. And with each crisis he faces, he will move closer to a fate he could never have imagined. For who Jimmy Tock is and what he must accomplish on the five days his world turns is a mystery as dangerous as it is wondrous -- a struggle against an evil so dark and pervasive only the most extraordinary of human spirits can shine through.
Compare Life Expectancy - Dean Koontz to other similar Horror Books
