Life Expectancy Summary

Life Expectancy

Published: 2004

Author: Dean Koontz

Genre: Comedy, Fiction, Horror, Humor, Literature, Metaphysical, Occult, Psychological, Supernatural, Suspense, Thriller, Visionary Fiction

Check out the review of this book here:

Life Expectancy

Summary

James Tock was born at Colorado's Snow County Hospital at the same time his grandpa, Josef Tock, a pastry chef, died of a stroke. 

Though incapacitated by a stroke earlier in the week, Josef unexpectedly recovers to give his son Rudy 10 cryptic prophecies, including that his grandchild would be named James—but that everyone will call him Jimmy. Josef also foresees five dreadful days in his grandson's future. Despite his coherent statement, Josef Tock does not recover from this catastrophe and dies immediately before the baby is delivered.

Earlier in the evening, Rudy Tock met a weird man named Konrad Beezo. Beezo is a clown for the same circus that Tock's pass is for, and he is a fitful, nasty, frightening, chain-smoking guy partially dressed as a clown. 

Natalie, a well-known trapeze performer from a decent family, is said to be in labor, and her relatives have nearly shunned her for marrying him. He speaks glowingly about his soon-to-be-born kid, who will be named "Punchinello" and will continue on the family clowning legacy. He uses several colorful epithets to describe his father-in-law.

Tock is overjoyed to be leaving Beezo. However, his mourning over his father's death was brief. Beezo goes wild after learning Natalie died during childbirth, shouting about her family sending assassins to assassinate her and opening fire, killing a doctor and a nurse. 

Tock, in arguably the only heroic moment in his modest baker's life, convinces the furious clown that his foes have fled, temporarily quelling his rage.

On the eve of his fifth and final awful day, Jimmy Tock creates the book, a vague autobiography of personal experience, reminisces, and second- or even third-hand recollections of events, transcribing it from a series of recordings. 

The story is told in a self-deprecating, humorously restrained tone. Certain experiences, however, stand out sharply, most notably blundering into a terrifying, yet almost strange, bank robbery by a trio of plastique-wielding crazed history buff clowns led by none other than Punchinello Beezo — during which Jimmy gradually realizes he's falling for a comely fellow hostage—and a huge gamble of chicken with a severely disturbed predator on an icy road the night his wife Lorrie (on the second predicted date). 

Konrad Beezo is the guy after the Tocks, seeking vengeance for his imprisoned and accidentally-gelded son. Beezo's insatiable yearning for a male Tock kid as his treasure, a new son to nurture in the good clown tradition, frames both this horrible day and the following prophesied day.

The maniac will go to any length to recover what he feels is owed to him, even many facial plastic procedures to assume new identities and evade the authorities. 

Jimmy believes that everyone and everything in the universe is tenuously yet inextricably linked to one another, just as his toes were at birth. This phenomenon is sometimes referred to as "six degrees of separation." 

Punchinello, who is presently incarcerated, is urged by Jimmy and Lorrie, who assisted in his conviction and punishment, to donate one of his kidneys to help save Annie Tock, Jimmy, and Lorrie's daughter. 

Punchinello only agrees to the gift in exchange for several favors that are little in contrast to the valuable kidney. 

As the arrangement nears completion, Punchinello requests that Jimmy assassinate Virgilio Vivacemente as a final favor. 

Jimmy learns a lot about himself as the prophecies come true one by one, as do Konrad, Natalie, Punchinello, and Konrad's father-in-law, Virgilio Vivacemente, the pompous, cruel patriarch of the world-famous acrobatic dynasty who throws a long shadow over both the Tocks and the Beezos' lives. 

Some of Jimmy's findings are lovely; others are terrifying; and still, others rattle his quiet, lumbering pastry chef's existence to its core, forcing him to consider the actual meaning of syndactyly—as both a disease and a life philosophy.

Useful Search Related Words & Keywords

Ever Read, Highly Recommend, Jimmy Tock, Koontz Books, Page Turner, Prepare To Be Enchanted, Stephen King, Story Line, Terrible Days, Twists And Turns

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Ticktock Summary

Ticktock

Published: July 1996

Author: Dean Koontz

Genre: American, Fiction, Horror, Humor, Literature, Suspense, Thriller

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Ticktock

Summary

Tommy Phan is a popular mystery author and first-generation Vietnamese American in southern California. His ultimate aim is to live the American Dream. 

The plot begins with Tommy purchasing a new Corvette. He disputes with his mother, declining her invitation to supper. In an act of defiance, he consumes two cheeseburgers, something his mother despises. 

There he encounters a gorgeous waitress (whom he will meet later in the story again). During one of these two travels, his radio stops working, and creepy voices can be heard in the static.

When he returns home, he discovers a Rag doll on his front steps, as well as a message written in Vietnamese that he learned as a youngster but has forgotten in his effort to be a genuine American. 

When Tommy takes the doll inside his study, it breaks open to reveal a terrible entity bent on murdering him. 

Tommy's computer screen is left with a message indicating he has till daybreak, but he has no idea what will happen at dawn. 

They go on a race to flee the beast after encountering Del, a lady who appears to talk rather cryptically. She believes him too soon and frequently has conflicting explanations for all of her skills. (At one point, she stole an automobile, claiming she hotwired it one minute and the key was in the ignition the next.)

As their adventure proceeds, the doll appears to expand in size. They go to Tommy's brother, Gi, to try to decipher the note. 

They then proceed to Del's place, where we find she is incredibly wealthy yet still works as a waitress. She also reveals a different side of herself when Tommy asks to view her paintings and threatens to shoot him if he does. Tommy is concerned because her dog appears to be extremely intelligent.

Tommy's Corvette is damaged, two automobiles are stolen, and one enormous boat is trashed on their drive to escape the ever-growing doll. 

They arrive at Del's mother's house, which appears strange. They claim to be able to listen to live radio broadcasts from the past using their radio. Del's mother has an unusual sense of timing when she predicts when the rain will end. 

Gi calls and warns Tommy not to bring the blonde with him to their mother. Tommy drags Del along nevertheless, where he discovers the doll was created by a friend of his mother to terrify him back home. They start a rite that, after a few terrifying minutes, utterly extinguishes the creature.

Tommy notices Del's paintings, which are of him. She had been watching him from afar for the past two years because she knew he was her fate.

He and Del marry in Las Vegas. They then return to their hometown.

Useful Search Related Words & Keywords

Deliverance Payne, Edge Of My Seat, Fast Paced, Highly Recommend, Koontz Books, Page Turner, Rag Doll, Really Enjoyed, Screwball Comedy, Tick Tock, Tommy Phan, Years Ago

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Brother Odd Summary

Brother Odd

Published: 28, November 2006

Author: Dean Koontz

Genre: Fantasy, Fiction, Ghost, Horror, Humor, Mystery, Psychic, Psychological, Shape Shifter, Thriller

Book 3 of 7: Odd Thomas

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Brother Odd

Summary

Seven months after Forever Odd, the story begins. Odd Thomas has been a visitor to St. Bartholomew's Abbey throughout this period, where he expects to find serenity and understanding. 

During his stay, he encounters a white-furred dog that helps him on his further travels.

Odd notices a shadow-like Bodach. This spells calamity for the abbey. One of the monks goes missing, and Odd is attacked by an unknown assailant. 

Odd hears an odd noise in a heavy snowfall while searching for the missing monk, and subsequently sees a complex, moving pattern of bones against a glass.

The abbey's other visitor, Rodion Romanovich, joins Odd in the garage to pick up the monks. 

Odd, skeptical of Romanovich, prepares to leave him at the abbey, but he escapes with one SUV full of monks before Odd can stop him. 

A bone creature flips Romanovich's SUV on the way there. Odd's confidant, Brother Knuckles, destroys the beast with the second plow, rescuing everyone. 

Back at the school, Odd and Romanovich discover that Jacob's father, The Neverwas, is John Heineman, a monk known as Brother John at the monastery and a former physicist who experimented with reality.

Later, Odd chooses to leave the monastery, but as he drives back to his hometown, psychic magnetism draws him out of the car, and the novel closes as he wanders down the highway toward the unknown. 

Elvis Presley, who occasionally aids Odd, ultimately crosses over after three escapades. Odd and the dog (who is now shown to be a spirit) go on together, only to be joined by the ghost of Frank Sinatra seconds later.

Useful Search Related Words & Keywords

Another Great, Dead People, Great Read, Highly Recommend, Looking Forward, Pico Mundo, Sense Of Humor, Thomas Series, Young Man

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Forever Odd Summary

Forever Odd 

Published: 2005

Author: Dean Koontz

Genre: Action, Fantasy, Fiction, Ghost, Humor, Psychic, Psychological, Psychology, Suspense, Thriller

Book 2 of 7: Odd Thomas

Check out the review of this book here:

Forever Odd

Summary

Odd Thomas suspects Danny's birth father, who was just released from jail, has kidnapped him after discovering his close friend Danny has been kidnapped and his stepfather brutally killed. 

Odd begins to explore as a result of this notion and is drawn down a water tunnel and into an abandoned hotel by his "psychic magnetism," Odd's ability to hunt out someone or what he is envisioning.

Odd discovers his friend tied up and strapped to a bomb inside. Danny tells Odd that his father did not kidnap him. 

Instead, Danny recalls calling a phone sex line and speaking with a woman named Datura because he was lonely as a result of a crippling bone illness. Danny had ultimately handed up the knowledge about Odd's "gift" after being captivated by her. When she realized this, she abducted Danny in order for Odd to disclose himself to her.

Odd walks away from Danny and discovers Datura in her room with two goons, Cheval Robert and Cheval Andre. 

She directs Odd to show her the ghosts. Odd reluctantly brings her to the hotel's casino, where he has previously seen numerous spirits and one poltergeist. 

When Datura offends a ghost, the angered poltergeist hurls things at them. Odd escapes Datura at this moment returns to Danny and deactivates the explosives. 

Odd goes to Datura's room and discovers a shotgun, which he used to assassinate Cheval Robert. 

Datura locates him using "reverse psychic magnetism," but while they are conversing, a mountain lion attacks her from behind. 

An enraged Cheval Andre pursues Odd through the hotel before Odd kills him in a sewer.

Odd dies in the sewer, and his soul pays three of his friends a visit. He resurrects, however, in front of the Blue Moon Café, with no memory of how he got there. 

He is initially upset by his survival, since his deepest desire is to be reunited with his soul-mate, Bronwen "Stormy" Llewellyn, in the hereafter. 

Odd follows Chief Porter to the hotel, where they return to get Danny from that dreadful location. 

Odd decides to work at a monastery high in the mountains for two months in order to find tranquility.

Useful Search Related Words & Keywords

Dead People, Looking Forward, Main Character, Page Turner, Pico Mundo, Psychic Magnetism, Second Book, Story Line, Thomas Series

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