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Dean Koontz - Good and Bad?


Michelle

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  • 2 months later...

First Koontz book i read was life expectancy it, particularly the plot even if a it was a bit surreal with the use of clowns - couldnt stand the continual references to baked cakes etc but really enjoyed its pacing

 

Just finished the watchers being touted as his best book by many on amazon. Was good, however the slow drawn out desciptions of the outsider really didnt scare me one bit and i just couldnt imagine it at all. Was this book written when lassie was popular ?

 

Moving on to lightning heard it is more sci fi than horror which is more my genre

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Moving on to lightning heard it is more sci fi than horror which is more my genre

It's one of my all-time favourite books, not just by Koontz! Lightning is, in my opinion, incredibly well-written and very cleverly plotted. Well worth reading. :lol:

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Well Koontz was the first author i ever read from and i can say ive pretty much liked every book of his, bar a few.

 

I'll give a list and a breif descripion of my top 5

 

1) From the Corner of His Eye - Very big, in depth book with very likable characters. The plot twists and turns and entertained me from start to finish. Alot of characters and entwining stories.

2)Mr Murder - Very well written. The book has got every element - i feel - needed in a book, great characters; great plot; great chase and (hard to describe the next piont) has a human feel to it. Ending lets it downa tad but still a great read.

3)Odd Thomas - 1st person ( I like this because it makes the book more personal and the character(s) easier to relate with), Brilliant mix of thriller and slight humour, easy to follow, brilliantly written FANTASTIC ENDING

4)Dragon Tears - This one is more of a supernatural book which has worked well, again a great sense of relationship between reader and character, Solid story, this book is hard to flaw.

5)The face - Brilliant book. Cleverly written with two entwining stories. It turns slightly toward the supernatural side of things but again works very well. Great relationships between characters (and reader). Has fantastic twists and a great ending.

 

Happy reading :D

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3)Odd Thomas - 1st person ( I like this because it makes the book more personal and the character(s) easier to relate with), Brilliant mix of thriller and slight humour, easy to follow, brilliantly written FANTASTIC ENDING

 

Yes, that was one that I liked.. and the ending was great. :D

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  • 2 weeks later...

I like Dean Koontz overall. But I have two problems with him, and this may be because I've only read about 3 books by him:

 

1. I felt like when I'd read one book by him, I'd read them all.

2. I always felt his characters were very black and white.

 

I read his earliest books first... so maybe they get better.

 

I saw the movie version of.... of... Black...water?? Dark Water? Something Water Where The Main Character Can't Escape From a Town?

I want to read the book version of that.

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I saw the movie version of.... of... Black...water?? Dark Water? Something Water Where The Main Character Can't Escape From a Town?

I want to read the book version of that.

Black River? Aparently it's a short story that was included in an anthology called Legacies: edited by Richard Chizmar and was originally published in Mystery Scene magazine #63. It is also now available as an audibook at Audible.com (info from the good folks at IMdB.)

Edited by Kell
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I like Dean Koontz overall. But... 2. I always felt his characters were very black and white.

 

Now you come to mention it, that's very true! They're either good or evil, never a mixture. Still, at least you know where you stand and it makes for easy reading!

 

Interesting that a short story got made into a movie when none of his books have.

 

I think some of his books have been made into movies... Watchers, Phantoms and Sole Survivor are some names that come to mind (and there are probably more). Of course, they are never as good as the books! :)

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Interesting that a short story got made into a movie when none of his books have.
I think some of his books have been made into movies... Watchers, Phantoms and Sole Survivor are some names that come to mind (and there are probably more).
There are indeed more - you can see the list HERE. Ans aparently a version of Odd Thomas is also in the works... Edited by Kell
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LOL - not at all - it's something of a habit of mine to go searching when I don't know about something and it's piqued my interest. I had no idea so many of his books had been made into films and I've never read any of his short stories. :)

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I love Dean Koontz, especially as the very first books I read of his (unfortunately long ago so I don't remember the names) kept me on the edge of my chair. Lately I don't seem to find any book of his that interesting as those very first ones (don't get me wrong, I still love his books, but they don't seem that intense anymore -- perhaps I just grew up?).

 

This last year I have read and liked The Husband, Life Expectancy, Thomas Odd and Lightning. I have also read The Taking and found it utterly below expectations (although to my surprise I see in this thread that people have usually liked it, so it's probably my fault not the book's.)

 

This being said I'm very looking forward to discovering more good books to add to my to-be-read pile, so I'll go back to browsing this thread :)

 

PS About The Taking, for example, has anyone managed to discover the connection between

people quoting Elliott

and the Apocalypse

?? It's like some idea has crossed the author's head and he has given it up half way. Was there some connection and have I totally missed it?

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Lately I don't seem to find any book of his that interesting as those very first ones (don't get me wrong, I still love his books, but they don't seem that intense anymore -- perhaps I just grew up?).

 

I agree, Kay. I prefer his earlier books. The most intense one for me was Intensity (funnily enough!) :D.

 

I have also read The Taking and found it utterly below expectations (although to my surprise I see in this thread that people have usually liked it, so it's probably my fault not the book's.)

 

No, it's not your fault! The Taking was one of the worst, most pointless books I ever read. And I do consider myself a Koontz fan! But that one truly was awful...

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So far I've read Velocity, The Good Guy, The Husband and Life Expectancy and enjoyed them all, Life Expectancy felt a little slow going to me in the beginning, but once it got going I enjoyed it. I have The Taking and The Darkest Evening Of The Night out from the library to read at the moment, so I'll enjoy them I'm sure :D

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  • 4 weeks later...

I've read quite a few of his books too, a few years ago now. I used to love to get to the library and see what Dean Koontz book they had in but he started to go a bit stale for me, but maybe it wasn't him at all but my taste changing :D who knows ..... I havn't read anything of his in years. :lol:

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