Elsewhere

by Dean Koontz

The fate of the world is in the hands of a father and daughter in an epic novel of wonder and terror by Dean Koontz, the #1 New York Times bestselling master of suspense.

Since his wife, Michelle, left seven years ago, Jeffy Coltrane has worked to maintain a normal life for himself and his eleven-year-old daughter, Amity, in Suavidad Beach. It’s a quiet life, until a local eccentric known as Spooky Ed shows up on their doorstep.


Ed entrusts Jeffy with hiding a strange and dangerous object—something he calls “the key to everything”—and tells Jeffy that he must never use the device. But after a visit from a group of ominous men, Jeffy and Amity find themselves accidentally activating the key and discovering an extraordinary truth. The device allows them to jump between parallel planes at once familiar and bizarre, wondrous and terrifying. And Jeffy and Amity can’t help but wonder, could Michelle be just a click away?


Jeffy and Amity aren’t the only ones interested in the device. A man with a dark purpose is in pursuit, determined to use its grand potential for profound evil. Unless Amity and Jeffy can outwit him, the place they call home may never be safe again.

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Science Fiction, Thriller, Fantasy, Audiobook, Mystery

364 pages, ebook

First published October 6, 2020

About the author

Acknowledged as "America's most popular suspense novelist" (Rolling Stone) and as one of today's most celebrated and successful writers, Dean Ray Koontz has earned the devotion of millions of readers around the world and the praise of critics everywhere for tales of character, mystery, and adventure that strike to the core of what it means to be human.

Dean, the author of many #1 New York Times bestsellers, lives in Southern California with his wife, Gerda, their golden retriever, Elsa, and the enduring spirit of their goldens, Trixie and Anna.

Facebook: Facebook.com/DeanKoontzOfficial
Twitter: @DeanKoontz
Website: DeanKoontz.com

Reviews

[chantalsbookstuff · Rating 3 out of 5]

It didn't quite hit the mark with its heavier focus on science fiction rather than horror. While the story was imaginative, it felt dragged out and never-ending. It's not a bad book, but it doesn't quite measure up to his best work either.

[Paromjit · Rating 3 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed my last reads of Dean Koontz's novels, the Jane Hawk series, and this was an entertaining and enjoyable read too. Jeffy and his 11 year old feisty daughter, Amity, live the quiet life in the Californian town of Suavidad Beach. Jeffy's wife, Michelle, walked out and disappeared from their lives 7 years ago, with Amity barely able to remember her, although she is conscious of a hole in her life, the impact having a myriad of effects on her, like her inability to trust that she can take care of a dog, so she is testing herself by looking after Snowball, a white mouse. A homeless man, Ed, that Amity refers to as Mr Spooky, arrives on their doorstep wanting Jeffy to hide a small box that he describes as the key to everything, claiming that its value is $76 billion dollars, a powerful device that others will do anything to get their hands on, and that he is being chased by a demonic posse.

Ed goes on to warn of the dangers of the device, insisting the box must never be opened, and says that if he is still alive in a year's time, he will come back for it. Jeffy is taken aback by Ed's outlandish request and his first thoughts are that he is losing his mind, suffering from dementia perhaps, but he decides to humour him, and tells him will do as he asks. However, soon after Ed leaves their place is surrounded by a large number of operatives headed by a man that makes them feel uneasy and do not like, John Falkirk, of the National Security Agency (NSA). Falkirk wants to know if they know Ed, whom he refers to as Dr Edwin Harkenbach, their home being searched for the device that Jeffy had removed from the box to hide in a broken down retro bakelite radio that he was planning to fix.

After Falkirk and his team depart, the key to everything is inadvertently triggered upon which everything changes as Jeffy and Amity find themselves amidst an infinite number of parallel worlds, some truly horrifying, as they dare to hope that they might find Michelle and once again become a real family. They must, however, face terror and bad guys too. This was a fast paced thriller with short, snappy chapters that kept my interest, but in my opinion this was not one of Koontz's best novels. For some reason, I did not connect strongly with the central protagonists of Jeffy or Amity, but I loved the central premise of the novel although perhaps it's execution could have been better. Still I found it a worthwhile read, and it is definitely likely to appeal to many of Koontz's fans. Many thanks to HarperCollins for an ARC.

[Phrynne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember once saying in a review that Koontz writes two types of books, good ones and really good ones. Elsewhere for me was just good.

Points in its favour:-
* It moved fast and it was action packed.
* It was tense, scary and gripping
* It was about parallel universes - that's always interesting

Points against:-
* Amity was a very unconvincing eleven year old. Being in her head was weird.
* Hardly any time is spent in the other worlds. I wanted more.
* The ending was written as though the author had moved into the world of fairy tales.

Overall it was a book that was hard to put down and it was easy to overlook its faults while I was reading. Afterwards though I sat back and wondered exactly what Koontz was aiming for. I think I will go straight down the middle with three stars.

[J.D. Barker · Rating 5 out of 5]

With ELSEWHERE, Dean Koontz is at the top of his game. A riveting page-turner of a thriller with a touch of sci-fi, Koontz builds a complex world filled with love, hope, and faith. A recent change in publishers may have stoked his creative fires. he’s clearly having fun. This is one of his best.

[Jonas · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an incredible listening experience! I strongly recommend this book (either print or audio). Definitely a page turner. Dean Koontz does suspense so well. I love his books and the formula he follows. Elsewhere has the expected shadow agency and pure evil villain as well as the innocent person or family having to overcome dark and deadly circumstances that they've been thrust into. I continued to listen after reaching my destination and would stay up late into the night as well. A high complement to a book.

I love the idea of the multiverse and Koontz does an amazing job crafting the other worlds. The device to traverse these worlds is called the Key to Everything. It is created by Ed (genius scientist hiding out with the homeless to evade shadow agency) and he entrusts it to Jeffie when they get too close. The storyline involving Jeffie and his daughter is very touching. Michelle, Jeffie's wife and Amity's mother, plays an equally important part in the story with a moving story of her own. All three get caught up in Ed's business and the thrill ride begins.

I loved the supporting characters. I loved the banter. There were several times I laughed out loud. There was a bonus story (a full hour on the audible version) called Parlor Trick about another one of Ed's devices and the shadow agency's activity in the clean up/cover up after it is discovered that is has been used by a family down the street from Jeffie. WOW! Totally unexpected. The audible version is absolutely amazing. Each character (chapter) in a different voice. Out of this world performance and, again, laugh out loud moments. A very satisfying and entertaining listening experience.

[Simon Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant and complex! This reminds me of Koontz's writing in the 80s and 90s. I was concerned after the amazing Jane Hawk series that the stories had declined. A dimensional key is given to father and daughter for travel to parallel earth versions. But a secret agency headed by a psychopath who will stop at nothing to get back the key.

[Jim C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual rating is 3.5 stars.

In this one, Jeffy had his wife walk out on him seven years ago. They had a child Amity and both Jeffy and Amity still hope that she will return. They are given a device that allows them to travel to parallel dimensions and hopefully find a version where she is a doting mother and loving wife.

I enjoyed this book and I was interested throughout. The problem is that there really is nothing new here. The travelling to multiple dimensions reminded me a lot of the television show Sliders before it became weird. In fact one of the visited dimensions where there was a totalitarian government was done in that show. Another visited dimension reminded me of a successful movie franchise. I cannot even say the concept of this book is new to this author as this is basically the prose version of his comic book series Nevermore. As for the story it entertained me as you have the precocious child, the corrupt government agency, and the whole time wondering if our heroes will find their goal.

All in all, I enjoyed the story and it was a very quick read. It wasn't this author's best work and it wasn't his worst either. It was a nice story that held my interest for several days.

[Melissa (Mel’s Bookshelf) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars rounded up

Checkout my video review of Elsewhere HERE

Mr. Koontz and I don’t always get along. In fact, I have probably put down more of his work than I have picked up. A few of his books were entertaining enough. I tried Odd Thomas but it just wasn’t for me. So happily surprised when I found this one at my door and I read the back. Absolutely up my alley!

Jeffy and his 11-year-old daughter Amity are still grieving after Jeffy’s wife Michelle walked out on them 7 years ago. Amity never got to know her mother and they both hope that she will enter their lives again one day. They make friends with an old homeless man named Ed who appears at their doorstep one evening and announces that people are after him and he gives Jeffy a small package, tells him never to open it, and hide it so that it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands. He claims it is the “Key to everything”. So what do you do when you are automatically told not to do something… He opens up the package to find a small device. Luckily he listens to Ed and hides it because his house is soon inundated with creepy government guys searching for Ed and the device. After they leave Jeffy and Amity accidentally activate it and next thing you know they are plunged into parallel worlds and an adventure they didn’t see coming. And more importantly, will they be able to see Michelle again after all?

One thing I just have to comment on about this book and a lot of Koontz writing… He is really bad at portraying children. I don’t know where he gets his ideas of inner dialogue from, but he just needs to stop writing as children. It wasn’t as bad as “what the night knows” but it was still extremely cringeworthy.

The perspective shifts so abruptly at times it is jarring, and I got really confused as to which character I was reading about.

However it had a great premise, reminiscent of Blake Crouch’s Dark Matter, but not done as well. It had SO MUCH POTENTIAL! SO many worlds that they could have explored. I felt like a LOT of it was wasted.

However, I still really enjoyed the meat of it. Once the story got going it was enthralling and I was up til 2am reading it! I just loved the premise and loved reading about the other worlds and terrors that awaited them! I just wish there was MORE. I never thought I would say that I wished a Koontz book was longer, but I felt like he could have just done more with it.

He knows how to write bad guys pretty well, Falkirk was a crazy SOB! And the action scenes were pretty good.

I wasn’t keen on the ending, it was like he wanted everything wrapped up in a package and again felt a bit like wasted potential.

Would I recommend it?
Look, I had a lot to complain about, but ultimately I was up til 2am reading it! I really enjoyed it! I do think it could have gone much higher than 3.5 if he had just done a little more with the alternate worlds. But I didn’t have any trouble reading it!

Many thanks to Harper Collins Australia for sending me a copy of Elsewhere to read. I was under no obligation to review and all thoughts are my own.

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[Cody | CodysBookshelf · Rating 3 out of 5]

big concept, small execution.

what’s funny about elsewhere is it features such a gripping synopsis, maybe the most gripping of any koontz book in a while: father and daughter are given the “key to everything” which opens doors on parallel universes. the reader is promised high-action adventure, horror, twists and turns.

this is “meh” koontz. not good koontz, not ridiculously bad koontz. just pumping-‘em-out-for-moola koontz. this mode of koontz makes for entertaining albeit effectively forgettable storytelling, a’la your heart belongs to me or some of the odd thomas novels.

one of this novel’s saving graces is the likable characters. they’re not particularly memorable, but they—especially the father and daughter at the center of the action—are sympathetic and their relationship to one another feels reals bough. amity is one of koontz’s more likable kid characters, not encumbered by unrealistic intelligence or overall geekiness. she’s just a cool kid who likes to read a lot. dig it.

i suppose my biggest complaint is koontz could’ve done so much with the concept of parallel universes, but his imagination seems to come up short. the “horrors” herein are garden-variety for this author: government agents running amok and unchecked, vaguely described human-animal hybrids, et cerera. he could have really put his characters through hell, but he holds his punches. the end result is a generic chase thriller like he’s written a hundred times before.

i’m a fan of dean koontz, even his latter-day stuff. devoted is one of my favorite books of the year. but elsewhere is a surprisingly mediocre experience, especially because of how interesting its synopsis is.

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many worlds, so much to do
. . . such things to be.
-Alfred Lord Tennyson

Like a ghastly rapid river
Through the pale door
A hideous throng rush out forever
And laugh - but smile no more.
-Edgar Allan Poe

I had some initial thoughts upon starting this epic novel of alternate realities - and let me in full disclosure state that alternate realities are really my thing and thus my opinion is certainly biased.

First, the stars are a nice touch. The hardcover features a nice gold embossed design underneath the dust jacket. Inside the cover and throughout the novel are diagrams representing different realities that have been mapped.

Second, reading Elsewhere brings to mind several other works of fiction that I have read and enjoyed. Most notable in comparison is the writing of Blake Crouch, specifically Dark Matter, Recursion and The Wayward Pines Trilogy. Another novel that came to mind was Burntown by Jennifer McMahon. And for obvious reasons a book with the same title: Elsewhere. For related story subject matter, The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo.
I find books by association very intriguing.

My third initial thought was the similarities to my favorite television show which delves into alternate realities - FRINGE, initially dubbed "The New X-Files". Dean had included several references to The X-Files in his novels, especially while the show was still in production. Years ago, I wrote to Dean Koontz about FRINGE. At that time, Dean replied that he hadn't ever checked the show out. Now, I have to wonder if he's finally watched FRINGE - like The X-Files, FRINGE is much aligned with the writing of Dean Koontz.

I very much enjoyed reading ELSEWHERE. There is always the possibility that Dean Koontz could revisit these characters and setting. Koontz rarely writes sequels or series but tends to leave stories open for a possible return. In fact, decades after his fan favorite Watchers, Dean wrote a follow up published in 2020, Devoted.

Reading ELSEWHERE, inspired me to finally add a Science Fiction bookshelf to my Goodreads experience. For further Dean Koontz variations on this theme, I would recommend the following: From the Corner of His Eye, Odd Apocalypse, The Bad Place, By the Light of the Moon and Relentless. There are of course many other science fiction novels by Dean Koontz, but I think the aforementioned are the most fun and wild rides. For an exploration of the inner landscape of the mind I would recommend Ashley Bell, a novel I've only read once but plan to revisit.


Favorite Passages:
THE VISITOR IN THE DEAD OF NIGHT
Without need of a door and unconcerned about the security-system alarm that has been set, the library patron arrives at three o'clock in the morning, as quiet as any of the many ghosts who reside here - from those in the plays of Shakespeare to those int he stories of Russel Kirk. The aisles between the cliffs of books are deserted. Darkness enfolds the great room and all its alcoves.


The Key to Everything
Sometimes on a cloudless night when the westering moon left a contrail of shimmering silver light on the otherwise dark sea, when the air was so clear that the distant stars seemed almost as bright as Venus, when the infinite galaxies floating overhead had a weight of wonder that enchanted him, Jeffy Coltrane became convinced that something incredible, something magical, might happen.
_______

"We live on a kind of time machine," Amity said.
"How do you figure?"
"Part of the planet's a day in the future, part is a day in the past, and it's like tomorrow afternoon in Japan."
"Maybe you should go live in Tokyo for a month and each day phone to tell me what horses will win at Santa Anita."
________

He was just a mouse, but he was hers to keep safe in a world where nothing lasted forever, not even who you were.
_______

The Art Deco kitchen conveyed him to a time when the world had seemed more welcoming, and his lingering uneasiness faded. A floor of large white ceramic tiles joined by small black diamond-shaped inlays. Glossy white cabinetry. Stainless-steel countertops and backsplash. A restored O'Keefe and Merritt stove with its several compartments. A replica of a 1930w Coldspot refrigerator. A Krazy Kat cookie jar, black with huge whites of the eyes. A poster of a Charm magazine cover from 1931, featuring a coffeepot and cup.
_______

Previously just quaint and quirky, Ed seemed to be crossing a mental bridge from eccentric to a condition more disturbing.
_______

"Don't use the key, Jeffrey. Don't open the pale door."
_______

Sadness and pity took some of the shine off the moon-polished night. Perhaps the man had been an eccentric all his life, but until this evening, he'd been an engaging companion during his visits and never before wandered into alleyways of dementia.
Ed walked out of moonbeams, and shadows engulfed him, and he disappeared under the branches of the overhanging oaks.

"Nostalgia is a dead end. We either progress or slide backward. Slide far enough backward, everything collapses."
Jeffy smiled and nodded. "I understand that point of view. I just want to slide back a little ways to when people didn't spend all day staring at screens and trying to tell other people what to do and think, back to when a day seemed twenty-four hours long instead of twelve, when you could breathe."
"If that's what you want," said Falkirk, "better stay here in your little house, never go outside. This is the closest you'll get to living forever in yesterday. The world turns faster every year. The human race is on a rocket ride, Mr. Coltrane. A rocket ride. That's our destiny."
________

The little bitch had mocked him, maybe because she knew where Harkenbach could be found, or maybe because it was just her nature to be a wiseass.
She reminded him too much of his younger half sister, Phoebe, that smug and snarky pig who, with his half brother, Philip, had long ago screwed him over and changed his life for the worse.
________

There was a time to take refuge in the arms of those you loved, and there was a time to stand up to great evil and not be bowed. If you didn't know the difference, then you were doomed to perish about two-thirds of the way through the story, when the narrative needed a jolt of violence and emotion.
________

In the real world, however, if a doppelganger took her father's place, there wouldn't be a mystical crocodile or a bird sympathetic to her plight. The evil double would just strangle her and stuff her in a liquid cremation machine full of concentrated lye water, reduce her to the consistency of soup, and flush her down a toilet. The real world had become weirder than even the darkest fairy tales.
_______

"Crazy as it sounds, I'm thinking . . . "
"Parallel worlds."
"Yeah. Parallel worlds."
"That's what I knew you were thinking."
"It can't be true."
"But maybe it is."
________

They had read a few fantasies set in parallel worlds, and the body count among the cast of characters tended to be higher than in those stories about witches and dragons and trolls who lived under bridges.
Like most people, Amity had now and then stood between tow parallel mirrors and had seen infinite receding images of herself.
________

If you believed hard enough, you could shape the future. Sometimes in the real world as in stories, there were happy endings, even improbable ones.
________

Crows wheeled across the sky, dozens of them in constantly shifting configurations that seemed to mean something, if only she had been a witch who could read the ephemeral script of birds in flight.

The Temptation of What Might Have Been
Quantum physics, on which most technological advances had been based for decades, predicted the existence of an infinite number of parallel universes side by side, each invisible to the others and yet all subtly affecting one another, somehow sharing a destiny so complex and strange as to defy understanding. There might be worlds where the United States had never existed, where no European power settled this continent, perhaps where an Aztec culture of violent gods and slavery and human sacrifice flourished through the centuries, spreading northward.
_______

The handsome Spanish Revival building featured a roof of dark slate instead of orange barrel tiles. On the ridgeline perched thirteen large crows like the living totems of some clan of malicious wizards that had taken over the library for the storage of their ancient volumes of dark, forbidden knowledge. The birds craned their necks and worked their beaks without a shriek or caw, as if casting silent curses on all who dared enter the building under them.
________

As Jeffy and Amity hunted for the books by Edwin Harkenbach, strange currents came and went, disturbing the air between the rows of tall shelves, as if unseen presences were likewise searching the library's collection, perhaps the restless ghosts of past patrons vainly inquiring after a self-help volume that would counsel them about how to let go of their late, lamented lives.
_______

"It's not stealing."
"What is it, then?"
"Informal borrowing. We'll return it later."
_______

Bright against the soiled clouds, white gulls looped high and then cried down the day. Having returned from their nests in whatever lagoons, brown pelicans glided effortlessly in formation, eternally silent, while shrieking crows darted from tree to tree, repeatedly exploding into flight as if invisible predators swarmed after them.
________

Amity moved close to Snowball, watching over him while she collected more pieces of mortal brass. Which was when she found the three teeth. No-doubt-about-it human teeth. Front teeth, incisors. One was cracked, and all three were held together by a bloodstained fragment of jawbone, as though someone's face had come apart in a barrage of gunfire.
_______

Some people just weren't good travelers. For them, no place could ever be as fine and right as home. Not Paris. Not London. Not Rio. Daddy was a homebody and a not-good traveler, and perhaps she shared his love of the familiar, of libraries where you felt welcome and parks where you didn't find biological debris maybe left over from a public mass execution.
_______

"Don't wish so hard," he advised. "Soft wishes are more likely to come true."
_______

With his wreath of snowy hair and cherry-red nose, even without a generous belly, he could have played Santa Claus, although at the moment we was a psycho Santa, eyes bulging and face wrenched and teeth bared as if to bite, perhaps a patriotic citizen or just a retiree worried that his pension would be taken away if he allowed these enemies of the state to escape.
_______

Infinite differences meant that if you were using the key to everything, you had better be prepared for some upside-down inside-out ass-backward situations.
_______

"Me is name Good Boy. Me loves dada-mama."
_______

A pane in the front door shattered, clear blades of glass slicing through the air, chips like sleet glittering in arcs. As the sparkling debris splashed on the floor, the rataplan of rain grew louder. A man reached inside to feel for the deadbolt thumb turn.
_______

. . . the bedroom vanished, leaving all of them seeming almost to float in a white void, a snowy nothingness, glimmering flakes passing through them, like radiation that they could see.
_______

Talk of parallel worlds and ape-boy hybrid would get them a psychiatric evaluation unless they proved their story with the key to everything.
_______

If a man can't understand a monster's suffering, then he's something of a monster himself.
_______

. . . Library of the Weird.

Infinite Hopes, Infinite Threats
" 'The heart is deceitful above all things.' "
. . .
" 'The heart is deceitful above all things.' What's that mean, anyway?"
"The mind and the heart - intellect and emotions, facts and feelings. they're both important. But to live well, we need to make decisions based on logic and reason modified by emotion. If we're guided only or even largely by emotion . . . Well, the heart often wants what it doesn't really need, and sometimes it wants what it shouldn't have, something with the potential to ruin your life. It wants something so intensely that we find it easy to do what the heart wants even if we know it's reckless."
She realized that he had, after all, gone totally adult on her and delivered a gentle lecture. In this case, it concerned something that she'd never thought about, but she knew what he said was true as soon as she heard it.
She also understood that the truth of his advice might not be enough to ensure that she followed it.
_______

He went downstairs to deal with Constance Yardley. She reminded him of a teacher, Mrs. Holt, from his boarding school days, twenty-six years ago. Mrs. Holt, that sarcastic bitch, had tortured him with past participles and the subjunctive mood and parallel sentence structure. As a boy, he'd had erotic dreams in which she was naked and he broke her fingers with a hammer and cut her extensively.
_______

"Momentum makes it impossible. There is no brake on light, on time. You can't stop and go back. And because you can't go faster then light, you can't speed ahead to the future. But it's possible to go sideways."
_______

"Things change. So if they change enough . . . maybe you don't end up where you wanted to go. Maybe you arrive between universes, if there is such a place. In a vacuum. In a void. Dead on arrival."
_______

"Did you hear anything I said?"
"Quantum wave, no battery, the speed of light, forget time travel, go sideways, a vacuum, a void, dead on arrival."
He smiled, and so did she, and he said, "We're always on the same page, aren't we?"
"You can close the book on that," she said.
He closed the book and pointed to the key to everything.
_______

"I'm no hero, sweetheart."
"True heroes never think they are. I mean, holy guacamole, how many times have we read that story?"
_______

Of course Katarina remained alive on this world, but killing another version of the bitch in a parallel reality was nevertheless satisfying.
_______

. . . they listened to the same novel to which they had listened an amazing number of times before, The Princess Bride by William Goldman. They remembered every turn in the story better than they recalled many of the details of their own past, but the oft-told tale was never boring.
_______

The Right Michelle
They went into the house as the last light of the day bled away and the night rose out of the storied land, like spirits ascending from the graves of history.
________

Michelle still wasn't sure if they were having a rational conversation or were the equivalent of UFO enthusiasts discussing the style of aluminum headgear that best foiled extraterrestrial mind readers. She resorted to her wine.
After a pause for thought, she said, "So keep looking. Keep searching for a world to live where you were never born."
_______

"The things I've seen . . . they've changed me. I don't want to be changed more than I've already been. I don't want the multiverse. All I want is a home, books, and the peace to read them."
_______

Where Something Creeps
As the universe relentlessly expanded, the stars moved even farther from Earth, until in a distant time after the end of the human era, maybe the night sky would no longer be richly diamonded, but would offer blackness relieved solely by the moon that reflected the light of the only star that would ever matter, the sun in its thermonuclear decline.
_______

The house swarmed with spectral figures, like spirits that had manifested in other than their usual white ectoplasm, haunting every room in search of a clue as to the Coltrane's current whereabouts. One by one they came to him with nothing to report, nothing but the presence of a mouse frantically spinning its exercise wheel in a cage - and the absence of a vehicle in the garage.
_______

. . . it was a lot scarier than just stepping through the back of a wardrobe into Narnia or being sucked into the virtual reality of a Jumanji video game or riding a mystery train to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
_______

. . . Savidad Beach was at best a ghost town, at worst a cemetery full of corpses.
_______

"It's totally Bradbury," she agreed, referring to one of her favorite science-fiction authors.
_______

Then with the sound came waves of soft purple light, washing across the rooftops, racing over the walls of the buildings, rippling along the pavement like the cleansing tides of an antiseptic rinse.

[Теодор Панов · Rating 3 out of 5]

Не успяха да ни се получат нещата с тази книга. В един момент я маркирах като недочетена на 40%, после все пак реших да си я дочета докрай, макар и малко по-ускорено. Та каквито ми бяха впечатленията на 40% от историята, така си останаха и на 100%. Не открих нещата, които очаквах да открия и така…

Накратко не успях да навляза достатъчно убедително в света на тази история, нито се получи добро свързване с персонажите. Като усещане ми беше абсолютно еднаква с „The Space Between Worlds“ от миналата година.



Макар книгата да гравитира около сюжет с паралелни светове, да предлага динамично действие, не при всеки автор обаче може да се получи интригуващо и вълнуващо четиво.

Все пак покрива минимума ми от 3 звезди.

P.S. Като утешение поне корицата на книгата изглежда много красива. 👍

[Tim · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too much violence. End not clear. Don't care for unfinished stories. 5 of 10 stars

[8stitches 9lives · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elsewhere is the latest thriller from the masterful Dean Koontz and it was every bit as thrilling as we've come to expect. His 78th book to date, it centres around a father and his young daughter who gain the ability to time hop to parallel universes. Jeffy Coltrane and his spirited eleven year old daughter, Amity, live a quiet life in the town of Suavidad Beach, California, with single father Jeffy bringing up his daughter as best he can since her mother, Michelle, left them seven years ago never to be seen again and sadly, Amity can barely remember her. When one day they open the door to vagrant, Ed, who Amity nicknames Mr Spooky, Jeffy is a mixture of puzzled and suspicious when he asks him to hide a small box he describes as the "key to everything" and tells him never to attempt to open it. Ed is the inventor of this special device and is on the run from shady government forces who will go to any length to retrieve the powerful $76 billion dollar machine. He adds that if he hasn't returned to collect it within a year to dispose of it.

Ed's warning about how dangerous it is becomes startlingly real when as soon as Ed departs the Coltrane's porch, their house is descended upon by a heavy-handed band of operatives, instructed every step of the way by head of the National Security Agency (NSA), John Falkirk. He questions them as to whether they know Dr Edwin Harkenbach and proceeds to enter their home and commence a thorough search for the device but Jeffy manages to sneak it out of its box and into a broken Bakelite Radio. Once they skedaddle, Amity's pet mouse, Snowball, accidentally activates the device and they are catapulted into an alternate reality Earth. As they find themselves travelling through a multiverse comprised of innumerable parallel worlds; with some being terrifying and filled with evil creatures the likes of which no human has ever witnessed before but also amongst the danger lies a once in a lifetime opportunity when Amity discovers via Google that her mum is alive and an inhabitant of Earth 1.13. Can they survive the perils of the device and possibly be reunited as a family once again?

This is a compulsive, high-octane and surprisingly touching science fiction thriller, which has an underlying message of belonging, the importance of family and the need to often make tough sacrifices to facilitate loved ones hopes and dreams. It's exciting and full of danger from the get-go and gives you plenty of plot to get your teeth into. Defying easy categorisation, Elsewhere features a father and daughter with a strong, believable bond rubbing shoulders with weird entities, such as the half-boy half-chimp creatures. The short, snappy chapters allowed the tension and intensity to build gradually over the course of the novel and with the peril Jeffy and Amity unwittingly find themselves in, I found myself absorbed by the straightforward storyline, immersed in the changing worlds and cheering on the protagonists through every step of their wild adventure. It's a lively, twisty and imaginative thriller which is the perfect, entertaining piece of escapism. Highly recommended.

[Adah Udechukwu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elsewhere is awesome, awesome, awesome. It is a five star novel.

[Adrian Dooley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jeffy and his 11 year old daughter Amity live in California. Their wife and mother Michelle left them 7 years ago and hasnt been seen since.

When a homeless man befriends Jeffy, it turns out he is a famous scientist who is on the run from hidden forces. He has invented a device to travel to other universes in their multi universe world, "the key to everything. Realizing the damage the devices can do, he destroys all but one and leaves it with Jeffy, telling him to never use it and after a year, if he doesnt return to bury it in a barrel of concrete.
When the forces that are chasing the scientist and his last device arrive at Jeffy and Amitys house, it forces them to use the machine and jump to another universe, their only means of escape(a little by accident via a pet mouse!). Its is only then that they realize that there may be another version of Michelle alive and well in this universe and, despite his reservations, Jeffy agrees to Amitys demands to go look for her before they jump back home.

Thats the gist of it. Any more would really be spoiler territory.
I enjoyed this one for what it was. Its the second "multiverse" book Ive read in the last few weeks and thankfully it was a lot better than the previous one.
Theres a nice twist up about halfway through the book that really piques your attention and adds another dynamic to the story. While that dynamic is brought to its conclusion by the end I was still left a bit wanting with that story arc. While the characters of Jeffy and Amity were well written, Michelle seemed a bit of an afterthought which impacted the emotional impact of the book hugely.

With a nod to Lord Of The Rings, the multi verse backdrop is exactly that, a backdrop rather than the story. This is a story of love and of good vs evil. Its very entertaining and despite the subject matter, quite a light read.

I did feel a little unfulfilled at the end. There was something missing to lift this into the "great" category and I cant help thinking it was some(not all)poorly written characters and their story arc that are responsible.

Thanks to Netgally and Harper Collins for an ARC

[Alec's Always Bored · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid Dean Koontz novel. A bit of a chase novel, with a supernatural scifi element thrown in, Koontz continues to be good at genre bending. However, I could of done without all the political paranoia thrown in. If I never hear the term "deep state" ever again, I'll be happy. All the characters, except the villains, are likable however and I enjoyed it.

[Bookreporter.com Mystery & Thriller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dean Koontz is back --- not that he ever left. I am referring to the fact that his latest effort is a technothriller, which for me fondly recalls Koontz in his early days. If you've been reading his work since the early 1970s, as I have, you will recognize that he made his name initially with outstanding science fiction and suspense/horror. ELSEWHERE is a clear shout-out to those days, and it thrilled me as I eagerly turned each page.

A subject like parallel universes would be a plot element of older Koontz tales, and it is firmly evident here as the action takes place over multiple versions of Earth. This makes for quite the suspenseful story and allows Koontz to do whatever he likes, no matter how outlandish.

Early in the book, Jeffy Coltrane is talking with his 11-year-old daughter, Amity, about how they live on a kind of time machine. Part of the planet is in the present, part in the past and part in the future. It's an ironic discussion as we understand that this is a novel about a form of time travel involving multiple realities. One day while walking home, Jeffy leaves Amity to chat with the homeless man she refers to as “Mr. Spooky.” It turns out that Mr. Spooky’s name is Ed, and Jeffy always enjoys talking to him. This time, though, is different. Ed seems disturbed and claims that he is being hunted. At the end of their conversation, he hands Jeffy a box with something he refers to as "the key to everything.” Ed then makes Jeffy swear that he will never touch it or do anything with it.

Not long after that exchange, Jeffy and Amity receive a knock on their door from John Falkirk of the National Security Agency. He has a slew of questions about a man named Ed Harkenbach, which Jeffy handles by saying that he may have seen him in passing. Jeffy realizes that what Ed has given him may be extremely valuable, and he and Amity are curious to see what it looks like. "The key to everything” resembles a TV remote, and touching it yields a silvery glimmer. Their entire house seems to shine as two buttons stand out. Almost as quickly as it starts, the glimmer fades and their home is back to normal again.

As they examine the device, they now see three buttons on it: HOME, SELECT, RETURN. Jeffy and Amity still have no idea what that means, but based on Jeffy's many discussions with Ed and their meeting with Falkirk, they assume that they are holding something that gives them entry into other versions of their Earth. Now the possibilities for them are endless, but their main goal is always to reconnect their family as Jeffy's wife and Amity's mother, Michelle, walked out on them seven years earlier. Perhaps in another universe, they all can be together once again.

Jeffy and Amity begin messing around with the key, and this is where the book really takes off. As they jump from dimension to dimension, they find that some are similar to theirs and some scarily opposite. In one dimension, it appears that their world is under some kind of totalitarian lockdown, and they are immediately targeted as infidels who must be caught. They soon realize that Falkirk exists as their archenemy in each dimension, and they cannot risk letting the key fall into his hands. What would be best is to locate Ed in another dimension and gain his assistance.

They find a version of Michelle in one dimension, but she is married to a man Jeffy could not stand in his reality. The two have a son named Rudy, who immediately can tell that Amity doesn't belong and blows the whistle on them. Throughout the novel, Koontz builds up just as much frustration as he does suspense, which takes the narrative to the next level. The most frightening reality that Jeffy and Amity find is one in which it appears that all of humanity has been wiped out. Inside what looks to be a luxury hotel, they find piles upon piles of human skeletal remains. They later learn that, much like the Terminator films, mankind has been eradicated by artificial intelligence machines and they are still out there looking to strip the skin off the bones of any living thing. This is truly terrifying and perhaps one of the darkest bits that Koontz has ever written.

Dean Koontz has never been one to craft a completely unhappy ending, and the same is true with ELSEWHERE. Things do wrap up in a very satisfying manner, but it is quite a wild ride to get there. This is a genre-busting work that happily will appeal to readers who enjoy thrillers, horror, sci-fi or just a flat-out well-told story with a breakneck pace that never lets up.

Reviewed by Ray Palen

[George Ciuri · Rating 4 out of 5]

On this book we see spooky ed disrupting Jeffy's life. The book revolves around the challenges that the key brings to his life given that many other people are looking for it.

Well written dean Koontz book. I reccomend.

[Fred · Rating 5 out of 5]

Koontzland Group Read - October- November - 2020

Forbes Magazine ‘universe’ picture - the book’s cover & inside picture could be the ‘universes’ described & traveled to in the Elsewhere book - does it represent Earth Prime, Earth 1.10, Earth 1.13 & others - separated by timelines? Time travel? Star speed? Does 7 years between missing Michelle Coltrane (wife) existence in another world? How does it effect Michelle overall existence?

The theme is fast/excellent. My favorite yearly Christmas movie - “It’s a wonderful life” showing the (main character) GW Bailey’s current life would not be better - if he was on different timeline - “Earth life” - “Non-existence”.

The ‘Key to Everything’ device that ‘Spooky Ed’ gives to Jeffy/Amity Coltrane - it has keys to “Elsewhere” - Earth Prime, Earth 1.13 & others - would their lives be better in different worlds & what fears would be in each world.

[Terri Wino · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through a Goodreads giveaway. Thank you to both.

Finally! A Dean Koontz book that hearkens back to the earlier years when his books were fast-paced, had characters you cared about, and got to the meat and potatoes of the story without 200 extra pages of unnecessary filler!

I have to confess that I had become quite disappointed in this author that I once considered a "go to" for a good book, because his more recent books just seemed to be so long-winded in order to stretch a story into a series of books or seemed to be the same formula with different names inserted for the characters.

In Elsewhere I finally got to enjoy the Dean Koontz writing that I fell in love with when I was a younger person. Yes, the formula of characters being pursued by a baddie was still a part of this book, but Jeffy and Amity were characters that I immediately felt a connection to and their travels to different parallel worlds added a different feeling to this story that made it feel more exciting than the same stale words regurgitated between the pages.

This book could have gone off the rails a number of times if the author had chosen to drag this out and make some situations more complicated than what occurred in the finished product. I am so glad that he didn't, because it made for just the perfect amount of suspense and momentum, and kept me turning the pages anxiously instead of in exasperation. Yes, I was a little disappointed that the bad guy is yet another over the top, narcissistic asshole with delusions of grandeur, but I was able to overlook this factor in light of how much I enjoyed the story.

I hope Mr. Koontz keeps writing these types of books and remembers that most times with stories of suspense, less is more. Not every tale needs to be 500 or 600 pages or farmed out to your readers in a series of books when they could be completed in two or, even better, one.

[Велислав Върбанов · Rating 3 out of 5]

„Нейде другаде“ е приятен трилър с елементи на фантастика, но имах по-големи очаквания и не ме впечатли чак толкова... Джефи и неговата дъщеря Амити се пренасят в паралелни светове чрез устройство, което загадъчният бездомник Ед им е оставил. Пътувайки из мултивселената, те се въвличат в доста опасни приключения...



„Амити разбираше, че сърцето преди всичко мами, но също така знаеше, че сърцето е самотен ловец, че сърцето учи бавно, че сърцето е отворена къща с широко зеещи врати. Беше прочела достатъчно книги, та да накара слон да коленичи, ако ги струпа на гърба му, а писателите имаха да кажат толкова много за човешкото сърце, така че знаеше милиони истини за сърцето, много от тях - в противоречие една с друга...“

[Sarah B · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was just as fun as I had thought it would be; a very quick read with smooth flowing words and an engaging story. Plus the cover is very beautiful too. I admit I love the silhouettes against the bright colors. It's those colors that attracted me first plus the fact I've read many books by this author over the years.

So when I started this one I had no idea what it was about, which is how I start most of the books I read. I do that so I won't have any preconceived notions about the book. The characters and the plot were intriguing enough to keep the pages flipping at a good speed and I read the whole thing in less than 24 hours. And this one turned out to be science fiction although there are a few scenes that could be classified as horror.

This is the story about a father and his 11-year-old daughter. A homeless man gives them a box that contains something very important and dangerous; tells them never to open it. Well most people don't have the willpower not to look inside a mysterious box, especially one that is said to be worth billions of dollars! So of course a huge mess starts and things go downhill very rapidly...

This is a great adventure story. There's lots of excitement, danger, weird stuff going on and unexpected twists too. The characters are great too. I found myself rooting for the father-daughter team and hoping they'd pull through each mess as it popped up. The heroes are good and the villains are bad, which is the way it should be.

But without a doubt my favorite character in here is Snowball the white mouse. Snowball is the pet of Amity and I actually found myself worrying a lot more about Snowball than about the human characters! I guess because Snowball is so tiny and helpless I just worried way more about him than anyone else. And pretty much my mind was on him through the majority of the book even when he wasn't in scenes. I also worried about him near the end too... worried he might be forgotten.

My only complaint about this book is that the author seems to skip over some things at the end. Maybe these things aren't seen as important to most people but it's important to me...and I don't like that it was skipped over. Because I want an explanation as to how a certain thing was acquired from a certain location..and this was never explained. At all. Because the story made it very clear that they could never go to this location again. And I don't like that at all. It makes me think maybe the author himself doesn't know how the characters did it so he solved the problem by just skipping that bit and then later stating they have the thing. But that's a bit lazy, isn't it?? Or anyway I'm presuming they got the thing. I would hope so. Because otherwise it would be way worse.

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most of the Dean Koontz books I've read I did so back in the '80s and '90s, and since it's been such a long time, and I've piled on so many years, I thought it would be nice to revisit one of my all time favourite authors by reading his latest offering, Elsewhere.

Well, I guess it's comforting to know that nothing has really changed, it's the same old Koontz I loved from way back when.
Similar characters, situations and developments. But you know what, that's just fine by me. I think I was expecting him to have changed as a writer, to have developed, but why should he? He's highly successful and is obviously writing about the things he loves to write about, and I for one commend him for it.

If you're a Koontz fan, you know exactly what you're going to get from this book. If you're new to Koontz then strap in and simply enjoy the roller-coaster! This is one of his more streamlined offerings, where it's almost all about driving forward the action and very little time spent on the characters or world. No, this is by no means a perfect book. It's not going to crack your mind open and jam in some existential offerings that will change your thinking for life. What it will give you is a very enjoyable and speedy read, and sometimes that's all a book needs to give you.

[coty ☆ · Rating 3 out of 5]

a very lukewarm story. there's nothing really groundbreaking or overly profound, though i did enjoy the connections between the characters. a little more time spent Elsewhere would have been appreciated; visits to the other worlds were little too brief for me, and frankly, the constant references to a "shadow deep state" end up feeling a little laughable and amateur - not what i expected from a Seasoned Writer like koontz (though this is only my first encounter with an actual novel of his; i've read a few stories in the nameless series, but short fiction is always different from long fiction, or so it seems to me.) but the point is really the bonds between the characters, not the politics - which do come up from time to time, and are a bit frustrating - nor the multiverse; solely based on their relationships, it is a good story, but i would have just liked a little more from the alternate worlds.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spooky Ed …a man that is eccentric to put it mildly… gives Jeffy a package to hold for him and tells him not to open it. The main theme of the story becomes obvious that it resolves around the age old concept of good vs. evil and so we all know where this is going to go from here. Of course Jeffy can’t resist the urge to open it…and then we can just sit back…turn the pages… and let the fun begin. Large portions of the story are told from the point of the view of 11 years old, Amity. Amity is rather adorable and sometimes seems way older than 11. She weighed her actions each time but always did what most 11 year olds would be expected to do. For example… she wanted a puppy but thought she should “practice” first so what does she get to practice on... a mouse. Everyone that has ever owned a puppy knows that these are two creatures are about as far separated as a cockroach and a race horse. The book can best be described as a fantasy story mixed with doses of the horror that Dean’s fans expect to see in his writings. The good guys and bad guys all played their roles out as they should and it was a pleasure to read….as usual.

[RM(Alwaysdaddygirl) · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars.

I will be rereading this book down the road.

🇺🇸💀🐼💞

[LianaReads blog · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

It’s been a few years since I’ve read Dean Koonz book and it’s nice to come back to an author you enjoy his writing and adventure stories. 

Elsewhere is a different type of novel though. It implies two different worlds, the existence of a multiverse and the main characters can jump in between them just using a key/device left on their hands by a runaway homeless turned out to be a scientist that wants to discover a better universe to live in and to get Michelle, Jeffy’s wife, back into the family. 

It’s fast-paced action with interesting characters, especially Amity, with many suspenseful moments and in my opinion, it reads more like sci-fi, although I must admit that I haven’t read many in my life. 

There are a few that left me questioning and I still need answers, but overall it’s a splendid book that many readers will enjoy. 

Very grateful to the publisher Harper Collins UK for my review copy

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A 4.5 star read rounded up to 5 stars. I loved this book. The idea of the multiverse and a young girl and her Dad, totally unprepared, zipping around it was amazing. Amity was such a cool, courageous, sweet, and precocious girl and I adore her. I had my heart in my throat many times as they wove there way from one scary scene to another. I absolutely loved the ending. I would like a 5 house compound with my family and favorite people separate from the world (a little separate from the rest of the world). A fabulous story that I was reading at the same time as Stephen King’s Fairy Tale. They seem to complement each other and might have contributed to my enjoyment of both. Thanks to Snag Dragons for the gift of this book. It was awesome!!

[Lance Kirby · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you’re a big fan of time travel and going through multi universes like me then this book is definitely worth reading it’s written in the typical Dean Koontz style

[Esra Kara · Rating 1 out of 5]

Kurgu güzeldi, ama yazarın kalemi çok bunaltıcıydı. Hızlı hızlı okudum. Çok fazla gereksiz düşünceler ve anılar eklemiş çok sevgili yazar. Canımı sıktı okurken. Olmamış, beğenmedim.