Koontzland - Dean Koontz discussion
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Hi everyone! I am Rachel and I live in Oregon. I am new to Dean Koontz, but am excited to check out more of his books. As you can tell from my bookshelf one author pretty much consumed me last year(Nora's Roberts/jd Robb)I tend to read mostly romantic suspense. I don't watch horror movies so I decided I wanted to read a book that would really put me on edge. My first attempt was The Shining. Figured since I never saw the movie it would be real creepy to me. While it was a good read, it wasn't as scary as I had hoped. My second try was Intensity. It WAS intense and had my heart pounding at certain parts. I loved it! I also read velocity and enjoyed it. So those are the only 2 I have read so far, but I am definitely going to read more......any recommendations? Thanks!!!
You'll find recommendations aplenty here. Koontz is very cross genre; you'll find just about everything in any given book. My first pick is the Odd Thomas series. "Odd Thomas" is my first Koontz and is still my favorite book and character, and the first movie will be out soon, God willing. "Innocence" is next, and his newest, neck and neck with "From the Corner of His Eye", "One Door Away From Heaven ", "Life Expectancy" and "The Face". Frankenstein and Chris Snow series are both great too! And "Breathless"! Ok, I think I'll stop now.I haven't even gotten to all of Koontz's books yet, can't wait to read the rest of them.
Welcome, Rachel. I'd recommend "midnight" or "the taking" or "what the night knows" if you want something chilling. "dark rivers of the heart" "from the corner of his eye" and "false memory" are lengthy powerhouse books and exceedingly well-written. "Life expectancy" and "by the light of the moon" have that fast-paced feel like "Velocity" and are terrific reads. If you want something unique yet masterful try "watchers" or "dragon tears." There are so many great Koontz books to choose from. If you're in the mood for more humor the Odd Thomas books are a fine choice.
Thank you Kimberly and Scott :) I had started looking through his books on here and making a list of the ones I would be interested in reading. My list was getting quite long and I think I overwhelmed myself with all the books of his I wanted to read! I will see if I can get ahold of some that you guys mentioned, thanks again!
Kimberly wrote: "You'll find recommendations aplenty here. Koontz is very cross genre; you'll find just about everything in any given book. My first pick is the Odd Thomas series. "Odd Thomas" is my first Koontz an..."I just watched Odd Thomas on DirectTV. I wanted to be sure to catch it there in case it doesn't come to theaters in my area. Really good movie. Loved it! Like you, I hope it's released in theaters and does well. It's a very good movie and the humor from the book definitely shows in the movie.
As far as favorite Koontz books, it seems to be a common theme that the first one we read is the favorite. My first Koontz book was Watchers and as much as I enjoy most of his books, it's still my all-time favorite.
Lori wrote: "Kimberly wrote: "You'll find recommendations aplenty here. Koontz is very cross genre; you'll find just about everything in any given book. My first pick is the Odd Thomas series. "Odd Thomas" is m..."I thought the movie felt kind of rushed and I wish they would have cast a different actor as Odd but other than those things I liked it it a lot too.
Diane wrote: "Hi Stacy. I am new to the group also but have only really been entrenched in Dean Koontz books over the last year. No I have to check out Hideaway. Their are so many books I never heard of until..."He has so many books that he wrote early on in the 70s under other names: Brian Coffey, Deanna Dwyer (I think that's what it is), and I can't remember the rest...
Shastina (Sassy) wrote: "Stacy wrote: "Hello, I'm Stacy from Michigan. Been a Dean Kootnz fan for 22 years....that makes me sound older than I am because I started reading his books when I was 12, the first one being Hidea..."I liked that one so much that I listened to the audio version (My To Read list is so long, I NEVER read a book a second time) and it totally creeped me out worse than the book!!
Shastina (Sassy) wrote: "Oh my, the doll! The neighbor walking after and the semen rain freaked me out. Also the television going all wonky. It was raining and nighttime when I started it. I jumped under the covers and a..."
I learned a long time ago to not read Koontz at night! LOL
Scott wrote: "I came upon "false memory" at Hastings book store when I was a teenager and have been reading Koontz ever since. I wrote him a letter as a freshmen in college asking for his advice about becoming a..."77 Shadow Street was an awesomely messed up book!
Maureen wrote: "Hi, this Maureen from Little Rock, Arkansas. I have been a Koontz fan since, ahem, longer than most of you have been reading (I read "Phantoms" when it was first published and I was in grad schoo..."
I wish he still did signings, I would LOVE to meet him, even if it's just for the two minutes to take a picture and sign my book. You're so lucky!
I would love to get together in discussion with people who enjoy the philosophical/religious dimension of Koontz's (and other novelists') works. A separate topic just for that would be great. Anyone game?
Lori wrote: "Kimberly wrote: "You'll find recommendations aplenty here. Koontz is very cross genre; you'll find just about everything in any given book. My first pick is the Odd Thomas series. "Odd Thomas" is m..."Seriously?! I didn't know it was available to view. I don't have cable, is there any other way I can find it that you know of?
I'm still trying to get the word on that. I understand several people saw it on DirecTV, but I don't have that. It's supposed to be in theaters in 2014, but I've also seen advertisements saying that it's available on DVD February 3. I've seen release date information before, over the past few years, all of it wrong so far.
Amazon has the Odd Thomas movie on "release date pre-order", in Blu-ray and DVD formats.
So glad to have found this group. Have been reading Dean since 1984. Met him when Fear Nothing came out. He encouraged me to write. Finally getting a chance to do that now. I'll be one of the three in the Google+ Hangout with him today.
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Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado
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Hello from Oregon! Been a fan of Dean ever since I read "Intensity" :) Excited to find others who like Dean Koontz as much as I do!
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Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado
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Barbara wrote: "Hello everyone. I am Barbara....I live in a suburb of New Orleans....I have been reading DK since forever...1st book was Phantoms and was hooked...am also a King fan....Swan Song by Robert McCamm..."So good to see someone else who appreciates Swan Song! Epic story and will always be my favorite
Yes Swan Song is one of my favorites and I have lost count of how many times I have read it !!! lol. My sister found me a 1st edition hardback because I went thru so many paperbacks....reading and rereading and passing them around to friends....they fell apart.....I love Swan.....George R R Martin's Ice and Fire series....has become my number 1 favorite story though and I highly recommend the series.....It is not your usual fantasy type story.....the detail and imagination is astonishing!!!!
very true Barbara, I have read all of the Ice and Fire series, collected the DVD box sets and reserved my spot on the sofa ready for season 4! I find having to wait years between books is getting tedious and I think George RR Martin needs to get a move on lol. If I was to recommend a series of fantasy books it would be Raymond Feist "The Magician". All that said, give me Dean Koontz any time above all others, nobody can write as good as him.
I have all the books in my library and I too hate waiting for the next one.....I am hoping HBO has lit a fire under George's butt and he will finish the story soon.....I want a good 2 final books though so don't want him to just throw anything out there.....I will check out The Magician books......I have to keep reading between Dean's books cause I get anxious without something to read!!! Lol
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How are all of you new members liking our "little" group?
:D
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Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado
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Loving the "not so little any more" group here Sassy, always a good insight into a good read even it isn't Koontz based. I too get anxious without having a book to read having been an avid reader since I was a child with my Enid Blyton collection now middle aged and still hooked on the written word. I'm currently following several authors and its quite an eclectic mix of names, Dean Koontz, Jeffery Deaver, F Paul Wilson, CJ Sansom, George RR Martin, Lee Child, Matthew Reilly to name but a few. I like to have at least two unread books on my shelf with one on the go. Two of my favorite authors have sadly passed away, James Herbert and Richard Laymon and I feel bad that I wont be able to look forward to new book by them.I miss the horror element from them which is why I loved 77 Shadow St, very scary!
Dustin.....def pick up Swan Song.... If u enjoyed The Stand u will like Swan
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Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado
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:-) Thank you for the recommendation. I never read The Stand. I watched part of the miniseries when it was on Television in the 90's. Does the story take place in Boulder, Colorado? - because that is where I live :-)
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Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado
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During these times - I do enjoy Dean's older books though :-) I will be reading the novellas in April. I hope The City or Saint Odd lights the Koontz fire again. Maybe I need to watch the Odd Thomas Movie this weekend - that might help.
The Stand takes place in several locations (all over the world in a way). Characters from all over the US are focused on. Then the action moves to center on Boulder and Las Vagus.
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Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado
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:-) Nice!
Oh.....well you need to read The Stand....much better than the mini series
I never heard of Swan Song. The Stand is my favorite King book. I will have to check it out. Dustin crazy little brown owl u can not compare the miniseries to the book. I am glad I read the book first. It is so discrrptive nothing can compare to what this book makes u visualize in your mind. The miniseries was OK. U have to experience this book first hand. That is what it is. An experience.
Dustin Crazy little brown owl wrote: "Barbara wrote: "Dustin.....def pick up Swan Song.... If u enjoyed The Stand u will like Swan":-) Thank you for the recommendation. I never read The Stand. I watched part of the miniseries when it..."
That's by Robert McCammon right? Swan Song that is.
Just rented odd Thomas. Loved the books. Good casting of the main character. Big fan.
Swan Song is by Robert McCammon and I love love The Stand.....but I loved Swan Song more.....have read it at least 2 dozen times and it never gets old.....I have been waiting for someone to attempt to make it into a movie but really it would need to be on HBO like they are doing Game of Thrones cause it's that epic. The Stand mini series was ok....but regular tv could not do that book justice either. I agree with Diane....the books have way too much detail and your imagination while reading is just so much better !!! :-)
Aaron where did u rent the Odd Thomas movie??
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Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado
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Just watched it last night & cried at the ending.
Dustin Crazy little brown owl wrote: Just watched it last night & cried at the ending."
Me too and I'm not ashamed ... watched it twice now, first time on my own and blubbered like a baby, second time with my girl and tried hard to "man-up" ... failed there lol
We all cried at the end......even knowing what was coming......I do like the kid playing Odd....love him in J J Abrams new Star Trek movies as young Chekov.
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Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado
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Hello everyone, I,m Shawn from Ireland and have been a dean Koontz fan for over twenty years now. Typing that makes me feel old!!. I love his stuff and feel he is underated at times, like it's not cool to like Koontz. It is cool to like Koontz. I have been re reading a lot of his stuff lately and it's a great as ever. Nice to meet you all. Take care.
Welcome to the group. I've only been a part of it a few months and really enjoy it.
Hi,I have been a fan of Koontz for many years I use to collect the hard backs and read the paperbacks until the covers fell off !
My first book was "The Door to December" in 1985.
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Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado
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Dustin Crazy little brown owl wrote: "Welcome to Koontzland Shawn from Ireland and Pam :-)"Thank you!
Has anyone tread from the corner of his eye, I'm thinking of reading this one next
Koontzland - Dean Koontz
Books mentioned in this topic
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I have authors like Dean who if they write it I will read it....but Dean is by far my favorite writer since his body of work speaks for itself.