Dean Koontz

[Triple J]

I've been getting into Dean Koontz for the last 6 months and I have started to take a liking to him. The books I've read include Lightning, Life Expectancy, The Bad Place, and the Odd Thomas series. I am currently reading The Taking.

What I like about Dean Koontz is how much emotion he puts into the character and usually he has at least one chapter from the villains angle and it really confuses the reader as to who is the bad guy. If anyone has read the Odd Thomas(the first book) ending, then you know how much he can play with your mind.

I have recently found out his writing strategy. He writes out one entire page and spends like an hour editing it and rewriting it out and making it exactly perfect. He seems to me like a guy who is incredibly dedicated to his work.

So discuss him and don't post unless you've read one of his books. And calling him too popular or something is not criticizing.

[green rubber bands]

Life Expectancy is one of my favorite books, and the Odd series is fantastic as well, but Velocity left a bad taste in my mouth, and I couldn't get through The Taking.

[John Travolta]

Read Intensity. Best Koontz book ever. A lot of his books are just meh but Intensity is completely amazing and it's much better than the books you've mentioned.

[anthropophagite]

The Odd Thomas series is the epitome of "supernatural" books. It has a nice take on it, and it's not over played, and it's got an actual plot outside of his spiffy little power. Definitely awesome.
Some other goods ones by him are the Frankenstien series, and The Face. Another one is Twilight Eyes. Mm, and-- oh crap, I can't remember what it's called. Someone help me out? The one with the crazy monkeys and intelligent dogs. Yeahhh, that one's rad. Some of his stuff I just can't seem to get through, and the others I burn through like a twinkie melts on a summer day.

....
Okay, bad similie, but you get it.
You can picture that twinkie melting like there's no fucking tomorrow...

[GrapefruitMovin]

I have only read one book by him the Insider and it was a decent read. I never really considered reading much by him but it looks like it might be worth looking into reading some more books by Koontz.

[Ambutt]

jared, i promise, i promise you one day that i will start to read those books that you force on me.

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[Prankenberry]

I just wish he would finish the Frankenstein trilogy of books he started. Dam Hurricane Katrina.

[Triple J]

Is there a fourth Odd Thomas book called Odd Hours? Because I saw it on wikipedia and yeah I can't find it anywhere.

And yeah I'll definitely check those out.

[Couch]

The book with the crazy monkeys and the intelligent dog is called Fear Nothing and is a fantastic read. One I just finished by him was Hideaway which, as you mentioned before, provides a viewpoint from the protagonist's view as well as the villain's view. That one's probably my favorite book by him. The Husband was decent, but far from his greatest work. Overall, he's a great author and I always start one of his books with high expectations.

[INTUNEevolution]

Most of Koontz is just meh. He's just one of those Kingish, Crichtonish story tellers. I don't have a high opinion of him, but he's above average as a story-teller.

[AmareEstMors]

Odd Hours hasn't come out yet. Fear Nothing is about a guy with light sensitivity. Watchers is about "crazy monkeys" and the golden retriver. I've probably read 40 Dean Koontz books, and nothing has really disappointed me yet. Actually I didn't finish The Face. The Husband was a great book, I'd say far better then decent. I would say though that his best works are his earlier ones. The Door to December, By the Light of the Moon, Phantoms, False Memory, and From the Corner of His Eye are some examples of lesser known novels that are amazing.

[thisiswhoiam]

Jared do you think i should read these books

[John Travolta]

Goddamn it, stop that.

[GSOM]

Who is Jared?

[Triple J]

Me.

Back on topic, like who is your favorite character Dean Koontz has ever created? (describe your character without giving away anything about the book that is crucial) I'd say mine was Little Ozzie from Odd Thomas. He is a really lovable fat guy who knows exactly what he wants in life and from the page you like just love his personality and attitude at things.

[kellykawaii]

I adore Dean Koontz! He's probably my favorite authour at the moment. I think my favorite book that I've read is probably The Face, The Taking or Velocity. Life Expectancy was brilliant though.

My favorite character is probably Bill from Velocity. I don't know why though, something about him just appeals to me, if not Bill then then "Fric" from The Face. I just love his cute childish innocence mixed with his huge understanding of the wide world around him.

[AmareEstMors]

Leilani Klonk from One Door Away from Heaven, I think you have no choice but immediately become attached to a girl who's name means heavenly flower but was born with physical deformities. Plus at nine years old she shows wisdom, but her age makes it seem like she wouldn't be able to see the truth.

[abbey]

I picked up Intensity at the library today. I've never read any Dean Koontz, but it's not bad so far. I'm only part way through chapter 1.

The beginning was terribly boring, but it picked up when she started talking about sex dreams.

[INTUNEevolution]

Abbey: horniest mod ever?

Not if I am ever a moderator.

I'm looking over the list of books he's written, and I can't find one I've read.

I know I have read at least one.

Give me a bit, I'm going to go check my shelves :p

[abbey]

I returned Intensity without finishing it. The entire book is the main character being chased around a house by some killer. That's not entertaining to me.

[tatasmagik]

My favorite is From the Corner of His Eye. Most excellent book. Even my MySpace profile starts with "This Momentous Day!" which is the best line from that book. It's so inspiring and beautifully intricate. I entertained the thought of naming my son Bartholomew because of this book.

I also really wish he'd get back on the Frankenstein series. I'm itching to see how that turns out.

I can't pick a favorite character, I just can't. There are too many great choices.

And Watchers was made into a movie starring Marc Singer. It's not bad, but it doesn't hold a candle to the book. He actually has a few books that were made into movies.

[Triple J]

I heard they were making Odd Thomas into a graphic novel. I really hope not. That book is timeless and can not be shown visually because of how amazing it is.

[docmartens]

I recently finished Servants of the Twilight, and to be honest, it lacked. It was a good book, an OK story, but it was missing something. Koontz tends not to have a very distinct style and it detracts from his novels.

[Triple J]

Yeah sometimes I think he uses the exact same character personalities for almost every book. Not that it's a bad thing or good thing but mostly they have the same way to approach the situation, same way to fall in love, same way to think about things. I know sometimes he's throws this off kilter (Odd Thomas is one of the only main characters to have a distinct fear of guns). But it does make it easier to like start a new book already knowing the characters.

[TheCuriousGalaxy]

I read a bunch of Koontz last summer, but I have to say that False Memory probably tops the charts, for me. I've read some mediocre books by him and some true masterpieces. For a while after reading False Memory, everything else I read just seemed bland and terrible in comparison. I suggest you check it out.

[Triple J]

Actually I find that most of his lesser known work tend to be better. So yes if I see it i'll check it out. If you check out Lightning. It's such an awesome story like the plot is so ridiculously original that you can't help but go 'didn't see that coming'.

That is if you talk to yourself while reading...

[Lush]

I've got a 3-story compilation of Dean Koontz books. It's got Shattered, Whispers, and Watchers in it.
While I liked the stories, I can't say he's one of my favourites, because after reading that book, I haven't bothered to pick up anything else of his.
I have to agree with Triple J when he said that his characters all seem fairly similar. It kind of makes his stories all seem the same in a way, especially when you read three of them in a row.