Relentless

By: Dean Koontz

Narrated by: Dan John Miller

Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

Best-selling novelist Cullen "Cubby" Greenwich is a lucky man and he knows it. He makes a handsome living doing what he enjoys. His wife, Penny, a children's book author and illustrator, is the love of his life. Together they have a brilliant six-year-old, Milo, affectionately dubbed "Spooky", nd a non-collie named Lassie, who's all but part of the family.

So Cubby knows he shouldn't let one bad review of his otherwise triumphant new book get to him - even if it does appear in the nation's premier newspaper and is penned by the much-feared, seldom-seen critic Shearman Waxx. Cubby knows that the best thing to do is ignore the gratuitously vicious, insulting, and inaccurate comments. Penny knows it; even little Milo knows it. If Lassie could talk, she'd tell Cubby to ignore them, too.
Ignore Shearman Waxx and his poison pen is just what Cubby intends to do. Until he happens to learn where the great man is taking his lunch. Cubby just wants to get a look at the mysterious recluse whose mere opinion can make or break a career - or a life.

But Shearman Waxx isn't what Cubby expects, and neither is the escalating terror that follows what seemsto be an innocent encounter. For Waxx gives criticism; he doesn't take it. He has ways of dealing with those who cross him that Cubby is only beginning to fathom. Soon Cubby finds himself in a desperate struggle with a relentless sociopath, facing an inexorable assault on far more than his life.

Fearless, funny, utterly compelling, Relentless is Dean Koontz at his riveting best, an unforgettable tale of the fragile bonds that hold together all that we most cherish - and of those who would tear those bonds asunder.

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

Critic reviews

"Koontz is a master of the edge-of-your-seat, paranoid thriller and perhaps the leading American practitioner of the form." ( Newark Star-Ledger)
"Koontz is working at his pinnacle, providing terrific entertainment that deals seriously with some of the deepest themes of human existence: the nature of evil, the grip of fate and the power of love." ( Publishers Weekly)

This book is just stupid

I hate to be that direct, but the entire premise, characters, plot, ending are all stupid. The only reason I gave it 1 star is that it was short, the narrator did a good job, and really the dialog between husband, wife, and son was good. This book never did catch fire though. I never felt any urgency or sense of pending doom. In my opinion anyway, do not waste a credit on this book.

Awful.

This is the worst Koontz book I’ve ever come across. It’s hard to believe he even wrote this garbage. I was rooting for the bad guy just to get rid of this beyond stupid family.

Like a roller coaster that fizzles.

The first 85% was great...character development, backstory, compelling plot, great narration...then the last 15% was...contrived.

Sort of like a roller coaster that promises a great ride on the climbout...then during a long flat middle part, you realize you've been enjoying the scenery but forgot that you're still waiting for the action.

"But wait, it's coming...it's coming," you keep telling yourself...

Then before the promised climax, you pull into the station. And there's, I don't know, someone like Spock waiting there. And he says, "thank you for riding, come again." (wtf???)

Silly Book

Kept trying to get involved. Improbable premise, improbable characters, dumb story. Save your credits.

Had me at the start, lame ending

Had me at the start, decent beginning. The ending was lame and unbelievable...Basically, a cop out. It was like he didn't know how to end the story so he just made up a childish ending to get it over with. I won't waste my time on another of his books.

Relentless???? Not so great

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Story line was ok but I wanted more.

Would you ever listen to anything by Dean Koontz again?

Yes

How did the narrator detract from the book?

He was ok

What character would you cut from Relentless?

The dad

Any additional comments?

Still big fan of koontz

Relentlessly bad.

Would you try another book from Dean Koontz and/or Dan John Miller?

Yes, if in the same class as Odd Thomas.

What do you think your next listen will be?

John Lee Burke

Would you be willing to try another one of Dan John Miller’s performances?

Depends.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disappointment and annoyance. Despite the attempt to enrich the dialogue with streams of adjectives, analogies, etc., the dialogue was trite and the musings were overdone.

Any additional comments?

Dean Koontz has great range; he goes from extremely good to extremely bad.

terrible

Every Koontz fan knows that his books stretch believability to the breaking point, but this one goes way past that point. Typically the reader can expect the human characters to act rationally, which goes a long way toward making the surreal and supernatural work. This one does not have that element of rationality. I have stayed with it to half the book in a vain attempt to find merit. I'm giving up.

Ultimately disappointing

The worst kind of suspense story - one that is good enough to keep you interested, building characters and plot, to only fail at the end and leave the reader completely unsatisfied and disappointed. Not worth the time or credit.

not a good show

I'm a huge fan...that being said... this wasn't a good showing. unlikable characters, unreasonable plot line, bad voice. I remain a fan... better luck next time.