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Strangers

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Strangers

Written by: Dean Koontz
Narrated by: Dick Hill
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About this listen

“The plot twists ingeniously...an engaging, often chilling book.” - The New York Times Book Review

A writer in California. A doctor in Boston. A motel owner and his employee in Nevada. A priest in Chicago. A robber in New York. A little girl in Las Vegas. They’re a handful of people from across the country, living through eerie variations of the same nightmare.

A dark memory is calling out to them. And soon they will be drawn together, deep in the heart of a sprawling desert, where the terrifying truth awaits...

©2008 Dean Koontz (P)2008 Brilliance Audio, Inc. First Contact Genre Fiction Horror Military Psychological Science Fiction Suspense Thriller & Suspense Scary Fiction Exciting

What the critics say

“A unique spellbinder that captures the reader on the first page. Exciting, enjoyable, and an intensely satisfying read.” - Mary Higgins Clark

“[Koontz] is a great storyteller, and Strangers features a plot so original you’ll be reading, with chills, well into the morning." - New York Daily News

“Koontz is a master at constructing vivid, eerily realistic worlds that hold readers spellbound. A memorable thriller.” - Booklist

All stars
Most Relevant
Love Koontz's stories but this one was too long for me. Also too many characters to keep track of.
I liked the narrator as long as he didnt try to take on different characters, especially female voices. He sounded like a baby.

Too long

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the narration was very good except for the female voices it was hard to distinguish without the narrator announcing who was speaking which was very well done. The story was fantastic all four parts were very enjoyable a good read a mixture of everything oh, I totally recommend people reading this it'll be hard to put down! ❤

I could not stop reading!!!

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Really struggled getting through this one. fell asleep quite a few times while listening. I liked the end but was the 30 hour journey worth it?

Long and kinda boring

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Yes, it's a long story but I didn't find it boring at all. It's very detailed but all the details are relevant and I didn't find that there were too many characters for me to keep track of.

This book was written 35 years ago, but aside for the lack of modern technology it didn't really seem dated to me, with one exception:

Dean Koontz tends to write women in a sexist way, in my opinion. As I said, it was 35 years ago so hopefully his perspectives have changed a bit in recent years. He is constantly describing the physical beauty of women - basically how hot they are, like that's their only trait, while he doesn't do the same thing for his male characters, which is kind of annoying. I'm actually surprised he made one of the female characters a doctor. And the women seem to do almost all the cooking in this story.

He also tends to overwrite and be overly sappy in some of his books. This one wasn't too bad except for too many similes, and the repetition of some words (macadam, susurration etc.). The sappiness only appeared now and then. He certainly has way more faith in the human race than I do.

The editing was pretty good, for a 29-hour book. It was definitely a bit choppy in places though.

All in all I definitely enjoyed the story. I would recommend it if you are already a Koontz fan and have lots of time to kill!

A good story, I didn't get bored!

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Yes, it's too long, Yes, it has too many characters. Yes, the plot is muddy and overly metaphysical. Yes, it lacks the driving pace Dean Koontz is known for. But this book has a fantastical/paranormal focus, includes some uncomfortably realistic 'creepy' circumstances, injects gut-punch (viscerally-affecting) scenes, and incorporates relatable guy-at-the-end-of-the-bar dialogue. The book reminded me somewhat of Stephen King's 'It' in concept (disparate characters "called back" to a site to confront something 'evil') - but is less effectively executed.

Dick Hill's reading performance is notably weak. I have never been terribly impressed with what I've heard before but he turns in an "adequate" effort here at best. He reads clearly, exhibits great cadence and timbre, and avoids annoying accents.. but he feels a little disinterested, chooses some irritating character voices (Ginger Weiss - the female surgeon - is cartoonish), and has legitimately terrible pacing: I had to speed the playback rate to 1.25X to make up for the plodding approach.

This book suffers from subpar efforts from both the author and the reader.. but I didn't hate it. I bought it as a 'Daily Deal' and the $7.50 wasn't a waste (I might be hesitant to spend a Credit on this one, however). I would rate it 6 stars out of 10. You wouldn't be crazy to take a chance on it, but unless you're a dedicated fan, another work from Koontz might give you a better sample of his storytelling talent.

Not As Bad As The Reviews Suggest..

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