Dean Koontz

Captain Morgan

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I have to confess that I have never had a Koontz book in my library. While I thought I had read ONE before, turns out it was just by another author with a similar name. I suppose Koontz should have stuck to keeping his original pen-name.

There is only one real book of his that has interest to me, which is The Funhouse. It was not his idea by any means, but an adaptation from the horror script which made it to the screen. But since the movie has some sentimental value to me, etc. I am planning to pick up a copy of the book.

I'm curious what people think of him & his books good & bad. Personally, I've read many bad reviews on this book, so I'm not expecting much.



Funhouse.jpg
 

jonereb

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I like his Odd Thomas character and his writing style in this series of books. However, IMHO, each book contains a lot of filler.
 

Siddow

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He's one of my favorite authors. Right now I'm reading his latest, "The Good Guy", and it reads almost as though someone else wrote it. The sentence structures are quite odd for him, lots of -ings. Like "Spotting prey, the circling red-tail plunged..." and the very next sentence starts with "Staring at her folded hands,..." This book is full of them. But the oddest sentence in the whole thing has got to be this one:

"Once in a while, he found himself in a situation out of which he could not talk his way."

Huh? Could that be more clunky?

Ah well, I still love him. The story is good. I like the way Koontz starts with a bang (in this one, a guy is at a bar and gets mistaken for a hired killer. Then the real killer shows up, who mistakes him for the guy hiring him. Hilarity ensues.) and then keeps throwing twists at you. He's very good to read for studying about building suspense and adding humor to an otherwise grim story.
 

Marian Perera

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I was a huge fan of old-style Koontz (The Door to December, Whispers, Phantoms). However, I'm not going to read any more of his later novels because I'm tired of

1. superintelligent dogs
2. flawless heroes and heroines who adore each other
3. over-the-top villains with bizarrely refined hobbies like needlepoint cushions and haiku, and with names like Vladimir Laputa, Punchinello Beezo and Enoch Cain
4. the disdain for science ("They say God made the universe. The astrophysicists don’t understand it, but perhaps wiser men do.")
5. a liking for heavy metal music being used to imply violence, depravity or nihilism
6. overwritten passages such as

Nevertheless, these irrational fears infected her, swarmed in her blood, bred in her bones, crawled in bacterial plenitude through her mind, and she was growing sicker by the second.
(from False Memory)

and

Containing three greens in striation – apple-green, jade-green, celadon – the girl’s eyes were beseeching.
(from The Taking)
 

Jamesaritchie

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I have to confess that I have never had a Koontz book in my library. While I thought I had read ONE before, turns out it was just by another author with a similar name. I suppose Koontz should have stuck to keeping his original pen-name.

There is only one real book of his that has interest to me, which is The Funhouse. It was not his idea by any means, but an adaptation from the horror script which made it to the screen. But since the movie has some sentimental value to me, etc. I am planning to pick up a copy of the book.

I'm curious what people think of him & his books good & bad. Personally, I've read many bad reviews on this book, so I'm not expecting much.



Funhouse.jpg

He's as good as it gets. If there's a better writer around, I have no clue who it might be. There's no such thing as a writer who doesn't get bad reviews, but for every bad review of a Koontz book I've seen, I've found a dozen very good reviews.

Koontz did a great job with Funhouse. The book came out before the movie, and promptly sold a million copies. And the novel is his, despite adapting it from a screenplay.

I suppose I like the Christopher Snow novels more than his others, but they're all good, and all extremely well written. The man is one heck of a good writer. The knock on his is that he's too prolific, and some seem to think you can't be prolific and good. Nonsense, of course, but some believe it. Koontz puts in from sixty to seventy hours per week writing, and it's hard not to be prolific when you do this.

He also won the Atlantic Monthly fiction short story contest while still in college, and that's one heck of a tough thing to do.
 

Jamesaritchie

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I was a huge fan of old-style Koontz (The Door to December, Whispers, Phantoms). However, I'm not going to read any more of his later novels because I'm tired of

1. superintelligent dogs
2. flawless heroes and heroines who adore each other
3. over-the-top villains with bizarrely refined hobbies like needlepoint cushions and haiku, and with names like Vladimir Laputa, Punchinello Beezo and Enoch Cain
4. the disdain for science ("They say God made the universe. The astrophysicists don’t understand it, but perhaps wiser men do.")
5. a liking for heavy metal music being used to imply violence, depravity or nihilism
6. overwritten passages such as

(from False Memory)

and

(from The Taking)

He has no disdain for science, just for those silly enough to think science has all the answers. And those passages are not overwritten. Those passages are the way you're supposed to write.
 

Marian Perera

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He has no disdain for science, just for those silly enough to think science has all the answers.

Firstly, who thinks that science has all the answers? Secondly, what I see in recent Koontz novels is a disdain for science. If someone else gets a different impression from the books, that's great. We all have our own opinions.

And those passages are not overwritten. Those passages are the way you're supposed to write.

I found those passages overwritten. The one describing the three different greens in a girl's eyes is taken from a scene where the girl is hanging over the edge of a gaping hole into which a creature has dragged a man to devour him. Under those circumstances, I don't think the girl's rescuers have the time to notice the three different green shades of her eyes.
 

Will Lavender

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Like Queen of Swords, I used to love Koontz. His Intensity is a terrific thriller. Also loved his very early The House of Thunder. I think I might be the only person who remembers that one.

I picked up Velocity in a drug store (!) recently, however, and hated it.

The writing was not only poor, it was poor in such a shocking manner that I was almost appalled at some of his sentences.

Don't know if that particular book was just an off effort for him or if my tastes have drastically changed in the last 10 years, but I will never buy another Koontz book. There are many in the genre who do it much better.
 

Marian Perera

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Also loved his very early The House of Thunder. I think I might be the only person who remembers that one.

I remember that one as well. The heroine was called Susan, and the story was about her waking up in a hospital where she sees four frat guys who killed her boyfriend in a cave called the House of Thunder. The question is how the frat guys got into the hospital, because she seems to be the only one who sees them, and what they're going to do to her.
 

Siddow

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I rather enjoyed Velocity. He had me with the pissing on the dining room windows and the garden gnome holding two beer bottles and the open fly. Hilarious stuff, that.
 

Ziljon

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An e-mail to my brother

A while back I read my first Koontz book, From the Corner of his Eye. It bowled me over and the following is an exceprt from an e-mail I sent to my eldest brother:

Man, I told you the other day about the book I was reading, From the Corner of His Eye, by Dean Koontz. Well, I still recommend that book, but in the mean time, I've read two more books of his, Sole Survivor, and The Husband--both good, and well written, but neither quite as impressive as the first one. The reason I could do this so fast is that I read one as a book, and read one on tape, in the car.

Well, anyway, this was a fascinating experience, because I was able to see the pattern within his writing. See how and why he writes! Well, maybe I'm just guessing at the why, but in each one of his books, there is a definite similarity in the themes, a strong sense of Goodness being revealed and strengthened, by the sudden revelation or exposure to very real, gut wrenching evil. And there is a certain thing he does without fail as a way creating mood, or breaking up action, or just keeping a steady pace; he describes the sky. It's really funny, when your absorbing so much of his writing so quickly, to see this so clearly, but it's also very impressive because he uses very poetic similes and metaphors. I really think he's a much better writer than I previously suspected. And all of my previous knowledge of him was based just on his name, Dean Koontz, which I thought sounded cheap and sensationalistic. Another intersting point, in all three books he uses the word susurration, and in two of them, he described the landscaping of a house as having impatiens.

Anyway, the reason I first became interested in him was because of that book, From the Corner of his Eye. But then my fascination grew when, while searching his name on the net, I came across an interview with him where it was mentioned that he writes seven days a week, for ten hours a day!

All this I find very interesting. It's as though he's composing variations on a theme, only, it's not a melodic theme, like happy birthday, but a harmonic progression, like in the Goldberg Variations (by Bach), so that each novel is new, with completely different characters, yet with the same basic philosophical ideas being espoused. And his ideas are basically about Goodness. He preaches love and fealty and strength over evil. You see?

Another interesting point; in all three books, someone has grey eyes. He seems fascinating by slate grey eyes.

Anyway, since then, I have lost my fascination with Koontz, I seem to have stumbled on the best (for me at least) first. But I am very much in awe of his work ethic and his craft.

-Ziljon
 

Tifferbugz

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I really liked all of his older books when I read them; Intensity and Lightening were great. I haven't really been able to get into any of his new ones though. I'm not sure if his writing style changed or if my taste did.
 

Will Lavender

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I rather enjoyed Velocity. He had me with the pissing on the dining room windows and the garden gnome holding two beer bottles and the open fly. Hilarious stuff, that.

Koontz is a VERY funny writer.

I have a book called The Dean Koontz Companion. It has his first published story (a story called "Kittens," which is quite good), and a few really interesting interviews with him about his writing and writing in general.

One thing he says is that young people shouldn't write to get published. He says writing is all about wisdom, and people in their teens and twenties have no wisdom, and thus writing for publication should only be done once a person becomes more "seasoned." I don't know if I agree with that, but there it is.
 

auntybug

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I had to hope on this thread when I saw my 2 favorite things - Captain Morgan & Dean Koontz - too good to be true!

I agree w/ the above thread - From the "Corner of His Eye" was my favorite. I loved Odd Thomas but the next 2 Odd books - not as much. Phantoms was good but I hated the movie (Unexpected since I was in a big Ben Affleck stage!) I have almost everything he's written and theres a few I haven't gotten to yet. Some I love & pass along to friends and some I go "huh, that wasn't great". So.... give them a shot. If you don't like one - try another. You have to be up for the "twilight zone" thing and possibly stomach some serial killer!

Happy Reading!
 

RumpleTumbler

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IMHO, each book contains a lot of filler.

I grew weary of hearing how hot it was in Pico Mundo. In fact I devoted a whole thread to it about 3/4 of the way through Odd Thomas.
 

Siddow

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But it IS hot in Pico Mundo. :)
 

swvaughn

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Koontz is a VERY funny writer.

I have a book called The Dean Koontz Companion. It has his first published story (a story called "Kittens," which is quite good), and a few really interesting interviews with him about his writing and writing in general.

One thing he says is that young people shouldn't write to get published. He says writing is all about wisdom, and people in their teens and twenties have no wisdom, and thus writing for publication should only be done once a person becomes more "seasoned." I don't know if I agree with that, but there it is.

Oh, I've read Kittens. Lovely creepy little story. :D

And... *whispers* I like the name Punchinello Beezo...

/confession

I really admire Koontz. Odd Thomas is perhaps the best book I've read so far. It made me cry -- because of the story, and because I wish I could write like that. :)
 

A. Hamilton

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I went through a Koontz phase, reading books like The Bad Place and Strange Highways, Winter Moon, Mr Murder, Dragon Tears, Hideaway, and Cold Fire. His subject matter was a bit intense and disturbing in some, especially the Bad Place, if I remember correctly. But I love how he gets the reader to relate to his characters, even the bad guys.
I took a break from him and came back more recently to books like Odd Thomas and Life Expectancy. I felt like I was reading a different author! I did like them, but his style had definitely changed, and I sensed a christian undertone and more humor that I didn't see in the old books.
I just finished False Memory, and it was a huge disappointment. I'm glad it was not my first Koontz encounter, or I may have foregone the rest.
 

Inky

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I own everything he's written. I'm one of those author addicts: if I really like one book, I order everything that author has written. I've quite an extensive library--literally. But it doesn't mean I've read all that I've purchased. I'll go into a reading coma 'bout twice a year for about 3 weeks. Unless you're bleeding, don't bug me. The kids love it, they take full advantage of my loss of hearing while in this stupor.

Odd Thomas was a fabulous character.

Phantoms scared me to death; the movie sucked. Typical.

I love that Koontz creates a story around the fear, whereas, to me, King just creates the fear.

Another good author that pulls this off too is John Saul. He can scare you, but tell a fabulous story with it.
 

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I love that Koontz creates a story around the fear, whereas, to me, King just creates the fear.
Great way of putting that!
I think that's where he failed with false Memory. He starts out well, getting us into the characters and building anticipation. When the main character had her first episode, I almost didn't want to finish the book, for fear I would develope the same fears as her. Koontz puts me so deep in the mind of fear that it feeds my imagination for weeks after reading. BUt he bailed on False Memory and rushed to expose and destroy the villian.
 

III

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** SPOILER ALERT **
I used to be a big Koontz fan and read about 10 - 15 of his old books before I got burned out. Every book had the same protagonist falling for the same leading lady and all the plots were just a protag with paranormal powers and some form of memory loss. And need I mention the never-ending re-hashing of how the houses looked in Southern California? (We get it, Dean - Spanish-style and stucco!)

I hadn't read any Koontz for at least 10 years, but on a whim picked up Odd Thomas last week. It was an enjoyable read and I liked the protag and the imagery, but I ended up feeling like I had watched a T.V. show, not read a novel.

Still, I think Koontz is an enjoyable author and a good storyteller.
 
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I used to be a great fan of his, but knew my fandom was dying off when I started waiting for his books in paperback, or waiting for them to appear in my local library. I just haven't bothered with a few of his books because they're no longer magical and original - they're overwritten with whiter-than-white heroes and heroines.

And JAR, if he's as good as it gets, I fear for your TBR pile. There are a hundred better writers than him out there. I'll still read him because he kills time, even with all his filler, but he's no longer on my must-read list. It's funny, because I seem to remember you saying Ray Bradbury was the best living writer.

Oh well. I guess I'd rather stick to writers who don't have a bad case of wannaguesshowmanynewwordsilearnedinthepastweekitis.
 

Siddow

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He does throw some whopper words out there, doesn't he?

I still loves him. Anyone who can make me eek and lol on the same page is pretty dam good in my book.
 
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I'm all for learning new words, but with The Taking and a few others I gave up with checking the dictionary and just wrote up a word list to research at the end of each 'part'. Thing is, if you can skim big words and still get the sense of the story, then are the big words necessary?
 

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Lightening used to be my favorite book by him until I read From the Corner of His Eye. It was wonderful. I've read it two or three times since the first, and it just gets better.

He used to be one of my favorites, but I've had trouble getting into some of his newer works. His older stuff, though, I can read over and over again.