Customer Reviews

Velocity (Charnwood Large Print)

5 star:		(140)
4 star:		(87)
3 star:		(48)
2 star:		(29)
1 star:		(15)

 

 

Once I started this book, the plot grabbed me right from the beginning and would not let go. Even though it is a plot driven book, the main character is well developed, even though others, perhaps, are not. It makes no difference, however, as it is the intricate, tightly constructed plot that will grab the reader. This is quintessential Koontz at his best, producing a riveting page-turner, once again.

Billy Wiles is a formerly promising writer turned barkeep. He has experienced a goodly amount of tragedy in his life. Orphaned at fourteen, he is haunted by the unusual circumstances surrounding the death of his parents. He is also devoted to his fiancee, Barbara, who lies in a comatose state in a nursing home, the victim of the fickle finger of fate. She has been given little hope of recovery. While Billy appears to be an easygoing, hardworking regular Joe, he goes through life with despair etched in the very way that he lives.

One night, however, a pivotal event occurs that will forever change Billy's life. A note is left under the windshield wipers of his car. The note gives him a most unusual ultimatum. It tells him that if he does not take the note to the police, securing their involvement, "a lovely blonde schoolteacher from the Napa Valley" will be murdered. The note also conversely tells Billy that if he does take the note to the police, "an elderly woman active in charity work" will, instead, be murdered. These are the two choices for which Billy has been given six hours to decide.

What Billy chooses to do and what follows are the stuff of which nightmares are made. Suddenly, Billy's formerly quiet, prosaic life takes on a new dimension, one in which reality is suspended, as the first note is followed by a series of them. Each note ups the ante, leaving Billy with having to make choices no human being should have to make. The ingenious plot takes the reader on a thrill ride of terror and suspense.

This was a book that I could not put down, so intriguing, original, and mesmerizing was the plot. Fans of the author, as well as those of Stephen King, should find much to like about this brilliantly plotted, fast-paced book, which puts a new spin on the age old struggle between good and evil. Written by a master storyteller at the top of his game, the book should keep the enthralled reader turning the pages, until the very last one has been turned. This is, without a doubt, one of the author's best books.

Once I started this book, the plot grabbed me right from the beginning and would not let go. Even though it is a plot driven book, the main character is well developed, even though others, perhaps, are not. It makes no difference, however, as it is the intricate, tightly constructed plot that will grab the reader. This is quintessential Koontz at his best, producing a riveting page-turner, once again.

Billy Wiles is a formerly promising writer turned barkeep. He has experienced a goodly amount of tragedy in his life. Orphaned at fourteen, he is haunted by the unusual circumstances surrounding the death of his parents. He is also devoted to his fiancee, Barbara, who lies in a comatose state in a nursing home, the victim of the fickle finger of fate. She has been given little hope of recovery. While Billy appears to be an easygoing, hardworking regular Joe, he goes through life with despair etched in the very way that he lives.

One night, however, a pivotal event occurs that will forever change Billy's life. A note is left under the windshield wipers of his car. The note gives him a most unusual ultimatum. It tells him that if he does not take the note to the police, securing their involvement, "a lovely blonde schoolteacher from the Napa Valley" will be murdered. The note also conversely tells Billy that if he does take the note to the police, "an elderly woman active in charity work" will, instead, be murdered. These are the two choices for which Billy has been given six hours to decide.

What Billy chooses to do and what follows are the stuff of which nightmares are made. Suddenly, Billy's formerly quiet, prosaic life takes on a new dimension, one in which reality is suspended, as the first note is followed by a series of them. Each note ups the ante, leaving Billy with having to make choices no human being should have to make. The ingenious plot takes the reader on a thrill ride of terror and suspense.

This was a book that I could not put down, so intriguing, original, and mesmerizing was the plot. Fans of the author, as well as those of Stephen King, should find much to like about this brilliantly plotted, fast-paced book, which puts a new spin on the age old struggle between good and evil. Written by a master storyteller at the top of his game, the book should keep the enthralled reader turning the pages, until the very last one has been turned. This is, without a doubt, one of the author's best books.

At the very beginning of Velocity, there is a list of books that Dean Koontz has written; I did a quick count and figured that I've read over forty books by Koontz. I think that Koontz is a good writer; beyond that, he is also a reliable one. When I pick up a Koontz book, I know it will be good: most Koontz books I would rate four stars; there are few three or five star works, and none at all at the one or two star level. Velocity is no exception: it is another four star novel.

Velocity follows Billy Wiles, a bartender in a small Napa Valley community. Billy is something of a loner, deeply affected by his fiancee Barbara slipping into a coma four years earlier; the impact of her condition has kept him from getting really close to anyone else. He is detached from life as well; other than visiting Barbara, he just works and does little else. This detachment ceases when he finds a note on his truck: the unsigned message informs him that the writer intends to kill someone: either an old woman or a young one, depending on whether or not he contacts the police. Billy discusses this with a cop buddy, who advises that it appears to be a practical joke; the next day, however, a young woman is killed and another note appears.

Billy soon realizes he's the pawn of a cunning serial killer who seems to relish the way Billy is manipulated. With the killer - who Billy thinks of as the "freak" - always a couple steps ahead, Billy is hard-pressed to even have time to think. Most of the messages Billy gets forces him into painful dilemmas that makes him choose which of two people to kill; even inaction results in a death. As for who the freak is, Billy really only has one possible suspect, but as fans of the genre are well-aware, the most likely suspect is in reality the least likely to be the real culprit.

This is not a perfect book, with the ending a little weaker than it should be. Nonetheless, this is a good book overall. In a way, it is a mistitled book: it should be called Acceleration as it moves faster and faster the further you go. For thrillers, you can't go really wrong with Koontz as this book once again proves.

Billy Wiles is a loner, but he's contented with his life. He has friends and of course interacts with his co-workers, but he isn't attached in the normal way. Then it starts. A non-cryptic note on his car giving him an insane option (see the back cover of the book). He talks to a friend who is a deputy and shows him the note. Both feel the note is a prank. But is isn't. The threat is carried out. Worse of all, Billy gets another note giving him a similar option..... Eventually, Billy finds evidence that ties him to the murders...evidence he hides. And then there is Barbara, Billy's comatose fiancee who babbles seemingly nonsense sentence fragments that may or may not be so much babble.

Velocity is another trip into the insane world of Dean Koontz.

True to the Koontz style, the reader soon finds himself rubbing shoulders with the characters...experiencing their tension, doubts, and terror.

Koontz' recent novels, Odd Thomas, The Taking, Life Expectancy, The Face, and In the Eye of the Beholder all seem to have the same tension present throughout the works. Velocity is no different.

Dean Koontz writing in 2005 is not the same author he was. His fiction has evolved (is evolving). I find the change refreshing.

I thought Velocity was a step closer to the Koontz I love. It starts off fast and flies to the end. It's got nail-biter moments, unfortunetly it becomes cliché at times. I've come to understand the in almost every Koontz book at least one of the main characters has a bad family life or is detached from their parents, and I've read enough about Koontz to understand he pulls this from his own childhood. But little intricacies that normally engage a reader become standard and expected from Koontz which for me is a downer. I've read just about all of his books with the exception of maybe 3 or 4 of the more recent ones that I'm still working through (my reading taste has broadened to the point that I'm not running to the bookstore whenever he releases a new one). The second biggest cliché to me was the villian. He's basically the same villian, though slightly altered, as the one in Dragon Tears, Intensity, Hideaway, etc. Wouldn't it be interesting for Koontz to step over the edge and just create a bad guy that is pure evil. Koontz's villains, while bad, seem to live by some sort of morality code that grows old I think. Try a James Patterson villian for instance.

Overall, don't pick this book up if you're an avid fan and hoping for another Intensity. It's not.

Dean Koontz at his best!!! I was on the edge of my seat until the very end of this gripping thriller that scared the "lime-green capris off me." This author is a master at his craft. His main character, Billy Wiles, a "thirtyish" bartender and former writer, leads a rather contented life until he is faced with a life-altering choice. Your heart will go out to Billy ... but WHY? Well, find out for yourself--if you dare!

I highly recommend this novel by the MASTER.

I am a 16 Year old Immpatient reader. I CAN say that Mr. Koontz is one of the few Authors i can sit through due to the fact that he grabs you from the opening pages. In this book, He does it over and over. This Novel is a must have for all Suspense readers. Billy the Bartender is minding his own buisness, working his tail off, dealing with all different types of people, as is expected of a bartender, when one day, he finds a note on the windsheild of his vehicle. After that the story takes off at a break neck pace, and leaves you wanting more at the end of each chapter, thereby living up to it's name...

VELOCITY.

Suspense master Dean Koontz has once again done what he does best: written another outstanding roller coaster read. "Velocity" is an edge-of-your-seat thriller about a reclusive man who becomes the pawn in a diabolical game of cat and mouse.

A cryptic note left on the windshield of Billy Wiles' car leaves him with a Hobson's choice: he must decide between two potential victims, one of whom will be murdered before the day is over. Even if he does nothing, one of them will still die.

That sets off a rapid-fire hunt for the killer before he can destroy Billy and everything he holds dear. As if the stakes weren't high enough, the killer has also left incriminating evidence framing Billy for the crimes.

With multi-dimensional characters, agonizing suspense, and a plot filled with more twists than a politician's promise, Koontz has once again upheld his standing as America's finest storyteller.

This book was absolutley amazing.

Dean Koontz; a wonderful author, defenitley

had the mind of a murderer in this book.

He has a really interesting way of describing

every scene happening.

He most defenitley knew how to word every word

and describing the people and the scenes really

well but without giving away the murderer.

This book keep me on my toes, and finished it in about

5 days.

I really do recommend this book to anyone wanting to read

a murder mystery book.

Trust me, you'll finish the book; satisfied.

In recent years, I have started to shy away from Dean Koontz's books a bit. I haven't really been impressed with any of his recent works. In my opinion, INTENSITY is not only his best book to date, but the last book he published that is worth a second read. That is, until VELOCITY. With his latest novel, Koontz is back at the top of his form. He has delivered a non-stop, pulse-pounding thrill ride of a book that rivals INTENSITY in its incomparable level of excitement and terror.

34-year-old Billy Wiles lives a solitary life in California's Napa Valley. A bartender in a family tavern, an ex-writer, and a woodcarver, Billy lives in isolation far from his nearest neighbors. His days are punctuated by visits to Whispering Pines, the convalescent home where his fiancee, Barbara, lies deep in a coma, her only words a series of nonsensical phrases and meaningless expressions that Billy faithfully records in a small notebook. But his life will soon become much less solitary, and much more terrifying.

One evening as he's leaving work, Billy finds a note on his Explorer's windshield, stuck between the wiper and the glass: "If you don't take this note to the police and get them involved, I will kill a lovely blond schoolteacher somewhere in Napa County. If you do take this note to the police, I will instead kill an elderly woman active in charity work. You have six hours to decide. The choice is yours." What Billy at first thinks is a joke turns out to be deadly serious, and Billy finds himself caught up in a performance with a potentially life-ending final act. With each note, the killer gets more personal, the deadlines get shorter, the choices get more difficult...and Billy realizes that he alone must make the choice to end the sick performance once and for all.

VELOCITY is relentless, a roller coaster ride that lasts for 400-plus pages. Koontz's story is insane and unexpected, thought-provoking and vibrant. Dean Koontz doesn't just write a dime-store thriller with a formulaic plot and mannequin-like characters; he writes a NOVEL, one with an involved storyline and deep characters who are forced to use their humanity to overcome near-impossible odds. Billy Wiles is one of his most vivid creations to date, a man so tormented by his past that he has nearly let go of life.

Not only is VELOCITY a thrill ride full of unexpected twists and turns, it's also substantially more well-written than many of Koontz's other novels. In VELOCITY, Koontz has taken pains not only to tell a story, but to tell it beautifully, with stunning descriptions of scenic Napa Valley. He is consciously making the effort to evolve his prose in his latest novel, and he does so brilliantly, borrowing the musings of T.S. Eliot and the incomparable language of Dickens in certain places. VELOCITY, on all levels, is a success. I think the ending could have been stronger and that more could have been explained, and for that I'm giving VELOCITY 4 starts instead of 5. But beyond that, Koontz's latest offering kept me guessing and consistently surprised me--as any good suspense novel should--and it actually creeped me out so much that I was too scared to read it last night when I was home alone. A thriller not to be missed!

And by the way, if you haven't read INTENSITY, YOU SHOULD. Of course...the choice is yours.