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7th out of 63 books
—
513 voters
Strangers
by
Dean Koontz
Six strangers are unaccountably seized by nightmares, attacks of fear, and bouts of uncharacteristic behavior. The six begin to seek each other out as puzzling photographs and messages arrive, indicating that the cause may lie in a forgotten weekend stay at an isolated Nevada motel. Koontz has topped a fine roster of horror and suspense novels with an almost unbearably sus...more
Paperback, 704 pages
Published
October 1st 2002
by Berkley
(first published 1986)
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"We may be teetering on the brink of a whole new world. Are you ready for it?"
This review is complicated for me. Dean Koontz’s Strangers is an amalgamation of many things: techno-thriller; psychological horror; science fiction. It’s quite unlike DK’s other 1980s novels. The book does contain some pretty creepy scenes, but the terror generated here is vested in the not knowing; the “something terrible happened to me but I don’t know what” scenario. Strangers is a longish book, at 700-or-so pages,...more
This review is complicated for me. Dean Koontz’s Strangers is an amalgamation of many things: techno-thriller; psychological horror; science fiction. It’s quite unlike DK’s other 1980s novels. The book does contain some pretty creepy scenes, but the terror generated here is vested in the not knowing; the “something terrible happened to me but I don’t know what” scenario. Strangers is a longish book, at 700-or-so pages,...more
Picture me beating my head against a wall...or a table....or a desk, or something. Dean Koontz can write a good book, he's written several that rate in my favorites. This isn't one.
To be fair different books by DK rate high and low with different people. I've read that this was his first best seller. Cool. I see that there are a lot of people who love it and for them I'm happy. Really.
For me this book was too long for the story it told. The disparate characters of the story each struggling with...more
To be fair different books by DK rate high and low with different people. I've read that this was his first best seller. Cool. I see that there are a lot of people who love it and for them I'm happy. Really.
For me this book was too long for the story it told. The disparate characters of the story each struggling with...more
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I picked up a bag full of old Koontz books, and this is the one I chose to read first. I'm glad I did. Although it's a dense book, it was worth the wait slowly getting to know the characters and having their fears revealed little by little, one by one. When the strangers convene once again at the Tranquility Inn to get to the bottom of what happened one July night a year before and end their nightmares, the tension and fear of what they saw and heard from the skies is palpable. The ending is jus...more
Strangers (1986)
"Strangers" is not your typical Koontz book. It was his first hardcover bestseller and the first book he wrote without resorting to outlines.
Plus it bears a glowing endorsment from Stephen King, who states that it's "The best novel he has written!".
The novel is concerned with a group of strangers from all over the USA - a surgeon, a writer, a motel-keeper, a priest and a thief - who are troubled by different phobias - nyctophobia, somnambulism, anxiety. They have nothing in commo...more
"Strangers" is not your typical Koontz book. It was his first hardcover bestseller and the first book he wrote without resorting to outlines.
Plus it bears a glowing endorsment from Stephen King, who states that it's "The best novel he has written!".
The novel is concerned with a group of strangers from all over the USA - a surgeon, a writer, a motel-keeper, a priest and a thief - who are troubled by different phobias - nyctophobia, somnambulism, anxiety. They have nothing in commo...more
Strangers
Strangers is a story about friendship, inner strength and survival. Dean Koontz manages to weave a complex tale filled with many colorful characters.
(There are nine main characters and two sub-characters to keep track of in this lengthy novel).
A roadside motel and its neighboring diner are the main backdrop for the story, but Mr. Koontz manages to take us coast to coast as the plot unfolds. Somehow, a group of complete strangers seems connected though none can remember ever having me...more
Strangers is a story about friendship, inner strength and survival. Dean Koontz manages to weave a complex tale filled with many colorful characters.
(There are nine main characters and two sub-characters to keep track of in this lengthy novel).
A roadside motel and its neighboring diner are the main backdrop for the story, but Mr. Koontz manages to take us coast to coast as the plot unfolds. Somehow, a group of complete strangers seems connected though none can remember ever having me...more
I have been listening to this book over the past couple of weeks. I enjoyed the story and the characters, but I felt that the descriptions of the characters were repeated too often. After the third time of hearing that the general is a hard-a55, I felt like shaking my I-Pod and screaming at the inanimate object, "I GET IT ALREADY! GET ON WITH THE STORY!"
However, I think my annoyance had a lot to do with the fact that I always wanted to know what was going to happen next. Even with the repetition...more
However, I think my annoyance had a lot to do with the fact that I always wanted to know what was going to happen next. Even with the repetition...more
Maybe I'm getting soft in my old age, but I seem to be having a hard time summoning the energy to really hate Dean Koontz novels the way I used to. This one has the same mechanics as most of his others, except that it is a couple of hundred pages longer than your typical Koontz story. There are some pretty cliche charcters, a government conspiracy, brainwashing, etc. Also, if you think about the title of the book--Strangers--it's not hard to figure out what the answer to the big mystery at the e...more
That was my first and probably, but not necessarily, last encounter with Dean Koontz. In the very beginning I need to stress that I'm much of a King girl - that's why comparing Koontz to King on the back of the book tempted me to read. And that's why I must disagree with this comparison, but just to remind you - a King girl here. Koontz had a nice idea, although I solved the mystery after 1/3 of the book. Not bad, but it lost much of the suspense then. The thing that I disliked the most were the...more
A handful of people from different backgrounds, living in different towns and cities across America, they had nothing in common--except fear.
What dark secret bound them together?
Deep in the heart of a sprawling desert, a dark memory called out to them, drawing them to the Tranquility Motel--where the terrifying truth was waiting...
"This is a book with a capital B."--John D. MacDonald
From Publishers Weekly
The author of Phantoms, Whispers and other thrillers takes an
...more
Jul 23, 2012
Jane Stewart
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
sci-fi-mystery-suspense
Weak 3 stars. Neat characters and ideas, but I grew tired of too much “I can’t remember.”
The first 80% or more is stories about a handful of unrelated people living in different parts of the U.S. Ginger is a Boston surgeon. Jack is a New York thief. Dom is a Los Angeles writer. Brendan is a Chicago priest. Ernie owns the Tranquility Motel in Nevada. Each story is broken into maybe eight pieces, and the reader is jumping around among the various stories. I am not a fan of jumping around, but I ca...more
The first 80% or more is stories about a handful of unrelated people living in different parts of the U.S. Ginger is a Boston surgeon. Jack is a New York thief. Dom is a Los Angeles writer. Brendan is a Chicago priest. Ernie owns the Tranquility Motel in Nevada. Each story is broken into maybe eight pieces, and the reader is jumping around among the various stories. I am not a fan of jumping around, but I ca...more
I would give it 4.5 even 4.8 stars, but the rating system won't let me. 5 strangers run into problems, some quite awful. Ginger, both parents gone, and her stellar rise into nearly being done with her med school residency is shattered by fugues-irrational fears that come on out of nowhere for no reason, and she runs in blind, mindless, terror, unable to control herself. NOT so good if you're operating on people.
Dom, sleepwalking and trying to nail his windows shut, typing on his computer (in hi...more
Dom, sleepwalking and trying to nail his windows shut, typing on his computer (in hi...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Jan 15, 2010
Cindy P
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
any adult
Recommended to Cindy by:
found it in a library search by author
I downloaded this book from "your answer place" which is a St. Charles Library emedia free library download (for both audio and pdf formatted books). I downloaded the audio portion for use while on the treadmill. I can tell you that this audio has kept me treading probably twice as long as I would have if I was not so enthralled by the story line of this book. And the story had to overcome what I consider to be a bad narration. So that I could underline and perhaps compare the audio to the writt...more
I used to love Koontz, when I was in junior high. What happened? Oh, I know, I grew up and realized that his characters are absolutely ridiculous.
Dean Koontz, much like his mid-life crisis make over from bald mustached guy to full of head of hair and clean shaven face, is just one big old cliche. There, I said it.
This book had promise. Again, I had read it years ago, but it didn't stick with me, so when I saw it at the used book store I had to pick it up again. I should have kept the three dol...more
Dean Koontz, much like his mid-life crisis make over from bald mustached guy to full of head of hair and clean shaven face, is just one big old cliche. There, I said it.
This book had promise. Again, I had read it years ago, but it didn't stick with me, so when I saw it at the used book store I had to pick it up again. I should have kept the three dol...more
I enjoyed reading this basically, would agree with others that the end wasn't that great. I really like the detail-level he uses, and the scariness. But between this and the 2-3 others I read around the same time, there was too much similarity.
They were all a bit too fantastic, and bit too over-blown, and then it seemed they had some of the same characters over and over. Also, what he explores isn't quite what interests me - possibly real aspects of life, including possibly 'ghosts', parallel li...more
They were all a bit too fantastic, and bit too over-blown, and then it seemed they had some of the same characters over and over. Also, what he explores isn't quite what interests me - possibly real aspects of life, including possibly 'ghosts', parallel li...more
Ok. Strangers is definitely tied with Watchers for My Favorite Koontz Book. Let me break it down for you. Sleepwalking. Telepathic signals. Multiple plotlines all being dragged inexorably towards a creepy hotel in Nevada. Healing powers. A government conspiracy. Nail-biting suspense. And then...AND THEN...EXTRATERRESTRIALS!
What?
YEAH, ALIENS!
Are you sure you've got the right author?
YEAH, MAN! KOONTZ THREW SOME SCI-FI SPICE ALL UP IN THAT CASSEROLE!
So there's no vicious monster?
Nope.
There's not a...more
What?
YEAH, ALIENS!
Are you sure you've got the right author?
YEAH, MAN! KOONTZ THREW SOME SCI-FI SPICE ALL UP IN THAT CASSEROLE!
So there's no vicious monster?
Nope.
There's not a...more
This is not one of his best books. It drew you in because you wanted to know what happened to the characters to connect them, but I thought the end was anti-climatic. The actual story of the event that occurred to the characters was sort of boring; an interesting concept, but not told in an interesting way. Even the characters, who were interesting throughout most of the story, seemed to become less so during the main "action" part. He's had better.
Feb 19, 2009
Nola
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Koontz fans
Recommended to Nola by:
Koontz
One of my mid-level Koontz favorites, 'Strangers' is the story of several men and women with an inexplicable connection and the bond they all share without remembering. As I was reading this time, I puzzled over the fact that my favorite character, out of the many admirable folks listed, is Jack. Is it just your classic love for the bad guy that makes me admire him so? What I ultimately determined is that Jack is really the only character who changed over the course of the book. Most of the 'str...more
I just finished Dean Koontz's "Strangers" for the second time! I first read it in 1986 shortly after it came out and loved it! Helped me until understand how I could get from one place to another with no memory in between (fugue). Thankfully without the full scale panic as here! At that time I was working at EEOC and left it on my desk after finishing, of course it disappeared, periodically it would come back with a note written inside the cover, eventually I went to work somewhere else, my book...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This book has been staring at me from my bookshelf for a long time. I am a big fan of Koontz's writing, but sometimes I can be disappointed. However, this was one of his older books, so I figured I'd give it a try, all 600+ pages. This book takes on the story of a handful of characters who are having similar dreams and visions about something they can not remember that has happened to them. Each chapter/part in the book is told by each character, which makes it easy to follow, as there are so ma...more
this was a greeat book and have read a couple of times
Definatly one that should be read and enjoyed
What is it thess strangers have in common-why has things changed and why do they think there is something that happened that they can not remember
Will be rereading this again in a couple of months and do a uller review
Definatly one that should be read and enjoyed
What is it thess strangers have in common-why has things changed and why do they think there is something that happened that they can not remember
Will be rereading this again in a couple of months and do a uller review
When I first started this book, I was blown away by Koontz's ability to make me fall in love with his characters. One of Koontz's greatest tools in this story was creating gaps in time. The reader would see one character and their struggles for a few pages, then another, and another, and sometimes another, before going back to the first character. This use of disjointed stories made me crave to know what was happening to my favorite characters and kept me reading. I also really liked how he slow...more
This was a good book, but I really think that it could have been half as long. While the plot was good and I really enjoyed the characters, there were times that I wished the book was over already. When it was finished, I was glad!
Publisher's Summary
They were strangers.....
A handful of people, from different backgrounds, living in different towns and cities across America, they had nothing in common - except fear.
They were victims....
Cold and stark, an unknown terror gripped their dreams and tur...more
Publisher's Summary
They were strangers.....
A handful of people, from different backgrounds, living in different towns and cities across America, they had nothing in common - except fear.
They were victims....
Cold and stark, an unknown terror gripped their dreams and tur...more
I like Koontz. I don't think he will ever quite match the King in my opinion. However, my most recent judge of how good a book is, is if I can remember the names of the main characters after I've finished reading it. I don't know if that has to do with getting older or that some characters in some books are just less developed and more one-dimensional but sometimes I don't even remember the main character's name after I've read a book. Maybe I read too many books. But I think the main characters...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
I have read so many of his books that I can't say if this was the first or not but I can tell you that I could not put this book down. I remember like it was yesterday. Reading voraciously and looking at the clock thinking I have to go to sleep, I have work in the morning. I turn off the lights, put the book down and close my eyes, only to have the book rolling around in my head.
5 minutes later I'm turning back on the light and picking up the book again. I took it to work with me and read it on...more
5 minutes later I'm turning back on the light and picking up the book again. I took it to work with me and read it on...more
It was an interesting story about a group of strangers having strange things happen to them and they're all drawn to a hotel they stayed at two summers previous. The reason behind the "weirdness" is another group of strangers.
I had read it years ago, but enjoyed rereading it.
Especially enlightening was the author's new afterward. He explained how even though he had published a number of books before this one he decided to do this one on spec and write the book he wanted to write. He didn't plot...more
I had read it years ago, but enjoyed rereading it.
Especially enlightening was the author's new afterward. He explained how even though he had published a number of books before this one he decided to do this one on spec and write the book he wanted to write. He didn't plot...more
I LOVED this book. It starts off very all over the map, with some character stories here, others there, and at first it was difficult to keep track. By the middle of the book, I couldn't put it down. I was so entrenched in the story that I just had to figure out what was going on (which was saved for the deliciously savory last part of the book).
It was my second Dean Koontz book I read and I was warned that he was a little odd, but this book had me wrapped around its finger and I was swimming i...more
It was my second Dean Koontz book I read and I was warned that he was a little odd, but this book had me wrapped around its finger and I was swimming i...more
There was a time when I thought Dean Koontz wrote circles around Stephen King. He wasn’t famous. He had a cult following and he made you feel like you just discovered someone cool. He was the anti-King you could keep to yourself or share with a selected few. Koontz, of course, went the way of all flesh and began cranking them out and repeating himself. Fame? Well, if ‘Family Guy’ rips on you, fame has become your enemy. I haven’t read a Koontz novel since Odd Thomas became a regular character. T...more
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| Koontzland - Dean...: Strangers (Mini-Group Read) | 26 | 63 | May 13, 2013 09:01pm |
Acknowledged as "America's most popular suspense novelist" (Rolling Stone) and as one of today's most celebrated and successful writers, Dean Ray Koontz has earned the devotion of millions of readers around the world and the praise of critics everywhere for tales of character, mystery, and adventure that strike to the core of what it means to be human.
Dean R. Koontz has also published under the na...more
More about Dean Koontz...
Dean R. Koontz has also published under the na...more
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