The City by Dean R Koontz

The City by Dean Koontz an arc copy review via Netgalley

The City by Dean R Koontz

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley for review.

A few days back I read two bits of social media gold…ok not really gold.  At the time I figured the one may have some validity and the other advice simply sounded ludicrous. 

The first nugget claimed that a good writer tells the reader something they already know. 

The second said that if you want your review to go viral, you MUST start of by telling the reader how this book made you feel. 

So let's see.  This book, more than anything made me feel part of something larger.  Not only a part of The City, rather part of the soul of the world.  Since I live across the world (almost -- I live in South Africa) feeling so much part of the music, I knew every tune mentioned.  The history, I even got the reference to the Japanese art at the very start…simply everything, the world view.  The innocence, the fear.  This book dragged me into the story, kept me there and made me sit down and have a look around at my own life.  Now how can this then simply pass me by…I can't, it did not. 

I adored this book.  The Japanese neighbor introduced at the start of the book first only as a passing character, later slowly fluffed out with not what he says or even do but by the little art he owns.  The fact that I could already fill in blanks not even identified as blanks to this man astounded me, it enchanted me and it made me wonder how an author can so accurately give hints that a character got a back story much more intricate than he ever took the time to describe. 

Noah Kirk with his eight names in between and his friends, all proves one thing - it takes a village to raise a child and if it is a butter side down day, sigh, clean up and go on.  Tomorrow - or the day after will be butter up day.   And remember to call him Nicholaas, or Nick but never Nickie. 

So that concludes the second nugget.  Now for the first nugget.

A good writer tells the reader what he/she already knows.

Now ain't that the truth with this book.  The story is amazingly close to home sprinkled with a feather.  The embodiment of the spirit of The City and like this embodiment the city is a character all it’s own.  An example of this is, "it was so humid that afternoon, the birds did not fly and the bees did not zoom. 

The thing is about the first nugget….it should have given one more sentence, while telling the reader what they already know it should do it in such a fashion that the reader is shocked that their inner voice never made the claim in such terms.  And thus, this book is not only good, this author is not only good (I have a love/hate relationship depending on the book I finished with Koontz).  This author, this book is amazing.

WaAr