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    The City
    The City
    The City
    Audiobook13 hours

    The City

    Written by Dean Koontz

    Narrated by Korey Jackson

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    There are millions of stories in the city - some magical, some tragic, others terror-filled or triumphant. Jonah Kirk's story is all of those things as he draws readers into his life in the city as a young boy, introducing his indomitable grandfather, also a "piano man"; his single mother, a struggling singer; and the heroes, villains, and everyday saints and sinners who make up the fabric of the metropolis in which they live - and who will change the course of Jonah's life forever. Welcome to The City, a place of evergreen dreams where enchantment and malice entwine, where courage and honor are found in the most unexpected corners and the way forward lies buried deep inside the heart.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateJul 1, 2014
    ISBN9781490618678
    The City
    Author

    Dean Koontz

    Dean Koontz is the author of more than a dozen New York Times No. 1 bestsellers. His books have sold over 450 million copies worldwide, and his work is published in 38 languages. He was born and raised in Pennsylvania and lives with his wife Gerda and their dog Anna in southern California.

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    Reviews for The City

    4/5

    198 ratings35 reviews

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    • 5/5
      What an amazing story that speaks straight to the heart! Different from his usual writing topics, but still magical and alluring.
      Deeply emotional and allows you to be a parts of the story, as if you were part of the life of Jonah Kirk by describing every little detail surrounding each character.
    • 5/5
      The Best Book I have read in a long time1
    • 5/5
      By far the best book by Koontz. Very much different than his usual writing style or subject matter, but it is simply is his best.
    • 3/5
      This wasn’t a bad novel, Per se. It was more a coming of age story, instead of the wonderfully creepy horror novels Koontz used to write. There are a lot of bad reviews on gr for this novel, but maybe people here didn’t get the memo that Koontz doesn’t write horror anymore. I’m not exactly sure what he writes now, but this is one of them.
      Neither good nor bad, neither fascinating nor boring, this novel strode the line between these things and many more. I wasn’t bored enough to abandon this novel so I kept on, and it was good.
      Occasionally this novel touched me deeply.... for some very personal reasons. But this didn’t raise my rating at all, it just made me tear up a few times.

      So I cannot really recommended this novel to anyone unless you are a seriously die-hard Koontz fan that loves everything he writes, no matter what, you might enjoy it, I don’t honestly know.
      The audiobook was narrated by Korey Jackson, who made this rather plain novel more interesting just by using his mellow and steady voice. A little deep, just like I like it.... it was fine, very fine. And Jackson’s voice kept me engaged and involved, possibly more than I would have otherwise. I hope Recorded Books Inc, and Audible, and every other audiobook recording studio uses Jackson more often. He’s fine....

      3 stars, and only (the audiobook) only recommended to Koontz mega fans, lovers of fine, mellow voices, and people who love coming of age novels from previously horror novelists.
    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed this book a lot. It's not the usual fare you expect from Koontz, but his excellent writing skills are still in evidence throughout the story. There is only the tiniest bit of supernatural stuff in the book, instead it's the characters that kept me intrigued throughout the tale and had me turning the pages quickly.
    • 3/5
      A decent feel-good book from Koontz, but it's less than satisfying even if it is enjoyable to read. The central premise of Miss Pearl who claims to be the city embodied still hangs out there. Why did she involve herself with Jonah? I kept expecting him to be the next embodiment, but no. Other than that it was introspective and warm, nothing to strain the brain too much.
    • 5/5
      I was lucky enough to receive this eBook through NetGalley. Dean Koontz is one of my favorite authors; from the first moment I picked up my first book by him, Watchers, I was completely captivated. I find all of his characters fully developed. I even feel that the villains are portrayed with a depth that amazes me; as a reader I have come to appreciate and understand better the depths of them - even if I cannot relate personally.

      I decided The City is reminiscent of earlier Koontz books I devoured. Much of the writing is prose. Chapter 1 begins "My name is Jonah Ellington Basie Hines Eldridge Wilson Hampton Armstrong Kirk. From as young as I can remember, I loved the city. Mine is a story of love reciprocated. It is the story of loss and hope and of the strangeness that lies just beneath the surface tension of daily life, a strangeness infinite fathoms in depth." So begins Jonah's tale, told of his days as an eight year old boy, from his 57 year old perspective.

      I am not sure what I expected. I think I had no preconceived notions about the story, so it made reading it more of an adventure, since I did not know the direction it was heading. Dean Koontz is a master storyteller, weaving tales of magic and intrigue into his books. Some consider his books horror, and liken him to Stephen King, another master storyteller. This book was different. Not horror, just magical and mystical, and yet very realistic. Wiser, somehow. It is about the choices we make in life; choices in becoming good or evil, about doing good, even when the world hands us bad. Jonah had two very different parents, and wonderful grandparents and a select few good friends who walk alongside him in his life, through tragedy and happiness, too.

      "One of the many wonders of this world is that, if we allow it to happen, anyone newly met can all but overnight become a central figure in our lives, hardly less essential to us that air and water."
      --Dean Koontz, from the novel The City
    • 5/5
      The City by Dean Koontz is a very highly recommended coming-of-age story about love, friendship and loyalty.
      "In our lives, we come to moments of great significance that we fail to recognize, the meaning of which does not occur to us for many years. Each of us has his agenda and focuses on it, and therefore we are often blind to what is before our eyes."

      As a much older Jonah looks back on his family and the events that happened during 1967 when he was 9 to 10 years old. It was a year that would change his life. Jonah comes from a long line of musicians. His mother, Sylvia, is a gifted singer while his grandfather, Teddy Bledsoe was a piano man. They loved jazz, big band, and swing music. Jonah himself is a piano man and getting better every day. His on and off again father, Tilton, is a loser who is never there and suspect when he is around.

      "My name is Jonah Ellington Basie Hines Eldridge Wilson Hampton Armstrong Kirk. From as young as I can remember, I loved the city. Mine is a story of love reciprocated. It is the story of loss and hope, and of the strangeness that lies just beneath the surface tension of daily life, a strangeness infinite fathoms in depth."

      The City (which is New York City, although it is not named) is actually personified into a real person from whom young Jonas gets advice and, perhaps, a couple of visions that are meant to save him. "She said that more than anything, cities are people. Sure, you need to have the office buildings and the parks and the nightclubs and the museums and all the rest of it, but in the end it’s the people—and the kind of people they are—who make a city great or not. And if a city is great, it has a soul of its own, one spun up from the threads of the millions of souls who have lived there in the past and live there now."

      The story is told from the perspective of an older and wiser Jonah looking back at his childhood, so he naturally gives his younger self more insight into what is going on than most kids his age would have. "I was already an optimist when all this happened that I’m telling you about. Although I’ll reverse myself now and then to give you some background, this particular story really starts rolling in 1967, when I was ten, the year the woman said she was the city. By June of that year, I had moved with my mom into Grandpa’s house."

      Koontz's writing is superb and he is a masterful story teller. He had me engrossed in this tale from the beginning to the end. I can say that I loved this book. Jonah is a great protagonist. I loved the character Mr. Yoshioka. Yes, the bad guys are not fully realized characters but, to me, they are as an adult would recall them, looking back armed with more knowledge and recounting the information from the point-of-view of the child he was at the time.

      Where I'm speculating that some readers had a problem with The City is because it is not a horror novel, like one might expect from Koontz, and while it has suspense and some moments where you will read as swiftly as possible to find out what is going to happen, this is more of a family drama/novel of suspense where all the action leads up to an event that changed Jonah's life. I was actually hesitant to start reading The City based on the poor ratings/reviews, but, alas, that was to my own detriment.

      Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy of Random House via Netgalley for review purposes.










    • 3/5
      See full review @ The Indigo Quill

      I was really excited to have the opportunity to review Dean Koontz' new book, The City! In his most recent novel, Dean Koontz introduces the reader to Jonah Kirk (that's the short version of his name) in his fifties who reminisces about his childhood as a musical prodigy. The tone of this book is very different from other books by Koontz and has its own set of pros and cons.

      I wish I could say that I loved this book and it met the speed and satisfaction of his other works, but it was really hard for me to get into. There aren't many books that I have so much trouble connecting with that it seems to drag on, but this was unfortunately one of them. Although the style and technicalities were all there, the content just wasn't. The pace was slow, the characters were mostly flat, and the storyline was 2-dimensional. I hate to say that I was a bit disappointed. It had a lot of potential, but it was just missing the magic that normally grasps you in most Dean Koontz books.

      Normally I enjoy books that fit more into the "literature" category, and I wish I could put my finger on what exactly this book was missing. I guess you could say it was that the voice did not seem to come from Koontz, and the whole thing lacked depth and focus. I didn't feel like I had a goal to reach, and so the journey to nowhere just dragged on.

      I still believe in Koontz as a writer, and I have every intention of reading future books by him, but this one just wasn't one of my favorites.

      I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
    • 2/5
      As with most Dean Koontz books released over the past decade, THE CITY is readable, which is to say it's not riddled with errors or clunky writing. And that's about all this novel has going for it.

      THE CITY is a betrayal, plain and simple. Not the content of the story, but the story itself is a piece of false advertising. Not even the title makes sense once you've read the book, because the MC doesn't truly reflect on the city, doesn't go for walks as the cover would have you believe, and, in truth, the reader never gets a feel for this place. The only tie-in (and boy-o, is it a loose one) is a woman who claims to be the city personified, but she doesn't matter. At all. The book should've been entitled JONAH, or some such.

      Let's take a gander at the synopsis (something I never do in my reviews, mind you). My comments will be in bold:

      "The city changed my life and showed me that the world is deeply mysterious. I need to tell you about her and some terrible things and wonderful things and amazing things that happened . . . and how I am still haunted by them. Including one night when I died and woke and lived again.

      Spoiler alert! That doesn't happen. That bit about him dying. Once again I'm reminded of LIFE EXPECTANCY, where Koontz couldn't even be bothered to follow his own synopsis. The opening paragraph of the blurb is misleading, giving one the hopes of perhaps a moving or thrilling read. The reader receives neither.

      "Here is the riveting, soul-stirring story of Jonah Kirk, son of an exceptional singer, grandson of a formidable “piano man,” a musical prodigy beginning to explore his own gifts when he crosses a group of extremely dangerous people, with shattering consequences. Set in a more innocent time not so long ago, The City encompasses a lifetime but unfolds over three extraordinary, heart-racing years of tribulation and triumph, in which Jonah first grasps the electrifying power of music and art, of enduring friendship, of everyday heroes."

      There is no "electrifying power of music and art" present in this book. What Koontz does is list the greatest names in jazz, and mentions Carel Fabritius's Goldfinch painting. Jonah, our main character is simply great at everything he does without having any real hurdles to cross over because he's so naturally talented. Oh, and he's black. Make sure you make note of that because Koontz reminds you every time Jonah meets someone who isn't. And that's about as far as the character development goes with the kid.

      "The unforgettable saga of a young man coming of age within a remarkable family, and a shimmering portrait of the world that shaped him, The City is a novel that speaks to everyone, a dazzling realization of the evergreen dreams we all share. Brilliantly illumined by magic dark and light, it’s 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."

      This isn't an "unforgettable saga", it's an outline for a thriller involving bombings and robberies. It just so happens to occur around this little boy. His family's so remarkable that I cannot remember a single one of their names, because Mr. Yoshioka stole the show. That character is the one shining light in this dismal read, and I enjoyed every scene where his name graced the page. He is, quite honestly, the only reason I finished this book.

      In summation: The book promises magic, which we catch the slightest glimpse of with a woman who pops up three or four times in the book for no apparent reason other than to tell the kid something bad is going to happen, oh, and to show him her purse. The book promises a coming-of-age story, which never happens because the main character never comes of age... he simply remains the same emotionally after a horribly crippling tragedy. By the way, that tragedy is no more than an afterthought in this book, mentioned only as Koontz races for the finish line.
    • 4/5
      excellent book... very riveting
    • 5/5
      As usual, Dean Koontz serves up an engrossing novel that keeps one glued to the story. Koontz has a way of imbuing run-of-the-mill events with a sense of terror that rivals any "manufactured" monster.In presenting the story of Jonah Bledsoe, Koontz gives us a cast of characters - both good and bad - set against the backdrop of life in the big city in the 1960s, a time when protests and anti-establishment activism presented its own particular brand of horror. This may be one of the finest of Mr. Koontz' novels - well written, entertaining, and human. I liked this book a great deal.
    • 4/5
      I wasn't sure what this was about and I ended up kind of surprised by the storyline. I really liked it. I loved the characters. Great when there is just a bit of the supernatural in the story. Perfect Dean Koontz.kept me needing to know what was going to happen to this family and friends next.
    • 5/5

      ♫ Dean Koontz Weaves a Tale of Jazz, Friendship, and Murder

      This is a complicated book with a profound theme. THE CITY interweaves jazz, philosophy, friendship, and of course, murder. The main character is Jonah Ellington Basie Hines Eldridge Wilson Hampton Armstrong Kirk—or just “Jonah” as he is known. The story unfolds as Jonah tells his story to his jazz friend, “Malcolm.”

      Jonah is a young, poor black kid in “The City,” which is a generic moniker for someplace akin to New York City. Jonah was subjected to two terrifying nightmares, filled with scary figures and murder. What is Jonah to make of these visions? A shadowy, but kind visitor, carrying a mysterious purse visits Jonah. Miss Pearl is the personification of The City, and the City is worried about the path of history. Miss Pearl will help Jonah—but only a little, and only at rare times.

      As he grows up, Jonah gets little clues on what the dreams meant. Along the way, he meets an odd assortment of characters—the Japanese tailor Mr. Yoshioka, a funnily-dressed jazz musician--Malcolm, and Malcolm’s sister. They make an unlikely musical trio, jamming on the piano that suddenly appears in the community center. The whole time, little hints of upcoming disaster play at the edges, reminding Jonah that he plays a special destiny in the City.

      The story unfolds, at first slowly, but then suddenly, to a terrifying climax that engulfs Jonah and his friends. The bad dreams come true—or at least some parts of them do, in tragic fashion. Later, Jonah looks back to his visit with Miss Pearl, and his look into her mysterious purse, and he understands not everything—but a little more. Jonah understands that he is not a puppet of fate, and the City is not doomed to disaster.

      This is not a simple read--there are no ghosts wandering around, no invisible golden retrievers, no spirit of Elvis Presley seeking closure from a prescient seer. If you are prepared for a complex book, with significant demands on the reader, this one is for you. On the other hand, if you want a superficial, trite work or quick read--look elsewhere.

      As a funny side note, I see that Koontz’ love for Robert Heinlein is back, as the main character reads the same Heinlein novels as in other Koontz novels. (I’m really going to have to read “Podkayne of Mars” and “The Star Beast.”)

      ✔ Recommend!

    • 5/5
      The city is a story about magic and relationships, and about achieving greatness despite huge obstacles. It is a wonderful young adult novel that will appeal to both male and female readers. Jonah is eight when the story begins in 1967 and is living in an unnamed metropolis. Although he is African American and this is the height of the civil rights movement, the problems Jonah deals with are more global than simply those of race.He is living with his mother in a walk-up apartment. His father is a no-account smooth talker who comes and goes but never really offers anything to the family. Jonah doesn't have many friends when the story begins, but he begins collecting an odd assortment. First there is Pearl, a magical woman who may or may not be the city itself. She is there when Jonah really needs her, and he credits much of his good fortune to her. Then there is Mr. Yoshioka, an upstairs neighbor who becomes Jonah's friend, confidant, and co-conspirator. Finally, Malcolm and his sister become Jonah's closest friends. Jonah's mother is a singer and his grandfather is a pianist so music runs through Jonah's veins. Music, in fact, becomes the one thing that Jonah can hold on to no matter what happens. He becomes immersed in a plot by a radical group and has to rely on all of his friends to help him through, but it is music that saves Jonah's life in the long run.This is a beautiful book with memorable characters and moving events. I would highly recommend it for students in upper elementary, junior, or senior high. It is also a great read for adults.
    • 5/5
      Dean Koontz might have to go back on my favorites list after The City. It's the coming-of-age story of a musical prodigy named Jonah, taking place in the 1960s. It's hard to share much of the plot without diminishing the pleasure of discovering the power of music, art, love, and friendship through Jonah's eyes. All you need to know is that poetic writing, twisting plot, magical realism, and unmitigated terror made this book hard to put down.
    • 5/5
      I won a free advanced readers copy of this book from Library Thing Early Reviewers Giveaway.This book was interesting, intriguing and intelligently written. It wasn't like most of Dean's other books, but his talent still shines through. It reads more like a true crime novel than a work of fiction, in my opinion. After 20 years of reading his books, I am pleased to say that I am still a fan.
    • 4/5
      I have yet to find another author who is able to capture the beauty and horror of humanity as Dean Koontz does. As with his other works, the protagonists are people you wish you knew, while the villains reinforce the common sense idea to lock the doors and bolt the windows at night. While I prefer his other works - particularly the Odd Thomas series - I do recommend The City if you're looking for a good read this fall.
    • 5/5
      Some books we rush through because each page is like a roller coaster, traveling up and down hills and around sharp curves at 90 miles per hour. Other books are subtle, not necessarily slow, but are full of wonderful language, ideas, and characters, and we want to absorb them piece by piece, and then start fretting as we near the end of our journey because we will miss these characters so much.The City, by best-selling novelist Dean Koontz, is a great combination of the two examples given above. With a mysterious, dangerous plot in play, Koontz moves his book ahead not so much with this storyline, but instead with a deft touch of characterization that will leave you feeling like you want to be friends with Jonah Kirk, Malcolm and Amalia Pomerantz, and most certainly Mr. Yoshioka.There is an air of mystery throughout, and we see young Jonah try to come to grips with what is and isn’t real, and he is visited by a mystical woman who claims to be the City itself. This novel is a joy to read and one that, while you may be tempted to read quickly, was lovingly digested by me one delicious bite at a time. The descriptive language, setting, and personalities leave me with no choice other than to highly recommend it. And if you plan on reading it, I definitely recommend first reading The Neighbor, a 99 cent Kindle short that is set in the same universe.
    • 4/5
      Dean Koontz is always interesting, but not always great. Sometimes I don't know where he will take me as an author. I enjoyed his older work more so than his newer canon and like many of his fans I enjoyed Odd Thomas.So when I received a copy of The City I was unsure of what I would be in for. Would this be something in the vein of Odd Thomas or would this be another book I wouldn't care for, like From the Corner of his Eye?Almost immediate upon reading I got the sense that Koontz was not just trying to tell a story but trying to tell a story as well as he possibly could. I think he more than succeeded with this one. In fact, while Odd Thomas was such an amazing character I feel that The City is a better story than the novel Odd Thomas. The supernatural is present in this book but it's kept to a minimum which I think works wonders for the story, this helped keep the focus on the characters.The characters are painted more richly than many of Koontz's more recent novels. Their lives are detailed with culture, which made them more believable and easier to care for. The main protagonist isn't really the star of the novel in my opinion, it's the secondary characters he knows.The plot isn't complicated but Koontz does succeed in creating some nice delusional villains that could almost have come from a Stephen King novel had they been given more story time.I think Koontz should give us another book or two with Jonah Kirk. The ending felt a little rushed for my taste and I would like to spend more time with these characters. If you enjoy Koontz then you should definitely make plans for The City.
    • 3/5
      This is the story of Jonah Kirk, A child prodigy growing up in 1960’s Chicago. It is a time of turmoil and Jonah’s father has left the family. He befriends a neighbor (an older Japanese man) after he is threatened by a new neighbor, a woman upstairs who he has seen in his dreams. Jonah’s dreams may be foreshadowing terrible events that may soon affect their lives.Jonah is the narrator of the tale, some forty plus years later. This is not a supernatural story, nor a real mystery or suspense story. It is a slow moving story of a young boy coming of age, of friendship and meaningful relationships. Koontz has created a cast of believable characters one which is the city itself. A very well developed story but not one you would expect from this author. Still enjoyable though.
    • 4/5
      I am a Koontz fan, having read more of his books than a could say..dozens.One thing I enjoy about his books, besides some great storytelling, is that are all so different than each other. You never quite know where his next book will take you. But you always know that at its heart, it will be a morality tale, a tale of good and evil, with more than a dash of the unexplainable thrown in for good measure. Others have given you some idea of what the plot is about and I will tell you no more and ruin it for you.But I will tell you that once again Mr. Koontz delivers an entertaining and compelling tale.
    • 4/5
      I am sure I am far from the only person to note this, but “The City” is nothing like the other Dean Koontz books that I’ve read. This puts me in mind of “Bag of Bones” by Steven King – the book in which a writer takes a different path and starts to focus more on the art of writing than the craft of storytelling.The main character, Jonah, is a boy far older than his years. His is an otherworldly, almost angelic voice. He still feels and experiences things in the way a child does, but the results and implications resonate within him in a mature and wise manner. "What is easy to forget, however, until you apply yourself to the task of memory, is that childhood is a time of fear, as well; some of those fears are reasonable, others irrational and inspired by a sense of powerlessness in a world where often power over others seemed to be what drives so very many of our fellow human beings. In the swoon of childhood, the possibility of werewolves is as real as the schoolyard shooter, the idea of vampires as credible as the idea of a terrorist attack, a neighbor possessing paranormal talents as believable as a psychopath." (Sometimes these observations dance right up to the edge of being too much for a 9-year old boy – but because Jonah is telling the story as an adult – it works.)The story and characters are compelling. Even though some of them are a bit stock, the reader believes in them, and they are fleshed out well. Jonah’s mother is a strong, compassionate and determined woman – she and Jonah’s grandfather are Jonah’s heroes. They give him love and life – and the gift of music. “Without thinking to ask if my mom knew it, I ham-handed my way into it, and she sang along so beautifully that I sounded way better than I was. When I noticed that some of the gray-haired ladies had tears in their eyes, I understood for the first time why music matters so much, how it reminds us of who we are and where we came from, of all of the good times and the sadness, too.”Other people in Jonah’s life shape his character as well – teaching him a great deal about what is involved in being human. A neighbor who experiences a great loss: “She was racked by the kind of grief that is part horror, when the mourner suddenly knows death to be not just a profound loss but also an abomination, and the wretched sounds that came from her made me tremble and raised in me a feeling of absolute helplessness and uselessness unlike anything I’d felt before.” Another neighbor who becomes a major part of Jonah’s life teaches him about quiet strength instead of the noisy bravado often seen in movies and on TV: “After you have suffered great losses and known much pain, it is not cowardice to wish to live henceforth with a minimum of suffering. And one form of heroism, about which few if any films will be made, is having the courage to live without bitterness when bitterness is justified, having the strength to persevere even when perseverance seems unlikely to be rewarded, having the resolution to find profound meaning in life when it seems the most meaningless.”“The City” tells Jonah’s story but also seeks to tell a larger story. What it is to be part of the human race. What people are capable of – both good and bad. Much of what happens has to do with the evil of which humans are capable - murder, prejudice, terrorism…but there is the other side to the coin here. The beauty which humans are able to create. Through music and art and architecture – but also through interaction with and care for other human beings. "One of the many wonders of this world is that, if we allow it to happen, anyone newly met can all but overnight become a central figure in our lives, hardly less essential to us than air or water. Although we've made it a world of hatred and envy and violence, the preponderance of evidence proves to me that it is a world created to inspire friendship and love and kindness.”This book is about the wonder of a life, and about all life. “Creation moves and astonishes if you let it. When I realize how unlikely it is that anything at all should live on this world spun together from dust and hot gases, that creatures of almost infinite variety should at night look up at the stars, I know that it’s all more fragile than it appears, and I think maybe the only thing that keeps the Earth alive and turning is our love for it.” It is far more than I expected from Dean Koontz and I hope that it is the first step down a path that may yield even more wonder.
    • 4/5
      Once again Dean Koontz has given us wonderful quiet characters who we wish we had as neighbors in a city that holds such mysteries and terror. Young wannabee jazz piano man, Jonah Kirk, is busy with life - keeping his mom happy in between her many jobs, his deadbeat dad far away from them and the villains in his dreams even further away from entering their lives. He is trying to escape the demons in his dreams some of whom will play a very real part in his life. As he works to figure out their importance he will be joined by a guardian angel of sorts, Mrs. Pearl and an elderly,reclusive Japanese neighbor who will try to guide him and keep him safe. A bit of mystery, a delightful dose of fantastic characters, a playful smattering of jazz and a dose of horror will keep readers entertained and frightened for the fate of Jonah and those he holds dear. The only thing missing in this portrait of the city is the dog.
    • 5/5
      In a sense, this is a coming of age story for young Jonah Kirk with a dash of magic. That is all I will say as I don't want to give away too many plot points.Mysteries, all types of learning, friendships, family, and more are entwined beautifully throughout this narrative adventure. Characters are readers alike quest for truths internal and external.Authentic, caring, flawed, and fun characters grace the pages of this tale.Overall, an enchanting read.
    • 4/5
      I was given this book by NetGalley as an eARC edition in exchange for a reviewI imagine that Dean Koontz fans will think poorly of The City, his latest book. After all, where is the horror-the action-the gore!? It is a shame when writers aren't given a chance to leave their comfort zone to try something new. Personally, I found The City magical. The idea of a city made flesh, in the form of a woman who may one day give you a glimpse into her secrets is one of the central ideas of the book. The main character, a boy of 9 named Jonah Kirk, narrates his life story at the age of 57, explaining how he arrived at where he presently is. His father was a deadbeat dad, who is involved with a domestic, anti-war terror group, like the Weather Underground, who are also murderous bank robbers. His mother is a nightclub singer, and his grandfather a piano player who has played with some larger than life Jazz luminaries.Jonah himself is a piano playing prodigy; a beautiful part of this book is the constant mentions of popular music of the mid 60s, as well as the character's love of big band, and jazz music. The story arc takes place between 1966-1967, and Koontz does not hesitate to provide the reader with a thorough description of the era, from what the #1 song of a certain week was, to the style of bell bottoms girls wore in 1967. This aspect of the book made it extremely entertaining for me. The friendship between Jonah and his quiet Japanese-American neighbor, Mr. Yoshioka was the highlight of the book in my opinion. This relationship was highly detailed, and was built upon as the story progressed; right up until the end-their relationship remained one of trust and understanding, and was one of the most poignant stories within the story.The City is about coming of age in the turbulent 60s, broken families, fear,racism, domestic terrorism, trust, love, belief and perseverance. Jonah and his friend and sometime neighbor Mr.Yoshioka combine forces, with a small group of Japanese-American veterans of the U.S. Internment camp system. Using clues and connections, they piece together a decade-long trail of murder and deceit involving a cast of characters that includes Jonah's father. There are moments of gut-wrenching sadness, and violence that is portrayed realistically, with an ending that gives one hope for the City and its denizens.I am not an avid reader of Dean Koontz, and from what I understand, he is mostly known for horror and suspense. I believe that this book had levels of both horror and suspense, although in small doses. What it does possess is beautifully written prose, which at times bordered on poetic with lines such as"The bright sun painted the pavement with the black shadows of bare-limbed trees, and in the fitful winter wind, those silhouettes twitched underfoot like the many tangled legs of agitated spiders."Koontz is a brilliant writer, with descriptions of the mundane that turn ordinary moments into masterpieces. Poetry was a big part of the story as well, as Mr. Yoshioka and Jonah would read and recite haiku often, both in English and Japanese, which is yet another of many layers involved within the story.Something else that struck me was the attention to detail when dealing with different cultures within a major city. I remember living in Brooklyn in the 60s as a child, and there were Chinese, Norwegians, Italians, Puerto Rican, Irish, African-American and Polish immigrants all living within a square mile of my neighborhood. Dean Koontz did a great job in ensuring that this multi-cultural melting pot of urban life was depicted in all of its glory. It made me think of my childhood in 1967 New York fondly; the music and different people with the funky fashions are what make the book The City feel real.The city is simply a powerful story that speaks of family commitment, the changing social structures of the 60s, music, art, the criminal mind, life-long friendships and a little bit of magic. One of my favorite books of the year.
    • 4/5
      This book tells the story of Jonah Kirk, a child prodigy on the piano. His father is a deadbeat who has left him and his mother more than once. Jonah meets some strange people and has dreams that believes are premontions. When he starts seeing the people and putting clues together he discovers a deeper more sinister plot. The book is set in the mid 1960's during the early days of radicalism. I kept trying to figure out if this book would be more of a supernatural story or a detective story. It turned out to be definitely more on the detective side with supernatural elements.The story is slow paced, but builds wonderfully with plenty of great characters. There are characters such as Jonah and his friend Yoshioka that you love, and then there are some like Fiona Cassidy and Lucas Drackman that are perfectly evil and fill you with dread everytime they are in the book. Highly reccomended, but don't expect a fast paced story
    • 4/5
      Our Review, by LITERAL ADDICTION'S Pack Alpha - Chelle:*Copy gifted in exchange for an honest reviewI am a diehard Dean Koontz fan. Outside of Poe, I would read anything Dean writes - and have - and while The City was definitely not my favorite Koontz, I still felt it deep, riveting & powerful all the same... Would I have given it a 3-3.5 for a new-to-me author, maybe, but the beautiful writing style was enough to earn that extra 1/2 skull for me personally.I actually started out this new journey by reading The Neighbor, the prequel novella to The City, and I absolutely loved it. After completion of that, I was chomping at the bit to get to The City. When I started, I was immediately reminded why I love Koontz. Everything he writes is so different, but it all has this magical lyrical quality that draws me in. The City was no different in that regard, but it was a much slower paced novel for Koontz. There were no big crashing moments, no huge surprises, but to me it still felt powerful.Told from the POV of the character Jonah Kirk as a narrative of his youth, it is said up front that the story wouldn't necessarily be entirely cohesive. In order to properly portray the 'tale' as Jonah saw it, he had to skip around. That statement was true, but I still found it compelling the way it was told. I can see some readers not liking that, however, and I think it did add to the slightly lagging pace, but I was still compelled to continue on.As usual, Koontz's protagonists are willful and painted with broad strokes. They're well rounded and just special enough to make things interesting. What I sort of missed with The City was Koontz's despicable, deplorable, and utterly hate-worthy big bads. In this case it was Jonah's weak-willed dad, a semi-crazy yet utterly enchanting girl, an X-Files loving building super, and a professor, and while it was interesting how they all ended up playing into one another's schemes, it just wasn't the usual gasp-worthy antagonists I've grown to know and love from Koontz.Bottom line, I enjoyed it. As a Koontz fan I'm glad I read it, and there were things that were utterly beautiful about it. Is it a Koontz like some of the others that I would read 2, 3+ times, no. Would I recommend it to first time Koontz readers, probably not. Do I think that there will be a subset of readers who will absolutely adore this book, yes. It's not one of his fast paced, adrenaline pumped, nail-biter thrill rides, but it was, as I said, a lyrical, deep, and riveting read.
    • 3/5
      I've liked Dean Koontz for quite a while, enjoying his horror tales featuring a touch of the supernatural, and "The City" has not been an exception. That maybe the greatest failing of the story. Perhaps I've grown jaded but there's nothing really new in the Koontz formula in this work. Still enjoyable, still fun to read, but no surprises, unless of course, you count the story ending too soon. My thanks to the publisher, NetGalley, and the author for the opportunity to read this work.
    • 5/5
      "The city changed my life and showed me that the world is deeply mysterious. I need to tell you about her and some terrible things and wonderful things and amazing things that happened....and how I am still haunted by them. Including one night when I died and woke and lived again."So starts the story of Jonah Kirk and what takes place over a couple of years of his life starting when he was almost 10.I fell in love with Jonah and his innocence, his mother, his grandparents, but especially with his neighbor Mr. Yoshioka. I loved watching their friendship develop into something deeper. It takes place at a time when the country was leaving it's kinder and gentler times and entering into riots and wars. I will say I have been less than impressed with The Odd Thomas series so I was hesitant on reading this book. I am so glad I did, it was truly a good story.