Not been on here for a long while - got some catching up to do...!
Not been on here for a long while - got some catching up to do...!
Member since:01.09.2004
Reviews:201
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We all know that clowns are evil. Almost as evil, in fact, as sheep. But throughout the history of horror movies and from Stephen King's IT to the clown that resides under your five year old's bed, we've all learned that clowns are not the funny, face-painted entertainers we're lead to believe, but cruel, ruthless killers of satanic birth.
But as Dean Koontz weaves the story of Jimmy Tock, he intricately includes a clown like you've never seen one before - without make up, without funny nose or sinister smile, without self-imploding car, but just as murderous as the next slightly insane clown.
On the night of his birth, Jimmy Tock's grandfather makes ten frighteningly accurate predictions, then he died the very moment little Jimmy's mother gave birth. The older Tock predicted that the baby would be twenty inches in length, would weight eight pounds ten ounces, would be born at ten-forty-six pm, would suffer from syndactyly; he predicted everybody would call him Jimmy despite his birth name being James
and he predicted five terrible days that the little Tock would suffer during his life: September 15th 1994; January 19th 1998; December 23rd 2002; November 26th 2003; April 16th 2005. And then he died.
At the same time, Jimmy Tock (nobody ever called him James, even people he'd only just met) was born. But while Rudy Tock, son of Josef Tock and father to Jimmy, was both grieving for his dead father and elated at the arrival of his son, in the maternity suite next to the Tock's a far greater drama was playing out.
Natalie Vivacemente Beezo, wife of arguably the world's greatest clown - Konrad Beezo - and daughter to the greatest aerialist that ever did live - Virgilio Vivacemente - was struggling with a traumatic childbirth, one that ultimately killed her.
Konrad, unable to contain his grief, blamed the doctors for her death, saying they were agents for the evil Virgilio who hated the fact his daughter, a beautiful aerialist, had married a clown! He grabbed the newborn baby from a nurse and shot her and the doctor delivering the news of his wife's death, before going on the run.
Jimmy Tock grew up with the loving guidance of his parents, Maddy and Rudy, and became a master baker. But as September 15th 1994, the family came together, apprehensive of what that day might bring...
To tell you what happened on those days would be to spoil the story line. The scene is set and if you're a fan of thrilling fiction or Dean Koontz, then this novel is one I can highly recommend. The narrative is written as if the story teller, Jimmy Tock, is uncomfortable with telling stories yet Koontz weaves his magic with the prose and the story flows quickly and entertainingly. The chapters are short but fulfilling and the page-turning effect of Koontz's latest story had me through 400-page hardback in just a handful of 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 the future.
By chapter 63 your heart is in your mouth as you try to understand just what has happened to the hero of the story; to find out, you have to keep turning the pages.
To a pedant like me, the only negatives in this novel were a couple of inadvertent uses of poetic license. In 1994, Lorrie Lyn Hicks makes a reference to e-mail as if everybody is using it, yet in '94 e-mail was still in its infancy and was the realm of academics, scientists and the rich, who could afford the gargantuan fees to connect to their 9.6kb Internet providers.
Likewise, in 1998, friends and neighbours bring the Tocks piles of DVDs to watch to see them through a period in their life, yet in '98 DVD players and discs were as rare as e-mail was in '94 and the cost of players, not to mention the films themselves, were still extraordinarily high, yet Koontz writes as if the Tocks have a player in every room. The notion was as absurd as houses having more than one TV in the nineteen fifties.
Neither of these inadvertent uses of technology detracts from the story, however, and it is incredibly well written, incredibly enthralling and, above all, it contains a level of light-hearted humour that is often missing from dark tales; this humour makes you love the brilliantly woven characters 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.
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good review, read the book ages ago.
The chapter 63 thing is a bit iffy...its a tiny bit of a spoiler.
Brilliant anyway.
Jc
pocahantis 05.05.2007 22:29
Really great review,enjoyed reading it.bobbie
wolfatgoogle 24.10.2006 08:10
Great review. Very nicely written without giving much away. I had to giggle a bit at the last line. This was a truly great Koontz book, I loved it. Wolf x
Life Expectancy confirms that one of the pleasures of reading Dean Koontz is that he is ... more
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...
Postage & Packaging: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Life Expectancy confirms that one of the pleasures of reading Dean Koontz is that he is ... more
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...
Postage & Packaging: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Life Expectancyconfirms that one of the pleasures of reading Dean Koontz is that he is ... more
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 ...
Postage & Packaging: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Life Expectancy confirms that one of the pleasures of reading Dean Koontz is that he is ... more
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...
Postage & Packaging: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Life Expectancyconfirms that one of the pleasures of reading Dean Koontz is that he is ... more
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 ...
Postage & Packaging: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Advantages: Great premise, some nice dialogue, generally good characterisation Disadvantages: Very odd tone in places, pedestrian storyline spoils strong opening
Advantages: Great premise, some nice dialogue, generally good characterisation Disadvantages: Very odd tone in places, pedestrian storyline spoils strong opening
Apr 25th, 2005
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