Sole Survivor
by Dean Koontz
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Fiction. Horror. Suspense. Thriller. HTML:A catastrophic, unexplainable plane crash leaves three hundred and thirty dead — no survivors. Among the victims are the wife and two daughters of Joe Carpenter, a Los Angeles Post crime reporter.A year after the crash, still gripped by an almost paralyzing grief, Joe encounters a woman named Rose, who claims to have survived the crash. She holds out the possibility of a secret that will bring Joe peace of mind. But before he can ask any show more questions, she slips away.
Driven now by rage (have the authorities withheld information?) and a hope almost as unbearable as his grief (if there is one survivor, are there others?), Joe sets out to find the mysterious woman. His search immediately leads him into the path of a powerful and shadowy organization hell-bent on stopping Rose before she can reveal what she knows about the crash.
Sole Survivor unfolds at a heart-stopping pace, as a desperate chase and a shattering emotional odyssey lead Joe to a truth that will force him to reassess everything he thought he knew about life and death — a truth that, given the chance, will rock the world and redefine the destiny of humanity.
From the Trade Paperback edition.. show less
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Koontz and I have been slowly parting ways over the years, and for me this book details, in large part, why that is. I started to read him because I'm drawn to a good scare, and his earlier books provided that. I suppose they have the literary appeal of Saw (which I actually find awful, and completely non-appealing - no accounting for tastes, I guess - I'd much rather imagine the worst than see it.). But in the early days, Koontz was creative, both psychologically and in his unusual plots. He seems to have traded that for a sort of cheap Christian sentimentality. The Koontz of Night Chills is not the Koontz of Sole Survivor. That's undoubtedly a good thing for him personally. But it makes for a less than exciting literary ride. Stephen show more King seemed to have this trouble too, a few years ago, but eventually found his groove again - calmer, more optimistic, but no less exciting. I hope Koontz can do the same. show less
This book was on my list to read for a long time before I finally got to it, and it was well worth the wait. I enjoyed this so much more than Door to December, and was kept on the edge of my seat the entire way. I always enjoy the 'supernatural themes' and this novel had action, suspense, paranormal activity and meaning of life themes. What more could you want?
I would thoroughly recommend this book to any fan of Koontz or those that enjoy action spiced with the paranormal.
I would thoroughly recommend this book to any fan of Koontz or those that enjoy action spiced with the paranormal.
The plot begins with character—a man deeply depressed by the loss of his family; a sole survivor who would rather prefer not to survive. He watches the waves; and the reader, swiftly drawn in, watches with him. Then things change. Soon, Dean Koonz’s Sole Survivor is a fast-flowing tale of danger and mystery. There may be another “sole survivor” out there, and Joe is chased by strangers with complex technological resources and apparent immunity to use them. With his own life in danger, he’s desperate to learn what really happened on the flight that killed his family.
Sole Survivor starts slow, speeds up, and pulls the reader along with fascinating questions and mystery. Through twists and turns of plausible solutions that fast show more become implausible, the author brings readers to that ultimate question—how on earth can the story end?
Fitting and resolving the plot perfectly, the author does end the tale, with mysteries of life beyond life entwining together with mysteries of terrifying death. If I’m oddly unsatisfied at the resolution, that probably says more about me than the book, and I really enjoyed the read.
Disclosure: I had just flown. How could I resist? show less
Sole Survivor starts slow, speeds up, and pulls the reader along with fascinating questions and mystery. Through twists and turns of plausible solutions that fast show more become implausible, the author brings readers to that ultimate question—how on earth can the story end?
Fitting and resolving the plot perfectly, the author does end the tale, with mysteries of life beyond life entwining together with mysteries of terrifying death. If I’m oddly unsatisfied at the resolution, that probably says more about me than the book, and I really enjoyed the read.
Disclosure: I had just flown. How could I resist? show less
Sole Survivor was the first Dean Koontz novel I'd ever read. If only they were all this good. I was in working in Germany at the time and found it on a desk I was using temporarily. I had a lot of down time so I started reading. I was quickly sucked in. I got very little sleep from the time I started till I finally finished a few days later. It didn't hurt that the story was set in my home town of Seattle.
The story starts with a reporter unable to cope with the deaths of his wife and daughter in an airplane crash. When he meets a mysterious woman at their graves who hints that his daughter isn't dead, the story takes off like roller coaster careening down the big hill. By the end, even the finality of death is challenged. It's an show more engrossing read without a single weak moment. show less
The story starts with a reporter unable to cope with the deaths of his wife and daughter in an airplane crash. When he meets a mysterious woman at their graves who hints that his daughter isn't dead, the story takes off like roller coaster careening down the big hill. By the end, even the finality of death is challenged. It's an show more engrossing read without a single weak moment. show less
A well plotted supernatural thriller, this book is going to mean different things to different people primarily depending on their religious beliefs. At first, I was a little irritated by its message, which I saw as potentially flawed. Without giving away the revelation, it’s hard to explain why, except to say there’s no way to know the truth behind what someone shows people. I think the main character of Joe Carpenter explores a husband's and father’s grief well, but the book feels overlong. There’s an almost comfortable ride, even through moments of tension and a lot left toward the end to be revealed. Not as boring as an info dump, still it’s a lot to take in. It’s like 90% of the book builds question after question and show more then the remaining chunk provides the answer and it left me feeling a little bombarded as I finished the novel. Having said that, I’d have to take time to consider how anyone would present this story in another format and it’s an imaginative plot. We know Koontz for incorporating his religious beliefs and there’s a high percentage of that here, but, as I’ve said, everything here is open to interpretation. It’s gripping enough to be well worth reading once, though this was a re-read for me after many years. show less
"The plane crashed without warning. Three hundred and thirty people died. No explanation. No survivors. Now one man who lost everything that night is about to discover the answers he needs to go on with his life—or the conviction to finally end it.
Crime reporter Joe Carpenter lost his wife and two daughters in the crash of Flight 353. Aching from his loss, Joe is unable to work, think, or do anything but grieve, and wait for his own death. Then Joe meets Rose, a woman who claims to be the crash’s sole survivor. But before he can probe further, the elusive Rose slips away and Joe is left with haunting, terrifying questions: If Rose lived through the crash, is it possible his family could have survived it, too? Did the authorities show more conspire to hide what really happened that night? Joe’s search for the truth will shatter him like nothing has before—and force him to question everything he thinks he knows about life and death."
This book took a left turn that I never expected and I have read lot of top authors of this genre. To know that this author wrote this so early in his career is mind boggling. You are constantly puzzling in your mind where the story is going and trying to ferret out the class but this story blew me away. show less
Crime reporter Joe Carpenter lost his wife and two daughters in the crash of Flight 353. Aching from his loss, Joe is unable to work, think, or do anything but grieve, and wait for his own death. Then Joe meets Rose, a woman who claims to be the crash’s sole survivor. But before he can probe further, the elusive Rose slips away and Joe is left with haunting, terrifying questions: If Rose lived through the crash, is it possible his family could have survived it, too? Did the authorities show more conspire to hide what really happened that night? Joe’s search for the truth will shatter him like nothing has before—and force him to question everything he thinks he knows about life and death."
This book took a left turn that I never expected and I have read lot of top authors of this genre. To know that this author wrote this so early in his career is mind boggling. You are constantly puzzling in your mind where the story is going and trying to ferret out the class but this story blew me away. show less
Loneliness is possibly more debilitating than many physical illnesses.
Joe Carpenter is lonely. More, he is broken. His wife and his daughters
died in a tragic and unexplained plane crash. He pain was so all encompassing,
all he could do was to try to draw away from it. That never really works, as lonliness
and pain can find you anywhere. They are insidious.
One day while visiting the graves of his family, he met a lovely woman
who was taking photographs of the grave site. He had never seen her before,
but was impressed by her presence, as well as her strange beauty. This
chance meeting would change his life. The appearance of this woman
in the lives of the families of others who died that day would affect them as
well. Tragically.
This is a show more story that has more than one hero, and more than one villain. It is fast paced
and it has a great ending, which sells a book for me any time.
recommended for those who like a thriller with heart. show less
Joe Carpenter is lonely. More, he is broken. His wife and his daughters
died in a tragic and unexplained plane crash. He pain was so all encompassing,
all he could do was to try to draw away from it. That never really works, as lonliness
and pain can find you anywhere. They are insidious.
One day while visiting the graves of his family, he met a lovely woman
who was taking photographs of the grave site. He had never seen her before,
but was impressed by her presence, as well as her strange beauty. This
chance meeting would change his life. The appearance of this woman
in the lives of the families of others who died that day would affect them as
well. Tragically.
This is a show more story that has more than one hero, and more than one villain. It is fast paced
and it has a great ending, which sells a book for me any time.
recommended for those who like a thriller with heart. show less
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Author Information
487+ Works 229,361 Members
Dean Koontz was born on July 9, 1945 in Everett, Pennsylvania. He received a degree in education from Shippensburg State College in 1967. A former high school English teacher as well as a teacher-counselor with the Appalachian Poverty Program, he began writing as a child to escape an ugly home life caused by his alcoholic father. A prolific writer show more at a young age, he had sold a dozen novels by the age of 25. Early in his career, he wrote under numerous pen names including David Axton, Brian Coffey, K. R. Dwyer, Leigh Nichols, Richard Paige, and Owen West. He is best known for the books written under his own name, many of which are bestsellers, including Midnight, Cold Fire, The Bad Place, Hideaway, The Husband, Odd Hours, 77 Shadow Street, Innocence, The City, Saint Odd, and The Silent Corner. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Sole Survivor
- Original title
- Sole Survivor
- Original publication date
- 1997-01-09
- People/Characters
- Joe Carpenter; Rose Tucker; Nina; Barbara Christman
- Important places
- Los Angeles, California, USA
- Related movies
- Sole Survivor (2000 | IMDb)
- Epigraph
- The sky is deep, the sky is dark.
The light of the stars is o damn stark.
When I look up, I fill with fear,
if all we have is what lies here,
this lonely world, this troubled place,
then cold dead stars an... (show all)d empty space . . .
Well, I see no reason to persevere,
no reason to laugh or shed a tear,
no reason to sleep and none to wake,
No promises to keep and none to make.
And so at night I still raise my eyes
to study the clear but mysterious skies
that arch above us, cold as stone.
Are you there God? Are we alone?
- The Book Of Counted Sorrows - Dedication
- To the memory of Ray Mock, my uncle, who long ago moved on to a better world.
In my childhood, when I was troubled and despairing, your decency and kindness and good humour taught me everything I even needed to know ab... (show all)out what a man should be. - First words
- At two-thirty Saturday morning, in Los Angeles, Joe Carpenter woke, clutching a pillow to his chest, calling his lost wife's name in the darkness.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)She was a shining light, all but blinding in her brightness, as his own Nina had been - as are we all.
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