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Phantoms  By  cover art

Phantoms

By: Dean Koontz
Narrated by: Buck Schirner
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Publisher's summary

Closer...
They found the town silent, apparently abandoned. Then they found the first body strangely swollen and still warm. One hundred fifty were dead, 350 missing. But the terror had only begun in the tiny mountain town of Snowfield, California.

...and closer...
At first, they thought it was the work of a maniac. Or terrorists. Or toxic contamination. Or a bizarre new disease.

...and closer...
But then they found the truth. And they saw it in the flesh. And it was worse than anything any of them had ever imagined.

©2008 Dean Koontz (P)2008 Brilliance Audio

Critic reviews

"First-rate suspense, scary and stylish." ( Los Angeles Times)
"Schirner's pacing and pitch respond to the story's context, and his characterizations of female characters are impressive." ( AudioFile)

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What listeners say about Phantoms

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Great suspense build up but ends predictably

I've read and listened to thisonce each and seen the movie quite a few times. I grew up reading his books and over 20 under my bely.

Phantoms gets into the mystery very quickly and keeps the reader/listener mostly in the dark for quite some time. This is the books strength. The mystery is compelling and interesting.

However the further it goes and the mystery gets untangled, the authors (Koontz) flaws gets more apparent. What starts off as a great horror story based loosely on real world mass dissapearances ends with narrowminded concepts of good and evil according to his very catholic worldview.

Also, what's with Koontz' almost obsessive use of perverse misogynist personas when portraying someone as a bad person?

The performance from the voice actor is solid however.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great all around story

One of my favorite novels of all time. I was lucky enough to read Phantoms shortly after its initial release. Since then i have reread it several times and now i have heard it through Audible. The narrator did a great job representing the different characters and situations found in the story. Thank you Audible, I have enjoyed this program!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Loved it

This book just kept you going and thinking. I really enjoyed every part of it.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Not his best, but good

Definitely my least favorite Koontz thus far, but not a horrible book. It’s dated these days since it was written 40 years ago.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Not my favorite

I definitely did not like the story. I felt it was a letdown from the Dean Koontz books I have read or listened to.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

suspense

I enjoyed it so much that it took me 2 days to finish it when other audiobooks take me longer.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

scary and sci fi

loved the creatures and the ending was good, not terrible like most endings! kept you guessing and could not put down!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Reviting

I loved it. it was the perfect narrative. it kept me praying for survival. Awesome.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Classic Koontz

I've enjoyed Dean Koontz's books for a long time. Long enough that some of the books I own call him something to the effect of, "the least know best-selling author."

It was fun to revisit Phantoms as an audio book. The narrator does a decent job with the voices, although it took some getting used to.

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  • B
  • 12-30-23

Great story

Great narration and a good story. I like the Odd Thomas series and wanted to try another one of his books. Was not disappointed.

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