77 Shadow Street

By: Dean Koontz

Narrated by: Peter Berkrot

Length: 14 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

Enter the world of the Pendleton: The original owner became a recluse - and was rumored to be more than half mad - after his wife and two children were kidnapped in 1896 and never found. The second owner suffered a worse tragedy in 1935, when his house manager murdered him, his family, and the entire live-in staff....

Craftsmen and laborers working on renovations disappear or go mad....

For years, the Pendleton is a happy place, until a bad turn comes again....

Voices in unknown languages are heard in deserted rooms, everywhere and nowhere....

Disturbing shadows move along walls but have no source....

Images on security monitors show strange places that exist nowhere in the building or its grounds....

A young boy talks of an imaginary playmate - who turns out to be terrifyingly real....

A figure like a man but clearly inhuman is glimpsed in the courtyard gardens at night and in other locales, perhaps a hoaxer of some kind, seemingly oblivious of those who see it - until it suddenly takes an interest in one of them....

©2011 Dean Koontz (P)2011 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

A little disappointing.

Not my favorite Koontz novel. I hate to say anything bad about one of my most favorite authors but this story seemed a bit jumbled and hard to follow.

Dean, where has your Intensity gone?

This book is disappointing and predictable. And it's a fairly long book too. 😕 It's hard to find a fast-paced scary book anymore.

Koontz- great as usual!

Dean Koonzts never disappoints. I am not a fan of the Frankenstein novels, or the mysteries, but al of his scifi horror novels are engaging and fun...Also, the readers are always pretty good or great.

It was amazing!

The book is so well written, I meant this by saying that there are a bunch of characters but he wrote them to where they won’t blend together! Each character has their own personality, ways of speaking, and storyline. 10/10

I applaud the narrator!

The best narration of any audible I've listened to. ..and there have been many! This guy is by far my favorite! So many characters in this story and he handled them brilliantly. ..with different inflection for each one, easy to recognize each player. He was the reason I finished listening to this one. Interesting enough, but in my opinion, not Konntz's best. Not believable, as I have found most of his novels, but will keep reading this author!

There are no dogs to save you this time!

Dean Koontz spins a horror story that does not require a dog to save the world!

The poor (well, not too poor) residents of an old building encounter odd goings on. Are they hallucinating when the building appears to change? Have alien beings descended? Are those other-worldly ghosts or tricks of the mind?

77 Shadow Street is a book for the masses and will likely shovel in quite a few new Koontz readers. The book seems reminiscent of another Koontz titled The Taking but it is certainly not a re-hash. Sadly though, I kept comparing 77 Shadow to The Taking and it started getting on my nerves because so many strange things happen in this book that were just enough alike for me to keep doing a comparison.

Likely Koontz wanted people to be more scared and unnerved by the goings-on in the building and while I did get that eery claustrophobic feeling a few times it did not scare me as much as I would have liked.

Peter Berkrot read for the audiobook and was not the right choice as he did not bring that sense of forboding required to bring 77 Shadow Street to life. This is one of those books where I wonder "If I read it would I like it more?". Likely I would have liked it more but it's too late now.

If you are a Dean Koontz fan, you will like it. It has all the trimmings with unique characters, some fun evil people, a fast-paced storyline and a very unique plot. Trixie fans will still like the book with the lack of dogs since the cats are naturally quite evil, proving Labrador Retrievers are still the best companion when all hell is breaking loose.

-Bill

Scary SyFi Good!!!

This was actually very good!!! Great story development, characters that were likable, and moves quick. 5 stars and glad I bought it!!! Good Stuff!!!

Okay.

What did you like best about 77 Shadow Street? What did you like least?

I like spooky books, so I purchased both the audio and print copy of this book before I listened to it. I was disappointed because I just expected more, particularly a more believable story line. The story sounds good in the reviews but it didn't work for me in the book.

What do you think your next listen will be?

Whatever Stephen King writes next.

Which character – as performed by Peter Berkrot – was your favorite?

He did a great job. No particular character stands out, but I liked him a lot and will look for more books he reads.

Was 77 Shadow Street worth the listening time?

It was okay. Since I have read or listened to at least 85% of Dean Koontz books, some more than once, I always have to give his books a try.

Any additional comments?

I was disappointed with this one. But I'll listen to his next book. Sometimes he's brilliant, sometimes not so much.

A strong start ...

Would you try another book from Dean Koontz and/or Peter Berkrot?

Easily. Dean Koontz has many to offer that are stronger than this one.

What was most disappointing about Dean Koontz’s story?

It was predictable and rather slow.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

Narration was actually what kept me going, he drew my attention.

Did 77 Shadow Street inspire you to do anything?

Enjoy the present ...and look forward to my next listen.

Any additional comments?

This story started strongly, but seemed to lose steam as it went on ... and on.

Gripping story!

Fantastic read! The only drawback for me is the climax, while enthralling, was difficult to believe. Overall, I really loved this book!