By Wayne C. Rogers
There will be some spoilers in this review, so don’t read if you don’t want to know. In order to discuss why I loved this novel, I had to mention certain things; however, some parts of it really didn’t make sense to me. (I’ve read the review to the end, and spoilers are kept to a minimum, if any).
First, I ordered the hardcover Panting In mid-October 2009, I was admitted to the hospital. A week later, I was hospitalized with leg swelling and a blood infection caused by poor circulation, and my life was in danger. I was finally discharged from the hospital and went home the day before Thanksgiving to find the book waiting for me in a box. I opened the box and glanced through the novel, thinking I would finish it in the next week or two, but that was not to be the case. I put the novel on the shelf, where it remained for the next year and a half, hidden by other books I had purchased since then and stacked sideways on the shelf in front of other books.
When I moved into my new apartment in early 2010, I saw Panting As I was packing up my books, I came across about a hundred novels that I had bought but hadn’t read yet. After moving into my new apartment, I stacked fifteen large boxes of books against the walls of my living room (my apartment is tiny and my bedroom closet was full), intending to eventually buy a nice big bookcase to hold most of my books, which I finally did a few months ago. Occasionally, I’ll look through the box section to find something to read. I never see Panting In any box.
Last year I finally forced myself to look for my thesaurus, which I desperately needed when I was writing. This meant I had to look through the bottom boxes, and I dreaded doing that. Well, I found my thesaurus and Breathless in the last box and pulled them out. This is one of the books that IAhahaha” moment.
I need to read something else, but I hope it offers the possibility of a grand mystery woven with unknowns and surprises. Dean Koontz’s books often do that for me. They take me places no other book can take me, and make me laugh out loud in pure happiness and the sweet joy of being alive.
“What?” you say, “Dean Koontz’s novels made you laugh and feel happy?”
Yes, it is.
His novels have had this effect on me for the past thirteen years, and it all started From the corner of his eye. Fans of Dean Koontz know exactly what I’m talking about because no matter how dark his books start, they often have a ray of sunshine at the end that gives the reader hope for the future.
Panting Did that for me.
The story begins with Grady Adams taking his Irish wolfhound, Merlin, for a walk in the woods somewhere in Colorado. They experience a third-kind close encounter in the woods (but not with aliens), which leaves them mesmerized by a kind of magic unlike anything Grady has ever experienced. The magic they stumbled upon follows them home and begins to sneak into their house as night falls. Before long, Grady and Merlin have cornered the two furry creatures (think the baby Ewoks from Return of the Jedi), and that’s when the real fun begins.
Across town, local veterinarian Cammy Rivers has been called in to help the owners of several thoroughbred horses. The horses have escaped from their stables and entered a trance-like state that leaves them completely calm and at peace. The horses seem to hear or see things that humans cannot. As Cammy tries to figure out what is going on with the horses, Grady calls her over to see something rather spectacular, but he won’t tell her what it is.
In the same area where Grady and Cami live, Henry Rufroy arrives at his twin brother’s house. Henry hasn’t seen his brother Jim since they were little, but Henry has always kept an eye on him and his wife. Henry looks exactly like his brother, and he comes to visit Jim out of the blue for unknown reasons.
Lamar Woolsey is a distinguished professor of physics and chaos theory. He enjoys spending his free time in Las Vegas, winning thousands of dollars at the blackjack tables and donating the money to those in need. To him, there is logic in chaos.
Tom Bigger is a homeless man who lives in a cave near the beach. He is a big, gaunt man who scares people all the time. He has no friends. One day, he sees something that changes his life forever and sets off on a journey to fulfill his destiny.
Lydon Wallace is a successful lawyer who hired a hitman to murder his wife and stepson. After being married for a few years, Lydon now wants his freedom but doesn’t want to pay most of the money for it. Lydon also allowed the killer to sexually assault his wife in any way he wanted before killing her. He is the kind of husband that women should avoid at all costs.
What do these characters have in common? This is supposedly explained at the end when it is discovered that they are all interconnected. One of my main gripes with the book is whether this was adequately explained. Also, to add to the plot, the U.S. government later gets involved when Homeland Security discovers two furry creatures taking over Grady’s home. The head of the government task force is a man named Jardine, who is not a nice guy.
The best part of the novel for me was about the furry creatures and the government trying to take them away from Grady and Cami. The whole novel could actually be centered around this one thing and it would be complete in itself. God, I loved these creatures. They made me laugh and made me feel alive. I hated when the government showed up and took over and wondered what the hell these creatures were and how they showed up. The problem is that these words are totally inadequate to describe my true emotions for the scenes involving Puzzle and Riddle. To me, it was like Dean Koontz tapped into something very special in nature that has the power to change your entire outlook on life. Whatever it was, it spoke to my inner child and made me long for something deeper than what I currently have in my life. In a way, it was like a profound glimpse into true happiness, if we could only find it within ourselves.
I was less than pleased with the separate storylines between Henry Luvroy, Lydon Wallace, and Tom Biggar. With these secondary characters’ storylines tied together, I felt that much of the novel was cut out without a more detailed explanation of how important and necessary these characters were to the book. In my opinion, they could have been cut out entirely and the novel would have been much better. In fact, I would have preferred to have had an entire novel devoted to these unique and awe-inspiring creatures and their adventures with humans.
yes Panting Is it well written?
Yes.
Dean Koontz is a wordsmith in many ways, his writing style is very unique and the characters he creates for you are very descriptive. Are the characters interesting? Yes, again. Even Henry Rouvroy, Tom Bigger, and Liddon Wallace are excellent characters who deserve to be read about. They just need to have their own books with more to tell. Would I recommend this novel to others? Yes, I would definitely recommend it. The parts I liked about this novel far outweighed the parts I didn’t like.
If I were writing a screenplay based on this novel, I would exclude Henry Lufroy, Lydon Wallace, and Tom Biggs. What about Lemar Woolsey? Well, Lemar plays a special role in the book that isn’t revealed until the last third. As Lemar might say, “Out of chaos comes a fluidity of knowledge and events that demonstrate the synchronicity of life and how everything is interconnected.” I wish I had read this book when I first got out of the hospital. I certainly needed it then. But then again, I guess I need it now, too, because my life is in chaos.
Order yours here.
grade:4/5
