Got married on 10th May - happy at last!! Taking BA Hons Degree in Eng Lit & creative writing in Sep...
Got married on 10th May - happy at last!! Taking BA Hons Degree in Eng Lit & creative writing in Sept so expect practice! x
Member since:03.11.2001
Reviews:42
Members who trust:28
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* 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, Josef Tock, who is in the same hospital on his deathbed. As a frantic Rudy rushes between his loved ones, he encounters a strange and embittered man in the waiting rooms, a man whom Rudy finds highly disturbing - however, he is distracted from this as his father suddenly sits bolt upright in his hospital bed to inform Rudy that not only is he about to die, but he also has information in the form of dates concerning Rudy's impending son.
He predicts the child will be 'Jimmy' never be James and the intensity of his demands that Rudy write down five dates to beware frightens Rudy and he hurriedly complies. The dates the dying man gives are the following:
SEPT 15TH 1994; JAN 19 1998; DEC23RD 2002; NOV 26TH 2003 & APRIL 15TH 2005, on these dates, Jimmy will be great danger and must beware. As Josef demands his son write down the last date, he promptly dies but in his raving he had also warned Rudy to beware of the clown - who is the disturbing man in the fathers-to-be waiting room.
As Rudy hurries back to his wife he finds a doctor shot dead and a nurse lies stricken in the corridor - the clown, Konrad Beezo cradles a child under his arm and in gun in the other - he claims the hospital staff have killed his wife due to the demands of his over-zealous and evil father-in-law, Virgilio Vivacemente, with this he makes his escape and we pick up Jimmy's story once more where he is an adult, happy with his kooky family but with the first of the 'danger dates' looming the next day.....
We 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 *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
It was an enjoyable plot and but I found it to be lacking something that Dean Koontz usually finds - the story was entertaining enough and was a real page-tuner with each, short, chapter linking well into the next - I found I didn't really need to concentrate very hard and that I read it very quickly - well, in one day, even though it is quite a big book. The twists in the tale at the end of the book probably saved it from getting a bad review from me as I really wasn't expecting them.
I didn't find the book to be in Dean's (I'm sure he will forgive me the familiarity, I do own most of his books!) usual style, though a few of his 'Christopher Snow' series had a similar tone to them that I also found over-easy to read. Usually, I find his prose to be descriptive and at times quite searching in his quest to embroil tension by building conspiracy into the plot - not the case with this book - I would describe it as fast-paced but lacking tension until the end of the story. This book did have a fair interjection of humour which helped to keep the reading light with the banter between Jimmy and Lorrie entertaining if a little tiresome occasionally.
The characters were also quite lightweight - I liked the main characters, but found them lacking in substance and wondered if that is why Dean injects so much of the 'humorous banter', even Jimmy sometimes came across as quite childlike - though the feeling behind the family unit is well constructed and quite nice.
Overall, if you are not looking for heavyweight literary prose, then the book is enjoyable and fast-paced. Although Dean is considered to be an author in the Horror genre, I would describe this book as more of a thriller - this is a perfect book for the beach to while the day away in the hot sun on fine, sugary sand... (god I need a holiday!)
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* OTHER STUFF *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A very detailed review without spoiling anything. You picked up on some downsides with the flow of the book that i had noticed myself, such as the lack of depth for the characters and the plodding nature of the first part of the book. THe end did make it all worthwhile though.
salt.n.pepper 31.03.2007 10:11
I'm a big DK fan
suzywong666 09.05.2006 08:21
I haven't read one of Dean's books for ages - must try this one, it sounds right up my street! Suzy 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 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
Aug 15th, 2005
exceptional by (3%):
very helpful by (97%):
