Invasion

by Aaron Wolfe (Pseudonym), Dean Koontz

Having just about concluded that it was nothing more than the wind and the storm that was upsetting the horses -- and now they were all leaping and snorting more furiously than ever, as if they were not three ordinary nags but a trio of high-strung thoroughbreds -- I turned toward the door and quite accidentally caught sight of the light which glowed eerily just beyond the only window in the entire building. There were two lights, actually, both a warm amber shade and of dim wattage. They appeared to pulse and to shimmer -- and then they were gone, as if they had never been: blink!

I hurried to the barn door, slid it open, and stepped into the snow-filled night. The arctic wind struck me like a mallet swung by a blacksmith who was angry with his wife, and it almost blew me back into the stable row. Switching on the nearly useless flashlight, I bent against the wind and pulled the door shut behind me. Laboriously, cautiously, I inched around the side of the barn in the direction of the window, peering anxiously at the ground ahead of me.

I stopped before I reached the window, for I found precisely what I had been afraid that I would find: those odd, eight-pointed tracks which Toby and I had seen on the slope earlier in the day. There were a great many of them, as if the animal had been standing there, moving back and forth as I searched for better vantage points, for a long while -- at least all of the time that I had been inside with the horses.

It had been watching me.

Genres: Horror, Ebooks, Science Fiction, Fiction

190 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

Aaron Wolfe is one of the pseudonyms used by Dean R. Koontz. Koontz has also published under the names Leigh Nichols, Brian Coffey, David Axton, Owen West, and Deanna Dwyer.

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a hard-to-find novel from 1975 that was pseudonymously written by Dean R. Koontz. It's a good science fiction story of alien invasion with some really chilling elements from the horror genre, told in a fast-paced fashion with flashes of great characterization and interesting plot twists. It was one of my favorites of the Laser series that I read. It has an amazingly completely untrue introduction by Barry N. Malzberg; he keeps referring to it as a "first novel," but was actually his thirty-second or thereabouts, and Koontz had been professionally publishing for over a decade at the time. Koontz released another version of the book a couple of decades later at almost twice the length of this original under the title of Winter Moon, but I preferred this one with the happy ending and the nifty Kelly Freas cover.

[Denis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second time I’ve read this short novel. I first read this when I had read very little from Koontz, therefore I felt it deserved a reread. It is Dean Koontz writing under a "Nom de Plume" of Aaron Wolfe. Koontz has published under many names during the early part of his career. “Invasion” is a perfectly fine straight up sci-fi story. It is the first "Laser book" I had read. This series of books, by the publishers of Harlequin novels, was an attempt at publishing science fiction. They were heavily edited by Roger Elwood during the mid-seventies. A few well known authors contributed novels for the series such as Koontz (using the pseudonym) Jerry Pournelle, Tim Powers, Piers Anthony (who apparently regretted ever getting mixed up with the whole Laser book thing), Gordon Eklund, Raymond F. Jones, R. F. Nelson, Jerry Sohl, amongst others. The covers were all illustrated by the notorious pulp artist Kelly Freas. They are written under strict guidelines as far as type of story and length.

After having read quite a lot from Koontz, I have to say I prefer this type of story (sci-fi) over his horror based more recent work. I loved its simplicity. Perhaps I should look into his short stories. My guess the the change in genre was that Koontz got in late with the sci-fi game (he began publishing in the late 60’s when the genre was changing stylistically from the golden ages of the pulps which would have been very influential for him I would suspect). A pity maybe as he might have thrived had he stuck with it a little longer. All kidding aside, Koontz did and continues to do very well publishing what ever he wants to write.

"Invasion" (1975) was later expanded and re-tooled as "Winter Moon" by Koontz in 1994. Both are fine stories and personal favorites by the author. In some way, preferred "Invasion", if not only for its tighter execution, though "Winter Moon" was quite good and offered some further development on some of the ideas. Both differentiate themselves enough to stand as individual novels.

[hotsake (André Troesch) · Rating 3 out of 5]

An early Koontz novel, even if it was his 32nd book. Kootz has a good story here but some of the writing is off and often repetitive.

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aaron Wolfe is Dean Koontz. This is one of his early books and shows it. It was entertaining but not as good as many of his later thrillers. The invasion of the title is an alien invasion, an attack on a small family that is isolated in a snow storm. The ending is relatively weak, although I won't give it away. It certainly held my attention though and I read it mostly in one day. A quick read.

[Ron · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was one of Dean Kontz's first books, circa 1975 - a quick enjoyable read. It kind of felt like a bad 70's movie.

[Angus McKeogh · Rating 5 out of 5]

So Aaron Wolfe is a Dean Koontz pseudonym. And Laser Books were this series that was edited by Roger Elwood and published in the 70s & 80s, which didn’t include anything too risqué. There’s a foreword by Barry Malzberg that states this is one of the finest first novels he’s ever seen written. I was expecting schlock. I’ll be honest. And I kind of feel guilty giving this five-star, but it was a really good read. You’d never guess it from the corny Freas cover art, but I’d recommend this book to pretty much anyone. Creepy with excellent pacing and tension. Horrific. A damn fine book.

[Jeffrey Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a short novel, early works by Dean koontz. I thought it was a extremely well written, creepy,surprising book that I just could not put down. Koontz sucks you into a great SF story while revealing his thoughts on the human condition and how our humanity or lack thereof seems to be the underlying theme of this invasion. The story moved seamlessly from beginning to end. The storyline and how well it was written are both definitely one of my favorite but koontz.

[Casey Raehtz · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was obvious this is one of Koontz's earliest works, as the writing and story aren't as well written and his later works. The story seems to wander from time to time and I found myself skipping passages that weren't central to the story.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the updated version. Fairly intense and highly recommended.

[Russell · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of his pen-name books. I enjoyed reading it. It does not suffer from the horrible Koontz endings found in many of his other books.

[Stunatra · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay read. Winter Moon was a better version of this story. I couldn't put that one down!

[MikeR · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally released under the pseudonym Aaron Wolfe, so Koontz probably knew it was under prepared, maybe quickly written keeping publishers off his back. It is an average alien invasion novel, but Koontz did update and revised for it's re-release as Winter Moon by Dean Koontz (8-Dec-1994) which was a better version. It is still fast paced, unfortunately no character development, but it is a quick read.

[Donald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Isolation:

In a heavy snowstorm. In the Maine countryside.
A man, his wife, and their ten-year-old son. And some very, very strange eight-hole prints in the snow near their home.

It's quite a page turner, as the family comes under attack and find that they have only themselves to rely on! It's a pretty scary scenario! Not the best ending, but a good, scary read!

“The arctic wind struck me like a mallet swung by a blacksmith who was angry with his wife,” .

“…starman the gourmand, man the hapless meal?”

“Death is real and final. The world is a madhouse.”

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read Invasion in the 1970's and I remember that I couldn't put it down. It is a page turner. Very well written for an early Koontz book. While reading the book I could visualize what was happening. It was like a movie and I remember that I was frightened. Highly recommended.

[Roland · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very weak story and writing. Must have been written in one night, while it was snowing and the author was bored! I confess I read the book diagonally, wanting to reach the end quickly. Should have dropped the book halfway.

[Nigel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a somewhat strange novel by Koontz under one of his many pen names. A very small cast of 3 get stranded in their isolated farmhouse by the worst early snowstorm in living memory. If that wasn't bad enough they are aware of strange foot prints in the snow, and inexplicable deaths of their horse which are left as nothing but bones and a strong ammonia smell. Can they survive their first encounter with an alien species or will first contact lead to their deaths?
The book was enjoyable, and moved at a reasonable pace but it is far from being one of his best. For such a small cast the characters were not the best and I struggle a bit to warm to them, in addition I thought the ending was weak and felt like a desperate attempt to get in a 'happy ending'.

[Evan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Has the flavour of Koontz or King, which means it’s a very competent and fun thriller. It falls flat on its aspirations toward social commentary, I understand the parallels Koontz draws but they are executed clumsily. This gave the impression of an early, immature, novel.

[William Carlisle · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of Koontz early books under the pseudonym Aaron Wolf, and a quick read. This was an unexpected gem, I enjoyed it.

[David Crawford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this story. I think it really reflects what a true encounter with alien life could be like.

[Egghead · Rating 4 out of 5]

trapped within snowstorm
chilly horse-melting aliens
nam vet has bad week

[Alexander · Rating 1 out of 5]

I would have given this book three stars if I had stopped reading halfway through.