Story dragged on and anti-climatic

I believe that the narrator did a good job with his rendition. But I was under-whelmed by the book itself. It seemed fluffed with more description that the usual fluff one may see here and there from an author. The aha! moment was completely anti-climatic. In fact I was left feeling confused at the end as to why the build up for certain things was even entertained. Some aspects even seemed pointless after waiting so long wondering at their significance. I love Dean Koontz but did not love this book.

48 people found this helpful

This One Was a S-T-R-U-G-G-L-E

It was hard to make it to the end of this book, but looking at the other reviews, I kept thinking, it must pay off in the end...I just have to make it to the end. For me, it did not.

The book is from one person's point of view, going through his life and how he's different. Not sure why he's different but we know that he is and has perceptions that 'normal' people do not. Though most of his adult life is mundane, he happens into a situation that changes his life forever.

This was a very slow and drawn out read. Although we learn almost everything about the main character, he still seemed two dimensional to me. I didn't get a sense of who he was; just his reactions to several scenarios.

The narration was good, given with what he had to work with. This one just did not work for me, which is the first of Koontz books that didn't. I hope it becomes a successful series, but one that will not have my participation.

30 people found this helpful

Among Koontz’s Best Slow Interesting Books

There are at least two quite different Dean Koontz. One writes fast paced, intense suspense novels with chases and guns and lots of tension. The other Koontz writes thoughtful, interesting, character driven stories with philosophical and religious overtones. This book is a wonderful example of the latter type. Fans of Intensity may not like this book at all. I like both Koontz styles and I liked this book a lot. This is some of Koontz’s most interesting writing with nice plot elements and unexpected twists. Innocence does not have the sarcastic humor common in many Koontz stories, the story unfolds quite slowly, and the main characters are so unusual as to be ultimately unapproachable. Nevertheless I found the story, including the ending, quite enjoyable. The prose were excellent (rare in this genre). I put this novel in the same class with the Odd series and Seize the Night. The narration is excellent, seamlessly enhancing the story and characters.

213 people found this helpful

It hurts me to give this book a mediocre review

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

It was honestly forgettable. I used to LOVE Dean Koontz. The Brother Odd series was one of my favorites to read. But this one just didn't fit the bill for me. Usually Koontz pulls me in quickly and even if the story has a less than satisfactory ending, I feel pulled along the action in the book from the first chapter. I just didn't feel that same urgency and forward momentum in this book and I found that disappointing. I did get into the story, it just took longer and so I was expecting a long slow build to an epic climax and I got a long slow build to...the end of the book. Or at least, that's the kind of disappointment I felt with it. I just expected more since I already expect Koontz to be a master story-teller.

Would you be willing to try another book from Dean Koontz? Why or why not?

Of course, a writer as accomplished as Koontz is bound to write a dud every now and again.

Would you listen to another book narrated by MacLeod Andrews?

The narration was almost monotone through part of the book and his character voices (especially the female ones) were kind of annoying but not to the point that I couldn't listen.

Did Innocence inspire you to do anything?

Nope.

Any additional comments?

Koontz really is a great story teller but if you haven't experienced him, don't let this be your first try. Go check out the Odd Series. Even if you love him, you're probably safe to skip this one altogether.

19 people found this helpful

Best Dean Koontz book yet

As someone who has enjoyed the Odd Thomas line of books, I always consider a book featuring another character to be a deviation from and an unwelcome departure from that wonderful story arc. But in this book Dean Koontz delivers a tale of wonder, mystery, love, intrigue, and joy that is profoundly philosophical and thematically rich. It seems as though Koontz must have labored over this as an act of love, and you can feel his deep sense of humility, his kindness and gentleness, and his abiding belief that there is good in all of us, if we are but to discover it. Koontz does not scare me like Steven King. Reading his works makes me want to be a better man, and reminds me that we all fall short of the marks we set for ourselves in that pursuit.
It would do no good for me to describe the plot and substance of this book. It is something that you must discover for yourself. Like Intensity and the last of the Odd Thomas books, this has some disturbing descriptions in it, but it also leaves you with the feeling that Koontz is on to something. TS Elliott has always featured prominently in his works, and you can find the allegory in this work as well. The book is very well read, and the audio characterizations are exceptionally well done. Get this book and listen to it. You will not be sorry you did.

159 people found this helpful

If I wanted Beauty and the Beast, I would have gotten it.

I tried several times, I really did but finally had to give up on this boring tale. By the beginning of the fourth hour, all I heard was blah blah blah. In my opinion, Dean Koontz's books are a hit or miss. Sometimes his writing is too dark and disturbing for me. I've listened to six excellent books and returned a few others. Even extraordinary narrator McLeod Andrews couldn't save this one. Dean Koontz's writing drones on and on, going back and forth in time, with no blame on the narrator. I got to the point where I just didn't care about the ending so I gave up! THE. END. 👎🏻👎🏻

7 people found this helpful

Ponderous, pedantic and pathetically poetic

Koontz tried hard with this novel. In an effort to elevate the prose to be worthy of his protagonist he went overly verbose and needlessly tedious. It held my interest mostly out of curiosity of the impediments he placed on his main characters, and out of a desire to see the big reveal we knew was coming, but for the most part I found it boring and longed for it to end. Since I listen mostly to pass the time while driving I never speed jack the rate. But I was tempted to step it up to 2.5 and get it over with. In a word to summarize my feelings.... meh.

6 people found this helpful

A different Koontz. Deeply disturbing but memorab

Plenty of other reviewers have panned this Koontz novel..I suspect they want the author of Mr Murder, of scary horror that hits them in the face. But there is also the DK of Odd Thomas series..different from Mr Murder as this novel is.

I got the impression that Koontz dug deeply into his authors box of plots for this pre End of the world novel. Koontz does leave many questions unanswered and parts of the story arc never seem to connect with the main arc, yet all in all this was a novel I won't quickly forget.

Addison's unusual appearance is finally but poorly explained in the final chapters of the book, as is the reasons for the goth girl he meets one night use of harlequin makeup. Not really explained are the what's of The Fogs and The Clears amongst other meaningless addendums to the plot.

However, MacLeod Andrews beautiful narration saves the weaknesses in the book and, for me, turned a slightly confusing book into a wonderful listen that kept me up until early hours finishing. It's a real listen again for me because I don't tend to just listen to books and did get side tracked during parts of the story. Next time I intend to pay better attention.

If you like the various Dean Koontz styles, you'll enjoy this listen. If you can't tolerate anything but the horror story Koontz this might not be your kind of book

For me well worth the credit.

84 people found this helpful

Basically just...boring

Listened to it all, wanted it to get better. Good overall concept, just no...passion or fervor

5 people found this helpful

I really wanted to like this book

Would you try another book from Dean Koontz and/or MacLeod Andrews?

Normally I really like Koontz. I have read all of his books. The narrator was fine, it was the book that was disappointing

Would you recommend Innocence to your friends? Why or why not?

The book was very enticing in the beginning and really got me wanting to find out more about the characters, but in the last third, it just lost steam and it just couldn't end fast enough. There was no real ending, just way too many coincidences as Koontz was trying to wrap up the book. Normally he ties things up neatly......the protagonist is wealthy, knows how to use guns, can escape from hand cuffs, that sort of thing. But this time around he tied everything together too neatly and it just made the entire ending of the story ruin the entire book.

What about MacLeod Andrews’s performance did you like?

The narrator was fine. Although his female voices leave a bit to be desired

Was Innocence worth the listening time?

Unfortunately not really. But if bad endings are your thing and you enjoy having no real plot then give it a whirl.

Any additional comments?

I think that this was the worst Koontz book I have ever listened to. Go back to Odd Thomas or Christopher Snow, Mr. Koontz. Those characters are enjoyable and likeable, the ones in Innocence just made me what to scream in frustration.

79 people found this helpful