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)

Douglas

interesting I'm going to listen again to review some of the things. Good Stuff.

Could have been better written but good story

Disjointed. Had to back up a few times to see how things were supposed to be working together

Confusing, disjointed and unsatisfying

I agree with some of the other reviewers - the book seems to be separate stories that are incomplete and strangely put together in this volume. It’s not clear why 80% of the book matters or relates to the core story. The core story is never fully realized, just sketched out. I was left feeling confused.

Entertaining, but not much more

This book was not bad to listen to, but it was not great either. The story seemed to just get going when it was abruptly, and sort of disappointingly, ended. The story started to evolve some interesting characters and then once they are described well enough to make the story interesting, the book is finished.

Love your dog? Read this now. Asap

Seriously, this is an amazing story.
Perfect narration.
This was so good I wrote Dean and thanked him after reading this, no lie.

Awesome

To think I almost didn't download this wonderful book. I pity those that didn't "get it" and felt the book's ending was lacking. I suspect these individuals have not experienced or sensed the magic animals have to offer us. Thank you Mr. Koontz for writing this book.

Disappointing

For the most part the main story about the mysterious creatures was good. The other side characters and stories were distracting and for the more part didn't really go along with the storyline. The ending was very disappointing. I feel it was rushed. There were too many loose ends. I think Dean Koontz needs to rewrite the ending. This was my first Dean Koontz novel and while I understood what he was trying to do with it, I think that most of his readers/listeners could have ended the story better. Three stars for the first of the story one star for the ending.

One of best stories so far

When Dean Koontz writes a feel good story like this it is capable of lifting you out of despair. I’de put it in a league with “Watchers “, my all time favorite.

So Good!!!!!

Grabs you right from the start! Kept me guessing from the very beginning to the very end. Clean and suspenseful.

Pleasantly surprised

I have read almost all of Koontz's books and was really astonished to read all the very negative reviews on this one. He is one of my favorite authors so I just Had to read it to find out what was so bad! Surprisingly, I was happy I downloaded it. I thought it flowed well and loved the characters and their stories. Granted they didn't all tie together. It was like reading different books all at once. I really enjoyed the unconventional way he put everything together. To me, it was definitely worth the download and time.