Relentless Review

Relentless

Published: 2009

Author: Dean Koontz

Genre: American, Conspiracy, Fiction, Literature, Murder, Psychological, Science Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

 

Check the summary of this book here:

Relentless Summary

 

 

The Review

Relentless is a suspense thriller from bestselling author Dean Koontz. The plot follows best-selling novelist Cullen "Cubby" Greenwich, his wife, son, and family dog, Lassie, as they are hounded and hunted by Shearman Waxx, a feared and respected national book reviewer. Dean Koontz possesses a talent that few authors in ANY genre characteristic. He is a master at creating absolutely astounding characters and placing them in believable situations, with conversations and character engagement that is purely a pleasure to read!! This book is yet another in a long line of excellent, captivating reads!!

 

First a note… I wasn't supposed to review this book for at least the next five days, but I had to get it out of the way because I accidentally posted the summary of this novel on my summaries blog. The reason for this is that my laptop is basically dead and I'm just dragging its dead body around, and it's causing these kinds of mistakes because I need to switch off my laptop in under 45 minutes or forcefully shut it down by pressing the off button. After all, the system gets stuck and all my work is lost if not saved on time. I'm sharing this information because I might make a mistake or add a wrong link, so please let me know if you find a mistake or an issue because I've noticed missing links and missing paragraphs in the last few days since my laptop began to die.

 

I am a long-time Koontz fan, so I may be considered biased in certain circumstances, but I still try to be as honest as I can be. The difficulty is that I can't create a bogus bad review if a writer has wonderful works. The core theme of this novel is the main guy - a successful author - and his family being hounded by a psychotic book critic. A fairly unique premise that piqued my interest. I was enjoying it more and more as I read. I don't usually do spoilers in reviews, but there are some below. It's the only way I can explain why I gave the points and recommendations I offered. But don’t worry I am not actually going to tell what happens and will be as cryptic as I can.

 

When it came down to it, I just found it very simple to become concerned about the fate of the major characters. Author Cubby and his wife Penny dedicate the book to providing this back and forth interaction going which I'll openly acknowledge was actually hilarious for perhaps the first few of the chapters although it gets turned further than believing and just never fades away if you are not into this kind of material then it may be as it sounds as I just typed or it may be as much fun as I had with it so the choice is yours as a reader to decide if you want to read that or not but for me it was amazing. They seem to always carve out time to still have a page of back and forth zingers, even if they're almost certain to be gunned down, blown to smithereens, or burned to a crisp. And that's not all since the best conversation in the book is saved for their six-year-old brilliant child Milo. I was so taken with his complicated responses that I began wishing to meet a kid like that or even an adult who could talk and understand what Milo was saying, but I know that many readers who only read for fashion or socializing may begin skipping lines whenever he and Cubby were chatting.

 

Dean Koontz's writings aren't particularly realistic almost all of the time because I can suspend belief for quite a while and towards the final moment this one managed to jump the shark totally and utterly and gave me the ending that exploded my head and made me insanely satisfied. There are also several mentions about how one of the central protagonists will be dead by the end of the novel and - I cite - "their lives will never be the same". I was sad and hurt while reading as if someone I cared about was about to die, but that feeling was enough to keep me reading to the end to find out what really happened in the hopes that something good would happen and I would be happy at the end.

 

The point is, it happens and does not happen at the same time, and you must read it to discover the magnificence that made me madly happy at the end, yet it is not even death or no death situation. This situation and the ending will undoubtedly shatter your brain into a million pieces, and one of two things will happen to you: you will either be as happy and goosebumpy as me, or you will burn the book and despise the author, so just have fun getting there.

 

So, yes, I was quite pleased with this. The author has demonstrated in the past that he can write impactful thrillers with comedic elements, and you can try the much-underrated TickTock for a good example, but Relentless is a bit different because of too much banter and the double-edged sword ending, as I mentioned earlier, and it becomes a choice of who is reading. I recommend it but first, read the review thoroughly to see whether you are the type of reader that enjoys all of this or not.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

Another excellent book in this writer's illustrious career. I like how the narrative arc unfolds gradually and how the characters come to terms with it. A nice tie-in to the Nameless series, which was also fantastic.

 

Milo is the name of the kid. He's a genius. Is this a sly shout out to the band Descendents, or a happy coincidence?

 

I've noticed a few reader friends being unable to accept a kid who can talk like Milo and do what he does because he is too young. I must tell the readers that I have never met a kid like that, but I was the one who was able to talk and discuss crazy science stuff with my granddad, who was actually a dean of science. I finished a 30-volume encyclopedia and almost all his books that were in his study by the age of five, and I was asking my father questions that he had no idea about, and only my grandfather was able to keep up because I was basically more advanced than him at the age of five. We talked about robotics and even artificial intelligence at the time when no one thought it was possible, but one thing that made him smile with a proud grin was when I was telling him about the periodic table and some experiments about Philosopher's Stone. But I discovered that making gold in that manner is more expensive, so I gave up. Just Google Philosophers Stone to get an idea of what I'm talking about.  The only reason I'm sharing this is that it is feasible to locate a kid like Milo, and perhaps someone you already know is like him but you have no idea since you may assume the kid is just talking about playing or his toys or games.

 

This is a fantastic novel full of amazing and terrible events. Dean Koontz is the master of these earlier thrillers. He immerses you in the exploits of the Greenwich-Boom family, and you root for them all the way to the finish.

 

 

 

Synopsis

“Literary critic Shearman Waxx can kill a good book with just a few acidly worded bon mots. And as one unlucky author is about to discover, that’s not all he’s prepared to kill. . . .

From #1 New York Times bestselling master of suspense Dean Koontz comes a mesmerizing thriller about the battle of wills that ensues when a successful author and likable family man confronts a reclusive sociopath who wields an all-too-deadly poison pen. Respect Shearman Waxx’s opinion and you might escape with your career intact. Cross him and he’ll destroy you, your family, and everything you hold dear. For the title “America’s most feared critic” isn’t one Waxx takes lightly. He takes it literally. And now Cubby Greenwich, his wife, Penny, their brilliant six-year-old Milo, and their uniquely talented non-collie, Lassie, are all about to learn the true meaning of “culture war.”

BONUS: This edition contains an excerpt from Dean Koontz's The City.”

 

Useful Search Related Words & Keywords

Book Critic, Cubby Greenwich, Deus Ex Machina, Edge Of Your Seat, Koontz Books, Odd Thomas, Shearman Waxx, Six Year Son Milo, Suspend Disbelief, Year Old 

 

 

Rating: 90/100

Recommended: 100/100 Yes.

Buy the Kindle Version Here

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