Koontzland - Dean Koontz discussion

Icebound just gives me a bad taste in my mouth and have no desire to try it again right now. Maybe in another year or two I will find the courage to give Icebound another attempt.
Good luck you brave souls who take on Icebound :-)

Karen B wrote: "Jen, don't let it seem like I was pressuring you. Believe me. I say I am going to read something, then I don't get to it, plus I take a lot longer to read now than I used to. (Blame it on the TV)"

lol Karen, thanks for your comment. I didn't feel pressured, I just felt like I should reply since you asked and I had indicated that I would participate in this mini read. :)

I find that I'm not reading as much as I used to now that I'm here in Tucson and helping to take care of my dad. He can't do much besides watch TV, sadly, so I end up sitting with him while my mother is at work and I have trouble reading with the TV on: too distracting. :(

When I lived on my own, I hardly ever watched television. I'd watch movies occasionally, but for the most part I was either on the computer, reading, or asleep. (I'm disabled and unfortunately unable to work.)

Dustin Crazy little brown owl wrote: "Icebound just gives me a bad taste in my mouth and have no desire to try it again right now. Maybe in another year or two I will find the courage to give Icebound another attempt.
Good luck you bra..."

I'm sorry you didn't enjoy it, Dustin. I'm a little nervous to read it knowing your feelings about it, but I'm determined to read it and form my own opinion. :)

I wish you the best of luck on your Icebound journey :-)

Finished Icebound, it wasn't what I expected from Dean Koontz, I can't remember reading a Koontz book that didn't have a supernatural element to it, it was an old fashioned adventure story, I liked it though. I found it to be a bit Clive Cussler like, I was half expecting Dirk Pitt and Al Giordino to make an appearance, lol!
For some reason, the edition I read, Goodreads states David Axton as the author, you can clearly see Dean Koontz's name on the cover though, did he write under that name?

He wrote under quite a few pen names. I think originally the idea was to differentiate the kind of books he was writing, similar to how Nora Roberts, writes as J.D. Robb and Stephen King writes under other names (notably Peter Straub who I used to think was a collaborated with King)

Karen B wrote: "He wrote under quite a few pen names. I think originally the idea was to differentiate the kind of books he was writing, similar to how Nora Roberts, writes as J.D. Robb and Stephen King writes und..."

This isn't an Icebound question (sorry!) but I do have a question about DK's use of different pen names to differentiate the type of fiction he penned....I read an author who currently writes under three pen names: under one, she writes contemporary, a second is used for historical, and a third for futuristic. Do DK's pen names differentiate his fiction as clearly as this? Is there a reference somewhere? (I'd particularly like to know under which name he wrote/writes his scary thrillers.)

Thanks!

I should probably add that I haven't yet read Icebound, but I will! I'll likely get to it more toward the end of the month, as opposed to in the middle like I had originally planned.

The Fantasic Fiction Site has information on Koontz's pen names used in early books:

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/k/d...

Dean last used a pen name in the 1987 publication of Shadow Fires. In the late 1980's he had an established reputation and no longer felt the need to write under different names. He used his middle initial for a while (Dean R. Koontz) but now simply publishes as Dean Koontz.

Dustin Crazy little brown owl wrote: "Dean last used a pen name in the 1987 publication of Shadow Fires. In the late 1980's he had an established reputation and no longer felt the need to write under different names. He used his middle..."

Dustin Crazy little brown owl wrote: "The Fantasic Fiction Site has information on Koontz's pen names used in early books..."

Thanks for the info, Dustin!

I jumped into this mini read March 16th.. It is pretty intense..there is nothing like the feeling of sliding over an ice cliff!

Dustin Crazy little brown owl wrote: "The Fantasic Fiction Site has information on Koontz's pen names used in early books:

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/k/d..."

Good Grief, I knew about him writing as Leigh Nicholls but I had no idea about all the others!

Gail wrote: "I jumped into this mini read March 16th.. It is pretty intense..there is nothing like the feeling of sliding over an ice cliff!"

I'm going to start Icebound tonight or tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to reading it. My excitement about reading it is one reason why I'm going to interrupt the series I'm reading now so that I can read Icebound. :-)

Maybe I will give Icebound another try the next time it's chosen as a group read :-)

I started Icebound last night and it sure goes fast! I had to stop to sleep, otherwise I'd have finished it in one sitting.

I kept expecting a "bad guy" to pop out of an ice den and start killing the scientists. Now that I'm past the 100-page mark, though, it seems that the only "bad guy" is going to be Mother Nature. I don't remember ever reading a book where it was good-man vs. bad-nature before (though I must have at some point, I can't help but think).

I'm finding this story to be rather more chilling - pun intended ;-) - than some of the other DK books we've read recently as a result of the Nature vs. Man theme. Maybe it's because the (view spoiler)[ice floe breaking from the ice pack due to the tsunami of ocean water beneath it, which in turn was due to an off-shore earthquake, seems to be an imminently realistically possible scenario (hide spoiler)].

I had to stop reading at the end of the chapter where Harry (view spoiler)[is reunited with Rita, and Brian/Royce/George's snowmobiles are seen approaching from their lights in the distance (hide spoiler)].

I suppose there's still time in the book for DK to introduce a human bad guy, and what a shock that will be if it happens! My tension is so high I think I will actually be slightly let down if it doesn't! :-)

I really enjoyed this story. It was fantastic! Suspenseful and thrilling, it kept me guessing right up to the end. :-) My only complaints, and they are huge ones in my opinion, are that we found out what happened to everyone after the rescue except Brian! Really?!?! Why was he, (view spoiler)[the intended victim of a maniac (hide spoiler)], left out of the summation? My other complaint was that the (view spoiler)[Russian Captain, Nikita Gorov, referred to his son as "Nikki." I'm being nit-picky about this only because I lived in Russia once upon a time, but it grated on me every time I read "Nikki." Nikolai is shortened to Kolya most commonly, or Nika less commonly. I've never heard (or heard of) a Nikolai called Nikki before. :-( (hide spoiler)]

On the plus side, I loved the suspense! I had accepted that Mother Nature was to be the (view spoiler)[only "bad guy" and then the Russians appeared and I thought for sure they'd play the role of the bad guy. But then they turned out to be rescuers and someone in the scientific party showed murderous tendencies. But even knowing one of them was desirous of Brian's death, I was totally wrong in my opinion as to who the potential killer was until the moment he struck again (hide spoiler)]. All these twists really kept me on my toes. :-)

I was sad to read in DK's afterward "Note to Readers" that Icebound is the only book of this type that he's written (or at least that he'd written at the time of the afterward). I so enjoyed this story that I'd happily read more of the same type. Perhaps I'll look up and read a few Alistair MacLean titles, since DK wrote that this book was in homage to him. :-)

I agree Jen, it was a terrific read! I was sad to read Koontz's note to the reader in the end too, but really...how could you write another after this one?! I am off to make some hot chocolate and warm up!

Gail wrote: "... but really...how could you write another after this one?! I am off to make some hot chocolate and warm up!"

That's a good point; I hadn't thought of it that way. I guess I'll just have to re-read Icebound to get that sort of thrill again. :-)

I hope you were able to get warm! I'm guessing you are talking about the chills you got from reading Icebound, though to be honest, my first thought was that you live somewhere where it's cold! I suppose both could be true. :-)

Oh Jen, I live in Kansas. We are expecting ANOTHER snow storm with 8 to 10 inches of snow starting this evening. It has been a long winter, and, since Easter is NEXT WEEK, I would love to have Spring!

Gail wrote: "Oh Jen, I live in Kansas. We are expecting ANOTHER snow storm with 8 to 10 inches of snow starting this evening. It has been a long winter, and, since Easter is NEXT WEEK, I would love to have Sp..."

Wow! Eight to 10 inches of snow sure sounds like a lot to me; I hope you and yours stay warm and safe throughout this latest storm!

Easter is next week? Really?! Already?!?! I miss the days when Easter was at the beginning of April. ;-)

Icebound has been selected as our January 2014 Group Read :-)

Selu wrote: "While there are a good number of "newer Koontz books" I enjoy, his very early novel tend to be more to my taste.
"

:-) LIKE :-) Which early novels do you like best? I am going to try Icebound again and hope for the best.

This will be my third time reading Icebound but I am not willing to start it yet considering the frigid temperature right now and the ice on the driveway next to my car door.

Karen B wrote: "This will be my third time reading Icebound but I am not willing to start it yet considering the frigid temperature right now and the ice on the driveway next to my car door."

I have never completed reading the book. I think this will be my third attempt :-)

I have had "Icebound" on my bookself for years, glad to be finally reading it. Thought it was alright, not my favorite and not the worst. Read it while experiencing frigid temps. where I live. One day it was -26 without the wind chill.

Danell wrote: "I have had "Icebound" on my bookself for years, glad to be finally reading it. Thought it was alright, not my favorite and not the worst. Read it while experiencing frigid temps. where I live. O..."

Congrats on completing the book! :-)

I've been having trouble remembering to start Icebound.

My thoughts on Icebound . . . I only rated this 2 1/2 stars with the titel of my review being "Ultimately disappointing," which I still feel is true in regards to the "among them is a cold-blooded killer" plotline. Nevertheless, as any big reader of Koontz (in which I'd like to brag that I'm very close to having 30 of his books under my belt, including Innocence) will be fully aware, the guy can get a bit repititive. That being said, Icebound simply HAS to be appreciated simply for the sheer unqiueness of it among Koontz extensive writings. Nothing even remotely like the setting of this novel have I found in a Koontz book. I actually wish I might of waited until I'd read 30-some of his books before reading, but oh well, as it stands, the book wasn't impresivve except for the fact that it stands out as being the most unique setting that Koontz has ever created (IMO at least). Perhaps some day I'll re-read this one. I do remember some good suspense towards the end and whatnot, so it wasn't terrible, just could've been so much more.

As for Koontz, no matter how many people rip him (and even if I have to say to myself, "Yep, that's true) I will always love the guy and will someday be able to say I've read every single book he's written. There's just something about looking about my Koontz library, knowing that books like "Hideaway" and "The Husband" won't be anything special, but then seeing my copy of "Lightning" and "The Bad PLace" and remembering how fast I sped through those books and enjoyed every single page of it. What am I trying to say? I don't know, but there's something about Dean Koontz's books that make me so happy I'm both a fan of reading and that I, like I'm sure many other have, haven't written of Koontz as some guy not worth puttingin the time to read his books.
I think my rant is done haha.

Thank you Kevin :-) We all have our Koontz books which bring back an experience just by looking at the title. With all the books Dean Koontz has written there are sure to be some repetition. Some of it is a fun Koontz signature of writing. I think I agree with and understand what you were saying. Some Koontz titles disappoint me, but I remain a fan because I know I will experience the Koontz I love in another title.

I will attempt to read Icebound after I have finished Twilight Eyes. Happy Reading!

sound like a good book i am going have to buy it

I am halfway through. Different. I find it a page turner.

Currently reading and succeeding on this attempt. Enjoying the story much more than I ever expected! :-)

Dustin Crazy little brown owl wrote: "Currently reading and succeeding on this attempt. Enjoying the story much more than I ever expected! :-)"

I knew you could do it Dustin!! Glad that you are enjoying it!

Glad you're making it though. Icebound is far from a good Koontz book, and it will be a long time before I ever re-read it, but it is often hailed as Koontz' worst. IMO he has at least ten books that are worse.

Finished Icebound. That book would not have attracted me. I am very happy to be in this group because I really liked this book. Different from what I am used to from Dean Koontz which in a way made it better. I wrote a review.