Great short work for fans of Koontz, actually not a book of its own, just a novella as a prelude to a new book. Koontz did a good job describing the 9-12 year old protagonist (the story jumps back and forth between events which happened when Crispin was 9 years old and the present situation - Crispins 13th birthday). I did not like the dog - this element (even the fact that Harley is a golden retriever) has already been beaten to death. On the other hand, the novella contained some unique elements (cat avatars in the model of the house come to mind). A solid three of five, almost a four. I can hardly wait to read the new book - and maybe reread some older Koontz novels in between.