Breathless

By: Dean Koontz

Narrated by: Jeffrey Cummings

Length: 8 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

Grady Adams lives a simple, solitary life deep in the Colorado mountains. Here the 35-year-old carpenter works out of a converted barn, crafting exquisite one-of-a-kind furniture. There's little about this strong yet gentle man to suggest the experiences that have alienated him from the contemporary world. But that is about to change.

One day, while hiking, Grady spots a pair of stunningly beautiful furred animals unlike anything he's ever seen. They flee the instant they detect his presence, but the mystery of that brief encounter remains. In the days ahead, Grady will approach the creatures again, gaining their trust but coming no closer to solving their mystery. For this he enlists the help of an old friend, veterinarian Camellia "Cammy" Rivers, who, in turn, is stunned - and enchanted - by Grady's new "pets." But while Grady and Cammy carefully observe these enigmatic animals for clues to their origin, they, too, are being watched.

Soon Grady's home and hundreds of square miles of surrounding wilderness will be placed under quarantine by Homeland Security. And Grady, Cammy, and the two creatures they've come to feel they must protect at all costs find themselves virtual prisoners - and the unwilling focus of an army of biologists, naturalists, and research scientists. But it's a stunning event no one could have foreseen that convinces Grady and Cammy to do the unthinkable: to escape with the two creatures on a riveting race for freedom.

Don't miss the chance to chat with Dean Koontz! Join us on December 17 at 7 pm (ET) for Audible Live on Facebook. During a live video chat, Dean Koontz will be taking your questions and comments about Breathless, his other books, and much, much, more. Learn More and RSVP

©2009 Dean Koontz (P)2009 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved

Critic reviews

"Koontz is a superb plotter and wordsmith. He chronicles the hopes and fears of our time in broad strokes and fine detail, using popular fiction to explore the human condition." ( USA Today)
"Koontz is at the top of his game...both a great storyteller and a novelist of ideas...one of the most important novelists writing today." ( National Review)

Disappointed

I have read most of Dean Knootz’s books and have been a big fan. This book was one of the most disappointing books I have read. Great title, worthless story.

Lifeless

I have read virtually every Dean Koontz book for the last 20 years and must say the last few novels I have read (Darkest Evening of the Year, Your Heart Belongs to Me and Breathless) have been more than disappointing. Other than the Odd Thomas series, the more recent works have been basic formulas reworked from other older books, stale antagonists and gaping plot gaps.

Breathless held much potential and then turned into poorly veiled commentary about theology. The characters were likeable enough, but 90% of the novel was development with a rushed, poorly conceived climax (if it can be calledd a climax at all). I remain a loyal Koontz fan, but expect much more from my favorite author.

If it was possible to give zero stars...

I must concur with many of the "One Star" reviewers. I am a Koontz fan, but this book was simply awful. Of the over 150 audio books I've listened to, this is on the list of Top 5 Worst books. It's part narration but mostly just bad story. Completely uninspired and confusing.

This was a very fast paced interesting book

I really enjoyed listening to the audio book. I would often park my car an extra 10min, because it was so suspenseful. The story was interesting and compelling. The narrator did a great job with using different voices to keep the characters interesting. I highly recommend this book.

Worst Koontz book ever!

Quite possibly one of the worst Dean Koontz books ever. I kept going back, thinking I missed something or skipped a page, it was that awful. The story made fantastical leaps that you were expected to follow. Full of a lot of flowery and unnecessary words, I think Dean was looking to make money on this one. I was the sucker that bought it!

Soso

Not Dean’s best. Found the story slow silly and scattered. I’d recommend his other books instead

Disappointing

I listen to Dean Koontz books frequently. This story jumps around like CRAZY. I kept telling myself to push through.
Never got better

Not his best

As a longtime fan of Koontz, I have always marveled at his story telling mastery. This book starts out promisingly. As with most of his books, numerous story lines are introduced, and the reader has the natural expectation that eventually they will blend into a single strong narrative. As I grew ever closer to the end of the book, and the story lines had not yet merged, I wondered how Koontz could end the book with so few pages to go. Well, the ending is abrupt and unsatisfying. I felt somehow cheated. Because, in order to end it, he distorts and ridicules the facts of evolution, and I felt doubly cheated. Having so recently listened to Richard Dawkins' "The Greatest Show on Earth" (a very entertaining explication of the myriad and overwhelming evidence which supports the "theory" of evolution), my disappointment was intensified.

Shocked and Dismayed

This is painful to write as I'm a huge Dean Koontz fan and a huge animal lover so when I saw the jacket of this book I had hopes of a book as good as the "Watcher". As the book went along I was enjoying the build up, Koontz is a wonderful story teller, but I kept looking at the counter and thinking I must have missed part of the download, because I knew there was no way it could be wrapped up adequetly with the time left and indeed the ending was a huge disappoint and literally left you just hanging there. I'm not even sure what Dean was thinking, this is so NOT like his work! I hope others will read the reviews before purchasing, as another reviewer said, I wish I had just given the money I spent on the download to an animal rescue organization!

Koontz - Breathless

Not worth any rating....I'm sorry I wasted my $$ and time...just a stupid stupid story