Listen free for 30 days
-
Life Expectancy
- Narrated by: John Bedford Lloyd
- Length: 11 hrs and 34 mins
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wish list failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy Now for $26.20
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Publisher's Summary
With his bestselling blend of nail-biting intensity, daring artistry, and storytelling magic, Dean Koontz returns with an emotional roller coaster of a tale filled with enough twists, turns, shocks, and surprises for ten ordinary novels. Here is the story of five days in the life of an ordinary man born to an extraordinary legacy—a story that will challenge the way you look at good and evil, life and death, and everything in between.
Jimmy Tock comes into the world on the very night his grandfather leaves it. As a violent storm rages outside the hospital, Rudy Tock spends long hours walking the corridors between the expectant fathers' waiting room and his dying father's bedside. It's a strange vigil made all the stranger when, at the very height of the storm's fury, Josef Tock suddenly sits up in bed and speaks coherently for the frist and last time since his stroke.
What he says before he dies is that there will be five dark days in the life of his grandson—five dates whose terrible events Jimmy will have to prepare himself to face. The first is to occur in his twentieth year; the second in his twent-third year; the third in his twenty-eighth; the fourth in his twenty-ninth; the fifth in his thirtieth.
Rudy is all too ready to discount his father's last words as a dying man's delusional rambling. But then he discovers that Josef also predicted the time of his grandson's birth to the minute, as well as his exact height and weight, and the fact that Jimmy would be born with syndactyly—the unexplained anomal of fused digits—on his left foot. Suddenly the old man's predictions take on a chilling significance.
What terrifying events await Jimmy on these five dark days? What nightmares will he face? What challenges must he survive? As the novel unfolds, picking up Jimmy's story at each of these crisis points, the path he must follow will defy every expectation. And with each crisis he faces, he will move closer to a fate he could never have imagined. For who Jimmy Tock is and what he must accomplish on the five days when his world turns is a mystery as dangerous as it is wondrous—a struggle against an evil so dark and pervasive, only the most extraordinary of human spirits can shine through.
You may also enjoy...
-
After Death
- Written by: Dean Koontz
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 9 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Michael Mace, head of security at a top-secret research facility, opens his eyes in a makeshift morgue twenty-four hours following an event in which everyone perished—including him and his best friend, Shelby Shrewsberry. Having awakened with an extraordinary ability unlike anything he—or anyone else—has ever imagined, Michael is capable of being as elusive as a ghost. He sets out to honor his late friend by helping Nina Dozier and her son, John, whom Shelby greatly admired.
-
-
the narrator he was horrible
- By Colleen on 2024-11-13
Written by: Dean Koontz
-
The House at the End of the World
- Written by: Dean Koontz
- Narrated by: Natalie Naudus
- Length: 10 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In retreat from a devastating loss and crushing injustice, Katie lives alone in a fortresslike stone house on Jacob’s Ladder island. Once a rising star in the art world, she finds refuge in her painting. The neighboring island of Ringrock houses a secret: a government research facility. And now two agents have arrived on Jacob’s Ladder in search of someone—or something—they refuse to identify. Although an air of menace hangs over these men, an infinitely greater threat has arrived, one so strange even the island animals are in a state of high alarm.
-
-
What was that about?
- By Candace on 2023-01-26
Written by: Dean Koontz
-
Watchers
- Written by: Dean Koontz
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini, Dean Koontz
- Length: 16 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On his thirty-sixth birthday, Travis Cornell hikes into the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains. But his path is soon blocked by a bedraggled Golden Retriever who will let him go no further into the dark woods. That morning, Travis had been desperate to find some happiness in his lonely, seemingly cursed life. What he finds is a dog of alarming intelligence that soon leads him into a relentless storm of mankind’s darkest creation....
-
-
Odd start but well worth the listen
- By Diamond Nikonian on 2019-07-13
Written by: Dean Koontz
-
Lightning
- Written by: Dean Koontz
- Narrated by: Christopher Lane
- Length: 12 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the midst of a raging blizzard, lightning struck on the night Laura Shane was born. And a mysterious blond-haired stranger showed up just in time to save her from dying. Years later, in the wake of another storm, Laura will be saved again. For someone is watching over her. Is he the guardian angel he seems? The devil in disguise? Or the master of a haunting destiny beyond all time and space?
-
-
A story that also has time travel in it
- By Jayson on 2018-09-16
Written by: Dean Koontz
-
From the Corner of His Eye
- A Novel
- Written by: Dean Koontz
- Narrated by: Christopher Lane
- Length: 23 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bartholomew Lampion is born on a day of tragedy and terror that will mark his family forever. All agree that his unusual eyes are the most beautiful they have ever seen. On this same day, a thousand miles away, a ruthless man learns that he has a mortal enemy named Bartholomew. He embarks on a relentless search to find this enemy, a search that will consume his life. And a girl is born from a brutal rape, her destiny mysteriously linked to Barty and the man who stalks him.
-
-
Koontz is a master storyteller
- By So About That on 2023-11-01
Written by: Dean Koontz
-
The Face
- A Novel
- Written by: Dean Koontz
- Narrated by: Dylan Baker
- Length: 19 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The boxes arrive mysteriously, one by one, at Channing Manheim’s fortified compound. The threat implicit in their bizarre, disturbing contents seems to escalate with each new delivery. Manheim’s security chief, ex-cop Ethan Truman, is used to looking beneath the surface of things. But until he entered the orbit of a Hollywood icon, he had no idea just how slippery reality could be. Now this good man is all that stands in the way of an insidious killer—and forces that eclipse the most fevered fantasies of a city where dreams and nightmares are the stuff of daily life.
-
-
The Face was Magical
- By Cecelia `MacIntyre on 2021-08-29
Written by: Dean Koontz
-
After Death
- Written by: Dean Koontz
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 9 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Michael Mace, head of security at a top-secret research facility, opens his eyes in a makeshift morgue twenty-four hours following an event in which everyone perished—including him and his best friend, Shelby Shrewsberry. Having awakened with an extraordinary ability unlike anything he—or anyone else—has ever imagined, Michael is capable of being as elusive as a ghost. He sets out to honor his late friend by helping Nina Dozier and her son, John, whom Shelby greatly admired.
-
-
the narrator he was horrible
- By Colleen on 2024-11-13
Written by: Dean Koontz
-
The House at the End of the World
- Written by: Dean Koontz
- Narrated by: Natalie Naudus
- Length: 10 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In retreat from a devastating loss and crushing injustice, Katie lives alone in a fortresslike stone house on Jacob’s Ladder island. Once a rising star in the art world, she finds refuge in her painting. The neighboring island of Ringrock houses a secret: a government research facility. And now two agents have arrived on Jacob’s Ladder in search of someone—or something—they refuse to identify. Although an air of menace hangs over these men, an infinitely greater threat has arrived, one so strange even the island animals are in a state of high alarm.
-
-
What was that about?
- By Candace on 2023-01-26
Written by: Dean Koontz
-
Watchers
- Written by: Dean Koontz
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini, Dean Koontz
- Length: 16 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On his thirty-sixth birthday, Travis Cornell hikes into the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains. But his path is soon blocked by a bedraggled Golden Retriever who will let him go no further into the dark woods. That morning, Travis had been desperate to find some happiness in his lonely, seemingly cursed life. What he finds is a dog of alarming intelligence that soon leads him into a relentless storm of mankind’s darkest creation....
-
-
Odd start but well worth the listen
- By Diamond Nikonian on 2019-07-13
Written by: Dean Koontz
-
Lightning
- Written by: Dean Koontz
- Narrated by: Christopher Lane
- Length: 12 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the midst of a raging blizzard, lightning struck on the night Laura Shane was born. And a mysterious blond-haired stranger showed up just in time to save her from dying. Years later, in the wake of another storm, Laura will be saved again. For someone is watching over her. Is he the guardian angel he seems? The devil in disguise? Or the master of a haunting destiny beyond all time and space?
-
-
A story that also has time travel in it
- By Jayson on 2018-09-16
Written by: Dean Koontz
-
From the Corner of His Eye
- A Novel
- Written by: Dean Koontz
- Narrated by: Christopher Lane
- Length: 23 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bartholomew Lampion is born on a day of tragedy and terror that will mark his family forever. All agree that his unusual eyes are the most beautiful they have ever seen. On this same day, a thousand miles away, a ruthless man learns that he has a mortal enemy named Bartholomew. He embarks on a relentless search to find this enemy, a search that will consume his life. And a girl is born from a brutal rape, her destiny mysteriously linked to Barty and the man who stalks him.
-
-
Koontz is a master storyteller
- By So About That on 2023-11-01
Written by: Dean Koontz
-
The Face
- A Novel
- Written by: Dean Koontz
- Narrated by: Dylan Baker
- Length: 19 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The boxes arrive mysteriously, one by one, at Channing Manheim’s fortified compound. The threat implicit in their bizarre, disturbing contents seems to escalate with each new delivery. Manheim’s security chief, ex-cop Ethan Truman, is used to looking beneath the surface of things. But until he entered the orbit of a Hollywood icon, he had no idea just how slippery reality could be. Now this good man is all that stands in the way of an insidious killer—and forces that eclipse the most fevered fantasies of a city where dreams and nightmares are the stuff of daily life.
-
-
The Face was Magical
- By Cecelia `MacIntyre on 2021-08-29
Written by: Dean Koontz
-
Devoted
- Written by: Dean Koontz
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 11 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Woody Bookman hasn’t spoken a word in his eleven years of life. Not when his father died in a freak accident. Not when his mother, Megan, tells him she loves him. For Megan, keeping her boy safe and happy is what matters. But Woody believes a monstrous evil was behind his father’s death and now threatens him and his mother. And he’s not alone in his thoughts. An ally unknown to him is listening.
-
-
awesome
- By SilkeForce on 2020-04-03
Written by: Dean Koontz
-
By the Light of the Moon
- A Novel
- Written by: Dean Koontz
- Narrated by: Kate Rudd, Seth Podowitz
- Length: 13 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Dylan O’Connor is a gifted young artist just trying to do the right thing in life. He’s on his way to an arts festival in Santa Fe when he stops to get a room for himself and his twenty-year-old autistic brother, Shep. But in a nightmarish instant, Dylan is attacked by a mysterious “doctor,” injected with a strange substance, and told that he is now a carrier of something that will either kill him...or transform his life in the most remarkable way.
-
-
Love this book; can't stand the female making "dylans" voice.
- By Kayla on 2024-09-27
Written by: Dean Koontz
-
The Big Dark Sky
- Written by: Dean Koontz
- Narrated by: Fajer Al-Kaisi
- Length: 12 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As a girl, Joanna Chase thrived on Rustling Willows Ranch in Montana until tragedy upended her life. Now thirty-four and living in Santa Fe with only misty memories of the past, she begins to receive pleas—by phone, through her TV, in her dreams: I am in a dark place, Jojo. Please come and help me. Heeding the disturbing appeals, Joanna is compelled to return to Montana, and to a strange childhood companion she had long forgotten.
-
-
letdown, wait for it
- By Dave on 2022-09-01
Written by: Dean Koontz
-
Odd Thomas
- You Are Destined to Be Together Forever
- Written by: Dean Koontz
- Narrated by: David Aaron Baker
- Length: 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Amid the dizzying rides, tantalizing games of chance, and fanciful attractions of a state fair, two teenage sweethearts on the cusp of life and love's pleasures find their way to a shadowy carnival tent brimming with curiosities. There, from the bizarre and enthralling Gypsy Mummy, a mechanized merchant of dreams and prognosticator of tomorrows, the young couple learns what fate promises for them. But fate, for Odd Thomas and Stormy Llewellyn, is something altogether different: full of dark corners, sharp edges, and things no seer or soothsayer could ever anticipate.
-
-
More Odd & Stormy Please!
- By Serena Penner :) Kindle Customer on 2021-09-26
Written by: Dean Koontz
-
Hideaway
- Written by: Dean Koontz
- Narrated by: Michael Hanson, Carol Cowan
- Length: 14 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
He was clinically dead after the accident - but was miraculously revived. Now Hatch Harrison and his wife approach each day with a new appreciation for life. But something terrible has come back with Hatch from the other side.
-
-
Predictable
- By forsyda on 2023-04-18
Written by: Dean Koontz
-
Strangers
- Written by: Dean Koontz
- Narrated by: Dick Hill
- Length: 29 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A writer in California. A doctor in Boston. A motel owner and his employee in Nevada. A priest in Chicago. A robber in New York. A little girl in Las Vegas. They’re a handful of people from across the country, living through eerie variations of the same nightmare.
-
-
Had to force myself to finish
- By Amazon Customer on 2020-08-17
Written by: Dean Koontz
-
Quicksilver
- Written by: Dean Koontz
- Narrated by: Todd Haberkorn
- Length: 10 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Quinn Quicksilver was born a mystery—abandoned at three days old on a desert highway in Arizona. Raised in an orphanage, never knowing his parents, Quinn had a happy if unexceptional life. Until the day of “strange magnetism.” It compelled him to drive out to the middle of nowhere. It helped him find a coin worth a lot of money. And it practically saved his life when two government agents showed up in the diner in pursuit of him. Now Quinn is on the run from those agents and who knows what else, fleeing for his life.
-
-
Disappointing
- By Aaron on 2022-06-01
Written by: Dean Koontz
-
Mr. Murder
- Written by: Dean Koontz
- Narrated by: Jay O. Sanders
- Length: 14 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Martin Stillwater has a vivid imagination. It charms his loving wife, delights his two little daughters, and gives him all the inspiration he needs to write his highly successful mystery novels. But maybe Martin’s imagination is a bit too vivid.
-
-
Excellent
- By Bernadine on 2022-11-23
Written by: Dean Koontz
-
Darkfall
- Written by: Dean Koontz
- Narrated by: Christopher Lane
- Length: 10 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Winter gripped the city. Terror gripped it, too. They found four corpses in four days, each more hideous than the last. In a city paralyzed by a blizzard, something watches, something stalks.
-
-
Great!
- By RoseMarie Williams on 2018-07-25
Written by: Dean Koontz
-
Fear Nothing
- A Novel (Moonlight Bay, Book 1)
- Written by: Dean Koontz
- Narrated by: John Glouchevitch
- Length: 14 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Christopher Snow is different from all the other residents of Moonlight Bay, different from anyone you’ve ever met. For Christopher Snow has made his peace with a very rare genetic disorder that leaves him dangerously vulnerable to light. His life is filled with the fascinating rituals of one who must embrace the dark. Then he witnesses a series of disturbing incidents that sweep him into a violent mystery only he can solve, a mystery that will force him to rise above all fears and confront the many-layered secrets of Moonlight Bay and its strange inhabitants.
-
-
slow, dull and plodding... not Koontz's best work.
- By Darren Fisher on 2022-07-05
Written by: Dean Koontz
-
The Taking
- A Novel
- Written by: Dean Koontz
- Narrated by: Ari Meyers
- Length: 9 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On the morning that will mark the end of the world they have known, Molly and Neil Sloan awaken to the drumbeat of rain on their roof. It has haunted their sleep, invaded their dreams, and now they rise to find a luminous silvery downpour drenching their small California mountain town. A strange scent hangs faintly in the air, and the young couple cannot shake the sense of something wrong.
-
-
Enjoyable
- By Jazmin Matson on 2023-12-19
Written by: Dean Koontz
-
The Bad Weather Friend
- Written by: Dean Koontz
- Narrated by: Ray Chase
- Length: 8 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Benny Catspaw’s perpetually sunny disposition is tested when he loses his job, his reputation, his fiancée, and his favorite chair. He’s not paranoid. Someone is out to get him. He just doesn’t know who or why. Then Benny receives an inheritance from an uncle he’s never heard of: a giant crate and a video message. All will be well in time.
-
-
Disappointed
- By MM on 2024-07-11
Written by: Dean Koontz
What the critics say
"Emotionally powerful and thought-provoking."—Booklist
"A master storyteller and a daring writer... he gives readers bright hope in a dark world.... Life Expectancy pits good versus evil and carries a persuasive message, about the power of love and family and the miracle of existence... Koontz is a true original and this novel, one of his most unusual yet, will leave readers aglow."—Publishers Weekly, starred review.
"Mr. Koontz is a skillful storyteller....His new Life Expectancy offers a clear illustration of what he does right."—The New York Times
What listeners say about Life Expectancy
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer JK
- 2018-10-03
Great Story!
It's the first book I read that was written by Dean Koontz, it's still my sentimental favorite! I really enjoyed the performance of the Actor who narrated the novel (absolutely no complaints! ) There is something about reading a book yourself , and having the luxury of taking a minute to absorb a particular passage, or to bask in the emotions of an especially moving chapter. That said, those are also options when listening to the book.
I recommend this book to anyone and everyone. , As I do all of Dean Koontz ' s books )
Every time I begin a New book by Mr Koontz, it's like meeting an old friend , for the first time.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Philippe Parent
- 2021-11-02
very good
its a good story i was really attached to the characters...its perfect dosage of mystery and thriller and laughter
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful