Cold Terror: A Dean Koontz Companion

by Martin H. Greenberg (Editor)

Here for the first time is a comprehensive look at the life, career and work of one of the most popular and prolific writers of our time - with more than 70,000 words of material from Dean Koontz himself.It exclusive, in-depth interview, never before published...Rare articles by Koontz about the art of writing...His first published short story...A complete annotated guide to all his novels...Selections from "Weird World," humorous pieces unpublished until now...Answers to questions fans most often ask...The films based on his work...And more.

Genres: Horror, Nonfiction, Biography, Reference

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Martin Harry Greenberg was an American academic and speculative fiction anthologist. In all, he compiled 1,298 anthologies and commissioned over 8,200 original short stories. He founded Tekno Books, a packager of more than 2000 published books. In addition, he was a co-founder of the Sci-Fi Channel.

For the 1950s anthologist and publisher of Gnome Press, see Martin Greenberg.

Reviews

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've now read enough Koontz books to, I believe, benefit from this tome. has an interview, some early stuff including his shorter fiction, plus annotated bibliography of his work up to the publication of this book. I also plan on reading "The Stephen King Story," more of a biographical work than a "companion," but should be entertaining, both of 'em.

OK, finished! Well, not exactly totally finished, because there's an annotated bibliography in the back, with some reviews and comments by Koontz on the books he had written up to this book's publication date (He said at the time that he had considered writing a sequel only to "Watchers," but that was before Odd Thomas...). I'll be returning to this section regularly as I finish some of his earlier books.

This book includes an extensive interview with Koontz, his first short story, a "ten most frequently asked questions" chapter, and an interesting section in which are presented introductions to books written by some of his friends; he indicated that he doesn't do this very often because it's not his style, plus he has to have some literary respect for the author. Among them are: Tim Powers, who wrote "On Stranger Tides," the basis for the latest "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie (lackluster, save for Ian McShane's portrayal of Blackbeard), and Jonathan Kellerman, psychologist-turned-mystery-writer. Those were quite enjoyable. There is an altogether-too-long section in which Koontz shows a more silly side, as a contributor to an "Onion"-style spoof magazine. Funny, sideways, playful, but it coulda been a LOT shorter. Overall a fine addition to one's Koontz library.

Now where was that "Stephen King Story" I was gonna read?...

[Charles · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting at some level but really only for die hard Koontz fans and collectors. It kind of rambles.

[Fred · Rating 4 out of 5]

This makes you appreciate Dean's dedication to write and how he survive a poor abused childhood, meeting Gerda (wife) in High School, tough life teaching English after college and difficulties to start writing. Gerda supported them for five years to start his writing. He helped the poor with his experiences, Applachian Poverty Program. Publishers did not like his variety of books (cross-genre) under one author name, hence, Leigh Nichols for Shadowfires(1987), K.R. Dwyer for Chase(1972), Brian Coffey for Blood Risk(1973), more.... Later, Dean did not believe in having different pen-names and later only used Dean Koontz. Now, we are attracted to his books under one name.

[Eric Shaffer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this collection a diverting and absorbing book to consult when I had a few minutes between tasks. The interviews with Koontz are informative, and I like his wacky sense of humor. Also, you should read his first short story, just for "yikes!" of it.

[wally · Rating 4 out of 5]

think you have read all that koontz has written? have you read his After the Last Race? Anti-Man?
Beastchild

hey, whuddayahknow...maybe all those titles that seemed unattainable a few years ago...ten? 15? five? something. maybe those are coming out.

when i read this offering edited by greenberg, gorman & munster (wouldn't that make a great lawyer outfit?)...anyway, when i read it i noticed all of the titles i had no clue about...three linked above.

well..hells gate didn't link up...how about The Fall of the Dream Machine yep, that's out there...Strike Deep...yikes!

seems there's offerings for many of the titles herein...stories published early in his career, many if not most under pseudonyms....and one time when i looked, some were selling for +$250...

t'would appear that there's some available that wouldn't tweak the wallet? yippe ki aye.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent collection of short pieces by and about Koontz. It includes a long interview conducted by Ed Gorman, short stories, articles, and introductions to various other works and writers by Koontz, and an comphrehensive bibliography. Originally published in 1994; I'd welcome an updated edition!

[Steve Parcell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very disorganised companion and lots or short stories with excerpts thrown in and it is very out of date now.

The actual interviews with Dean Koontz were very good as were the reviews of movies adapted from his books.

Could and should have been infinitely better.

[Del · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice book to have on your book stand to gain a better insight into one of the best writers on the scene.

[Daniel DeGuia · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're a Dean Koontz fan, this is a good read.

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

So funny and touching. Loved it!

[Jeffrey W Brigham · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read some fantastic books by Dean Koontz and I've read some bad ones. But through it all, I've always gone back to pick up another book and read it faithfully from cover to cover. This non-fiction book reveals the mind behind the novels in a pretty comprehensive way. Dean is a fascinating person and he has worked very hard to be where he is today. The first 100 pages is devoted to questions and answers about his life. After that, you get a filmography of his work. Then Dean reveals the short story he wrote (in its original form) that won a contest and got him going in the direction of being a novelist; he teaches you how to write suspense fiction. This is oddly followed by excerpts from a magazine he edited that were somewhat entertaining to read, but unnecessary to the project as a whole. If you know who Dean Koontz is and have enjoyed his work, this book is well worth your time.

[Armand Rosamilia · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only real complaint I have, and it's slight, is this collection of great stories, interviews, essays and misc. things is from 1994. Maybe someday there will be a new version or a second compendium from my favorite author.

Until then I loved to go deep with this great peek into how the author works and his sense of humor as well as great stories and breakdowns of his books.

For the fan who can't get enough of Dean Koontz!

[Margaret Duarte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written in 1994, this book leaves out twenty-seven years of Koontz's writing career. That said, I enjoyed reading about his early years, via interviews and articles written by others and by Koontz himself.

[Stephanie Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast read. It was interesting to see inside the head of brilliance.

[Karen Worthington · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great interview with the author.

[Alice Fleury · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was informative and fun getting in to Mr. Koontz head. I originally borrowed it from the library to read his essay on creating suspense. But the other chapters and short stories were enjoyable too.

Its a book one can jump around and read. You don't have to read from first to last page. Fun.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable companion book to a favourite author though somewhat outdated now being from the mid 1990s.
Koontz uses humour in all his later novels but I did not realise the extent of his quirkiness until I read this book.

[Pearl Parchment]

The first book I read was phantom, I was hooked and I love this writer's sense of humour and suspense. To date I have a total of 53 books written by him. Dean Koontz is a superb author. PEARL.