Koontzland - Dean Koontz discussion

Intensity will be featured as our September 2015 Group Read.

I put it on hold at my library! I hope to get back into the swing of group reads by rejoining you all and reading this one. It will be my first time through it and, to my surprise, it is not one that I've purchased at various library book sales and things in the past couple of years. So...on hold at the library. :-)

This is by far my favorite Koontz book.
I like certain characters or series (Chris, Odd) but as far as books go, #1.
I haven't been so involved in group reads for awhile; no books that compel me to re-read so far.
But Intensity! I got all excited just seeing the title. =}

Thanks Jen and E. :-) I'll be reading Intensity in September as well.

Welcome September! Intensity is our September Group Read. I will be reading a bit later in the month. How about you?

Dustin Crazy little brown owl wrote: "Welcome September! Intensity is our September Group Read. I will be reading a bit later in the month. How about you?"

I have the book out from my library already and it's due back in about 18 days. I'm hoping I can renew it, as I have a feeling that I'll need to read it a bit later in the month, too. ;-)

(I'm currently reading a series that I want to finish as much as I can [seven books plus a few novellas; I'm on book 3.5] and then I have another library book due on the same day as Intensity but that cannot be renewed that I need to read next.)

But I'm very much looking forward to reading Intensity this month! :-)

I waited until today to start re-reading it. Once again can't remember a darn thing from the last time I read it. It's sort of a ritual with me; I don't start the month's book until the first of the month.

I just started Ready Player One. As soon as I finish that one I'll start Intensity, and check this thread again to see what's happening. Hopefully lots of folks read it because it's a good one!

I started reading "Intensity."

I started today.

Ah, returning to see Vess. That's a creepy guy.

I will start rereading this weekend

For some reason I find this book a little harder to get into than I usually do with a Koontz book. Usually I am hooked within the first 10 pages or so.

After reading One Door Away From Heaven and then Velocity I'm also have trouble getting into this one.

Diane, I was thinking too that it was because I had just read One Door Away from Heaven.

Karen B. wrote: "Diane, I was thinking too that it was because I had just read One Door Away from Heaven."

I believe you are correct.

Intensity is a unique Dean Koontz novel :-)

Katie, I am especially reading to find out why this was your favorite (don't tell me)

Karen B. I'm with you. I'm still waiting to find out why this book is a favorite for so many Koontz fans.

The first chapter floored me. Suspense as only Koontz can do. Spider-eating Vess. CREEP!

Thomas wrote: "The first chapter floored me. Suspense as only Koontz can do. Spider-eating Vess. CREEP!"

Yeah that spider eating was something!

Spider-eating?!?! Maybe I shouldn't read this. I am incredibly arachnophobic and my nightmares don't need any help with ideas of the eight-legged variety. :'(

But I'll probably have forgotten this "conversation" by the time I am free to read the book, so I'll end up reading it anyway. ;-)

The audiobook version of the spider was creepy whispery awesomeness. come to me
It's when I got hooked on the book. I can still hear it, and I listened to it almost 2 years ago.

and Jen, it's just that once and it's a great scene !

Thanks, E. Maybe it won't be so bad, then. And I have a print edition, so maybe the impact won't be as creepy as it was for you on audio. I can hope. Hope is good, right? lol ;-)

Overall, this book isn't so much creepy as just seriously...intense. There are so many scenes I can recall vividly, and numerous times I yelled at the book. In a good way =}

E. wrote: "Overall, this book isn't so much creepy as just seriously...intense. There are so many scenes I can recall vividly, and numerous times I yelled at the book. In a good way =}"

Sounds exciting. I can't wait to start it. :-)

I've never read it before, in case you haven't figured that out. ;-)

For those who are on a re-read..
(view spoiler)[
I read somewhere that DK tied himself to a chair and then tried to escape as Chyna did to see where the bruises would be. :-)

One of the themes that interests me in the book is the flip of the stereotypes - Chyna, coming from a broken home, should (traditionally) be the uncaring, sociopathic one; and vice versa with Vess, who should be the moral one.


What startles me is the sheer speed of this book. Koontz does 95% of it in about 24 hours! Now that's pacing.

For me, this is Koontz's most personal book - especially the dedication to his mother.

For those that don't know, Koontz's father was very abusive and mentally unstable. His mother took a lot of it to protect Koontz.

I see Ariel very much as Koontz as a child, waiting down there in the dark for a saviour and Chyna as his mother.



(hide spoiler)]

Tony wrote: "For those who are on a re-read..."

Thanks for the spoiler tag! Much appreciated. I'll check it out once I've read the book. :-)

Jen wrote: "Tony wrote: "For those who are on a re-read..."

Thanks for the spoiler tag! Much appreciated. I'll check it out once I've read the book. :-)"

No worries Jen!

I am really getting into this book as I read the juxtaposition of Vess' personality and Chyna's. I find Vess' synesthesia fascinating as I met a man about 20 years ago who had it. He explained to our group what it was, and had even written a book about it. In her own way Chyna has it too. It's part of what keeps her on her toes which she will need to stand up to this monster. Vess is a man whose main concern is the sensations. Chyna is more concerned with thinking and feeling (emotionally)

This book was justly named! It was intense from beginning to end!! One of my favorites for sure!!!

Yes Koontz really picked a title that was perfect for the book because Vess' sensations are so intense as well as the plot.

Mr. Vess is similar to Dr. Doom in One Door Away From Heaven. What they kill becomes a part of them.

Yes, Diane, I was thinking the same thing. They both have that coldness that they think absolves them from any responsibility.

I finished last night. Two characters in this book were written just like In One Door Away From Heaven. Vess is Dr. Doom's equivalent and Anne (Chyna's mom) similar to Leilani's mom. Good books to read in a row. Click on the book to see my review.

Diane, I picked that up too ... the similarities between the mothers. Also Chyna and Michelina are pulled to rescue someone else.

One of the things I like about this book (and the previous one) is that it has a strong female heroine character.

Thanks for the insight Tony, interesting observations.
Lots of interesting posts, observations, from everyone.
I'm glad most everyone is into this book, it has a thrilling twisty ending as well. Another moment of me yelling "Noooooo!!!" at the book.

INTENSITY is one of Koontz's highlights. My hands are still sweaty after closing the book. Well done!

Excellent book. An absolute thrill!

I just started Intensity. :-) Chapter 1, page 8...

:-)

Chapter 1: Well, that was...interesting. I guess. It was very clinical. I was not afraid or even particularly anxious. And there's (view spoiler)[a home invasion - a very violent one - in progress! (hide spoiler)] Something doesn't seem right with (view spoiler)[Chyna's reactions. Maybe because she's a Psychology Master's student? Is that why her descriptions were so clinical? (hide spoiler)] But even taking this into account, I still don't understand why I was so unmoved.

The (view spoiler)[spider-eating at the end of the chapter, (hide spoiler)] though...That produced a mental shudder.

Jen wrote: "Chapter 1: Well, that was...interesting. I guess. It was very clinical. I was not afraid or even particularly anxious. And there's [spoilers removed] Something doesn't seem right with [spoilers rem..."

It was Chyna's entire upbringing that caused her to be numbed to it.

Diane wrote: "It was Chyna's entire upbringing that caused her to be numbed to it."

You raise an interesting point. I suppose that could explain it, though it still seems off to me.

I've now read four chapters, and I think I'm going to pause here for the night. We now know that (view spoiler)[the Templetons are all dead, that Chyna successfully escaped, and that the killer's name is Edgler Foreman Vess. (hide spoiler)] But now, instead of (view spoiler)[going for help, Chyna is going to follow the killer to see if she can save the 16-year-old girl, Ariel, that he said he has locked in his basement. (hide spoiler)] She still isn't responding in ways that make sense to me.

I'll read more tomorrow.

Jen wrote: "Diane wrote: "It was Chyna's entire upbringing that caused her to be numbed to it."

You raise an interesting point. I suppose that could explain it, though it still seems off to me.

I've now read..."

Are you saying that if you knew someone was in danger, and the police were probably not going to make it in time, that you would still go to the police and not try to help the person yourself? I'd have had to go with Chyna's way.

Charissa wrote: "Are you saying that if you knew someone was in danger, and the police were probably not going to make it in time, that you would still go to the police and not try to help..."

I don't know what I would have done in her place. All I'm saying, really, is that I don't like her narration. It's too dry and clinical. This is a suspenseful story - a thriller - but I very much feel like an outside observer. I'm not feeling the suspense. I've even caught myself skim-reading some of the descriptive paragraphs. :-(

And I don't know if I'm just not in the mood or what. I don't usually have trouble getting into whatever I'm reading.

Of course, maybe I'm the detached one because of this comment. I am (view spoiler)[massively arachnophobic (hide spoiler)] so I suppose I could have detached myself as a protective measure. And Chyna keeps referring to (view spoiler)[Vess as "the eater of spiders" (hide spoiler)] (page 137, Chapter 6), which isn't helping. As an aside... Spoiler tags are important. ;-)

But I'm still reading. I want to know how things are going to work out.

I finished it. The ending was quite suspenseful, even for me with the issues I had. I had to restrain myself from flipping forward to see who would survive.

Now to write my review and see how many stars to give it.

I decided to give it four stars (very good/really liked) because of my realization that it might be my fault I didn't like Chyna's narration. You can read my review to find out more, if you want. ;-)

Tony wrote: "For those who are on a re-read..
(view spoiler)"

Those are some interesting insights, Tony. Thanks for sharing! They make me look at the book a little differently, though for me it's still a four-star read. But I'm now very glad I didn't rate it lower! ;-)

Jen wrote: "I finished it. The ending was quite suspenseful, even for me with the issues I had. I had to restrain myself from flipping forward to see who would survive.

Now to write my review and see how many..."

You read that fast :-)