The I.P.O.

I still don’t know how you smile at a person and that emasculates them, but I feel I have to learn.It’s just... not a very good story. It’s a “technology = magic” sort of narrative which might work if you were only mildly technologically literate (if you’re more than mildly the descriptions and use of computers is probably going to drive some deep sighs, it’s like how your dad imagines computers working).Also, I’m not saying the US refrains from sterilizing immigrants, but you’d know when you didn’t get your period and you weren’t on the pill SOMETHING is wrong. Moreover, if you do that to a teen girl it’s likely going to cause a whole host of other issues, like bone density. Last thing I’m going to say on Annmarie; have you heard of sperm banks? Cause NY does in fact have them.It’s clear the story intended the audience to fear corporations, but honestly even if you go along with the premise there’s a lot strain on the bridge of disbelief, throw in the understanding of technology and women’s bodies, by the time you get to the downer ending you’ll also be wishing you’d read anything else, like a directory.

I ordered this book based on the last name thinking I was getting a Dean Koontz book. Needless to say I was upset with myself but I thought, the short description sounded interesting so try the book. I am very happy I did. Hardly could put the book down. Loved the character development, loved/hated the story line. All emotions felt throughout the book. How could they do that to those innocent kids just for having special abilities or looks. I kind of think the ending was one that allowed the reader to decide the future of the characters. Highly recommend the book and will look for other books by Dan Koontz.

I have enjoyed every book I have ever read by Koontz and I have read almost all of them. I have loved most of them. He works a kind of magic on the reader, giving them characters to care about and truly makes them live and breathe. I.P.O. was no exception despite the rather uninspiring name. I'm again amazed and delighted to be transported into another story that is unique and original where this author illustrates the best and the worst of the human heart in his distinctive way. The deepest darkest depravity of human nature depicted along side of the best mankind has to offer in the possibly flawed but upstanding in unquestionable integrity.This story grabs you from the beginning and ensures the readers compassion for the characters and their struggles and brings them to life. This is Koontz at his best, I'm not going to summarize or describe the plot because that is readily available for any who seek it out. What I will say is this story holds up it's end of being everything I have come to expect in a Dean Koontz novel and I wish there was a sequel.

Avillage? Reminded me of Hillary Clinton’s famous saying that it takes a village to raise a child. Ugh! I was almost put off to the point where I thought I would just discard this read and move on. Thankfully I did not!Had I done so I would have missed so much of the real development of a child who was the initial IPO, and adoptee, of Avillage, and who despite a desperately avaricious head manager who lost his moral compass, brought light to Avillage’s CEO, and made winner’s of all of us in the end. And remember my admonition at the beginning, do not skip to the end!

This is one of those books that self-publishing gurus warn you about: The author published it but never finished it. The premise, that one can trade some of the most helpless among us in a stock market type of format, possesses enormous potential. Unfortunately, Mr. Koontz did not take the time to develop that potential.Instead of conflict and tension, Mr. Koontz gives us a vague sense of possible menace. The main antagonists are not just flat (though they are, in that they have no real motive other than a trite and tiresome corporate greed), but actually do little to drive the plot forward because they do nothing that the protagonists are aware of. The author should have collapsed both antagonists into one and made their menace much more overt.Even the secondary antagonists, seduced by the money of the main antagonists, become in the end, more sad than villainous.The result is a book that starts out with some potential elements of a thriller, never develops them, and then ends on a sort of coming-of-age noteI read The I.P.O. because it was free and because the cover intrigued me. Managed to finish, but it never really grabbed me. I would suggest an extensive rework and re-release.

First of all, please stop accusing Dan Koontz of "cashing in on his name"! Anyone, especially a first-time author, certainly has the right to use his or her name. Would you expect him to use a pseudonym? Here is his website as a neurologist: http://www.healthgrades.com/physician/dr-daniel-koontz-2s4q3. The man has written his first novel and should receive reviews based on what he has done, not on his name.So what has he done? Well, he has come up with a unique premise and delivered a good story. He is sometimes more eager to get to the next plot point than he is to fill in the points between, so - especially at the end - we find ourselves somewhat lurching from one setting to the next. For example, on one page Prescott is in his office, and a few pages later he is suddenly in the last setting in which we see him. Ryan is often treated the same way throughout the book. Koontz also demonstrates a fatalistic streak that will not serve him well in future novels, but I don't want to give away too much.But the premise is thought-provoking, and Koontz demonstrates a gift for description and story-telling that I hope he will continue to develop. As debuts go, this s a strong one.

A very good story

Due doverose premesse: il testo è in inglese e l'autore non è il più conosciuto Dean. Quindi niente delitti efferati, serial killer ecc. ecc. Il che , dal mio punto di vista, è solo un vantaggio.Detto questo se, come per le sceneggiature cinematografiche, ci fosse un premio per “il miglior soggetto originale” The I.P.O. meriterebbe un Oscar.Sarà che leggo tanto, ma ogni nuova lettura mi ricorda sempre qualche cosa di già sentito o già visto, Dan Koontz, invece, è riuscito a sorprendermi.I.P.O. è l'acronimo di Offerta Pubblica Iniziale, ossia la quotazione in Borsa, per la prima volta, dei titoli di una società. Fin qui, nonostante le mie scarse conoscenze in materia economica, nulla di nuovo. La vera sorpresa è stata QUALE società: Avillage, infatti, si occupa di adozioni.L'idea che i giovani siano il futuro di una nazione è vecchia come il mondo. Fino alla metà del secolo scorso la ricchezza di una famiglia di contadini era legata al numero di “braccia” che potevano lavorare nei campi. Certo due braccia erano anche una bocca in più da sfamare, per questo, come ho scoperto leggendo Tentativi di botanica degli affetti di Beatrice Masini, in caso di necessità non era insolito che i bambini più piccoli venissero messi in orfanatrofio fino a che non raggiungevano l'età minima per cominciare ad essere produttivi (per la cronaca tra i sette e i dieci anni).James Prescot, CEO di Avillage, adatta il concetto alla società moderna. Negli orfanatrofi ci sono molti bambini di “talento”, che non avranno la possibilità di avere una educazione adeguata per svilupparli. La sua fondazione si occupa di selezionare queste “risorse sprecate”, affidandole quindi a coppie di genitori “adeguati”. I bambini avranno accesso alle migliori scuole e università con l'unico vincolo che, nel momento in cui entreranno nel mondo del lavoro, una percentuale dei loro guadagni dovrà essere versata alla società, a copertura dell'investimento iniziale per l'educazione ricevuta.Se apparentemente Avillage sembra ispirata da nobili intenti, l'avidità umana è sempre in agguato. Bambini talentuosi possono essere resi orfani “ad hoc” e lo sfruttamento dei talenti facilmente può superare la soglia tra ciò che è morale e ciò che non lo è. Il secondo punto debole del progetto sono i bambini stessi. L'Offerta Pubblica Iniziale è legata ad un orfano di sette anni, Ryan Tyler jr., il cui Q.I. è decisamente sopra la media. Ryan infatti associa immediatamente la sua improvvisa adozione ad una notizia sentita casualmente in Tv ed inizia quindi la sua indagine per rispondere alla domanda che lo perseguita: quello in cui sono morti i suoi genitori è stato davvero un incidente?Nel complesso non si tratta di un giallo classico. Nella vita reale il confine tra morale e immorale è molto labile, niente è completamente giusto e niente completamente sbagliato. Dipende dai punti di vista e dalla parte della barricata in cui ci troviamo.

- blieb aber total an der Oberfläche. Schade!Unser 6jähriger junger Held verliert seine Eltern in einem Autounfall, kommt in ein Waisenhaus und wird von einer Gesellschaft sozusagen "adoptiert" und an die Börse gebracht (IPO = Börsengang, Erstemmision). Man sucht gute Eltern für ihn aus und hofft daraus, dass aus ihn ein "ertragsbringendes", effizientes Mitglied der Gesellschaft wird, so dass er dann einen Teil der Kosten zurückzahlen kann/muss.Alles ein origineller Ansatz, aber der Autor - welchen ich zuerst für Dean Koontz hielt aufgrund der Namensähnlichkeit - schafft es nicht, reelle Charaktere und einen konstanten Spannungsbogen aufzubauen. Die Story plätschert nur einfach so dahin, langweilig, ohne Überraschungen. Einzig das Ende ist nicht ganz so, wie erwartet. Deshalb auch noch zwei Sterne.Fazit: Originelle Story, die leider im Sande verläuft. Als Novelle wäre dieser Roman sicherlich ein Erfolg, aber als Thriller zu langatmig. Nur bedingt zu empfehlen.

Like other reviewers, I also bought this book thinking it was Dean Koontz. I had a hard time getting through the first half of this book. About halfway through I finally got into it and did end up enjoying it. Good book, an enjoyable read, but not much more than that.

The whole idea of this made me very uncomfortable that somebody could even consider such and IPO