Life Expectancy by Dean Koontz

(posted for Amber)

Dean Koontz (1945 - Present) is an extremely successful American writer in many different genres. He graduated from Shippensburg State College (Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania) in 1967 and was an English teacher for a year before his first book – a science fiction novel called Star Quest written in spare time – was published in 1968. He has since gone on to write a LOT of bestsellers in multiple genres from scifi to horror, suspense to satire. For fear of loosing loyal genre fans, he went by pen names for much of his different genre work among them Deanna Dwyer, K. R. Dwyer, Aaron Wolfe, David Axton, Brian Coffey, John Hill, Leigh Nichols, Owen West, Richard Paige, Leonard Chris, and Anthony North. Though not exactly the most acclaimed writer in literary circles, he’s frequented the New York Times Bestseller List with ten hardcover and fourteen paperbacks in the number one spot over the years and is tied with John Grisham for the spot of 6th highest paid author. He currently lives in California his wife and attributes much of his inspiration to his late golden retriever, Trixie Koontz.

Life Expectancy is (IMO) a suspense/ thriller piece about a man (Jimmy Tock) whose dying grandfather, on the night of his birth and even in the same hospital, suddenly made multiple predictions about his life and gave a list of five terrible days that he would have to face. Promptly after that and at the very moment Jimmy was birthed, he died. This all happens in the first chapter, leaving about sixty more to show him going through his life preparing for and trying to survive the days of his grandfather’s prediction. Challenges faced include eccentric grandmothers, battling a family of psychotic clowns and other circus performers, mouth-watering scenes of family dinners, meeting the love of his life, and raising three children all afraid of monsters in the closet.

Koontz does a phenomenal job in Life Expectancy of balancing Jimmy’s normal life and its supernatural elements. Though much of the novel is pretty outlandish, the narration and the crazy plot are really addictive, and keeps you turning the page. Simple language, quirky descriptions and really open 1st person narration create a good read that I think we can take notes on.