Ricochet Joe

By: Dean Koontz

Narrated by: James Patrick Cronin

Length: 1 hr and 42 mins

Publisher's Summary

Can an ordinary guy make extraordinary choices in a battle between humanity and unearthly evil?

Joe Mandel is a perfectly ordinary guy from a perfectly ordinary town - a college student and community volunteer who dreams of one day publishing a novel. When a series of strange intuitions leads him to a crime in progress, Joe jumps headlong into danger without hesitation. In the aftermath, he wonders about the uncanny impulse that suddenly swept over him.

Until new friend Portia Montclair, the strangely wise daughter of the local police chief, explains to him what sent him ricocheting around town like a crazy pinball. Portia tells of another reality, a reality more thrilling - and terrifying - than Joe ever imagined. Timeless, elemental forces of good and evil have come to the quiet town of Little City: a cosmic entity capable of infecting human beings, and the seeker who has chosen Joe to find it.

To stop the malevolent invader, this average Joe must be braver than he ever thought possible...and face the hardest decisions of his life.

©2017 Dean Koontz (P)2017 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

As always, awesome!

This was my first Dean Koontz short story on Audible. It was quiet cleaver just as the novels are. Mr. James Patrick Cronin has an interesting and pleasing voice. Loved it all.

Wow, seriously crackers...

Wow, seriously crackers, insane! This is a crazy story of time travel (one of my favorite tropes), and it's combined with a bit of horror (come on, it's Koontz!), as Joe finds himself an unwitting hero, a paladin of sorts.
There's a dog... a very special dog... a golden retriever ( No... Really? )!
Joe has to confront his new "reality", and did I tell you there's a dog... Lol
The audio edition was done with James Patrick Cronin's and his narration is pitch-perfect, and dead-on-the-money for this story... Overall rating = Wow!  ★★★★★
 
This ebook w/whisper sync, actually has animated graphics called "Kindle in Motion". It's kinda cool, but the 5 stars had little or nothing to do with this feature.

Yesssss. This is the Dean Koontz I Love.

This seemed like going home. I missed the golden retriever, the sense of dark and unusual and the good guy. Anxiously waiting for it to continue....

Another Dean Koontz winner

Unlike Stephen King, whose stories often have negative endings, Dean Koontz, works are usually positive. It's not that I dislike King or and I do not need "They lived happily ever after". Dean has found a middle ground and it's terrific..

An amazing tale

Dean Koonz never fails to surprise and to make a reader think of incredible possibilities. I love the way Joe handles his newly acquired abilities, and the development of his charactetr as well as the others.
I highly recommend this story.

lives up to it's title

Nothing special. Even for a short story it seemed rushed, and felt incomplete, or truncated, like an abridged version.

wets your appetite for more

Dean Koontz is back! I thought this was really good and I am looking forward to more Ricochet Joe. He included some interesting ideas and I am looking forward to seeing how he can manipulate those for a full novel. I felt like the character development was rushed but I would imagine it was due to the short nature of the novella. I would recommend this to anyone that enjoyed Odd Thomas and Mr. Koontz's older Moonlight Cove novels, Watchers, etc.

Fun romp through the multiverse!

Time and space collide for a wild and fun ride! In the humdrum of every day life, extraordinary things do happen.

There is no golden retreiver in this book.

This is a good story, and reminds me of some of Koontz's work from the '90s. However, I wish I had not been roped into it by the reviews that claim there is a golden retriever here, because those reviewers are totally wrong. There is no golden retriever in this book. Yes, there is *something* in the same ballpark, but no dog.

I can't say more without spoiling it, but don't go into it with the expectation of one of Koontz's trademark sensitive and intelligent pets. It isn't what you'll find.

Joe kills grandma!

Ricochet Joe is a cute sci-fi/horror short story. The best thing is that it is very short at 100 minutes. My New Years' resolution was to listen to a complete John Hart book and a complete Dean Koontz book before March 30. I've now completed my task and I like John Hart's work even less. Mr. Koontz made it easy with a short story. I'm remain unready to take on a complete Odd Thomas novel.

Nothing special

Boring at most of the time did not have a vision and other things,a dissappointment

Koontz Plus!

This lil short story is Koontz all the way. Yes he could have made it a novel, a good one, maybe great, but I admire him for not doing so because I’m not sure many other authors could, let alone would.
This short story was “impossible, impossible, again impossible” to put down. I had other things I needed to do but just couldn’t stop it.
That should tell you all you need to know about just how good it is.
Do Not listen to it unless you have the almost two hours it takes. If you do you surely may miss that meeting, that outing, whatever you had planned!
But definitely do get the book and throw caution to the wind....it will not disappoint.

Good concept but lacks depth

I am slightly in two minds about this novella. While I thought the concept of Joe's powers was original, and I liked the ideas of the parallel worlds and non-linear time, I somehow expected a little more from the story. Perhaps, if Joe embarks on further adventures, he will become more fleshed out and the background to his mission will be described in more detail, making the story more satisfying.

The writing itself was good, with some atmospheric descriptions. I particularly liked the phrase "tinnitus of terror".

The narration was clear and of constant, easily audible volume, but maybe a little flat.

Brilliant and Original

A truly unique, brilliantly written story of an ‘ordinary Joe’ who starts pinballing around uncontrollably.

Not the best

At times I enjoy the author but this was not at all fun. Perhaps to short

Short but excellent

Having read all of Dean's books, this one, like others did not disappoint. Koontz is a consummate storyteller, a master. Looking forward r d to the next one

GooD short story

Really enjoyed this, being short it’s a good motorway listen for that mundane 2 hr journey
Good story which could easily become a longer novel or series