Koontzland - Dean Koontz discussion

What book are you currently reading that's not written by Koontz?

I'm currently re-reading one of my favorites - it's a children's/teen/YA book about a boy who wakes up one morning and is invisible, Things Not Seen by Andrew Clements.
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I'm currently reading The Book With No Name by Anonymous. Martin recommended this and my local library was nice enough to purchase this title. So far it sounds like my kind of book :-)

I am currently reading House Infernal by Edward Lee. This is probably the “darkest” horror book I have read and I was not sure if I would like it but it is oddly fascinating so far. My reading time has been minimal lately so it may take me a while to get through.

Matt R. wrote: "My reading time has been minimal lately so it may take me a while to get through.
"
Holidays are like that. The kids are home. On the days the kids are both in school (my 4 yr old daughter only goes to preschool twice a week) I'm sometimes able to listen to audiobooks while doing things around the house or on my way to pick the kids up from school. Otherwise my main reading time is right before bed but by that point in the day, I'm so tired I don't get much reading done. It takes me a while to get through books even though I read whenever I get the chance.

Right now I am reading The Host by Stephenie Meyer... why did I ever start it? Completely dull.... just like the Twilight Series.

I am also reading Life Expectancy by the very best author himself: Dean Koontz! No complaints there. ;]

I have no desire, no plans to attempt reading The Twilight Series. If I want vampires I'll try Stephen King's Salem's Lot. I'm not a big vampire fan - I'm not a vampire fan at all. Although I did like the X-file's vampire episode :-) "Bad Blood" - it was very humorous.

I know... Twilight.. totally blech! I don't know what all the hype is for. I'm not a big fantasy fan to start with, though.
I have never read Stephen King. It seems to me that a lot of people who read Dean Koontz read King as well... hmmm.

I'm trying to read Stephen King but I still prefer Dean Koontz. They really write differently.

The only Stephen King book I read was Cell and I was not impressed. I guess I should have tried one of his classic novels instead. I plan to read more Stephen King in the future. Books like The Shining, Firestarter and Pet Cemetary sound so good. (I loved the The Shining movie).

The Shining is always recommended by King Fans. I've heard Cell was pretty bad.

I liked Cell, but I liked almost all of his works so I might be biased ;) King has a great talent at developing unique characters and stories, something that Koontz IMHO lacks a bit - my favourite work by him is propably Hearts in Atlantis, a beautiful coming of age novel set in the 60's, with shadows of Vietnam War and the Dark Tower series. Thoroughly recommended.
Also: Pet Sematary (pure horror),
The Stand (an epic dystopian novel - 1000 pages !)
Salem's Lot, The Shining (these two arn't overrated a bit),
Four Past Midnight (especially "Secret Window, Secret Garden),
It! (Again pure horror tale, very long but also very thrilling),
Different Seasons (mostly known for Shawshank Redemption, but the three other tales are all excellent, I loved apt.Pupil and The Breathing Method)
I remember enjoying Insomnia, but I can't really give an opinion on it. This one is a re-read for me.
From his recent works i liked Duma Key - about Edgar Fremantle, a construction company owner who survives an on-site traffic accident. The novel is concerned about his rehabilitation and stay at Duma Key, where he takes an interest in painting.

King is a great stolyteller, with a brilliant and vast imagination, but his novels are completely different from Koontz works. If you want a fast paced, suspenseful chase then a Koontz book will be better for you :)

Maciek wrote: "King is a great stolyteller, with a brilliant and vast imagination, but his novels are completely different from Koontz works. If you want a fast paced, suspenseful chase then a Koontz book will be better for you :)
."

See that's where I'm at. I want the fast-paced, thrill ride! Stephen King's books just seem too long for me. I'm usually good with about 400 pages which is where Koontz usually ends his books (although Breathless needed more pages).

I did read Duma Key I thought it was really good - the visual descriptions allowed the reader to "see" the paintings. I gave the book 4 stars. I had to listen to most of it on audio to get through the pages, but I enjoyed the times when I could actually read the book better.

I'd like to read IT but the length scares me! In January, The Stephen King Fans group is reading King's non-fiction memoir, On Writing. I'm glad it's a short one. I plan to read along & if anyone's interested you should check out that group. I'll post the link to the group in just a minute.

Dustin wrote: "See that's where I'm at. I want the fast-paced, thrill ride! Stephen King's books just seem too long for me. I'm usually good with about 400 pages which is where Koontz usually ends his books (although Breathless needed more pages)."

Well, to each his own. I love his writing and narrative style, exactly because he gives so much attention to minute detail that it allows me to get completely engrossed in his novels. I like to read a Koontz book from time to time for a change too :)

However, of the two I think Stephen King produced much more quality work; Over the last few years Dean produced several potboilers which basically recycled his earlier works, like The Husband and The Good Guy.

Maciek wrote: "Over the last few years Dean produced several potboilers which basically recycled his earlier works, like The Husband and The Good Guy."

I do agree. I've picked up more than one Koontz book, hoping for the same quality I experienced in an earlier book and been disappointed. I can't read Koontz titles back to back to back (sometimes back to back though :-)

I think part of the reason behind The Husband, The Good Guy and Velocity is that they were written with the intention of becoming movies. I know Koontz has deals to turn several of his books into films and they were written around the same time. The film that is farthest along in coming to reality is The Husband.

Another factor in Koontz's writing seems to be the loss of his beloved dog Trixie. I thought with Anna, he was back now because he published some very good books this year but I don't have a good excuse to explain Breathless :-)

Koontz is still my favorite author :-) but I understand he's not everyone's favorite. I'm just glad there's so many fans that read him and enjoy at least some of his books.

My problem with Koontz is that what he produces now is sub-par to books he used to write. I think he tries too hard to impress his readers with sophisticated vocabulary and overdrawn metaphors (for ex: "but a pair of lamps shed light as lusterless as ashes and the colors were muted as though settled smoke from a long-quenched fire had laid a patina on them") or trying to prove that he still "has it" and writing thriller novels that are completely unremarkable and fall below other books in the genre. The last Koontz novel from this decade that I really liked was "The Taking". It's good that he wrote so many other books; there's so much to choose from the 70's, 80's and 90's :)

Maciek wrote: "I think he tries too hard to impress his readers with sophisticated vocabulary and overdrawn metaphors (for ex: "but a pair of lamps shed light as lusterless as ashes and the colors were muted as though settled smoke from a long-quenched fire had laid a patina on them")"

:-) that does sound pretty bad - What book is that example from?

Dustin wrote: "Maciek wrote: "I think he tries too hard to impress his readers with sophisticated vocabulary and overdrawn metaphors (for ex: "but a pair of lamps shed light as lusterless as ashes and the colors ..."

Actually I snatched it from Wikipedia - it says that it's from "The Darkest Evening Of The Year". Such flowery style doesn't exactly suit a chase novel...

I don't have that title to look it up. A lot people didn't like The Darkest Evening of the year. I borrowed it from the library and actually enjoyed it. I don't remember a whole lot about it but I keep a book journal to remind me a little about what I read. Here's what I wrote, apparently I really like it :-)

"Enjoyed the book very much. This book was very personal for Koontz as his Golden Retriever, Trixie, passed away and the novel features a Golden Retriever hero named Nickie. Koontz had his usual disability representative - this time a little girl called Hope, who has Downs Syndrome. A great story in Koontz's trademark style of good vs. evil and profound thoughts on life. Better than The Good Guy - great ending, beginning and everything in between."

It seems that it's yet another of his chase novels. I'll pass this one by.
BTW, you might try "The Running Man" by Stephen King. It's also a chase novel and it's incredibly fast paced. I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

Thanks for the suggestion - always good to know :-)

I spent most of December reading hard-core (to me, anyway) horror. I really liked Meat, Patient Zero A Joe Ledger Novel, The Strain, and Afraid.

I also just discovered Steampunk. Soulless is hilarious and I intend on expanding my exposure to this genre.

I just started The Haunting of Josie by Kay Hooper. She's a new author for me. I picked the book up for pennies at the thriftstore so if it's awful at least I didn't spend big $$.

Well that was quick. The Haunting of Josie gets one star because I couldn't finish it. Read the first 30 pages and could tell this was a romance novel hiding behind a horror tale. Shameful.

On page ten Josie shakes hands with her ruggedly handsome neighbor and her hand tingles. Puh-lease. Flipped to last page and sure enough, they were both shaking rice out of their hair.

I'm going to switch back to In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts Close Encounters with Addictionwhile I'm waiting for my copy of Watcher's from the library.

I'm reading "Dragon Tears" by Dean Koontz of course :) I't's my second Koontz book in a row and so far I like it, it's better than Watchers in my opinion.

Matt R. wrote: "The only Stephen King book I read was Cell and I was not impressed. I guess I should have tried one of his classic novels instead. I plan to read more Stephen King in the future. Books like The ..."

I hear a lot of people giving `Cell`a lot of negative feedback. I myself really liked the beginning, but the ending wasn`t quite up to the same mark. I would try `Carrie`if I were you. Also maybe `Pet Semetary`.

Yes, the beginning of the book set the story up really nice. I hoped it would continue but it did not keep my interest. I liked the concept but it was not as strong as I hoped. I will definitely be checking out some of his earlier work at some point.

Maciek wrote: "I'm reading "Dragon Tears" by Dean Koontz of course :) I't's my second Koontz book in a row and so far I like it, it's better than Watchers in my opinion.

"

Wow! Two Koontz books in a row! You're really gonna need a Stephen King book now :-) I hope you like Dragon Tears MUCH better than Watchers. I listened to it on audio - I remember time being frozen which was interesting and a very sad story of an evil villain. Let us know what you think of it - you can start a new discussion topic for Dragon Tears or just comment in whatever current topic you want.

Well I've read four Koontz books last month. I think I need a little break ;)
I don't really have much to say about Dragon Tears. It was a typical Koontz novel - man and woman against a villain - but what really made it good was Dean's imagination. It was written in 1992, a time where his prose wasn't flowery and his ideas and descriptions were original and captivating. He gets preachy about the evil of the 90's and the badness of drugs, but overall it was a pretty pleasant read. Plus I liked (!) chapters written from the poin of view of the dog - they worked here !

Wow, 4 Koontz on a month! Good to hear your opinions of the books, Maciek.

Finished Intervention, Skeleton Keys Tales from The Edge of the Chair and
My Sweet Audrina. All terrible reads.

Dustin wrote: "I'm currently reading The Book With No Name by Anonymous. Martin recommended this and my local library was nice enough to purchase this title. So far it sounds like my kind of book :-)

[bookcover:..."

I guarantee you`re going to like this one!

Matt R. wrote: "Wow, 4 Koontz on a month! Good to hear your opinions of the books, Maciek."

My pleasure ! :)
Currently I'm reading Mysteries of Udolphoby Ann Radcliffe for my university assignment. It's very long and slow paced, and having skimmed through it I already know what it's about, and it could have been shorter - it's a monster of almost 700 pages in small print !

Maicie wrote: "Finished Intervention, Skeleton Keys Tales from The Edge of the Chair and
My Sweet Audrina. All terrible reads."

Okay :-) Good to know

Martin wrote: "I guarantee you`re going to like this one! "

I hope so. I haven't really gotten into it yet. I started it and then set it aside. I'll be sure to let you know once I'm really reading it :-)

I am reading Ted Dekkar's Green. He writes a lot like Koontz-very fast paced. His characters are similar too in that the bad guys are very evil and the good guys are likable but real. There is always a twist at the end you never see coming!

I'll have to try Dekkar sometime - never even heard of his name. Goodreads is helping me find new authors. Thanks Amy!

Just finished House Infernal by Edward Lee. A very dark horror tale (I think I need to read a funny book after this one..ha, ha). Now I need to finish The Doom Machine by Mark Teague (won a copy in a Goodreads contest). It is a young adult sci fi book. I read the first 50 pages, not that good so far but I will give it a chance. Once my copy of Watchers arrives I'll be reading that as part of the group read this month.

Maciek, I'm a Stephen King fan from way back. And IMO he can never write a bad book. Dustin, you shouldn't be scared of IT. IT is my all time favorite book by King. That said.

What's wrong with you two? I couldn't find that verse that you two seem to think of as "flowery", in Wikipedia and I can't remember who thought it, but maybe, just maybe Amy was thinking that. So from a womans viewpoint it should sound that way. Both of you seem to be under the impression that his newer work lacks "quality writing", that it's "sub-par". Dustin can think of no "excuse" for Breathless, except that he may "wrote them to be movies", while Maciek thinks their "potboilers". The Funhouse 1980, House Of Thunder 82, Phanton 83. Velocity 2005, The Husband 06, The Good Guy 07. There's at least 27 years between Funhouse & Good Guy, don't you two think that maybe Koontz's grew some in all that time? Of course he's not going to write the same as in 1980, he grew, the same as you & I did. I have much respect for both of these writers KING & KOONTZ to ever say the things you two did, about one of them.


Sorry everyone else, I'm off my soapbox now.

I'm currently starting Dracula, by Bram Stoker. I got it from my SS, as I have never read any of the classics i'm looking forward to it. :)

Can't you respect the writers and criticize them ? We are not living in a totalitarian society anymore, so we are able to present and share CONSTRUCTIVE criticism and that's what we do.
It is my opinion that some of his newer work lacks innovation and is simply recycling things that had been done before, bordering on the line of self-plagiarism.
The Husband, Velocity and The Good Guy are prime examples of this thesis. These novels, while enjoyable on their own, are rather similar in concept and execution, don't bring anything new, and are just completely average. And that's the problem - from good writers I expect good books (of course judging by my taste) and if I don't get them I'm going to bitch about it. And since I've been blessed with an internet connection I do it globally. :D

PS. If you don't know where to find cliches and flowery prose, try the Odd Thomas book. It's there from the first page.

Ok I give it up to CONSTRUCTIVE criticism. And I guess I see what you mean, but still they were all carried out differently. As for FLOWERY prose I was trying to find that part from The Darkest Evening Of The Year, but I couldn't find it. Odd Thomas likes poetry. :) See I'm just about too old to learn new tricks, But i'm trying. Because before, I couldn't stand anyone to talk bad about King, or Koontz. Constructive or not.

Well, Odd Thomas sounds exactly like he was not supposed to sound - like a 20 year old written by a 60 year old :)
There's no bashing or flaming here, if we criticize something we usually have a reason. Well, at least I do ;)

I'm finally reading
gotta read the book so I can be disappointed in the upcoming film version (at least that's usually what happens)

Maciek :-) Maybe I should have warned you about Lori :-) She's a very loyal fan of both King and Koontz :-)

Myself, I'm a critic I guess. I'm opinionated, I like to share my opinion and I do appreciate hearing what other people think. I love you Goodreads!

Lori, I'm excited about reading IT - the thing I'm most afraid of is the number of pages in IT! :-)

Lori, honestly I was disappointed with Breathless. The story was interesting but it really needed to be expanded (more pages - more information on the characters, more explanation about how everything connected). And then there's the science end of it and the dismissal of Darwin/evolution - lots of fans are wondering what that was all about. Have you read Breathless yet?

I'm reading Whispers by Dean Koontz right now. It's umm, interesting? I dunno, I guess I like it, but perhaps a little too adult for me. Yes, I'm a 16 year-old.... ;]
The characters are just DUMB in this book. DUMB judgement. Or lack thereof. :/

I haven't read Whispers yet. I heard it has sex scenes in it - Koontz said that was the last time he included scenes like that so graphically described.

Hanzle, have you read Cold Fire yet? That's one of my favorites - you should give it a try if you haven't already.

Yeah... that's exactly what Whispers has in it. As soon as I realized it, I skipped right over it. I mean, who really cares if that's included as part of the plot? Lol. ;]

Nope. I haven't had the pleasure of reading Cold Fire yet. It's on my to-read list. :D As is every Dean Koontz book... haha.

I'm listening to Her Fearful Symmetry on Audio. A story about a ghost, mirror twins, and relationships set mostly in London. As I'm hearing about these twin sisters (age 21) Al and Hanzle keep coming to mind for some reason :-)

Hahaha! That's funny. We're not twins, and we're a little younger than 21... but, oh well. :]