Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Reviews of Tick Tock

Tick Tock
Tick Tock
Author: Dean Koontz
ISBN-13: 9780345405135
ISBN-10: 0345405137
Publication Date: 10/1996
Rating:
  • Currently 3.9/5 Stars.
 14

3.9 stars, based on 14 ratings
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Book Type: Paperback
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

25 Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

reviewed Tick Tock on + 4 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
Not Koontz usual writing style in my opinion, there is not much "depth" to the story. One of the funniest things he's ever written though! I laughed ALOT..very fun book to read! Worth an evening in front of the fireplace, yaya.
reviewed Tick Tock on
Helpful Score: 3
Very odd book. So odd it's intertaining.
rainfall avatar reviewed Tick Tock on + 13 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Ugh, I couldn't stand this book. I really had to choke it down. It was so WTH crazy I felt dumb reading it. A little voodoo doll running around and trying to kill the characters - really? I'm sorry, but I couldn't get into this book but I made myself finish it anyway. If this is the first Koontz book you pick up, please don't think this is his norm.
DanJohnson avatar reviewed Tick Tock on + 63 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
A little lighter fare than most of Koontz' work, but still an enjoyable read.
drnikki avatar reviewed Tick Tock on + 3 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
As an avid reader of all the Koontz novels, I thought I knew what to expect, but he "got me" once again! As always, Mr.Koontz does a wonderful job of character development, with a fast paced and suspenseful plot. The closer I got to the end of this book, the more I felt like a joke had been played on me, and I thoroughly enjoyed it! After "Intensity" I felt as if I had been through a grist mill...after "Tick Tock" I felt as if I had been through an amusement park ride and was still grinning.
reviewed Tick Tock on + 145 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
C'mon how could you not love a book about a Voodoo doll that goes rogue and chases a man around town trying to kill him. There are scary moments in this story, but sometimes it is funny how the doll acts and what is done by the man in response to it. Then of course there is also the love story that develops and no not with the doll and the man.
TiTo avatar reviewed Tick Tock on + 6 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
A quick and fun read. Laugh out loud horror(?) best describes this book.
reviewed Tick Tock on + 68 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Great book. Funny, exciting, great characterization. I really enjoyed it.
angelatres avatar reviewed Tick Tock on + 72 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
By far the worst book I have ever read. The end was so bad. I read it about five years ago and I still feel very passionate about how much I hate it.
Mahala avatar reviewed Tick Tock on + 192 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
I'm not a great fan of Koontz and this book turned out to be not to my liking. It starts off great, I settled in for a good scary ride. BUT..... it turned into a comedy-horror story. Not my cup of tea at all.

If you want a good book for a teen or feel like some light reading (I read the book in 3 hours) then this one is for you.

Worth a read if you aren't looking for a fright, it is entertaining in an off-beat spoofy type of way.
Sarah13Rose avatar reviewed Tick Tock on + 35 more book reviews
Good one, gave me nightmares for weeks...that stupid doll....main character is surprisingly relatable
dragoneyes avatar reviewed Tick Tock on + 844 more book reviews
Bought the audio tape. Decided to listen to it in my car on the way to work. It got to the point that I just wanted to sit in my car just to see what would happen next. Let a friend borrow it and she felt the same way. We both became Koontz fans after that. I consider this one of his best!
reviewed Tick Tock on + 204 more book reviews
I enjoyed this book it was fast paced and suspensful. It had great, likeable characters. There were some scary parts and then some funny parts. This is not one of Koont's better works but it was readable.
Saffron avatar reviewed Tick Tock on + 16 more book reviews
This was a very quick read but full of suspense and humor. One of the funniest books I've ever read! Koontz keeps up the pace but also gives alot of laughs. Love it!
reviewed Tick Tock on + 10 more book reviews
Dean Koontz is one of my favorite authors but this book was not up to his usual standards. I read it when it was first released and recently decided to re-read it. The story had some scary moments and was a quick read but I really didn't care for the ending and thought it was dumb and kind of came out of nowhere.

Still, if you're a fan of his, it's not a horrible book and you will probably want to read it.
pommesdeterre8 avatar reviewed Tick Tock on
by far the ODDEST book by koontz (and forgive me) not my favorite.
reviewed Tick Tock on + 19 more book reviews
This is just an ok Dean Koontz book. There are a couple of good lines but it's not really scary.
reviewed Tick Tock on + 1568 more book reviews
I've enjoyed several of Koontz' books, but somehow I couldn't finish this one. Not because it was badly written or anything like that. It started out simply, with a character like most of us, doing the best he can in an everyday life. But then the character walks into an episode straight from the heart of the supernatural, and I just couldn't face what might come---so I shut it and decided to let someone else deal with the scary stuff to come. So I'm a coward===Sue me!

From back cover: Tommy Phan is a successful detective novelist, living the American Dream in southern California. One evening he comes home to find a small rag doll on his doorstep. It's a simple doll, covered entirely in white cloth, with crossed black stitches for the eyes and mouth, and another pair forming an X over the heart. Curious, he brings it inside. That night, Tommy hears an odd popping sound and looks up to see the stitches breaking over the doll's heart. And in minutes the fabric of Tommy Phan's reality will be torn apart. Something terrifying emerges from the pristine white cloth, something that will follow Tommy wherever he goes. Something that he can't destroy. It wants Tommy's life and he doesn't know why. He has only one ally, a beautiful, strangely intuitive waitress he meets by chance--or by a design far beyond his comprehension. He has too many questions, no answers, and very little time. Because the vicious and demonically clever doll has left this warning on Tommy's computer screen: The deadline is dawn.
mamatraub avatar reviewed Tick Tock on + 151 more book reviews
This book was so slow in the beginning I almost gave up. A new character was introduced and it bacame better. The ending will surprise you.
reviewed Tick Tock on + 11 more book reviews
As usual, a great Koontz book. Fastpaced, gripping, and satisfying!
reviewed Tick Tock on
I have read most of Koontz's work and have liked, if not LOVED all of them. This book I was especially excited to read because it seemed to deal with *actual* paranormal phenomena instead of the usual Koontz "make it look paranormal to throw the reader off" style. So it pains me to say that this is the ONLY Koontz book that I have absolutely HATED. It's been a few years so I don't remember any specifics about why I hated it, but I clearly remember utterly hating this book. Such a shame.
reviewed Tick Tock on
this is a good book, rather sreepy. one of my favorite books by Koontz.
reviewed Tick Tock on + 149 more book reviews
Tommy Phan is a successful detective novelist, living the American Dream in southern California. One evening he comes home to find a small rag doll on his doorstep. It's a simple doll, covered entirely in white cloth, with crossed black stitches for the eyes and mouth, and another pair forming an X over the heart. Curious, he brings it inside. That night, Tommy hears an odd popping sound and looks up to see the stitches breaking over the doll's heart. And in minutes the fabric of Tommy Phan's reality will be torn apart. Something terrifying emerges from the pristine white cloth, something that will follow Tommy wherever he goes. Something that he can't destroy. It wants Tommy's life and he doesn't know why. He has only one ally, a beautiful, strangely intuitive waitress he meets by chanceor by a design far beyond his comprehension. He has too many questions, no answers, and very little time. Because the vicious and demonically clever doll has left this warning on Tommy's computer screen: The deadline is dawn.
reviewed Tick Tock on + 54 more book reviews
Tommy Phan is a successful detective novelist, living the American Dream in Southern California. One evening he comes home to find a small rag doll on his doorstep. It's a simple doll, covered entirely in white cloth, with crossed black stitches for the eyes and mouth, and another pair forming an X over the heart. Curious, he brings it inside.
That night, Tommy hears an odd popping sound and looks up to see the stitches breaking over the doll's heart. And in minutes the fabric of Tommy Phan's reality will be torn apart. Something terrifying emerges from the pristine white cloth, something that will follow Tommy wherever he goes. Something that he can't destroy. It wants Tommy's life and he doesn't know why. He has only one ally, a beautiful, strangely intuitive waitress he meets by chance-or by a design far beyond his comprehension. He has too many question, no answers, and very little time. Because the vicious and demonically clever doll has left this warning on Tommy's computer screen:
THE DEADLINE IS DAWN.
TICKTOCK.
TIME IS RUNNING OUT.
reviewed Tick Tock on + 380 more book reviews
Tommy Phan is a successful detective novelist, living the American Dream in southern California. One evening he comes home to find a small rag doll on his doorstep. Its a simple doll, covered entirely in white cloth, with crossed back stitches for the eyes and mouth, and another pair forming an X over the heart. Curious, he brings it inside. That night, Tommy hears an odd popping sound and looks up to see the stitches breaking over the dolls heart. And in minutes the fabric of Tommy Phans reality will be torn apart. Something terrifying emerges from the pristine white cloth, something that will follow Tommy whereever he goes. Something that he can't destroy. It wants Tommy's life and he doesn't know why. He has only one ally, a beautiful, strangely intuitive waitress he meets by chance or by a design far beyond his comprehension. He has too many qestion, no answers, and very little time. Because the vicious and demonically clever doll has left this warning on Tommy's computer screem,: The deadline is dawn.