One of my absolute favorite books in my teens was Dean Koontz's Intensity. I recall underlining passages from that and re-reading it a number of times. For some reason, however, I never really read much (if anything) from Koontz again after that.

I saw his latest, Big Dark Sky, was available and decided to give it a shot. While normally this isn't exactly my favorite genre (would this be sci-fi? Sci-thriller??), I really enjoyed this one. Are there a ton of characters to track and keep straight? Yes. Are there a ton of seemingly unrelated sub-plots happening? Yes. Could I see how this would be a deterrent for some readers? Absolutely YES. But for me? I actually loved that. I found it easy to distinguish characters and story lines, found them all quite interesting (even villainous ones), and furiously turned the pages hoping for how it would all come together. It eventually does come together, of course, but that's really my one complaint - it felt like Koontz was a week over deadline and thought "WRAP IT UP". It just seemed such a huge build up for an extremely quick exit. Even so, it was a great read and probably will add more Koontz to the TBR. None may end up snatching me up quite like Intensity did 25ish years ago but happy to see how it goes.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read in exchange for my honest review!

WHAT. This published almost two years ago! I downloaded it from Netgalley because the blurb caught my attention (AND because, let's be real, that cover is stunning). I've lived in Montana and currently live in Albuquerque (super close to Santa Fe) plus it sounded like majority of the story takes place surrounding the ranch in Montana.... sounded great. But then, I tried to start it and couldn't get into it, lol.

Fast forward to a couple days ago and I thought, "well I need to either read this or get it off my Kindle Unlimited shelf" (plus the fact I'm trying to clear out my past pubs on NG was helpful in making that decision.) Okay -- now that I have the rambling out of the way.....

WOW I LOVED THIS. Part 1 was a bit slow and there are lots of characters introduced, some are more important than others.
Parts 2 and 3 picked up and I started to really like this a lot. Part 4 was WILD. And Part 5, as I suspected, brings everyone together and wraps things up. It felt like mayyybe it was a bit of a quick ending after all that build up.

Overall loved, this was very descriptive and mysterious. There were a few parts I didn't think were super necessary to the storyline. Like what was with the Artemis love interest???

I’m not sure how I feel about this one still. I liked it while I was reading it but I found it very forgettable. I did really like the characters and the story line.

Please make this a movie! That’s all
Thank you #thomasandmercer and #NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

An ancient, malevolent entity, millennia-old, joins forces with a psychopathic menace as sinister as they come, with the shared objective of eradicating humanity.
The unlikely saviours of mankind? A disabled child and a young woman deeply scarred by trauma.

The burning question: How will this harrowing struggle ultimately unfold?

Joanna Chase once called a Montana ranch home until tragedy shattered her world. Now in her mid-thirties, residing in Santa Fe with only fragmented memories of her past, she becomes the recipient of desperate pleas—ringing through her phone, flickering on her TV screen, and haunting her dreams. Unable to ignore these unsettling cries for help, Joanna finds herself compelled to return to Montana, where she reunites with an enigmatic childhood companion she had long forgotten.

Amidst this tale, a cast of eccentric characters, both virtuous and malevolent, emerges. Danger lurks around every corner, creating an atmosphere fraught with suspense.

All in all an entertaining read.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for sending a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I spent my teens reading Dean Koontz books then life got busy and I had less time to read. This was the first Koontz book that I have been lucky to read in many years. While I enjoyed this book and it had a unique premise I felt there were too many characters and too little character development. I felt that the multiple perspectives added to the story but found that the rate at which the story switched was distracting and I would have liked to stay with each character a little longer each chapter. The ending also felt a little rushed after the big build up to it.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and Thomas & Mercer for the gifted e-book ❤️ #gifted. My review is comprised of my honest thoughts.

This was an interesting read though it was confusing at times. There is a large amount of POVs. It wasn't the easiest to keep up with. I enjoyed the writing, for the most part. The beginning really pulled me in but then lost me a bit. The descriptions are good. I do recommend it.

I love the reassuring feeling of reading a new book by an old favorite author. Dean Koontz doesn’t disappoint and this book is what he does best, I was thrilled to have a copy to read and would highly recommmend.

I read so many Dean Koontz novels when I was younger but it's been years since I picked one up. I was initially drawn in after seeing his name and then was really interested after reading the blurb. It sounded like your typical Dean Koontz story, the perfect blend between dystopian and supernatural fiction which I have missed lately. The Big Dark Sky is everything I expected it to be - incredibly detailed, complex narrative and interesting characters. It's a gripping storyline with lots going on. It leaned a bit more towards the science fiction side than I have been reading lately so I found it harder to get into than I thought, but once I came around to the idea, it was like I'd never stopped reading his stories. It was nice to read and felt quite nostalgic, if you're a fan of the author already you will definitely want to add this to your TBR.

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer and NetGallery for an advance e-book copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is your typical Dean Koontz novel full of supernatural happenings, aliens and a need to put reality in your back pocket and just flow along with the story. The best kind of story that engages your imagination and lets you escape the daily grind for a little while. This is one of the first authors, along with Stephen King, that as a teenager I would devour in anticipation of the unexplainable.

Enjoyable book.

As a child, I always looked forward to the future and what great things would take place. Flying cars, teleporting, reading minds, well you get the idea. Never in my childhood imaginings would I have thought of aliens or someone so intent on killing us off or even such things as AI. However, the clever ever spooky Dean Kootnz did, I am sure. 

In this book, The Big Sky, we are taught the word synchronicity ("a causal connecting principle" in which events, both large and small, in the external world might align to the experience of the individual, perhaps mirroring or echoing personal concerns or thoughts.) It is something that has fascinated many and obviously in this story our author found it so. 

One of the characters, Joanna Chase, (Jo Jo) lived happily on the Rusting Willows Ranch until a death occurred. She had a best friend, Joey, two eyes, a poor grotesquely deformed child who only spoke to Jo Jo. Her life was a good one, but as an adult living in Santa Fe, she has forgotten most of it. Then she receives a phone call, a desperate one claiming to be in a dark place, please come and help me. Joanna knows it is to the ranch that she must return and to Joey for so many years have passed.

Joanna is not alone in feeling a pull to the ranch but close to it, resides a lunatic intent on exterminating all and he has the means to do so. All those drawn go to the ranch and meet the terror that awaits there as they try to save not only themselves but the world at large.

Frightening, scary and always with a touch of things real, or possibly things that could happen, Dean Kootnz has once again written a book that will make you think that question...What if?

Thank you to Dean Kootnz, Thomas and Mercer, and NetGalley for a copy of this book which is already available.

ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

Almost done getting through my backlog of ARC’s! I really enjoyed the plot to this story! I haven’t read much Dean Koontz in the past, but I’m sure I’ll pick up more of his books in the future! This story follows a multitude of characters all dealing with their own struggles that realize they are at the end of times from an extraterrestrial invasion. The characters are so well developed, it’s easy to fall right in to the story. I really enjoyed all the sci-fi elements and the horror was on point! I would definitely recommend if this kind of book is your cup of tea!

Dean Koontz is an author I've heard about for a long time, but never checked out until I received a copy of The Big Dark Sky. Now that I've read, and loved, the book, I cannot wait to read more of his work! What I loved most about the book was the characters and how well he wrote them. I will be telling everyone about this book!

I've been an avid fan of Mr. Koontz since the 80's when I discovered his works. I can say with certainty that my favorites of his are the Odd Thomas series. For a while I got distracted and fell away from reading but when this book was offered to me, I jumped on it.

Perhaps it is because I have been away for so long, but this really did not feel like a Koontz book to me. Or at the very least, it was a different style of book? Maybe that's it. I felt a bit disconnected while reading, which I've not experienced before in reading his books.

There's a lot of good concepts in this book, and I was excited about exploring them, but several of them fell flat and that oomph I expected to experience didn't materialize. I really like Jojo's character, she's been through a lot in life from a young age, and now she's an author who has all but forgotten most of her childhood memories.

This story got bigger than I was expecting, I think? But as I said, some of the plot points that could have evolved into something really good just didn't come to fruition. I am still really glad I read this story, and now that I have I'm planning to start exploring the back catalogue of books I've been missing out on.

Thank you Netgalley, Thomas and Mercer and Dean Koontz for the ARC of this book.

This one is my first Dean Koontz and it is written well however I did feel it was sometimes confusing and too much sci-fi based for me.

I do appreciate the details and writing in this book and look forward to reading another of his books of a different theme for myself.

I went in reading The Big Dark Sky by Dean Koontz without knowing anything about it beforehand. I should have looked into it more because it would have saved me hours of confusion and boredom. This book wasn't for me at all. Too many POVs, too much sci-fi, too much...I don't know. It was a big no for me though this genre or those who are big fans of Koontz will enjoy it.

Thank you Netgalley for the advance reader copy of The Big Dark Sky by Dean Koontz in exchange for an honest review. I feel like I have been reading Dean Koontz my whole life as I started in high school over twenty years ago. His books are always fantastical and mysterious. This one brought a whole new take on an old theme and was yet another great story. I read this in two days and it was a great place to spend the weekend. Thank you for another great read Dean Koontz.

I cut my horror teeth on Dean Koontz books as a teenager and he never disappoints. This is classic Koontz with a brilliant start and stunning ending.

Sadly, this story didn't work well for me. I've enjoyed many of Dean Koontz's prior works, but this story missed the mark.

Koontz brings tremendous creativity to his storylines and I loved this story idea, but the execution lost me. The plot was convoluted, with story threads that didn't tie in together very well. I struggled with the characters. There were so many points of view and not enough differences with their voices for me to clearly keep them straight. Everyone's manner of speaking came across as awkward and unnatural.

This book wasn't a winner for me, but the story had tons of potential and will probably be perceived differently by other readers who will enjoy it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for providing me a copy to read and review.

I was so excited to see another new release from Dean Koontz. Unfortunately, I didn’t end up enjoying this as much as I would’ve liked.

Joanna Chase used to live in Rustling Willows as a little girl. Now, thirty-four and disconnected from her past, she started receiving weird messages encoded in phone calls and TV to entice her back to return to her childhood place. Meanwhile, in Rusting Willows, a mad man committed mass murders in the name of cleansing humanity.

It took me a while to finish reading this, because I wasn’t particularly interested in the villain; basically, a guy with a massive grandiose delusion. The megalomaniac false prophet storyline felt overdone to me.

The final showdown itself felt anticlimactic for me because it took too long to build up. The technology hacks were great, but still not as captivating as the Jane Hawk series.

One thing that I liked was the introduction of diverse characters with interesting background stories. Unfortunately they only interacted within a very short time collectively and didn’t get a chance to have any deep chemistry.

At the end of the day, it was a cautionary tale about going against ‘nature’. I usually love Dean Koontz books, but at this point I’ve probably read too many of them as this one felt too formulaic. Hopefully I’ll like his next one a bit more.