The sky is deep, the sky is dark.The light of stars is so damn stark.When I look up, I fill with fear.If all we have is what lies here,this lonely world, this troubled place, then cold dead stars and empty space...Well, I see no reason to persevere,no reason to laugh or shed a tear,no reason to sleep or ever to wake, no promises to keep, and none to make.And so at night I still raise my eyesto study the clear but mysterious skiesthat arch above us, as cold as stone.Are you there, God? Are we alone?ttt_The Book of Counted SorrowsI began reading Sole Survivor by Dean Koontz yesterday. A master story-teller indeed; I could not stop reading. The philosophy of the novel seems rather pessimistic(first impression). And who is not pessimistic in this cruel world? I am rather astounded at the total dark tone of the book...."The gray-green chop seemed to be an infinite array of turning gears in a vast mechanism, and across it, bright silver flickers of sunlight glittered like electric current across a power grid. Waves approached and receded as monotonously as connecting rods pumping back and forth in an engine. The sea was a perpetually laboring machine with no purpose but the continuation of its own existence, romanticized and cherished by countless poets but incapable of knowing human passion, pain and promise."I know not why I get interested in this narration; maybe because I am a parallel line sharing this pessimistic, atheistic world view.....But I am mistaken, because the novel, predictably ends with "hope". The character, "Nina" represents the extra human powers and saves the world, and the refrain "and everything goes well with the world". I don't know how far "logic" is important in reading creative fiction, especially fantasies and thrillers. But let me pose this question. In the beginning we were told that there is a kind of power group controlled by Technologics or so who work with the help of military with a sole ambition to control the world. The boy child they have in custody can control anyone and destroy them. Whereas, the girl child can heal any wounds. Here, at the end of the novel, the hero and the child escape from the boy's power... and everything ends well. But such a power which has the help of the commercial as well as governmental power will stop searching for them? If no, at least will they not use the boy's power for some other evil purposes. How the hero and the child save the world? Why didn't the hero searches for them and take revenge upon his family's total destruction. Probably, a simple answer(not that much simple though) would be to claim that the conclusion of the novel is not that of taking revenge, as he understood his family would be there in some other "better world". Even then, it would be of interest to us to know what happens to the evil powers. After all, the story can be treated as "open ended." Ha ha!
“Sole Survivor” is more of a mystery book than an action or horror novel. Koontz introduces you to Joe Carpenter, an investigative journalist who is trapped in despair after a commercial plane crash takes his wife and children. It is clear that something is being covered up, but neither you nor Joe have any idea what that is. The book is a roller coaster ride as Joe strives to reveal the facts. What is being covered up about his family’s deaths? Why does it appear that someone is still trying to tie up loose ends? Why are horrifying things happening to some people involved with the crash? And why are absolutely radiating things happening to other people who were involved?Beyond these factual mysteries, you get the sense that Joe Carpenter is reaching to address deeper questions. The story is permeated with Joe’s despair – the impossible difficulty he finds in living without his wife and children, his deep anger at whoever might have been responsible for their deaths, his shame at the dark parts of his character that are re-emerging during his distress. Some readers feel this makes the book too depressing. Having known people who lost their wives or children unexpectedly, I find it an honest look at how difficult it can be to reconcile that loss with a good life. At unexpected moments Joe glimpses other people who are also missing something in their lives, people who feel that the system has conspired against them and who are stuck in anger because they don’t know how to strike back. He feels empathy for these people, wanting to help them while realizing ironically that he is in a far worse state. I think Koontz is hinting at something to the reader – how much do we want to help Joe, and are we ignoring the place we’re in at the moment?Koontz is known for his fast-paced action scenes, dramatic suspense, and use of science in what otherwise would fit into the horror or fantasy genre. You will find all of that in this book. But Koontz is also great at getting us inside the minds of characters. Moreso than any other Koontz book I’ve read, Sole Survivor asks us to look into our own lives, and ask – if I were hit by the same things that Joe Carpenter was hit with, would I be able to handle it any better? And if there may be hope for Joe, even with everything he has faced, does that mean that I may be able to find hope as well?
What do You think about Sole Survivor (2006)?
Summary: Joe Carpenter lost his wife and two daughters when flight 353 crashed to the ground and was nothing but bits and pieces. They said there were no survivors, there was on. She as scientist with a secret that would change the world.One day while in the cemetery visiting the graves of his wife and children he meets a strange, yet kind, woman. Photographing the headstones he asks her why she was taking these pictures and who she was. All in time, she states. Curious and confused he discovers
—Rissy
This book is good. I think that the plot was excelent, the characters were really well developed and the book, overall, was great. This is the first Koontz book I have actually completed, after having read half of dark rivers of the heart, and he is a fairly good writer. He is no Stephen King, but the book was real good. It took me by surprise several times. When the I read the back of it I thought it would be an action book, and it is, in a sense, though there is really not much action. It is more of a mystery, with the main character, Joe, trying to find out more about the crash after a woman comes to him early on in the book taking pictures of the gravestones. I like how the characters aren't perfect, how they have their own problems, flaws, that make them identifiable with real people. You can really sympathise with Joe, as he mourns his wife and daughters death aboard the airliner. The only real gripe I have about this book, is the long run on sentences that are throughout this book somewhat. Especially with a couple of the action scenes, there were run on sentences, some even lasting half a long paragraph. Other than that, this book is deserving of five stars, for being a great book, and being the first Dean Koontz book I have actually read. I will read more of his books in the foreseeable future.
—David jones
I've read quite a lot of Dean Koontz books, predominantly when I was a lot younger. After I had ran out of Stephen King and James Herbert books I picked up on Koontz and thoroughly enjoyed many of his novels. Midnight and Twilight Eyes are irrepressibly brilliant. Watchers, The Bad Place and Lightening quite superb also. Icebound a well crafted take on Alistair McLean's Ice Station Zebra.Unfortunately Sole Survivor is none of these things. It doesn't start badly at all and although it develops slowly there is enough to keep you interested early on, for a good while. Several early scenes set up questions that are sufficient to keep pulling you along. This is fine until you realise that what you have become involved in is a continual chase with no real answers until you have passed the point of exasperation. The resolution to the plot then comes in a huge rush of pages and pages of exposition right at the end of the novel and it sucks all of the life out of the story. It's as if Koontz was planning a much longer more convoluted novel and decided to finish it through boredom half way through after realising that the plot wasn't strong enough to sustain such a beast. It's a real shame as I was expecting much better.I might have to go back and read Midnight again, knowing that, that one is a real belter!
—Ed
