Koontzland - Dean Koontz discussion
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How did you get to know Dean Koontz ?
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Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado
(last edited Dec 29, 2009 03:48PM)
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For years I noticed Dean Koontz's books on bookshelves. My cousin said I should try Koontz since I was reading John Saul. I bought a few copies of Koontz books from used bookstores and thrift shops but never got around to reading them. I got married in 2003 and my wife suggested I try Koontz. After my son was born in 2004, I finally got around to trying a Dean Koontz book - Watchers. I wasn't that excited about it because I had just discovered Dan Brown and Koontz wasn't Dan Brown :-) In 2005, I read Velocity which was at that time a new release. That year I also got a data-entry job at USPS and I listened to audio books like crazy - that's when I really got hooked on Koontz - listening to titles like From the Corner of His Eye, Life Expectancy, Sole Survivor, False Memory, By The Light of The Moon, etc. etc. etc. Now I read every new Dean Koontz title and have read a few older titles. Shattered is the oldest title I've read (it's a short one :-) My next oldest titles I read are Strangers, Watchers and Lightning from the late 80's. I still have lots to read and lots I wouldn't mind reading so I love that we have a great group read program. There, that's the short version. Or is it?
My first Dean Koontz book was Hideaway which I read back in 1992 when it came out. My Mom used to read a lot of Dean Koontz so it was a familiar author and I decided to give him a try that summer while home from college. I read the book in two days and thought it was a great book, better than anything else I was reading at the time. Koontz has a unique writing style which really draws me in to his books. When the chapters end I want to keep reading. I have read about 9 or 10 Koontz books over the years and has for the most part enjoyed each quite a bit. In 2010 I would like to read about one each month and this group is the perfect setting to do so. I tend to read many different authors which is why I have not read all of Dean's catalog yet. From what I have read so far, I like his earlier novels best. I look forward to reading more of his 80s and 90s novels.
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wouldn't mind re-reading it with the group sometime :-)
I don't remember how I got started on Koontz.I do remember thinking he was too weird for me. Then, I started on the Brother Odd series and I was hooked. I now have to go back and read everything else I missed.
It`s easy to remember when I started reading his books (I only started this year). I think like a lot of people, I started reading Koontz because fans of King say that you`ll like Koontz. So I gave him a go, starting with Life Expectancy & I`ve been a fan since.
Rachel wrote: "I read my first book when I was about 11 or 12. It may have been Watchers or Lightning. It is hard to know because I started devouring them so quickly after that. I think it was Lightning though..."Rachel, I guess I am old too but I don't feel old :)
Can't remember how I discovered Koontz or which book I read first. I was getting a little tired of Koontz when the Odd series came out. Odd Thomas reminded me how much I like Koontz' characters. I'm amazed how many of the author's books I haven't read - I can't answer the poll questions because I'm not familiar with all the titles. I plan on remedying that real soon.
Maicie wrote: "Can't remember how I discovered Koontz or which book I read first. I was getting a little tired of Koontz when the Odd series came out. Odd Thomas reminded me how much I like Koontz' characters. I'..."I know how you feel - I am in the same boat.
We will all be reading more Koontz in 2010! He has a deep catalog of novels which will keep us all busy.
My aunt always read him and my grandmother so when I was bored one Thanksgiving at her house I picked up night chills *age 13...never stopped reading until I caught up with his current writing. I even read his boring bio! I just love his writing and his humor.What is so funny is how I have run into him well sorta though out my life...
I actualy was so nuts to go to his house when I was graduating HS and gave him an invite and one to my first wedding! HA funny thing is he sent me a signed photo, which was cool. Then years later my now husband was living down the street from him and I met his dog Trixie...who was wonderful and sweet. Then got a personal signed copy of a book I cant remember the title and I am in boxes due to a move. But the best was when I went and heard him speak a few years ago and got to shake his hand. So that is how I got to know and love this great author!
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I actualy was so nuts to go to his house when I was graduating HS and gave him an invite and one to my first wedding! HA funny thing is he sent me a signed photo, which was cool. Then years later my now husband was living down the street from him and I met his dog Trixie...who was wonderful and sweet. Then got a personal signed copy of a book I cant remember the title and I am in boxes due to a move. But the best was when I went and heard him speak a few years ago and got to shake his hand. So that is how I got to know and love this great author!"
Wow! That is crazy!
My first Koontz book was Watchers. I was all cought up to King at the time, and had nothing new to read. Someone said try DK so I did, & i haven't stoped yet.
Diana wrote: " and I met his dog Trixie...who was wonderful and sweet. Then got a personal signed copy of a book..."How very lucky you are to have had a personal relationship with Dean and got to meet *Trixie*! I feel she is a part of my life, as I'm sure is the case with so many of Dean Koontz' fans.
Like others here, I was introduced to Koontz through reading Uncle Stevie.
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Why is Stephen King referred to as "Uncle Stevie"? The first time I saw the reference in the SK Fans group, I thought the person was actually the nephew of SK - I thought "oh, that's cool to have Stephen King for an uncle. Maybe this person can give some inside scoop to the group. Maybe they get free, signed copies of Stephen King's books." I'm now thinking that Stephen King can't have that many nieces and nephews :-) If anyone cares to enlighten me, that'd be great.
I refer sometimes to SK as Uncle Stevie because of the bond he shares with his readers, which of course includes me. His prefaces and afterwords, though directed at the general audience, are always so private that I feel like he was writing just to me. Not to mention all the wonderful stories he shared with us...Dustin, did you check out "The Running Man" ?
Dustin wrote: "Tom wrote: "Like others here, I was introduced to Koontz through reading Uncle Stevie. "Why is Stephen King referred to as "Uncle Stevie"? The first time I saw the reference in the SK Fans group,..."
He refers to himself as Uncle Steve on occasion.
I came across Dean Koontz about 10 years ago, when I was 11. I was going around a used book shop and I bought my FIRST ever Dean Koontz book: The Eyes of Darkness. =)
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I'd like to read The Eyes of Darkness, but haven't yet - what's your opinion on it Maxine? From the cover/summary it sounds good. A Mother loses her son, thinks he's dead but then starts to see him after several years.
Dustin wrote: "I'd like to read The Eyes of Darkness, but haven't yet - what's your opinion on it Maxine? From the cover/summary it sounds good. A Mother loses her son, thinks he's dead but then starts to see him after several years."I know I'm not Maxime but I think it's one of the worst novels, not only by Koontz but of all time. Of all time !
Seriously.
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Seriously."
I nominated it for February because it sounded good :-) of course nobody voted for it. You are talking about Eyes of Darkness and not Twilight Eyes or Servants of Twilight? So, you would name The Eyes of Darkness, among the worst books by Dean Koontz? I'm interested to know which title tops your list of Dean Koontz's worst books :-)
Dustin wrote: "Maciek wrote: "I know I'm not Maxime but I think it's one of the worst novels, not only by Koontz but of all time. Of all time !Seriously."
I nominated it for February because it sounded good :-)..."
I haven't read the other two, so I can't talk about them .The Eyes Of Darkness is propably at the bottmo of my worst Koontz books :) I don't know why he published it, it's a disgrace.
Maciek wrote: "Dustin wrote: "The Eyes Of Darkness is propably at the bottmo of my worst Koontz books :) I don't know why he published it, it's a disgrace...."What are some of your Koontz favorites?
Tom wrote: "Maciek wrote: "Dustin wrote: "The Eyes Of Darkness is propably at the bottmo of my worst Koontz books :) I don't know why he published it, it's a disgrace...."What are some of your Koontz favor..."
I haven't read much, but I really liked The Taking, The House Of Thunder. I enjoyed Dragon Tears and Dark Rivers of the Heart.
Now look here Buster, I've read a shit pot of Dean Koontz books. The Funhouse was my least favorite, not a bad book, just not MY favorite. The Eyes Of Darkness wasn't that bad either. Maybe not YOUR favorite but not to bad either.
Lori wrote: " Now look here Buster, I've read a shit pot of Dean Koontz books. The Funhouse was my least favorite, not a bad book, just not MY favorite. The Eyes Of Darkness wasn't that bad either. Maybe not YO..."Well I could say easily why Eyes Of Darkness was a very bad book, but I don't want to ruin the experience of finding that out for other members ;)
And don't get me wrong: Koontz has produced great books, but also unfortunately duds like that one.
Lori wrote: " Look here dollface your killing me!"Can't help it dear ! It's stronger than me ! Aaaarggh it takes over !
Rachel wrote: "I recently read The Running Man while I was on a dystopian kick and I LOVED IT. So much better than the very stupid movie, which happened to be on TV right after I finished the book (I mean, I literally closed the book, turned on the TV and The Running Man was just starting, so I watched it out of a sense of kismet)."
Actually I really enjoyed the movie. Of course not as an adaptation of the book, but because Arnold was in it. The man is a genius when it comes to delivering brilliant one-liners.
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Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado
(last edited Jan 12, 2010 08:06AM)
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So glad I could lift your spirits, and put a smile on your face!!! But the kid is killing me. For someone who "claims" they like DK, he's as of yet to say anything good. We better hurry up and get to something he likes, or my head might explode.
Lori wrote: " So glad I could lift your spirits, and put a smile on your face!!! But the kid is killing me. For someone who "claims" they like DK, he's as of yet to say anything good. We better hurry up and get..."It's not my fault that we keep discussing the books that I didn't like...:D
Maciek wrote: "It's not my fault that we keep discussing the books that I didn't likei>You've already said "I haven't read much" [Koontz:]
This group being for Koontz fans, why not return after you've read more of his work - AND decided that you are a fan of his?
I've read 19 books, does that make me a fan ? Or maybe 20 will. 21 ? 21,5 ?
Maciek wrote: "I haven't read much, but I really liked The Taking, The House Of Thunder. I enjoyed Dragon Tears and Dark Rivers of the Heart...."Maciek, Here are your exact words. From your statement, I extrapolated that you "haven't read much" Koontz. Don't know how in the world I got that from what you said, silly me :)
OK Boo, it's alright. Your a fan now till whenever. Tom if we didn't have people like Maciek our discussions would be one dimensional. We, I need his input if for no other reason then to reinforce my belief of Koontz's work. Not to mention it makes for a fun debate.
Indeed; I am having fun and love the amusing arguments.
Got to love those fellas from Florida. That's where my honey is from. His mom moved up here with us two years ago. Hell I like her better then him most days. :)
Maciek wrote: "I've read 19 books, does that make me a fan ? Or maybe 20 will. 21 ? 21,5 ?"Maciek, you should start a new thread called "Books Maciek likes" :)
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Lori wrote: " OK Boo, it's alright. Your a fan now till whenever. Tom if we didn't have people like Maciek our discussions would be one dimensional."
Don't worry Lori, If I don't like something I usually voice my opinion :D
Tom wrote: "Maciek, Here are your exact words. From your statement, I extrapolated that you "haven't read much" Koontz. Don't know how in the world I got that from what you said, silly me :)"
I just meant that if we are talking about an author who wrote about 100 books 20 is not much for some of the avid readers. But it is enough to get an opinion about the author and his works :) And of course to discuss those that I've read and compare them with others...that I have read.
What, I have to read ALL his work before I can make an opinion ?
Good that my favourite response didn't come up: "You're not reading properly."
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One of the great things about Goodreads for me is the friendly tone and interactive medium as compared to Amazon reviews and Facebook's Visual Bookshelf, both of which I have used in the past. Please let's keep Koontzland open and inviting - we can still have critical opinions without "bashing" and I'd rather not hear anyone tell another group member that they don't belong here. If someone joins that is clearly a problem - we can and will block them, but that hasn't happened yet. Okay - that's my plea for peace :-) Happy Reading everyone!
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Dustin wrote: "Diversity is the spice of life! - that's a bumper sticker I've seen around. While I don't particularly enjoy hearing "I'm gonna bash that one and that one and that one too.", I do enjoy differing/critical opinions, insights and views. Not everyone sees things through the same lens - because of a person's life experiences/ background they may pick up on different things that I overlooked or didn't realize."
That's exactly my point. I'm not going to say "this sucks". I give reasons why I think so. Constructive criticism is great.
My introduction to Dean Koontz came in high school. My father ran a hotel here in NY and someone left a copy of Phantoms in one of the rooms. He brought the book home to me, and I stayed up all night reading it. It was really the first book I read because I wanted to. From that time I was hooked, and have read most of Dean Koontz's books since that time. It's become a Christmas tradition that my kids get me the new Nov/Dec release every year.
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Cool. Cool. Cool. :-) I haven't read Phantoms yet - I'll read it when it gets picked for the Monthly Group Read.
Maybe because it was my first, but Phantoms has remained one of my favorites. I'll reread it when it makes it to the monthly read.
My great aunt has been a Koontz fan for quite a few years now and considers him to be her favorite author. Often, she would tell me about one of his books and they always seemed fascinating, but I was a bit put off by his popularity and was too busy trying to read everything written by my favorite author, Arthur C. Clarke. However, I bought a GPS device in July 2008, just before my epic drive to Utah, where I moved for graduate school, and it came with some free credits to use on Audible.com, so I decided to try listening to some audiobooks on the GPS device, as I had never listened to audiobooks before. Furthermore, I decided to give Koontz a try, so that I could discuss his books with that same aunt. I ended up downloading and listening to Dragon Tears, my first Koontz book, and really enjoyed it, so I continued listening to more and more and becoming a bigger fan as I did. I am very grateful to both my aunt and to Koontz for all the pleasure and creativity/imagination stimulation I have derived from his writing over the past 1.5 years.
I LOVE THIS GROUP!!!!!!! AND ALL OF THE MEMBERS ARE AWESOME!!!!!
Koontzland - Dean Koontz
Books mentioned in this topic
Fear Nothing (other topics)Odd Thomas (other topics)
Relentless (other topics)
The Exorcist (other topics)
Whispers (other topics)
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For years I have neglected Koontz. When I've read all of Stephen King's books (who has since become one of my favourite authors) that were at the library, I noticed that just next to him there is another shelf, full of books dealing with supernatural (that's how they were advertised) and his name also starts with K...even better, on the dustjackets and backcovers he was often compared to King. And one of the books was familiar - "Demon Seed". I've seen the movie so I decided to read the novel.
Needless to say, it was completely different than the writings of Steve - I've read it, took it back and forgotten all about Koontz since he didn't meet my expectations - he wasn't (and isn't) King.
After some time I tried other Koontz novels and learned to appreciate them for what they are - pure action, entertainment and fun. I'd like to read an epic novel by Dean but I'm afraid it won't happen(I have Strangers and plan to read it).
How about you ?