All reviews of 77 Shadow Street: A Novel

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  Sadly Disappointing

  by Christine L

  • Most Helpful

  12 months ago

  The house is called the Pendleton now and it was built as the dream home of a tycoon in the 1800’s. The original family was plagued with tragedy and ever since there has been a cycle of tragic events … coincidentally every 37 years. In the 1970’s it was remodeled as luxury apartments inhabited by the rich and famous, the rich and not so famous and the downright notorious. The curse of tragedy, however, seems to have stayed on despite the renovations and now ghostly images, disembodied voices and glowing mold haunt the residents of 77 Shadow Street. In my on going quest for a good ghost story I thought of all people Mr. Koontz would deliver. I hate to say this, but not so much! I’ll admit to being a long time Koontz fan, and although lately there have been some hits and some misses I always look forward to reading his books. This one was definitely on the “miss” side of the column. There are so many characters in this book … obviously the inhabitants of a luxury condo building … and the story progresses as each tells a part of the action. Sometimes this works, but in this case it is like watching a movie with too many fast cuts. Instead of adding to the drama and action it actually takes away from it. By the end of the book I didn’t care about the characters and was a little tired of the lengthy reflection on the bleakness of the world and the “darkness” of humankind. Would not recommend this one, even to a Koontz fan

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  "Not the usual great Dean Koontz"

  by KAREN HANNAH

  16 months ago

  I purchased this book right after the New Year, I think the day it came out. I am a big fan of Dean Koontz and couldn't wait to get my hands on this book. Sad to say, I was very disappointed, but kept reading hoping that it would get better. The beginning of the book was pretty scary, but not in a gory sort of way.I could not read it alone. It was just creepy. Then it all got very weird, and I am not totally sure, I really understand the story line. Not at all what I expected from Koontz. I am usually on the edge of my seat waiting to see what was going to happen next, all I wanted to do with 77 Shadow St., was finish it, so I could get into my next book. I gave this book a 3 but that was being generous. I have to give Koontz a lot of credit for his imagination, but this book was just a little too weird and wacky for me. I hope his next book doesn't disappoint like this one did.

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  Spooky fun

  by Jennifer Rayment

  17 months ago

  The Good Stuff Unique, spooky storyline Intriguing characters with good back story development Story slowly builds until you are on the seat of your pants wondering what is going to happen Loved the kid Winny - very unsusual kid, found myself worried that something would happen to him The two old eccentric sisters are adorable and get the best dialogue Hilarious dialogue at times which was exactly what you needed to read when the storyline was so creepy Forgot how much I enjoyed reading Koontz's books, my fav is the Watchers Love how he puts together groups of people in strange situations and shows how different characters react and how they work with each other - always fascinating Like the maps of the layout of the building nice little social commentary at times Just a fun spooky wild ride - perfect for snuggling on the couch with on a cold winters night The Not So Good Stuff Spooked while reading had to sleep with the lights on -- you owe me a coffee Koontz, barely slept the night I finished reading Could have used a wee bit of editing in terms of unneeded characters -- but hey he just kills them off anyway A couple of stereotypical remarks about Librarians that made me snort in disgust Favorite Quotes/Passages "Offending a concierge was a bad idea. Your mail might go missing. The suit you expected back from the dry cleaner by Wednesday evening might be delivered to your apartment a week later. With food stains. Although flashing the finger at Norman would be satisfying, a full apology would require doubling the usual gratuity." "Being famus and never knowing what to say would be the worst, everybody hanging on your every word but you didn't have any words for them to hang on. That would be like falling facedown into manure in front of everybody like twenty times a day, everyday of your life." "Quick, vaguely glimpsed, and enigmatic describes my first husband`s performance in the bedroom and he wasn`t supernatural.`` ``No, but he was cute,`` Edna said. Who Should/Shouldn't Read Fans of Koont`s works will enjoy, I also think fans of Stephen King will get something out of this Those who like supernatural spooky stories will love Not for those who don`t like to read scary stuff 4 Dewey's I received this from Random House in exchange for an honest review

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  Good not great for this reader

  by Luanne Ollivier

  • Top Contributor

  17 months ago

  3.5/5 I remember begging my parents to buy The Exorcist for me to read when I was 11 or 12. They did - not really realizing what it was about. I devoured it in the hammock at the cottage in a few days. It's easy not to be frightened in a sunny place! That was the beginning of scary books for me. Dean Koontz quickly found a place on my list of horror authors that I faithfully followed. But my tastes evolved over the years and it's been quite awhile since I've read one of Koontz's books, so I thought I would give his latest book 77 Shadow Street, a shot. The Pendleton is a luxury apartment building - in its' former life it was the private home of the well to do Pendleton family. The book opens with a great scene - one of the residents hops on the elevator to ride up to his apartment, but when the doors open - definitely not his floor. Other residents of the building start seeing shadows and more - creatures, ghosts and ..... We are introduced to a myriad of characters in the beginning. I enjoyed the many different players and wondered how they would fit into the plot. Koontz has included floor plans of the building in the opening flyleaves. I found myself studying the floor plans as the action progressed. The detail provided added much to bringing the story 'alive' in my imagination. One of the residents, a retired lawyer, is also a expert amateur historian. As events progress, he realizes that events from 38 years ago are repeating themselves. Something is very, very wrong in their building. What is frightening? To everyone it's a little something different. I think the shadow seen flitting by out of the corner of your eye or the television watching you is much more terrifying than blatantly grotesque 'creatures'. Subtlety works better for me. Koontz cuts in and out with short narratives from a being who calls himself The One. I found his pronouncements a bit cheesy and found myself skimming over them. The second half of the book moves much more quickly and caught my interest more when the residents start taking action. Although there is a large cast of characters, for me, it is the two children who stand out the most. Koontz has done a fantastic job with young Winny, brave beyond his years. I found myself rooting for him time and time again. In the second half of the book Koontz also throws a spanner into what I had initially taken as a run of the mill horror book. He has presented an interesting background and reason for the happenings in the Pendleton that I didn't see coming. My only complaint is some of the overly long (and a wee bit boring) rhetoric from some of the characters. More action, more thrills, more spookiness, less thought provoking diatribes on post humanism. Publishers have mounted a pretty spectacular website for the book. You can enter The Pendleton and explore the various apartments.