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.

Too many characters!

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I love Dean Koontz. I have read almost everything he has written. There are so many characters and plot lines in this latest book that it is imopossible to latch on to any of them. It feels scattered and disorganized. Ultimately, I didn't care much about anybody at the Pemberton. Maybe next time he'll be back on his game. I was glad when it was over.

Would you recommend 77 Shadow Street to your friends? Why or why not?

No. Too many characters and fragmented plot lines. Got hard to keep track of them. Felt like I needed a list of tenants of the building past and present.

Which scene was your favorite?

Iris (the autistic girl) and her mother communicating through lines from Bambi.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

No

Any additional comments?

No

Definitely not what I expected

I'm a life long fan of Dean Koontz. Wasn't disappointed. Love his characters. Although this is not what I expected I love how he ends his books. Satisfying

Great build-up

This book started a little slow but once it took off I could not stop listening. All the characters come together, have their own unique strong personalities, and serve to carry this novel along. There are a few times I had to stop listening because it creeped me out! Great book and the person who voiced this novel did a wonderful job.

Awesome book

The book was narrated perfectly and it was an enthralling story that I just couldn't put down. Dean Koontz is by far my favorite author and I hope others enjoy this book as well

So, so

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

I had a hard time getting into this one. I've read most of his works, but the last couple of books I quit reading half way through.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

Not sure.

Have you listened to any of Peter Berkrot’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Performance was decent, but the story was lacking.

Do you think 77 Shadow Street needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No, didn't finish this one and would not buy a follow-up.

Any additional comments?

Sorry Dean.

Too draggy

I had to start over on this a few times before I finally got the gist of most of the story. It drug on in too many parts and I found myself lost because I forgot to listen.

Like The Taking set in an apartment building.

I remember liking this book a lot the first time I read it, but the 2nd time around left me feeling a bit disappointed. The performance is great. Peter Berkrot does a great job giving each character a unique voice. No complaints there.

As for the story, there were some excellent moments with thrills and chills, that reminded me of another Koontz book, The Taking. A lot of the imagery is very similar. Sadly I found there was also a lot of filler that just bogged the story down. Most of the characters were interesting, but I found myself skipping “The One” blurbs, and the scenes with a conspiracy theorist character, which were so unforgivingly boring and long, and added no real value too the story.

a little to complex

not his best to complex and to many characters to follow. Gard to follow in places

Dean Koontz at his best

This book should be mandatory listening and/or reading for everyone. On the surface, it's a creepy, but engaging story, with well developed characters and non-stop suspense. But it's so much more than that! Like all good stories, it entertains and passes along wisdom at the same time. Well worth a listen, or two, or as in my case, maybe 10 or more.

Pretty Good Koontz

There are a lot of characters in this novel, perhaps too many to develop with the best of Koontz excellence. Most of the characters are developed adequately, some better, some worse. This Koontz does not focus on pseudo-family and relationship (and dogs) as much as his best, yet I was more than satisfied. It was a bit difficult to determine the primary characters but those ended up interesting. What I like about Koontz (and not King) are the sentences ??? Koontz has many excellent sentences in this novel. It is not Koontz???s best work, but well above his average (which is pretty good). I like the semi-science and the semi-politics.