mtjm Posted June 6, 2010 Share Posted June 6, 2010 Who do you guys like more? Dean Koontz or Stephen King, both have been around for a long time, and both are very successful. Just wondering who does everyone like more and Why? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenKingman Posted June 6, 2010 Share Posted June 6, 2010 King, naturally, because his books are more terrifying and raw than those of Koontz, who tends to write his stories in the style of a thriller than an outright scare fest. King has a unique way with words that can raise all the hairs on the back of your head with a single sentence, plus his storytelling abilities are far superior to Koontz in my opinion. I reckon Koontz has always been in the shadow of Stephen King and although i cant imagine it bothers him that much these days, with all his money, he would probably be the number one horror author had King not existed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtjm Posted June 6, 2010 Author Share Posted June 6, 2010 (edited) I reckon Koontz has always been in the shadow of Stephen King and although i cant imagine it bothers him that much these days, with all his money, he would probably be the number one horror author had King not existed. You see its funny, I am a Koontz man, I would like to point out however that Dean Koontz prefers to be catagorized (sp?) as a thriller/suspense writer and really dislikes being called a horror writer. Also Koontz and King are friends, and they have both done introductions in one another books. I prefer koontz personally because his stories are a little more realistic. While i will agree with you on one aspect King is a master storyteller, i believe Koontz is better at making sure you dont put the book done. I like a lot of the work King has done (my favorite being Desperation) but i have spent many a nights saying "well just one more chapter before i put it down" and end up reading 10. I just wanted to clarify i meant Koontz at the end about reading many chapters without the intention of doing so. Edited June 6, 2010 by BookJumper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mac Posted June 6, 2010 Share Posted June 6, 2010 I enjoy them both, but wouldn't put Koontz in the same field as King. I'd stick the likes of Herbert and...erm...some others in with Stephen King. I find old Dean to be less macabre, maybe more optimistic about humanity than Stevie. To be sure, some of his books honk like a good'un, but then, so do some of Kingy Baby's. It is funny, though. I really don't shelve Koontz in the horror genre and actually do read them as thrillers - paranormal or no. Anyway. Happy days, eh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruth Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 Stephen King, I think. I find Dean Koontz very hit-and-miss. I thought The Face, by DK was a terrific read, but some of his other stuff has been a bit 'meh'. SK generally cranks up the tension and I find myself not wanting to put his books down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BookJumper Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 I find that King, even with what I consider to be his recent decline, is quite simply the better writer. Koontz is good at page-turningness, but that's got more to do with his plotlines than with his style. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mac Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 Now, you see, I've read them both for many years and have really enjoyed watching Koontz' style develop and become more poetic. Saying that, I love a lot of King's books as well. So I'll just sit right here, comfortable on my little fence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexiepiper Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 I'm quite a big fan of DK, despite him being a bit hit and miss like others have mentioned, I have loads of his books, and have enjoyed the majority. When it comes to SK, I've only read one or two of his books, which I really have been meaning to change. So DK is my fave at this point in time purely because I've read more of his work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 I've read very little by either author. Neither has ever hugely appealed to me. I've finished one King novel, and nearly finished another, I've never finished a Koontz, though I've attempted about three (and enjoyed one quite a lot). I know a lot of King's stories without having read them, and have seen a lot of movie adaptions - I actually hate most of the well known classics, the stories just bore me. I saw an adaption of one of Koontz's short stories and thought it was excellent. I find them both to be pretty hit and miss to be honest, and that's a point I hear about both of them. They're both authors I'll have to give more of a chance though, before I can really make a fair choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookie Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 Up until recently I hadn't read any SK but my OH nagged at me to try The Shining so eventually I gave in and since then I've really enjoyed the ones I have read. I've also read a few DK (although right here and now I can't remember which ones!) but from what I remember they were page turners. So I think I shall make like Mac and sit upon the fence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 I find them both hit and miss - when they hit they both really, really hit the mark, but when they miss, they miss it by miles for me. Two of my favourite books are The Stand by Stephen King and Lightning by Dean Koontz. Of the two, I'd probably say THe Stand pips Lightning, but mostly because it's so long it's able to go into depth getting into the characters. THe story of Lightning is fantastic and Koontz even managed to get past paradox, which is a major bugbear of mine in that kind of novel, but he did it extremely well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 I love both, and I think their writing styles are different enough for me to be unable to choose one over the other. DK does write better though when he slows the pace of his story more, which is why I enjoyed "The Face" and "Life expectancy" more than some of his other. Odd Thomas is still one of my favourites though! I've been reading SK a lot longer than DK, and some of his earlier stuff is fantastic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rawr Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 King is a phenomenal writer, one of those who stands head and shoulders above the crowd because he just has something, some special spark that makes him write the way he does you can't teach that, it's innate. Koontz is a fairly good writer from the couple i've read now, I don't think it's healthy or necessary to compare authors competitively that much, writing is a very different breed of art, but King by a fair mile if we are talking about impact, innovation and inspirational depth for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BookJumper Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 ... there you go, Rawr's said what I meant to better than I did ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenKingman Posted June 11, 2010 Share Posted June 11, 2010 King is a phenomenal writer, one of those who stands head and shoulders above the crowd because he just has something, some special spark that makes him write the way he does you can't teach that, it's innate. Koontz is a fairly good writer from the couple i've read now, I don't think it's healthy or necessary to compare authors competitively that much, writing is a very different breed of art, but King by a fair mile if we are talking about impact, innovation and inspirational depth for me. Kings books are genuinely frightening whereas Koonts' books are merely thrilling but dont linger long in the mind. Also, King can build suspense very slowly so that you dont even realise you are tense whilst reading his books and then he will strike when you least expect it. Nit to say Koontz is a bad writer but he is certainly nowhere near the standard of King. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtjm Posted June 11, 2010 Author Share Posted June 11, 2010 Kings books are genuinely frightening whereas Koonts' books are merely thrilling but dont linger long in the mind. Also, King can build suspense very slowly so that you dont even realise you are tense whilst reading his books and then he will strike when you least expect it. Nit to say Koontz is a bad writer but he is certainly nowhere near the standard of King. In your opinion. i feel otherwise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted June 11, 2010 Share Posted June 11, 2010 I'm a fan of both but haven't really read enough of either to make a proper call on this. I would say that from what I've read so far, King is an absolute master of his craft, and while Koontz perhaps lacks that edge, his books have a certain warmth and humanity I haven't found in King's work. So it's a case of swings and roundabouts for me - but as I say I've only read a handful of either (more King than Koontz though) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mcflash271 Posted June 18, 2010 Share Posted June 18, 2010 (edited) I've read more King and like him a lot more. I mean, he's a genius. No other word for it. To be able to create something like The Stand or It automatically sets him apart from 95% of all other authors. Edited June 18, 2010 by BookJumper Added capitals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixie Posted June 25, 2010 Share Posted June 25, 2010 Personally, I think when it comes to building suspense, King is the better writer. When it comes to likable characters, Koontz wins for me, but I don't think either are particularly adept at character development. Both of them leave me disappointed when it comes to plot. King's endings almost always disappoint me, where I am saying to myself "That was it?! I read all that for...nothing!" I did like some of his earlier works, though. With Koontz, I feel like almost every book is the same plot, recycled over and over. I still have a few more of his I will try, but most I gave away. I couldn't decipher one from the other. I don't find either author to be particularly scary, at least in the spine-tingling way. But for me, horror really has to delve deep on a psychological level, and not just be a monster hiding in the closet. *shrugs* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rawr Posted June 25, 2010 Share Posted June 25, 2010 The Shining and Misery are very probing and well thought out with regards to character aspects, each have particularly interesting and provocative effects upon re-reading if you can get into the story, if you have not checked them out I would highly suggest them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koontzfanx Posted September 26, 2012 Share Posted September 26, 2012 Are there any fellow Dean Koontz fans out there? What is your favorite novel of his and why? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted September 26, 2012 Share Posted September 26, 2012 Lightning is my favourite. I must have read it the best part of 25 years ago. It was my first Koontz and it's the one that still sticks in my memory as being exciting and full of surprises. I bought it on a whim, thinking it would be a horror story, and it turned out to be anything but what I expected. I read a few more of his books after that one but none of them came close to beating it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted September 26, 2012 Share Posted September 26, 2012 (edited) Read a couple, they were both OK, I would read more. Prefer Koontz over Stephen King. Edited September 26, 2012 by vodkafan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 I've read loads of his books over the last few years - and a lot of them have merged into one for me, so it's difficult to pick out a favourite. It would have to be between, Lightning, Fear Nothing, or Odd Thomas - all excellent books Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 I've read a few of his: Fear Nothing, The Taking and The Face, all of which I enjoyed immensely. I maybe enjoyed The Taking the most, simply because of its spooky and mesmerising atmosphere. I would like to read more and would probably go for Odd Thomas next. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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