Your Heart Belongs to Me

by Dean Koontz

Book Overview

Dean Koontz's compelling and high-concept new thriller is the story of a young man who owes his life to a heart transplant ... but confronts an imminent and far worse death because of whose heart it... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0553807137
• ISBN13: 9780553807134
• Release Date: November 2008
• Publisher: Bantam
• Length: 337 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.5" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

A thinker, like it the more I think about it

I'm a huge Dean Koontz fan. I've read 50+ of his works and look forward to many more. I got this book for Christmas and plowed through it pretty quickly. I'm not sure I let everything sink in the first time. This is a very interesting Koontz and a little different from a lot of his. The protagonist, Ryan, is a complex character and the story is told with a very tight focus around him. Many things go on in the beginning to middle of the book that really aren't understood until the end and even then you should not be expecting the answers to slap you in the face. The understanding of these things is more deep and subtle than a cursory reading will at first reveal. It is there and readers should dwell on the meaning of this one a bit. Overall this would not be my first recommendation to someone new to Koontz but a good read for someone looking for something worthy of deeper consideration than the typical industry thriller. There's not a ton of action but more psychologically taut scenes that flow one to another. Thank you very much, Dean, for another top-notch novel for thinking readers.

I guess I'm weird...I loved it!

Ryan Perry made a fortune after he created the internet's largest social networking website. Only thirty-four years old, Ryan is one of the wealthiest men in the country and has everything a man could want. Even his love life is better than he could have hoped, and he has no doubt Samantha is the one he will spend the rest of his life with. One fateful day while Ryan is surfing he feels an intense pain in his chest, scaring him enough to visit the doctor. His worst fears are confirmed when he discovers he needs a heart transplant to live. As Ryan waits for a donor his world is torn apart by strange events and suspicions that he has no answer for. He begins to believe that those who are closest to him may be responsible for his medical condition. His search for the truth will lead him down a dark road that could destroy him in ways he never imagined. Your Heart Belongs to Me might be one of the most unique novels of Koontz's career. Depending on your perspective, that can be good or bad. It's hard to fit this story into one clear cut genre. While there are terrifying moments, this is not a horror novel. Much of the story is full of drama, emotion, and romance, yet this is not a typical love story. This novel is very suspenseful, but driven at a much slower pace than Koontz's previous works. Much of Koontz's early career was highlighted by suspenseful stories with both supernatural and horror elements. Many of his die hard fans still want that from him, and subsequently are quick to turn on his later works that are full of powerful explorations of light overcoming the darkness. While I enjoy many of the vintage Koontz novels, I have also thoroughly enjoyed his more recent approach to storytelling. This latest offering is certainly no exception. In my book, no one equals Koontz when it comes to prose and dialogue. Those strengths shine here, but what carries this story is the character of Ryan Perry. His journey is full of struggle, hope, torment, and redemption. Koontz gives us a rich guy that has everything, and he still makes us care for and hurt alongside him at every turn. We're able to see through the riches and security Ryan has built up around him and look into the heart of a person who is frightened by the realities of life and death. As we're drawn deeper into the story, we are effectively drawn deeper into Ryan's life, making this a more profound, heartfelt tale. While the pacing of this story is slower than we've come to expect from Koontz, in no way does it take away from the suspense. Ryan's paranoia about his situation and his search for truth amidst a world of confusion makes for a very addictive read. This is also one of the most spiritual themed novels Koontz has written and maybe one of the most poignant. In the end, Koontz delivers a great little twist that is both powerful and sobering. Even if you are aching for some classic Koontz give this one a chance and enjoy yet another wondrously crafted tale from the master.

Poor Rich Boy Needs Ticker

Dean Koontz is one of the best fiction writers I have read. This book maintains his lofty standards. The work focuses on Ryan Perry, a super-rich entrepreneur who made his fortune developing a social-networking Web site. He's only thirty-four and seems to have it all, including a beautiful lover, Samantha Reach, whom he seeks to wed. Then he discovers that he is gravely ill with a bad heart. And, it turns out, "bad heart" has both literal and figurative implications. As usual, Koontz introduces supernatural elements. Dreams are important and subject to sinister interpretations. Ryan suspects people, including Samantha, may be poisoning him or plotting against him. He desperately looks for answers, even in the eyes of a corpse. Eventually, he receives a healthy new heart through transplant. All seems well. But things may not be as they seem. All the while, there's an ominous tapping, rapping. Yes, just like in Poe's "The Raven," phrases from which, and other Poe works, Koontz weaves into the story. For example, Koontz writes "eagerly he sought" alternative treatments for his heart disease. Referring to Ryan, Koontz used the same words as Poe in "The Raven." Ultimately, Ryan recognizes how the "unmistakable style of Poe, his essential voice, seemed of a piece with the strange events of the past sixteen months." This Poe motif is a brilliant part of the book. It all builds to a strong conclusion. A most enjoyable read, with only a few arcane phrasings like "plein-air" claustrophobia standing in the way. And I don't understand how "the darkness darkled into something darker than mere dark" made it into print.

How does he keep writing these wonderful books?

I could hardly wait to leave work yesterday so that I could rush to a nearby bookstore to get this book. It had taken great strength of character not to run to the grocery store at midnight, just in case they had stocked it in their book section. So, as you can see, I really enjoy Mr. Koontz's books. They are always extremely entertaining, often frightening, sometimes unforgetable. This time, they are also thought-provoking. The protagonist is a dotcom millionaire. In fact, he has it all -- wealth, a sweetheart he loves, a life of luxury at 34. Then he discovers he has an incurable heart condition and will most likely die within one year unless he gets a transplant. As the story unfolds, we wonder if his condition is creating some sort of paranoia, or is his condition caused by some sort of vast conspiracy. Almost miraculously, he gets his new heart after only a 4-month wait. But why is he now getting messages from someone who apparently wants their heart back?? Who or what is stalking him? This is really effective and frightening. I don't want to say anything else so that I don't spoil the marvelous end to this book. So I will say only that I hope you read it and enjoy it! Now I have to wait till next May for my next Koontz fix! Hope it's as good as this one!

Another great read, for me at least.

I look forward every spring and fall to the two Koontz books that I know will come as surely as the seasons change. I have yet to be disappointed in any of his books and I can also say that for Your Heart Belongs to Me. I know that some Dean Koontz fans are disappointed when a new book doesn't resemble each and every book he has already written. It is a matter of perspective. I enjoy the variety that Koontz serves up. Your Heart Belongs to Me fits nicely with books such as The Husband and The Good Guy; stories that deal with psychological stress on the protagonist and by extension the reader. The story here is strong and certainly plausible. Ryan Perry, a self made millionaire is living the life most of us would do anything to have. Bright, rich, popular, Perry is living the American dream though he is just a little paranoid in my opinion. Then, like so many of us have experienced, that charmed life is threatened by a medical crisis, in this case, cardiomyopathy, a condition that can't be corrected without a heart transplant. Short of that, the condition is a death sentence. Since Ryan is young and vibrant, and has the money, a viable heart is found and life is once again becomes good. Well, maybe. In no time Ryan's life turns creepy; perhaps the transplant won't work out. This is where Koontz excels, finding the weird in the normal everyday things we all take for granted. Then, of course, who is really behind it all? Dean Koontz does a wonderful job developing the story though some may feel it is just a bit contrived. I don't! The characters are certainly believable, the story is well developed, and in classic Koontz style, wastes no time in grabbing your attention and moving you along. I highly recommend. Peace to all.