This book was not for me. I read the first 20 pages and didn't like it. Talked myself into reading 30 more pages and still didn't like it. Made myself keep going since this is Koontz, and hit the half-way point. Still didn't like it, but wanted to finish because I'm stubborn and figured there had to be a point to this book. If there was, I didn't get it.

The best part of the book were the characters. Cubby, his wife Penny and their son Milo were interesting. I liked that they each had their own story. Cubby came from a family that was murdered when he was young, Penny from a family who prepares for Armageddon, and Milo is a 6-year old child prodigy. They are so witty and eccentric that I couldn't help but find myself interested in them.

Cubby and his family are in danger and being pursued by a mad man who has proven himself a killer. What I don't get about the whole plot and the telling of the story is that it's told from an after-the-fact point of view and in a comic manner. I didn't really get the comic angle since they are running for their lives. Then, the conclusion is just weird. In fact, the closer that I got to the end of the book, the less I even cared about what the conclusion was going to be.

Overall, I like Koontz. I won't give up reading his books just because I didn't like this one, but I can't recommend this book to anyone. ( )

Dean Koontz is my favorite author, but I have to admit that it's been awhile since I've truly enjoyed one of his new releases. So I can also admit that I was a bit leery when I first picked up RELENTLESS, hoping that it would be good, worrying that it wouldn't be.

Thankfully, this was a one-sitting read, since once I started I couldn't stop. Is the plot outlandish? Of course it is, as only a Koontz book can be. But he's back with the universal theme of good vs. evil, with a dog named Lassie that you can't help but love, and a young boy named Milo who is beyond imagination.

The storyline is fairly simple: an accomplished author has gotten a scathing review by a well-known critic, and instead of letting the matter go as his wife suggests, he ends up on the receiving end of a psychopath.

What follows is a mad-cap (there really is no other word for it), fast-paced story where a family goes on the run, explosions ensue, guns are drawn, secret organizations are revealed, mystic themes of the universe are unveiled, and a teleporting dog and a boy who discovers a scientific impossibility are all-too believable.

RELENTLESS is obviously one of those "this could never happen in real life" type of books, but it's classic Koontz, and that's good enough for me. ( )

I really liked this book until the last few chapters and then I really hated this book.

Running from a cold blooded killer is definitely not new territory for Koontz. Nor is the protagonist with a mysterious past, the all-knowing dog, the clever child, the hint of quantum mechanics. When an author is as prolific as Koontz fresh material for every book must be hard to find and those familiar with his work will easily forgive him. Relentless is still a page turner, with great dialogue, well thought out characters and the blend of sharp and poignant narrative that is typical Koontz. There is nothing new in here, however that's not a reason to avoid this decent thriller. ( )

Relentless is yet another supernatural thriller from Dean Koontz that doesn't have much substance to the story. I am a big fan of several of Koontz's earlier works but I just found this story to be repetitive and thrown together. The end is tied up in one chapter, which makes you feel like the author got tired of writing and decided to just finish his story. The novel had the feeling that Dean Koontz didn't really know where he wanted to take the story, so he just threw in whatever random plot points he could think of. One thing I did enjoy that I always like in a Dean Koontz novel is his characters and how he develops and shares their stories with you. Overall Relentless is a good read if you aren't looking for something to make you think or keep you involved in the story for days after you have finished it. It's more a book for bargain bins or borrowed from a local library than one to pay full hardcover price for. ( )