Sole Survivor [Unabridged] [Audio CD]

Dean Koontz (Author), David Birney (Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 27, 2006

A catastrophic, unexplainable plane crash leaves three hundred and thirty dead -- no survivors. Among the victims are the wife and two daughters of Joe Carpenter, a Los Angeles Post crime reporter.

A year after the crash, still gripped by an almost paralyzing grief, Joe encounters a woman named Rose, who claims to have survived the crash. She holds out the possibility of a secret that will bring Joe peace of mind. But before he can ask any questions, she slips away.

Driven now by rage (have the authorities withheld information?) and a hope almost as unbearable as his grief (if there is one survivor, are there others?), Joe sets out to find the mysterious woman. His search immediately leads him into the path of a powerful and shadowy organization hell-bent on stopping Rose before she can reveal what she knows about the crash.

Sole Survivor unfolds at a heart-stopping pace, as a desperate chase and a shattering emotional odyssey lead Joe to a truth that will force him to reassess everything he thought he knew about life and death -- a truth that, given the chance, will rock the world and redefine the destiny of humanity.


From the Trade Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Joe Carpenter, the hero of Dean Koontz's newest novel, Sole Survivor, is a man nearly paralyzed by grief. One year earlier, his wife and two children had been among the 230 victims of a plane crash that left no survivors. So when Joe encounters a woman who claims to have been aboard that plane and survived the catastrophe, and then she almost immediately disappears, he is understandably riled up. In the course of trying to track this woman down, Joe finds himself entangled in a web of shadowy conspiracy and perilous secrets.

In this latest book, Koontz pumps up the volume and gives his readers what they've come to expect from him: an expert mix of cover ups, cults, bizarre suicides, and a shocking twist at the end that keeps Sole Survivor racing along from one improbable but undeniably thrilling event to the next. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

YA. Joe Carpenter's life stops with the deaths of his beloved wife and two young daughters in an airplane crash surrounded by mystery?350 dead and no survivors. Marking the first anniversary of the disaster with a visit to their graves, Joe encounters a young woman taking pictures of their tombstones. She tells him her name is Rose and that she survived the crash that killed his family. Before Joe can continue the conversation, they are attacked by two gunmen. As Rose flees for her life, Joe knows he must discover the truth of what happened to the fatal flight and the reason for the cover-up. His search leads him to relatives of other crash victims?most of whom commit bizarre suicides and all of whom have been contacted by Rose. His investigation reveals that Rose was in possession of government secrets that could change the world once she exposed them. Koontz has readers so totally involved that even Joe's impossible dream, that a member of his family may have survived the crash under Rose's protection, seems possible. A spellbinding novel.?Katherine Fitch, Lake Braddock Middle School, Burke, VA
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Random House Audio; Unabridged edition (June 27, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0739334239
• ISBN-13: 978-1415931080
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 1.1 x 5.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (254 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #229,838 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

37 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning, August 18, 2000

By 

Lori Haggett (Toronto) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sole Survivor (Mass Market Paperback)

If anyone were to try and describe this book as a bore, I couldn't conceive any reason why. This book held me completely spellbound. The book starts off with Joe experiencing these unusual chain of events on the one year anniversary of his wife and childrens plane crash. As the days progresses he comes into contact with families who had also lost their loved ones on this devestating flight, but as soon as he does come into contact with them, they begin to parish themselves due to unexplainable suicide and deaths. So what secrets does this "Sole Survivor" have? And will Joe feel these answers justify his loss? I know this book kept me captivated right down to the last page, and Joe's last decision.

38 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not TSA approved, August 30, 2006

By 

Amanda Richards (Georgetown, Guyana) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sole Survivor (Mass Market Paperback)

I recently picked up this book for four reasons:

1. It was on sale
2. I'd just finished reading "The Husband"
3. I needed light entertainment for a long flight
4. I was in a hurry and it was conveniently stacked near to the register

It was only during the boarding process that I glanced at the back cover, and discovered my faux pas, which did not escape the notice of a literate cabin attendant who gave me "the look".

Okay, maybe a novel about a plane crash is not ideal for a five hour flight, but I'm not superstitious that way (knock wood). Unfortunately, this is a typical Dean Koontz book - it starts off smoothly, gains momentum, takes off and gets moving at high speed, and just when you're enjoying the flight, it suddenly goes crazily off course, crashes and burns.

A crime reporter loses his wife and two daughters in a bizarre plane crash that kills everybody on board. A year later he's still in depression, but then he meets a woman who apparently survived the crash. He starts tracking her down, and relatives of the other victims suddenly start committing suicide under very strange circumstances. When he eventually finds her, things get even weirder, and we're back to secret labs, mad scientists and illegal experiments, mixed with cults, conspiracies and magic pictures.

Enjoy the ride while it lasts, but beware of the sudden stop.

Rated: 3.5 stars


Amanda Richards, August 30, 2006

22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my favorite Koontz books, October 3, 2000

By 

Janice Sims "a reader & a writer" (Central Florida) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Sole Survivor (Mass Market Paperback)

I love Sole Survivor for the simple reason that it's well-written and displays the human spirit at its best! Joe Carpenter has lost his wife and two little girls in a catastrophic plane crash. No one survived. Or so he believes, until he's visiting his family's gravesite one day and encounters the 'sole survivor'! Rose Tucker is that person. Petite, with an ethereal beauty, you wouldn't expect her to possess the strength of will she demonstrates in this story. The mystery is set, the chase begins, and Joe is racing toward a denouement that will blow his mind, AND the readers'minds as well. Koontz at his best. By the way, I saw the FOX network miniseries. It was good. Intensity is still my favorite miniseries, but that didn't take anything away from my enjoyment of Sole Survivor. Now I'm hoping that Mr. Koontz will do Lightning as a theatrical release. Years ago, when I read Lightning, it was my opinion that Rutger Hauer would make a wonderful Stefan, the anti-hero in Lightning. Now, I'm thinking Russell Crowe...An idea worth putting out there!