What do you think?
Rate this book
Demonic Color
When people begin dying--their bodies emptied of internal organs and drained of blood--the residents of Town, Indiana, realize that something evil is feeding off their community
- GenresHorror
351 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 1, 1990
2 people are currently reading
105 people want to read
About the author
Pauline Dunn
4 books2 followers"Pauline Dunn" was the pen name used by sisters Dawn Pauline Hartzell Dunn and Susan Hartzell. They wrote three books under this pseudonym before getting in legal trouble for plagiarizing sections of Dean Koontz's "Phantoms" in their books "The Crawling Dark" and "Demonic Color".
Dawn Dunn continued writing after the scandal, publishing under her own name a number of short stories in different genres. Her last published works were released in 2001. She currently works as a Nurse Practitioner in her home state of Indiana.
Dawn Dunn continued writing after the scandal, publishing under her own name a number of short stories in different genres. Her last published works were released in 2001. She currently works as a Nurse Practitioner in her home state of Indiana.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 18, 2019
An entertaining idea that is executed very poorly. The writing is not very good and there was a legit lawsuit against the author(s) for plagerizing Dean Kontz's Phantoms in both this book and one of their other books. I only found that out after I had read half the book. Not cool. Skip this book.
April 9, 2024
Read this book solely because it was involved in the Dean Koontz Phantoms plagiarism lawsuit. I loved Phantoms and wanted to see what the similarities were. Well, in my opinion, not many…Yes, Phantoms has an evil as old as time feeding on a town. Yes, Demonic Color is about a “primitive evil” present since the creation of time that, when combined with the right set of molecules, created a parasitic gas that feeds on a town. But that’s really it. Like other reviewers have said this book was just poorly executed. So much filler. I read 90% of the book and the demonic color was still a complete mystery. Then it’s revealed and then the book is over. Twist ending at the end just felt out of place to me. Most of the characters just all felt the same. Nothing like Phantoms. If you want a great book, go, read that! 2.5 stars but rounding up for Goodreads to 3.
October 10, 2015
This is one of those Zebra horror books of the late 80's, early 90's. I picked it up at a used book store for a buck. I was hooked after the first couple of pages. The death toll is amazing. The death scenes are gory. There's even a fair bit of sex too.
The one draw back is that the Demonic Color or gas is never really explained very thoroughly. It gets a bit weird toward the end. That's the other problem with the book. The End. It just sort of stops abruptly. Not a bad ending, just wished it played out more. Still a good book that keeps you reading. 4 stars.
The one draw back is that the Demonic Color or gas is never really explained very thoroughly. It gets a bit weird toward the end. That's the other problem with the book. The End. It just sort of stops abruptly. Not a bad ending, just wished it played out more. Still a good book that keeps you reading. 4 stars.
Want to read
November 3, 2019Nabbed for about $4 and some change on eBay. I'm unsure what the plot is, but that cover intrigues the hell outta me. This book, written by Dawn Pauline Dunn and Susan Hartzell using the former's middle and last name as a pseudonym, it's about an evil green gas (gettin' some "Colour Out of Space on steroids" vibes). As long as two 90s fashion victim kids with gelled hair get eaten by the killer green fog, I'm down.
Of course, there's the elephant in the room, which is that in some respects, this book is simply Dunn and Hartzell's earlier The Crawling Dark with a different title and a slightly different plot (evil flesh-eating gas as opposed to evil Satanic worms or whatever it was in Crawling Dark)... and that both steal entire passages from Dean R. Koontz's Phantoms but just change the characters' names and the nature of the threat. That they got away with this twice before someone finally caught on and Zebra pulled the books from shelves following a court case is amazing. Dunn and Hartzell did manage to write one more book for Zebra, Flesh Stealer, but by then the damage had been done (or should I say "Dunn?").
According to Goodreads' bio, Dawn Dunn continued writing under her own name without Hartzell after the plagiarism fiasco, at least until '01, and she currently works as a nurse practitioner. No word on Hartzell.
Of course, there's the elephant in the room, which is that in some respects, this book is simply Dunn and Hartzell's earlier The Crawling Dark with a different title and a slightly different plot (evil flesh-eating gas as opposed to evil Satanic worms or whatever it was in Crawling Dark)... and that both steal entire passages from Dean R. Koontz's Phantoms but just change the characters' names and the nature of the threat. That they got away with this twice before someone finally caught on and Zebra pulled the books from shelves following a court case is amazing. Dunn and Hartzell did manage to write one more book for Zebra, Flesh Stealer, but by then the damage had been done (or should I say "Dunn?").
According to Goodreads' bio, Dawn Dunn continued writing under her own name without Hartzell after the plagiarism fiasco, at least until '01, and she currently works as a nurse practitioner. No word on Hartzell.
July 5, 2022
I enjoyed the story, but I felt they waited way to long for the reveal. The last 40 pages is where it unfolds and it felt rushed. I think the author could of had a long career if it hadn't been the plagiarism issue.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews