One Door Away from Heaven [Mass Market Paperback]

Dean Koontz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 29, 2002

Hailed as “America’s most popular suspense novelist” (Rolling Stone) Dean Koontz has entered a rich new phase of his writing career that is yielding his most imaginative, meaningful, and popular work yet.

At the height of his powers as a literary craftsman, he has won the acclaim of critics as well as the allegiance of millions of fans the world over, transforming the greatest fears and hopes of our time into masterworks of dazzling originality and emotional resonance.

Now, with the stunning depth and virtuosity of his storytelling, he brings to readers one of his most gripping and richly imagined novels to date—an intoxicating story of adventure and suspense, mystery and revelation, told with humor, heart, and high art.

One Door Away From Heaven

In a dusty trailer park on the far edge of the California dream, Michelina Bellsong contemplates the choices she has made. At twenty-eight, she wants to change the direction of her troubled life but can’t find her way—until a new family settles into the rental trailer next door and she meets the young girl who will lead her on a remarkable quest that will change Micky herself and everything she knows—or thinks she knows—forever.

Despite the brace she must wear on her deformed left leg, and her withered left hand, nine-year-old Leilani Klonk radiates a buoyant and indomitable spirit that inspires Micky. Beneath Leilani’s effervescence, however, Micky comes to sense a quiet desperation that the girl dares not express.

Leilani’s mother is little more than a child herself. And the girl’s stepfather, Preston Maddoc, is educated but threatening. He has moved the family from place to place as he fanatically investigates UFO sightings, striving to make contact, claiming to have had a vision that by Leilani’s tenth birthday aliens will either heal her or take her away to a better life on their world.

Slowly, ever more troubling details emerge in Leilani’s conversations with Micky. Most chilling is Micky’s discovery that Leilani had an older brother, also disabled, who vanished after Maddoc took him into the woods one night and is now “gone to the stars.”

Leilani’s tenth birthday is approaching. Micky is convinced the girl will be dead by that day. While the child-protection bureaucracy gives Micky the runaround, the Maddoc family slips away into the night. Micky sets out across America to track and find them, alone and afraid but for the first time living for something bigger than herself.

She finds herself pitted against an adversary, Preston Maddoc, as fearsome as he is cunning. The passion and disregard for danger with which Micky pursues her quest bring to her side a burned-out detective who joins her on a journey of incredible peril and startling discoveries, a journey through terrible darkness to unexpected light.

One Door Away From Heaven is an incandescent mix of suspense and humor, fear and wonder, a story of redemption and timeless wisdom that will have readers cheering. Filled with tragedy and joy, with terror and hope, it solidifies Dean Koontz’s reputation as one of the foremost storytellers of our time. This is Dean Koontz at his very best—and it doesn’t get any better than that.


From the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Dean Koontz virtually invented the cross-genre novel, and in One Door Away from Heaven he mixes an action thriller with post-X-Files alien paranoia to remarkable effect. Micky Bellsong is a young woman at a crisis point in her life, using a stay at her Aunt Geneva's to sort things out. Then the precocious and deformed Leilani Klonk walks into her life, telling stories of her stepfather and drugged-up mother, who believe aliens will beam the girl into their mothership and heal her deformities before her 10th birthday. But tales of the stepfather's vicious past, including his hand in several murders, leave Micky believing that a far more terrible fate awaits her friend. So when the parents take off with Leilani, Micky pursues.

As is typical with a Koontz novel, nothing turns out to be what it seems, and the meticulously crafted plot tightens like a noose with every turn of the page. His characters are exceptionally drawn, driving the novel forward with realism and warmth. Micky is one of his more attractive young heroines, but the real star is Leilani, a mature young girl whose plucky nature and sparkling dialogue instantly make her Koontz's most memorable creation. She embodies his belief that despite violence, pain, and suffering, there is always goodness to be found in every person and situation. Koontz has once again proven why he is one of the premier novelists of his generation. --Jonathan Weir, Amazon.co.uk --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

Koontz's latest is powered by an impassioned stand against utilitarian bioethics, and it's chock-a-block with trademark characters vulnerable kids, nurturing parental substitutes, a dog of above-average intelligence and a villain of insuperable nastiness sure to provoke a pleasurable conditioned response from his readers. The discursive story coalesces from two converging subplots steeped in the weirdness of fringe ufology: in one, loser Michelina Bellsong struggles to save crippled nine-year-old Leilani Klonk from an evil stepdad planning to pass off her imminent disposal as a benevolent alien abduction; in the other, a strange boy who goes by the alias Curtis Hammond is the quarry of two cross-country manhunts, one led by the FBI and the other by mass murderers who, like the messianic Curtis, may not be what they seem. En route to a pyrotechnic finale in rural Idaho, Koontz shoots bull's-eyes at target issues that shape his theme, including assisted suicide, substance abuse, the irresponsibility of the counterculture and the goofiness of true-believer ET enthusiasts. Koontz's once form-fitting style has gotten baggy of late, however, and readers may find themselves wishing he had better filtered the flights of fancy his characters sometimes indulge at chapter length. For all that, the novel is surprisingly focused on its inspirational message "we are the instruments of one another's salvation and only by the hope that we give to others do we lift ourselves out of the darkness into light" and conveys it with such conviction that only the most critical will demur. (Dec. 26)Forecast: A terrific cover, depicting two female figures on a country path beneath a star-filled night sky, will alert browsers to the awe and mystery within the novel; Koontz's name and Bantam's promo machine will do the rest. Koontz could hit #1 with this one.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 704 pages
• Publisher: Bantam (October 29, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553582755
• ISBN-13: 978-0553582758
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1.1 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (282 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #114,284 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I was born and raised in Pennsylvania where I graduated from Shippensburg State College (now Shippensburg University). When I was a senior in college, I won an Atlantic Monthly fiction competition and have been writing ever since. My first job after graduation was with the Appalachian Poverty Program, where I was expected to counsel and tutor underprivileged children on a one-to-one basis. During my first day on the job, I discovered that the previous occupier of my position had been beaten up by the very kids he had been trying to help and had landed in the hospital for several weeks. The following year was filled with challenge but also tension, and I was more highly motivated than ever to build a career as a writer. I wrote nights and weekends, which I continued to do after leaving the poverty program and going to work as an English teacher in a suburban school district outside Harrisburg. After a year and a half in that position, my wife, Gerda, made me an offer I couldn't refuse: "I'll support you for five years," she said, "and if you can't make it as a writer in that time, you'll never make it." By the end of those five years, Gerda had quit her job to run the business end of my writing career. Gerda and I, along with our dog, Trixie, live in southern California.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

58 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Moving and Memorable..., December 16, 2002

By 

C.E. - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: One Door Away from Heaven (Mass Market Paperback)

I must admit that I am not usually a fan of Mr. Koontz and his published works. Not that he isn't talented, far from it, it is just that sometimes it takes effort to read his books and follow his line of oft-twisted logic. This book, however, pulled me in from the first page and managed to keep me hooked until the very end. I found myself laughing out loud at times as well. Dean Koontz has crafted a marvelous piece of fiction, and for that he has my praises.
The characters that populate this book are the most memorable that I have come across in any genre. Leilani is hilarious and tragic in her own right- as are Curtis, Old Yeller and Michelina. These people (and animal) seem to jump off the page and become solid representations of the fictional world. I suppose that is what makes this book so great...the characters are beleivable and real.
At its heart, I believe that this novel is a philisophical one, a journey that Koontz wants to take us on so that he can show us some of the truly frightening things that are out there in our world today. While he is not dealing with the fear of fangs and fur, talons and teeth, Dean is showing us that the truth is stranger that fiction.
Koonts takes us on a journey that causes us to question right and wrong and seriously evaluate our morals and beliefs. This is a good thing. Through the eyes of his characters, we gain insight into the lifes of those that are disable, addicted, lost, forgotten and worn out. We also see plenty of compassion, heart and sincerity. This book will make you think. It will make you want to read it over and over again, making sure that you did not miss anything important. I highly suggest this book to readers of any genre, it is one that bridges all gaps.
Told with uncanny wit and humor, it will have you hooked from the first page. I wont reveal any plot details, you can get those from the editorial review put up by AMAZON.COM, but I will say this: If this is the new direction that Dean Koontz will be taking- sign me up on the waiting list for his future novels, perhaps he will become a major mainstay on my bookshelf from now on. Read this book. Think about it, read it again. It is THAT good.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a Great Surprise!, January 7, 2002

By 

Marifrances (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: One Door Away from Heaven (Hardcover)

For some reason, even though I like Peter Straub and Stepehn King, I have never been able to get into Dean Koontz. Well, this book is so sharp, original, and compelling that I have not been able to put it down! I am happily surprised to find myself becoming a Dean Koontz fan!

The characters of the book aren't your usual dime-novel fare; they are very unusual, funny, and intelligent. Yet they are also believable. The plot has many elements of bizzareness and realism mixed together to create a sharp-edged collage. From the first chapter, where we meet two characters that you can't help but care about right away, to the actual unfolding of the plot, there isn't a dull moment.

I'm reminded somewhat of "The Talisman" by some parts of this novel, and that's a good thing.

Read it -- you'll like it!!!

22 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars One Star Away From Mediocrity, January 31, 2002

By 

Joseph Loria "J-Lo" (Carmel, IN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: One Door Away from Heaven (Hardcover)

Disclaimer: I am a long-standing fan of Koontz's work. Ever since "Strangers" debuted back in 1986, I've been enthralled with the author's unique skill at juggling suspense, technology, and horror atop his overarching theme of individual redemption. In fact, I still have my signed letter from Dean, which he sent to me after I wrote him following "Strangers" (I've never written another author). Right up through "Intensity," Koontz stitched up his plots tighter than any in modern fiction, doling out dread and hope in equally mesmerizing doses. But then the stitching began to unravel.

Following "Intensity," Koontz has slowly degraded into what I can only refer to as "Evangelical Canine Suspense Comedy." Yes, it's certainly a new genre, and as yet untapped, but then "Santanic Feline Sci-fi Parody" would also be a new genre--just not one of interest to me.

Whether you like Koontz's latest, "One Door Away From Heaven," will largely depend on whether you've liked the Christopher Snow novels and his last novel, "From the Corner of His Eye." The same will likely go for whether you will buy the revelation that comes at the end of "One Door," Koontz's idea of the "gift" that will literally save the world. I laughed, and I don't think that was the intended response. No offense to anyone (Dean included) but dogs and feel-good spirituality rarely make for great suspense fiction, and that proves to be the case here.

However, even if you're fond of suspense novels filled with dogs and supreme beings, there is still a major problem with Koontz's writing of late: it's simply too long. Koontz used to rip through his tales, in classics like "Watchers" or "The Bad Place," in under four hundred pages. Of late, he has problems bringing anything in under six hundred pages, and these latter stories are actually leaner than those of old. Even his best novel of the past five years, "False Memory," should have been half its delivered length.

The plot of "One Door" is so bloated and rambling that at times I found myself skipping ahead in frustration. A good editor would have ripped away entire chapters of meandering description. Not only that, but the skeletal plot beneath the fat has huge flaws: one heroine doesn't really live up to the moniker; one major character does essentially nothing related to the main story until the end, and then it's too late; a major death is presented almost as an aside, tossed off with little to no drama.

Yes, the suspense and mood are often intriguing and pull you forward, wondering what is really happening, and the characterizations are often deft. Central to the tale is Leilani Klonk, a nine-year-old born with physical birth defects balanced by a superior mind and great wit. Leilani steals the show, with her dialogue being some of Koontz's best. A pleasure, as well, is Aunt Geneva, an elderly woman who, shot in the head long ago, now confuses her life with that of movies she's seen. Both are nice creations, but neither is substantive enough to boost Dean's latest into the realm of his greatest.

By the end, "One Door" buckles under its own heft and loses severity from its silly, almost child-like philosophy.