Ticktock

When a thin idea is stretched into a full-length book and the characters, motivations, and incidents have little correlation with reality, the exercise requires finesse. Witness this title. A Vietnamese-born American writer is chased all over Los Angeles by a murderous devil doll that metamorphoses into an ever more horrendous opponent. A quirk of fate joins the writer with a kooky young woman with amazing resources. Dean Koontz is famous for pulling off such nonsense. His fans relish it. But to do so in a recording, one needs a narrator also capable of finesse. Unfortunately, Paul Michael exhibits neither the élan nor the inventiveness to do more than a yeoman's job. Y.R. (c) AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine

November 15, 2006
Tommy Phan, a second-generation Vietnamese American, though successful by any American definition, has distanced himself from his family and ethnic background. He finds an ominous rag doll on his front step, with a message that the deadline is dawn. The doll morphs into a full-size demon trying to murder him for an unknown reason, and he surmises if he can stay alive until dawn, he'll survive the curse. Surprisingly, this is one of Koontz's more lighthearted thrillers, a simple chase-and-escape plot, but with interesting characters to meet along the way. Paul Michael as narrator keeps the action moving and manages the Vietnamese words and accents with skill and grace. This is far from Koontz at his best, but it is a serviceable program where demand warrants.Kristen L. Smith, Loras Coll. Lib., Dubuque, IA

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