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Phantoms

3.85 of 5 stars 3.85 · rating details · 31,533 ratings · 567 reviews

"They found the town silent, apparently abandoned. Then they found the first body strangely swollen and still warm. One hundred and fifty were dead, 350 missing. But the terror had only begun in the tiny mountain town of Snowfield, California. At first they thought it was the work of a maniac. Or terrorists. Or toxic contamination. Or a bizarre new disease. But then they f...more

Paperback, 446 pages

Published April 19th 1984 by Paperback Division of W. H. Allen & Co. Ltd. (first published 1983)

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Aug 26, 2012 Mike (the Paladin) rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Currently rereading for the Dean Koontz group... wonder if I'll change the review? :)

*Didn't care for it much...and the movie didn't help much (though Peter O'Toole had some good lines). This is a straight scare fest a horror story with a good dose of splatter factor. Not my favorite of his books.*

Above is my first review and my 2 star rating...will I change it? No.

Let me say I like Koontz, he has written some books that would rate among my favorites....this isn't one. For me this is one of thos...more

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Dec 16, 2010 Maciek rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: owned-books, horror, disappointments, own-in-paperback, read-in-2010, reviewed, classic-horror

In 1979, Dean Koontz wrote a novel called Whispers which catapulted him to the bestseller list. Koontz's status in the publishing world shifted drastically; from a rather unknown suspense producer he became the hot stuff, and in 1981 Whispers rose to the top five of the New York Times paperback bestseller list.

But this article is not about Whispers. While I'm not a fan of the mentioned novel, and consider it to be largely tedious and overwrought with banal drama and sentimentality, it shows pot...more

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Feb 26, 2011 Rick rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm only four chapters in, but I'm already hooked. I have had mixed experiences with this author, so I was wary, but if he can keep up the breathless mystery and suspense, this looks like it will come down on the side of one of Koontz's good books. We shall see...

And done...a solid effort from Koontz and I will add it to the books that I like from him: The Odd Thomas series and the book about the mutant dog.

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Mar 22, 2008 William rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: horror fans

Shelves: horror-fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Mar 02, 2009 Wendi rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is one of my favorite books that I read years and years ago. Every summer in junior high and high school I would hit the yard sales and the one used book store we had in town to buy horror novels. I'd spend the entire summer reading Koontz and King and any other ghost, goul, vampire book I could find.

Phantoms, the first time I read it, scared me so badly I couldn't sleep! I would start reading around midnight and not be able to fall asleep until 3 a.m! I passed the book around to a few frie...more

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Feb 22, 2013 Max Ostrovsky rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, fiction, horror, mythology, pop

So this is the first Koontz book in a VERY long time that I've enjoyed. It reminded me of why I began reading Koontz in the first place...oh, decades ago. I first read The Bad Place. I must have been a freshman in high school. I loved the book. Then I started reading a bunch of Koontz, but nothing measured up.
Then, almost twenty years ago, I gave up on him. He wasn't showing me anything new or interesting. Everything became derivative. And it wasn't so much rehashing other people's plots or tak...more So this is the first Koontz book in a VERY long time that I've enjoyed. It reminded me of why I began reading Koontz in the first place...oh, decades ago. I first read The Bad Place. I must have been a freshman in high school. I loved the book. Then I started reading a bunch of Koontz, but nothing measured up.
Then, almost twenty years ago, I gave up on him. He wasn't showing me anything new or interesting. Everything became derivative. And it wasn't so much rehashing other people's plots or taking the best from others; after all, what author doesn't steal in some shape or form. It's the process of developing a personal voice.
For the past several years, I've had a friend recommending that I read Phantoms, and not to watch the movie. The only thing I know about the movie is a line from another movie describing Ben Affleck: "Ben Affleck was the bomb in Phantoms." I think that line was supposed to be ironic. So bad movie, good book right? Skeptism took over and I pushed it aside.
Then I began my trek of reading all the books I've got stashed away in my classroom. And I got to Dean Koontz. I read Intensity. It wasn't. I was disappointed. And next was Phantoms.
I liked it from the get go.
There were aspects of it that reminded me of Stephen King's IT. And that just really illustrates the difference between a master who can pull off a horror epic and a fluff writter who writes about scary things under ground.
And that's what Phantoms is basically about - without any spoilers, it can be summed up with scary things under the ground.
As sum ups go, mine is pretty weak in relation to how much I got into this book. The characters were flat and I didn't get emotionally involved with any of them. The story was predictable - at least the ending. But the journey there with my guessing games of what this could all be was nice.
It was a pleasurable page turner.
This book will not change my view of Koontz, and I will probably never read another by him. With that being said, I'm glad that my last book by him is one that I enjoyed reading. (less)

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Feb 07, 2013 Al rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

CLOSER…
They found the town silent, apparently abandoned. Then they found the first body strangely swollen and still warm. One hundred fifty were dead, 350 missing. But the terror had only begun in the tiny mountain town of Snowfield, California.

AND CLOSER…
At first they thought it was the work of a maniac. Or terrorists. Or toxic contamination. Or a bizarre new disease.

AND CLOSER…
But then they found the truth. And they saw it in the flesh. And it was worse than anything any of them had ever imagi

...more

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Aug 08, 2012 Deanna rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, other-paranormal-beings-and-things, reviewed

This is one of my all-time favourite books. I remember being twelve and my mother telling me under no circumstances was I to read any of her Dean Koontz books, because they 'were not suitable for a girl my age'. So of course, the minute I had the chance, I grabbed a bunch of them and got reading.

Phantoms is the only one that really resonated with me. Over the years, whenever I'm bored and at a loss as to what to read, I find myself drawn back to this book time and time again. It's become ancient...more

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Jul 17, 2012 Jane Stewart rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: horror-suspense-thriller

Well done scary story. You will feel “the monster’s going to get you.”

I would have liked it shorter. At times I was impatient when listening to descriptions of the monster’s appearance. I normally would not choose a book with this type of monster/plot, but I chose it because of the author. Koontz is a talented storyteller. I enjoyed it. I loved the characters and dialogue. I was surprised and pleased with how everything resolved. I liked that it was a complete ending with things tied up.

My fav...more

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Jul 08, 2012 Checkman rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: beach-read, horror, thriller

I read over two-thirds of this novel yesterday, sitting in the shade, while my teenage daughter and her friends ran a car-wash to raise funds for their drama club. I was there mainly in case something went wrong, which means I had lots of time. Those kids are pretty levelheaded. I supplied that detail because it's important - it tells you what to expect when reading a Dean Koontz novel - and that's okay. I am not a literary snob. Strictly middle-brow at best.Koontz writes popular suspense fictio...more I read over two-thirds of this novel yesterday, sitting in the shade, while my teenage daughter and her friends ran a car-wash to raise funds for their drama club. I was there mainly in case something went wrong, which means I had lots of time. Those kids are pretty levelheaded. I supplied that detail because it's important - it tells you what to expect when reading a Dean Koontz novel - and that's okay. I am not a literary snob. Strictly middle-brow at best.Koontz writes popular suspense fiction. Beach reads, airport reads, waiting room reads and so on. His material is always very readable and free of gratuitous sex,violence and gore. That's his strong points. His weak points is that he's gotten too prolific in the past twenty-five years. As a result his novels feel like they are from one of a half-dozen templates that he keeps stored in his desk drawer. Now there is always a dog, a serial killer, a physic, ect, but his earlier works are fresher.

Phantoms is one of his earlier works though not one of his first novels. Just look at his publishing history. The man had already published more than a dozen novels before Phantoms came along. As a result the novel has a smooth and polished feel to it. This is a book written by a professional writer at the mid-point of his career. As a summertime read it's great. It's easy to follow even while surrounded by a dozen rambunctious teenagers who are busy spraying both cars and each others with water. It's easy to follow and keeps your interest in between avoiding water spray and moving the lawn chair so as to stay in the shade. As a horror novel I would have to say that it's not as successful. Effective horror novels are edgy and uncomfortable with a feeling of doom and mystery laced throughout. Phantoms doesn't leave enough to the imagination. Within just a few chapters the characters are starting to discuss what the Evil is and within a few more chapters we are on our way to actually having an understanding of the Evil. Before the novel is half-way over we have moved out of "horror" territory and more into the realm of science-fiction and action/suspense. Think Eureka with just a dash of Stephen King thrown in. I kept expecting Sheriff Carter and Alison to pop up - which is okay because I like Eureka - but this isn't a hardcore horror novel. The story actually has a franchise feel to it and I am somewhat surprised that we haven't had further adventures of our intrepid heroes.

Please don't take this as a lambasting of either Phantoms or Dean Koontz. I have read a few of his novels over the years and for the most part I like his books. They work, but Koontz is associated with Horror and he really isn't. Read again the first part of this review. Koontz is a popular fiction writer. He understands that his readers don't want dark and gloomy. They want a touch of suspense,Good winning over Evil, beautiful determined heroines, precocious children with physic abilities and faithful dogs fighting alongside the heroes. That's okay and now and again I like to read a book in which the Big Bad Evil gets kicked in the teeth - especially when dodging water being fired by hyperactive teenagers. (less)

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Mar 18, 2012 Carl Alves rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

If you watched that weak effort put forth by Ben Affleck in the movie adaptation of Phantoms, you probably won’t be interested in reading the book, but trust me, you would be making a mistake. As with many of Koontz’s earlier works, this one really hits the mark. The story starts with Jennifer Paige and her sister Lisa returning to Jennifer’s home town in California only to find the town abandoned, Jennifer’s housekeeper dead and a host of dead bodies littering the town. It would seem like a vir...more

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Jan 03, 2012 JennyB Wolfer rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I started this book on Christmas eve, at night, looking for some light reading while waiting for Santa, and Holy Moly! I finally had to put it down and relegate it to a "Read Only During the Day" folder on my Kindle. This was freaky scary. I never really considered Koonzt a horror writer, and then in the Afterword, Koonzt himself says that in some ways he regrets writing this book because it forever tainted him as a horror writer. So, I wasn't too off thinking this was not his normal fare.

Anyhow...more

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Nov 19, 2011 Brett Talley rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

As with most reviews, there be spoilers ahead.

Dean Koontz is probably one of the five most famous authors in America, and his legion of fans speaks to his ability to tap into some thread of humanity and for that, he should be praised. People who hate Dean Koontz like to act as though he can't string words together into a sentence, but you don't sell millions of books on hype and marketing alone. Whatever it is about Koontz that makes him successful, Phantoms is one of the books that launched hi...more

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Nov 06, 2011 Mike King rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I read Watchers for a class. The next week, I had to read Phantoms for a different class. I didn't think it was possible, but Phantoms was an even worse piece of tripe than Watchers was. Dean Koontz is the worst author I've had the displeasure of reading. His characters are flat and unbelievable, his pacing drags, his dialogue doesn't sound realistic, he does no research or fact-checking whatsoever, and his story ideas are tired retreads of played out cliches. His prose is heavy-handed, overdone...more

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Sep 05, 2011 Jennie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Here there be spoilers, so proceed carefully if you haven't read it.

I like it when it seems the author has painted himself into a corner, then provides an explanation that works and is TOTALLY unexpected. I sure wasn't expecting a prehistoric creature that had acquired human intelligence. It was pretty fun and exciting.

Nevertheless, I was disappointed about a few things. The whole issue of the creature wanting to start its own religion wasn't really exploited as much as it could have been. It's...more

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Aug 25, 2011 Brian rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

* The quotation from Stephen King on the back cover of my paperback edition: “Gruesome. Unrelenting.” No indication of quality, just a couple of observations about the presentation. Like saying, “Action-packed,” to describe Sucker Punch.

* Dialogue isn’t one of Koontz’ strong points. Neither is characterization. Here we have a 14-year-old girl who never behaves like a child, so she might as well be 28. Here we have a cop who, with his heavy-lidded eyes and his ingratiating manner, fools people in...more

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Jun 28, 2011 lisa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

it's been a long time since i wandered into the horror aisle of the bookstore and perhaps even longer since i've read something from that very same aisle. i remember buying this book a few weeks ago, and what sent me into the horror aisle was that i wanted to read something that was different from what i had been reading. i wasn't in the mood for the usual mystery book, or sci-fi book, or romance. i didn't want something i would be teaching in the fall. i wanted something different. so i picked...more it's been a long time since i wandered into the horror aisle of the bookstore and perhaps even longer since i've read something from that very same aisle. i remember buying this book a few weeks ago, and what sent me into the horror aisle was that i wanted to read something that was different from what i had been reading. i wasn't in the mood for the usual mystery book, or sci-fi book, or romance. i didn't want something i would be teaching in the fall. i wanted something different. so i picked up this book, and i started reading it a few nights ago, and let me tell you, i haven't gotten that creepy feeling that something's going to jump out at me just from reading a book in a really long time. so reading the book was really fun times and it satisfied that desire for something different and out of the norm.

it's hard to talk about this book because one doesn't want to give too much away. but, in short, the book is about a tiny ski-town in northern california with a population of about 500 people. the doctor who lives in the community arrives home from a trip to find the town silent--dead silent. and the story is about trying to figure out what has happened to all of the townspeople. what killed them? and why can they only find a few bodies but not all of them? where did they go?

what i can say is what i liked about this book. first of all, unlike a stereotypical horror film, the black guy doesn't end up dead (yeah!). also, i liked the way that the narrative checks in with each character periodically. this is a device that i don't always like (which i'm sure you already know if you've read any of my book reviews). but it really works and works effectively in this book. possibly because i want to know more about these characters. they are interesting and when it's their turn to have the story told from their perspective, the story moves forward and the character is further developed. put more plainly, i generally liked all of the characters in this book and so it wasn't a bother when i was with them. i didn't feel like i was being pulled away from the story. another thing i liked about this book was that the epic showdown between good and evil (and you had to know there was going to be this showdown, right? because it is a horror novel) wasn't hurried and didn't seem too easy. it's always really easy to take the shortcut and shortchange the reader, but this book doesn't do that. and although for the last 200 pages that sensation of something coming to grab me wore off, i didn't lose my interest in the book. the action was intense enough to keep me turning the pages well past my bedtime last night, and i made a point of finishing the book early this morning to see how it all wrapped up. one of the things i want at the end of a book is to feel satisfied, and this book delivered. it's not great, but it certainly held my interest, and that's more than i can say for some books that i've read this year. so overall, i'd give this book three and a half stars and i would recommend to anyone who enjoys dean koontz novels.(less)

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Apr 02, 2011 Daniel rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Where has this book been all of my life? And why did I write off Koontz as a hack that pushes brainless filler onto the shelves once per year? Thanks to my snobbery, I went years without picking up a book that would have satisfied my craving for a good monster story. Serves me right for thinking I knew better.

"Phantoms" is a marvelous, fun, and satisfying read. It has monsters; awesome, frightening, man-eating, intelligent, scary, what-in-the-world-is-going-on monsters. It is also an exciting re...more

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Jan 23, 2011 Lucbechard rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Spoilers, I guess.

Two sisters, Jenny and Lisa Paige, return to their hometown of Snowfield after their parents die. When they arrive in the small ski-resort village, everything seems normal, but as they take a look around, it becomes increasingly clear that something is terribly wrong.
They can’t find any of the town’s five hundred residents, and when they do, all they find is bodies. Each person seems to have died in either strange or brutal ways. They find bodies that are swollen and bruised al...more Spoilers, I guess.

Two sisters, Jenny and Lisa Paige, return to their hometown of Snowfield after their parents die. When they arrive in the small ski-resort village, everything seems normal, but as they take a look around, it becomes increasingly clear that something is terribly wrong.
They can’t find any of the town’s five hundred residents, and when they do, all they find is bodies. Each person seems to have died in either strange or brutal ways. They find bodies that are swollen and bruised all over their bodies, but are only a few hours’ dead. They find limbs of other people arranged in strange ways. All of this is made worse because Jenny knows most of the victims of this massacre.
All of this is disturbing to the sisters, but it is made even more terrifying when they start getting hunted by an unseen, unknown enemy that can target them where ever they go. When she tries to use the phones to contact the police, the lines are either dead, or she hears an eerie silence, like someone is sitting on the other end, just listening to her. After a few failed attempts to contact the police or any kind of authority at all, she finally gets in contact with the police force a larger neighboring town. They finally arrive, but they can’t really do anything about this phenomenon either.
Among the police are Deputy Bryce Hammond, Jake Johnson, Tal Whitman, Stu Wargle, Frank Autry, Gordy Brogan and a few others. They end up trying to barricade themselves from the threat, while they try desperately to signal the Army’s Biological Investigations Unit. As they explore the desolate town and try to stay safe, something starts picking them off one by one.
They try to hold out in a hotel, but even though they have people watching all the entrances and exits, another person falls victim to the unknown evil, right under their noses. After that, they know that nowhere is safe, and even though the Army Biological Unit enters snowfield with more men and equipment, more and more horrifying things start happening. The group is attacked by a giant moth. Jenny hears the voices of dead men over the phone. Body parts appear out of nowhere. It becomes clear that whatever happened in Snowfield is far from over.
This book was very readable. Once I started it I couldn’t put it down. The suspense and the horror keep you reading. You really want to know if your favorite character survives or not. There are many characters in the book, and many of them have different personalities that you may like or not like, or you may be able to relate them to yourself or someone you know. For me, one of the characters acted a lot like my cousin Justin, so I had someone to relate him to. I always kept an eye on that specific character, and when that character died (not mentioning any names), it seemed a little bit more serious just because he seemed like someone I knew. It was pretty cool how that worked, because I have never had that connection with a book before.
Another thing that will keep you reading is the mystery part of the book. I really needed to find out what actually happened to all of the people in Snowfield. At first, you come up with your own ideas as to what happened. But, as the story goes on, more and more strange, scary, and downright impossible things have to get factored in, and for a while, your left with something that makes absolutely no sense. Figuring it out is half the fun, and when the book finally explains it, it wraps it up nicely, and very terrifyingly.
The characters were very well written, and very deep. Each person had their own motives, besides the obvious one to survive. The author delves deeply into each character’s past and shows the reader detailed glimpses of their lives and problems. The characters interact very realistically as well. They don’t always agree with each other when they try to decide plans and such. Certain people start to develop different kind of relationships with other people, and it just seems like that’s how it would be in a stressful situation like that. The main characters are very likable. They are written like genuine good guys. It’s not written unrealistically, but they seem to always do the right thing, or at least what they think is the right thing. On the contrary, the bad guys are genuine bad guys. Not only does the group have to deal with the deadly unknown monster, but they also have to deal with a few characters that are genuinely evil. They commit horrible murders and they feel no remorse. They are very well written, and they are also very horrifying.
You would enjoy this book if you read Stephen King books, horror stories, mystery stories, or science fiction stories. It is written in pretty much the same fashion as other Dean Koontz books, so if you enjoy his writing, then you will like this book as well.
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Nov 19, 2010 Johnny rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. "Phantoms" is a very terrifying story. The town of Snowfield falls victim to an evil force. Almost everyone has disappeared and the ones that remain are not only dead, but have been horribly mutilated. It’s the kind of monster story that speaks to the imagination. What if it was real? Humans are fascinated by death and when a new and quite original “way to go” is introduced, it’s not only chilling but it also instils a sick curiosity of sorts. To me, that’s the appeal of this novel.

The main char...more "Phantoms" is a very terrifying story. The town of Snowfield falls victim to an evil force. Almost everyone has disappeared and the ones that remain are not only dead, but have been horribly mutilated. It’s the kind of monster story that speaks to the imagination. What if it was real? Humans are fascinated by death and when a new and quite original “way to go” is introduced, it’s not only chilling but it also instils a sick curiosity of sorts. To me, that’s the appeal of this novel.

The main characters are the Paige sisters who discover the town in its current state, the local sheriff as the male hero, and in a slightly smaller role but not any less important, a scholar who unravels the truth. There are many extra characters, each very interesting, but the attention mostly remains on the mystery and the action. Koontz is often labelled as a horror author, but for this book that’s actually true for a change – even though he really wanted it to be science-fiction story, which is still apparent in the use of the plot device Biosan-4, the only thing that made me realize this story wasn’t taking place in our real world.

Koontz never really picks a definitive point of view to tell this story. The two leading roles are Jenny Paige and the sheriff, but many other characters get their own scenes. This switching is nice to get a bigger picture, but usually there’s too little time spent with each character to really feel an attachment with them. It’s almost the same feeling as with a slasher movie, where the camera follows each character for a while until they’re ultimately killed off one by one.

As a scary horror novel, “Phantoms” surely delivers. Atmosphere feels a bit like “Night Chills” and “Midnight”; rather dark, filled with terror, a small group of common good people pitted against a seemingly invincible evil. All characters have their own background and motivation, but experienced readers might miss that extra inch of depth.

One other thing about this book: there are many elements which return in Stephen King’s “It”. For starters, everyone in “Phantoms” calls the evil force “it”. Lisa Paige explains the missing people by suggesting that “maybe it spun a web somewhere, down in a dark place, in a cellar or a cave, and maybe it tied all the missing people into its web, sealed them up in cocoons, alive. Maybe it’s just saving them until it gets hungry again.” Scholar Timothy Flyte talks about the disappearance of Roanoke Island colony and that the nearby natives believed in “an evil spirit, a source of all evil … He Who Can Be Anything Yet Is Nothing”, the same way Pennywise the clown can take on any form he wants. One of the dead people found in “Phantoms” even wrote a partial message on his bathroom wall, only in iodine instead of blood, and voices are coming out of drainpipes.

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Jul 22, 2010 Jennifer rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Picture this. It's the dead of summer, stuck at a summer camp over the weekend with no campers. Every once in a while the "X-Files" theme music floats over the trees while the AV team prepares the music and intros for the High School campers that will be in on Sunday afternoon. Asking for a book I get handed "Phantoms."

"Is it horror?" I ask. I don't read horror.

"No, no." Comes the reassurance from one of the camp counselors. "It's science fiction." I nod and open the front cover.

Eight hours la...more

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Mar 14, 2010 Lisa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It is hard for me to rate this book. This was a selection that my book club read, not something I would have picked on my own. First of all there were a lot of typos in the book and that drove me insane. And I usually do not notice much of that sort of thing. Secondly this is my first DeaN Koontz book that I read. I think the man needs a psych consult. It amazing that someone could have an imagination like this. I enjoyed the book, in as far as the writing kept me very interested, it was a defin...more

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Mar 09, 2013 M.eloisa rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

E' la seconda opportunità data a Koontz e ammetto che se avessi letto prima questo libro che Frankenstein sarei molto meno prevenuta.

Pregi:
la trama e il soggetto.
Difetti:
spezza la tensione con descrizioni scolastiche; tenta un omaggio o una copiatura di Lovecraft (?); la soluzione.

L'orrore che arriva da mondi o tempi remoti è sicuramente una prerogativa del maestro di Providence e sinceramente tutta la prima parte del libro me l'ha ricordata molto. Ora prima che diciate cose a caso, leggetevi...more

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Oct 26, 2010 Bettie rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: autumn-2010, published-1983, boo-scary, zombehz

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Mar 26, 2010 Margo Kelly rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Loved it.

If you're a fan of the t.v. series "Lost" - - this 1983 book by Koontz explains the plot of Lost... ha ha (in my humble opinion!).

The only reason I did not give it five stars is because the language worsens near the end and there were a lot of negative religious parts to the storyline. But, hey, it's a horror story. And, good won out in the end!

I've read afterwords by Dean Koontz where he's explained that he's never afraid to explore issues of death and evil in his books because he wil...more

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Feb 13, 2013 Mike Beatty rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: horror, sci-fi

I think this was a solid effort by koontz, 3.5/5.

The book starts out great and it really had me going there for thr first third of the novel or so. The atmosphere was appropriately creepy and suspensful, the mystery of what was happening to the residents of Snowfield was very intriguing.

Overall there was a great premise for the novel which was framed by some really interesting questions and mysteries.

Where this one lost me a little was when Koontz became obsesed with explaining (at great length)...more

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Oct 13, 2012 Glucose Johnny rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Oh, Dean. Jay and Silent Bob told me Phantoms was the bomb, and perhaps they're right about the movie. This, however, is decidedly not the bomb. It's not a bomb, either, so you win there. It's truly creepy at times, with some great suspense and a smattering of old-school gore to boot. Problems? Horrifically over-written at times. Dude, I don't need to know every character's life story, especially immediately upon learning their name. Give me a break with that, work it into the narrative in a mor...more

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Sep 18, 2009 Jason Reeser rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Yet another solid offering by Koontz. It is, at times, brilliant, ambitious, corny, disturbing, fun, gory, touching, and a bit over the top. These are all things I love about his books. The author adds a note at the end saying he wishes he'd never written it since it was the last nail in the coffin that labeled him as a horror writer. Well, it wasn't quite horror for me, not with everything he added into it. But I suppose he does have a tendency towards horror, but with more heart and soul than...more

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Sep 23, 2011 Walter Foddis rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy-science-fiction-horror

In the mid to late 1990s, I had read a few of Koontz novels based on an interview he had with Reason magazine. I had agreed with his political views and wondered if these views were weaved into his novels. Unfortunately, I found myself disagreeing with his theistic view of life, and his apparent moral philosophy, but I did think he did a pretty job of characterizing psychopaths. Didn't see much of his politics though.

For whatever reason, all the Koontz novels I was reading had psychopaths. It's...more

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Jul 27, 2011 Paula Hebert rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

if you are prone to nightmares or cases of the heebie-jeebies after reading scary stuff, put this book down now. if however, you enjoy a serious case of the goosebumps now and then, this is a great story for you. phantoms is the book that put koontz name on the map as a horror, a fact that he has very mised feelings about, because so many of his books are not so horror-able as this one, and he doesn't enjoy being pigeonholed. with as many books as he has written, there's litle chance of that hap...more

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About Dean Koontz

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

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Quotes from Phantoms

“There's no use wasting are energy being afraid of the devils, demons and things that go bump in the night... Because ultimately we'll never encounter anything more terrifying than the monster among us. Hell is where we make it.” — 7 people liked it

“Maybe the devil in human beings isn't the reflection of the devil, perhaps the devil is only a reflection of the savagery and brutality of our kind. Maybe what we've done is create the devil in our own image” — 6 people liked it

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