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.

OK, but Not Dean Koontz's Best

Is there anything you would change about this book?

There was to many characters. It felt like most of the book was focus on introducing characters, but didn't really focus much on any of them. Thus, I didn't feel any emotional attachment to any of them and didn't have any sense of peril or emotions for them when they were endangered.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

It was to simple and felt rushed. It did not meet my expections of the grandeur of the events taking place in the Pendleton that lead up to the end.

Which scene was your favorite?

Winny and Iris hiding from one of those creapy monster things. And then Winny ultimately deciding he had to fight it to protect Iris. To me, Winny and Iris saved this book.

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

No...I did not become invested in any of the characters and have no desire to revisit them.

Any additional comments?

I think Dean Koontz should write more about Crispin and his dog Harley from his Novella: "Moonlit Mild". One of the main reasons why I picked up 77 Shadow St was in the hopes that the story somehow interweave with "Moonlit Mild", since they are both in the same world, and brought Crispin and Harly back again, and I was greatly disapointed that 77 Shadows St had nothing to do with Moonlit Mind.

Different, but I enjoyed it!

I am totally mesmerized by anything and everything to do with time travel, so I really liked the premise of this story. I like to think that's Mr Koontz is also a Doctor Who fan based on the Exterminate reference. Nice!
There were a lot of characters to keep up with, and at times I was a little confused. But overall I liked it very much. Very fast paced during the second half of the story which I enjoyed & the narrator did well keeping the suspense level going.

Interesting story concept

in the beginning it seemed like a lot of charactors to keep track of but then it all comes together it does feel a bit underdeveloped but it was still a good listen

fear

you took my concerns and unscrambled them into cohesive and entertainment. You should make a movie

Wow!

Dean Koontz is one of the best storytellers I's ever read. I've listened to this book at least four times, and I only put it down because there were other books I wanted to get to. I love the way he combines the personal stories of the characters with the science fiction or supernatural elements of the stories. Simply great.

Good story but there could have been more.

Any additional comments?

The narration by Peter Berkrot was very good. The story had potential but lacked something. I enjoyed it but!!!!! There was just so much description of gore in every room. You already knew it was there but yet he went on and on about it. Maybe he was trying to fill up pages. I'm not sorry I read the book, it just wasn't one of my favorites.

Fairly Good, Too Character Heavy

The biggest challenge of this book is trying to recall who is who. The book is laden with characters and I found myself often having to restart chapters and try to figure out who was being discussed. This definitely impacted the overall enjoyment of a fairly good story.

Excellent Old School Koontz!

For those of you who have loved Koontz as long as I have (20+ years), this is a delightful throwback to older favorites like Midnight & Lightening. It's an engrossing mix of sci-fi & outright spookiness - also charged with that biting social commentary that we Koontz fans love. One of his best in years!

First time I didn't like Koontz

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

No, I couldn't wait for the book to be over.

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

I don't think so.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Peter Berkrot?

Yes, narrator was decent.

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

NO! I think the story needs to end with this book.

Any additional comments?

I can't think of a single Koontz book that I've read and didn't like at least a little bit. I've read almost all of his books, and loved a lot of them, and liked most of them. I almost couldn't believe this was a Koontz story, that's how dull it was. I forced myself to finish listening to it, thinking it must improve somewhere along the line. It didn't.
I can't remember many details of the story, my mind was wandering most of the time. Such a shame, I so love this author.

Another Winner

Another great story from one of my favorite authors and Peter Berkrot did a fabulous job with narration. 77 Shadow Street was suspenseful and yet in the Koontz style had very funny lines and situations. The mixer of spookiness and humor is great! I highly recomend this story.