Life Expectancy

By: Dean Koontz

Narrated by: John Bedford Lloyd

Length: 11 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's summary

With his bestselling blend of nail-biting intensity, daring artistry, and storytelling magic, Dean Koontz returns with an emotional roller coaster of a tale filled with enough twists, turns, shocks, and surprises for ten ordinary novels. Here is the story of five days in the life of an ordinary man born to an extraordinary legacy—a story that will challenge the way you look at good and evil, life and death, and everything in between.

Jimmy Tock comes into the world on the very night his grandfather leaves it. As a violent storm rages outside the hospital, Rudy Tock spends long hours walking the corridors between the expectant fathers' waiting room and his dying father's bedside. It's a strange vigil made all the stranger when, at the very height of the storm's fury, Josef Tock suddenly sits up in bed and speaks coherently for the frist and last time since his stroke.

What he says before he dies is that there will be five dark days in the life of his grandson—five dates whose terrible events Jimmy will have to prepare himself to face. The first is to occur in his twentieth year; the second in his twent-third year; the third in his twenty-eighth; the fourth in his twenty-ninth; the fifth in his thirtieth.

Rudy is all too ready to discount his father's last words as a dying man's delusional rambling. But then he discovers that Josef also predicted the time of his grandson's birth to the minute, as well as his exact height and weight, and the fact that Jimmy would be born with syndactyly—the unexplained anomal of fused digits—on his left foot. Suddenly the old man's predictions take on a chilling significance.

What terrifying events await Jimmy on these five dark days? What nightmares will he face? What challenges must he survive? As the novel unfolds, picking up Jimmy's story at each of these crisis points, the path he must follow will defy every expectation. And with each crisis he faces, he will move closer to a fate he could never have imagined. For who Jimmy Tock is and what he must accomplish on the five days when his world turns is a mystery as dangerous as it is wondrous—a struggle against an evil so dark and pervasive, only the most extraordinary of human spirits can shine through.

©2004 Dean Koontz (P)2004 Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Emotionally powerful and thought-provoking."—Booklist

"A master storyteller and a daring writer... he gives readers bright hope in a dark world.... Life Expectancy pits good versus evil and carries a persuasive message, about the power of love and family and the miracle of existence... Koontz is a true original and this novel, one of his most unusual yet, will leave readers aglow."—Publishers Weekly, starred review.

"Mr. Koontz is a skillful storyteller....His new Life Expectancy offers a clear illustration of what he does right."—The New York Times

Wonderful!

This book is still one of my favorites by Dean! I love hearing the quirky comments and outrageous stories! Grandma Rowena is definitely still my favorite character!

As usual, fabulous

Who needs to praise Dean Koontz, the whole world loves his books and he hasn’t delivered a bad one yet. I have read and reread these books for years. Kudos to a great author.

Sooooo good !

Really enjoyed this book, creepy, by still just the best Audible done...Dean Kootz is the only author that can bring out all the words our mind thinks, on put them into writing, great writer, just love the words...gift of writing amazing books.

Intriguing

Twists and turns from beginning to end. An intriguing premise driving an eclectic and quirky cast of characters. Purely Dean Koontz. Delightful!

unique storyline

witty dialog, fast paced, great characters! I enjoyed this one all the way through.

New life for Koontz

After listening to Frankenstein and finding the writing way too narcissistic, I was very pleasantly surprised to listen to this book. I can only assume one of these books was either not written by Koontz, or this author is a man of multiply diverse styles. This book was a complete joy! It was one of those books that made me feel like I had a new friend and that the book was written for me... that is to say, i wanted to listen to it at every available moment and was sorry when it was over. It was filled with intelligent humor, witty and always captivating. Mr. Koontz, if you are out there, can you please explain to me how you can write in such an enveloping manner in one book, and lose it (IMHO) in the other. This book had none of the overt need to impress the reader with the author's grasp of the dictionary...this book was not filled with irrelevant detail like the other. For a mystery novel, this does all I expect the genre to provide. Bravo.

Not your typical Koontz.

This book had me hooked from the first minute. It's characters, plot twists, and situations are totally unbelievable...and that what makes it great! Koontz displayed a level of humor I have never seen from him before and had me laughing out loud several times. You have to read this one!!

Warmly exciting

Good read. Plot keeps your attention. Characters are developed so deeply they feel like relatives.

A Different Type of Thriller

Of course Dean Koontz always has something different up his sleeve. This is no different. This book is interesting and thought provoking. I always enjoy his books because you never know what to expect.

Great, written such held my attention all thru!

Definitely in his top best works. Interesting story with just a hint of premonition but really just life with a bit more flair than most of us get.
Great story of family and loved them for their banter! Every family needs a Grandma Rowena.

Kept my attention throughout because of the sarcasm and banter. And anecdotal family life. The descriptions were detailed and fun. Mostly relating to food. Probably best not to read/listen on an empty stomach. 😃

Totally a fun read and worth it.