The City (with bonus short story The Neighbor)
A Novel
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4.2 • 391 Ratings
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Includes Dean Koontz’s short story “The Neighbor”!
This ebook edition contains a special preview of Dean Koontz’s The Silent Corner.
Dean Koontz is at the peak of his acclaimed powers with this major new novel.
A young boy, a musical prodigy, discovering life’s wonders—and mortal dangers.
His best friend, also a gifted musician, who will share his journey into destiny.
His remarkable family, tested by the extremes of evil and bound by the depths of love . . . on a collision course with a band of killers about to unleash anarchy.
And two unlikely allies, an everyday hero tempered by the past and a woman of mystery who holds the key to the future.
These are the people of The City, a place where enchantment and malice entwine, courage and honor are found in the most unexpected quarters, and the way forward lies buried deep inside the heart. Brilliantly illumined by magic dark and light, their unforgettable story is a riveting, soul-stirring saga that speaks to everyone, a major milestone in the celebrated career of #1 New York Times bestselling author Dean Koontz and a dazzling realization of the evergreen dreams we all share.
Praise for The City
“Beautifully crafted and poignant . . . The City is many things: serious, lighthearted, nostalgic, courageous, scary, and mysterious. . . . [It] will have readers staying up late at night.”—New York Journal of Books
“[Koontz] can flat-out write. . . . The message of hope and depiction of how the choices you make can change your life ring true and will remain with you once the book has been closed.”—Bookreporter
Acclaim for Dean Koontz
“Perhaps more than any other author, Koontz writes fiction perfectly suited to the mood of America: novels that acknowledge the reality and tenacity of evil but also the power of good . . . that entertain vastly as they uplift.”—Publishers Weekly
“A rarity among bestselling writers, Koontz continues to pursue new ways of telling stories, never content with repeating himself.”—Chicago Sun-Times
“Tumbling, hallucinogenic prose. ‘Serious’ writers . . . might do well to examine his technique.”—The New York Times Book Review
“[Koontz] has always had near-Dickensian powers of description, and an ability to yank us from one page to the next that few novelists can match.”—Los Angeles Times
“Koontz is a superb plotter and wordsmith. He chronicles the hopes and fears of our time in broad strokes and fine detail, using popular fiction to explore the human condition.”—USA Today
“Characters and the search for meaning, exquisitely crafted, are the soul of [Koontz’s] work. . . . One of the master storytellers of this or any age.”—The Tampa Tribune
“A literary juggler.”—The Times (London)
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Bad things happen, but good things happen, too. That seems to be the message of bestseller Koontz's maudlin account of the life of Jonah Kirk, saddled by his parents with no less than seven middle names, each the last name of a famous jazz musician. The novel, which recounts the consequences of Jonah's encounters with a woman "who claimed she was the city," offers airy optimistic passages that won't persuade anyone acquainted with the harder side of life to always look on the bright side of it: "In fact, time teaches us that the musical score of life oscillates between that of Psycho and that of The Sound of Music, with by far the greatest number of our days lived to the strains of an innocuous and modestly budgeted picture." Jonah's relationships with his gifted, loving mother and with his absent, hustler father are clich s, and the concept that a city, which after all is made "great or not" by its people, takes the form of an attractive woman is too underdeveloped to have any charm.
Customer Reviews
Another Koontz Masterpiece
Once again I have fallen in love with a Koontz protagonist. If you are familiar with his work and are wondering whether this story lives up to the D.K. standards of FANTASTIC and AWESOME, the answer is without a doubt a resounding ABSOLUTELY!
Mr. Koontz gives his protagonists endearing qualities that capture the heart and mind of the reader; innate kindness, the ability to gain understanding, wisdom and strength through devastating tragedies, as well as the ability to sense the supernatural and act accordingly. The protagonist in The City is no exception. As with John Calvino, Odd (or is it Todd?) Thomas, Jane Hawk, and many others, I find myself once again wanting to meet this character... to know more about him... to keep in touch with him... often wondering what he’s doing now.
Thank you, Mr. Koontz, for this story. Thank you for the takeaways... a warmed heart, an awareness of things unseen, knowledge of what things were like during a time period when I wasn’t paying attention, a renewed hope that there are truly good people in this world, and so much more.
Your truly,
Shelley Collins
The City
Slow and simple
Steer Clear
I am a huge Dean Koontz fan. I've read many of his books and have like or (mostly) loved each one. However, this book was a true outlier in his pantheon of amazing tales. It was literally a slog, possessing none of his trademark transcendent prose. Move on and pray that his next book is more of his regular excellence.