Velocity is the first Dean Koontz novel that I have read, primarily because he writes in a genre I am not particularly fond of. Actually that’s not really true – I like a good thriller, but I am a pretty squeamish kind of guy, and Koontz (or so the book blurbs would imply) has a tendency to delve into the darker and more horrific sides of human nature. Having said that, I must admit I really enjoyed Velocity. I couldn’t put it down, turning the pages into the wee small hours of the morning.Generally, I don’t like serial killer books. So with that knowledge you’re probably wondering why or how I came to read Velocity at all. It was pure chance. When buying another book, the store I was in was having a promotion – and I was able to select another book for free from a shelf in the store. This shelf was poorly stocked for male readers. There were quite a few ‘chic-lit’ novels, but about two that would appeal to guys like me – one of them was a reprint of Casino Royale – and those who know me, can be assured that I already have in excess of ten copies of CR, with various covers already scattered throughout the house. The other was Velocity.Apart from being a squeamish kind of guy - I dabble in graphic design, and as such, over the years have been known to comment on cover artwork, on things that ‘work’ and things that definitely ‘don’t work’. The thing here to remember is that ‘graphic design’ and ‘marketing’ are two very different disciplines, and while a book cover may be well designed, it does not necessarily follow that it reflects the nature of the story – or perhaps more importantly, sell copies of the book.The paperback edition of Velocity that I picked up (you can see the cover at the top of this post), is what I’d consider a lazy and messy design. But as a marketing tool, it is incredibly strong – but first to help explain what I mean, maybe it’s time I had a quick look at the story.The story concerns Billy Wiles who works as a bartender in the Napa Valley. Billy is an amiable enough guy, but over the years he has suffered a few hardships and setbacks. These days he keeps pretty much to himself. One evening, after finishing his shift at the bar, in the carpark, tucked under his windscreen wiper, he finds as note. Paraphrased it says:‘If you don’t take this note to the police, I will KILL a lovely blonde schoolteacher somewhere in Napa CountyIf you do take this note to the police, I will instead KILL an elderly woman.You have six hours to decide. The choice is yours’It’s a beautiful setup. Even by not acting, and ignoring the note, Billy is making a choice. He is a part of the game – with a madman – regardless if he likes it or not.But briefly, back to the cover art – the words from the note are depicted on the cover. Now graphically, it is not high art – it is quite messy. But from a marketing point of view, without having read a page, simply picking the book up, I really wanted to know which decision Billy was going to make and why? Simply, I had to buy this book. There were questions that needed to be answered.That note is really the whole setup to the story. Like it or not, Billy is drawn into a cat and mouse game against a serial killer who appears to know Billy’s moves one step before Billy even knows them.The central conceit of the book, to make the story work, is that Billy as a fourteen-year-old boy was seriously mistreated by the head police officer in Napa County, John Palmer. While Palmer is only in the story for a few pages, his spectral presence colours every move that Billy makes. Which sort of rules out the old ‘why don’t you just go to the police’ scenario. The thing here, is Koontz tells his story with such pace, while reading the story, you actually don’t question the logic and trust and go with the character of Billy.The story is very well written within the narrow scope that Koontz has chosen to place his story in. Everything is through Billy’s eyes, while this helps in understanding Billy’s perspective, it does leave the other characters motivations rather thin.It also hides the killer to the very end of the book, which works in the context of the story, but with barely any real interaction from the killer, the story lacks a certain menace. What I am clumsily alluding to is that the story lacks a villain that truly scares the pants of you. I know some people suggest that the ‘theatre of the mind’ is much scarier than what is shown or told, but I tend to believe that a hero is only as good as the villain that he is pitted against – and with the limited interaction between the main protagonists, the story does lack a certain edge.Having said all that – rather than a serial killer thriller chiller – as a fast paced, page turning psycho drama, Velocity is top-notch. Koontz sets up the boundaries and the stories conceits early, and then just runs with them for all they are worth, and the end result is damn readable – so much so, that despite my nature, I will make an effort to seek out and read more of his work. It ain’t high art – but on a cold winter’s night, it’s a good excuse to lie in bed with the doona pulled around you, and be transported to another place – just for a few hours (or if you’re like me, well into the morning).
След шведската глупост имах нужда от живителна глътка качествена мистерия и се обърнах за помощ към Дийн Кунц.Докато Стефчо Кинг е едноличен пожизнен крал на съвременния ужас, а Клайв Баркър - сърдития братовчед с роялистки претенции, мустакатият г-н Кунц е по-скоро дребен симпатичен благородник - живурка си в царството на кошмарите, на никого не пречи, на никого не вреди.И пише интригуващи, макар и леко несериозни романи.Специално в "Ускорение", Кунц е изоставил влечението си към мистичното и паранормалното, за да ни представи един реалистичен и брутален трилър. Темпото е шеметно, езикът - запленяващ, след края на всяка страница и глава наново осъзнаваш, че не можеш да спреш преди да си прочел и следващата. И така до съмване или задната корица.Разбира се, книгата си има и минуси - типично за Кунц, персонажите често постъпват крайно наивно и необяснимо, пак типично за него присъства писателската deus ex machina - неща се случват с единственото обяснение, че автора е решил да се случат, ergo - нямат никаква логика. Липсват дълбоките психологически съждения на Стивън Кинг, а и - типичните за Кунц доста успешни комични моменти (все още помня шеги от "Тик-так" на същия автор, а я четох на 17).Не обичам да издавам фабулата на книгите за които пиша, затова ще загатна накратко - серийни убийства. Зловеща игра с невинен човек. И всъщност, поне аз бях заблуден почти до края каква е точно истината (а това, казвам без излишна скромност, се случва много рядко).Определено препоръчвам книгата на всеки почитател на жанра - главната причина за сравнително ниската оценка е, че въпреки добра, книгата не блести с нищо, та вероятно след два-три месеца няма да помня за какво е ставало дума в нея.
What do You think about Velocity (2006)?
Reading this book was quite fun, perhaps best described as feeling very lucky for not being in the main character's shoes. For a regular young guy keeping busy by bar tending, Billy Wiles is not very remarkable until we see him in distress. Out of the blue his life is being pulled in all sorts of crazy directions and the puppeteer pulling all his strings is a total freak who plays twisted mind games and plants all sorts of discriminating evidence in Billy's house, memorabilia of his past killings in random bodies and parts planted to keep him from running to the police. When he starts finding random notes asking him who to spare and who to kill, Billy refuses to play the game, but his friends start disappearing and he has no choice but to play the game and maybe even try and win it, without turning into a psycho himself.I haven't read Koontz in a while, not by any conscious choice, but this week I suddenly craved his stable fiction that always satisfies, like a piece of cake, there are plenty of choices and they rarely fail even if they aren't the most nutritious. For some odd reason I couldn't get into the book at first, it reads fast but the first fifty pages were not a smooth read, perhaps I was being distracted by my surrounding but once I had time and quiet the book zoomed past me and I read it in two days. Most of the time at the end of each short chapter, the final paragraphs kept exploding with more and more crazy stuff, it felt like Billy was never getting his innocence and sanity back and it was impossible to put the book away or go to sleep or do anything else. The title defies the book perfectly, the way one person's life starts to crumble, the hole in the ground being dug deeper and deeper by a mysterious foe who knows everything about Billy but who's pulling the rug from under his feet in random directions getting him into more trouble by the minute. Playing tricks and games, treating people and their precious lives as a toy; something to play with, to get off to, the killer is cunning and cold, driving though his plan to bring Billy down. But lucky for us Billy is no sap and in some interesting ways plans to catch up to the maniac.Koontz does a great job of making Billy feel for all those who have perished, the deaths aren't meaningless and added to make the book soupy with gore, they are mourned and talked about form different angles, making the reader feel real sorrow and it made me think a little more about my own mortality, the way it can so easily be extinguished. Luckily this was just a book, and a great way to spend a dark and cold night. Now of course all I want to read is Koontz...I must say, he's a little bit addictive and I've acquired quite a bit of his stuff over the years.
—Kasia S.
I like suspense and danger but not this type of suspense and danger.I purchased this three years ago. I could not finish it. I did not do a review at the time thinking Koontz was not an author for me. Recently I read Lightning by Koontz and loved it. Therefore I’m now reading several of his books. I’m posting this as part of a group of reviews for comparison purposes - for readers who have tastes similar to mine.I was frustrated, afraid, and felt hopeless watching Bill being threatened and manipulated by the killer. Each time the killer killed someone he would plant murder evidence in Bill’s home or property. Bill had to frantically search, find, and get it out. I prefer the protagonist be able to have some control over something.My feeling: The killer is laughing as he forces a bug to run around in a maze, eventually planning to squish him. I am the bug. This was no fun. Maybe it was good at the end, but I couldn’t stand being in the maze long enough to get there.
—Jane Stewart
This was a fantastic book from beginning to end. Once you start reading this book, you will not be able to put it down until it is all over.Publisher's SummaryBill Wile is an easygoing, hardworking guy who leads a quiet, ordinary life. But that is about to change. One evening, after his usual eight-hour bartending shift, he finds a typewritten note under the windshield wiper of his car.If you don't take this note to the police and get them involved, I will kill a lovely blond schoolteacher. If you do take this note to the police, I will instead kill an elderly woman active in charity work. You have four hours to decide. The choice is yours.It seems like a sick joke, and Bill's friend on the police force, Lanny Olson, thinks so too. His advice to Bill is to go home and forget about it. Besides, what could they do even if they took the note seriously? No crime has actually been committed. But less than 24 hours later, a young blond schoolteacher is found murdered, and it's Bill's fault: he didn't convince the police to get involved. Now he's got another note, another deadline, another ultimatum...and two new lives hanging in the balance.Suddenly Bill's average, seemingly innocuous life takes on the dimensions and speed of an accelerating nightmare. The notes are coming faster, the deadlines growing tighter, and the killer becoming bolder and crueler with every communication, until Bill is isolated with the terrifying knowledge that he alone has the power of life and death over a psychopath's innocent victims. Until the struggle between good and evil is intensely personal. Until the most chilling words of all are: the choice is yours.
—Matt Barker
