A New York Post “Best New Books” Selection
“Ballerini (a Koontz veteran) is tremendous, and Parks makes strong choices in diction, pronunciation, and pacing to bring Amity Coltrane to life. The collaborative effect of Ballerini and Parks' narration works as a deliberate “all-in” to the production, making the audio version even more of a standout.” —Booklist
“[A] spectacular, action-packed, character-driven adventure…Koontz remains white hot with another certain bestseller.” —Booklist (starred review)
“Colorful, imaginative…a lively, offbeat novel.” —Kirkus Reviews
“A terrifying new tale…A fast-paced, hold-your-breath thriller with a heart.” —AARP
“Vivid…” —Associated Press
“Dean Koontz is the master of this kind of story. His imagination has no limits and with each book he seems to top himself. It makes you wonder what traveling to other worlds might truly be like.” —Red Carpet Crash
“Some authors have used the sci-fi genre to create other worlds and critique the current world politics or realities. Koontz’s interests lay elsewhere. He’s more concerned with the human condition that remains the same across time and space and that cannot be remedied by ideology.” —The Big Thrill
“This is a genre-busting work that happily will appeal to readers who enjoy thrillers, horror, sci-fi or just a flat-out well-told story with a breakneck pace that never lets up.” —Bookreporter
2020-07-29
California man Jeffy Coltrane and his 11-year-old daughter, Amity, discover the wonders and horrors of multiverse travel after an inventor entrusts them with a special device.
The inventor, on the run from dark government forces, instructs Coltrane to put this $76 billion "key to everything" into safekeeping and never use it. But when Amity's pet mouse strolls across its controls, the device activates, whisking father and daughter—and mouse—off to an alternate Earth. Danger greets them in the form of a nasty creature that is half boy and half chimp, and there are other threats. But Amity is in no rush to return to normalcy after Googling her long-missing mother and determining she is alive and well on Earth 1.13. However, re-connecting with Mom, who walked out on her family seven years ago, saying she felt "empty," proves problematic: In this parallel world, Jeffy and Amity were both run over by a car—seven years ago. For all the other scary things there are across the multiverse, including genocidal robots marching up the Pacific Coast Highway, none is more frightening than the neo-fascist enforcers now operating back home on "Earth Prime." As heavy-handed as Koontz is in nailing down this timely theme, it's disappointing to see him pull back from its broader implications and invest his villainy in a rather predictable sociopathic bad guy who will do anything to lay his hands on the special device. And it is not always easy to keep all the multiple Earths and versions of people straight. But otherwise, this is a colorful, imaginative spin into SF by the prolific, wide-ranging writer.
A lively, offbeat novel.
