Dean Koontz

[D-chan]

For over a year now, I've been obsessively reading any Dean Koontz book I can get my hands on. Sometimes I rave about him in my Livejournal, and here I want to talk about his work, why I like him, what my favorites are-- and see if anyone else likes him, too.

He inspires me. While Dean Koontz writes primarily for the suspense/horror bookshelves, he creates these absolutely amazing characters that I usually can't help but love. Especially with his later books, the characters are so fascinating, all unique in his or her own way. I can't get any woman confused with another (one of the biggest, though only, issue I had with Piers Anthony works), his villains can be sufficiently creepy, and he writes some of the most endearing fictional children I've come across.

He mixes all sorts of genres into one. The only he always writes for is suspense, but sometimes he'll stir in some fantasy, sometimes sci-fi, and sometimes horror. His plots (in the later books) are very intricate and carefully woven together, and there are times when he keeps you guessing at who or what the real antagonist is until the very end-- or, if not that, then what their true intentions are. And even at the end, there are times when you have absolutely no idea exactly who may come out alive.

I absolutely love his writing. My favorite story, at the moment, is False Memory. After that, in no particular order, are The Voice of the Night, TickTock, Night Chills, and Phantoms.

The Voice of the Night and TickTock are (I believe) two of his older stories, one of the few I love. (I'm sorry to say that Shattered completely sucked. >.>; Plus he had me confusing that little Colin with TVotN's Colin for a couple chapters.) The Voice of the Night was the second story if his I read, and one of the most memorable simply because he focused on teenage boys, and it was the first time I ever felt inspired, and went through with, slashing book characters. TickTock I love because of the lead female, and her complete insanity. She's so bizarre and off-the-wall that I can't help but love her.

Anyway, this is getting really long, so in the end I guess I'm just curious-- does anyone else read him? If so, did you like him or dislike him?

[Ganheim]

I don't think I've read any of his books, though from your descriptions I probably should give it a try. I think it's strange that I haven't read many mystery books, because I like watching Law & Order and in a sense that's a mystery where you keep guessing right up to the end.

I'm curious, what exactly does he do with the villains? Does he make sure the villains all have a decent motivation for their antagonism? Are they sly, manipulative cretins who work from the shadows through agents?

[D-chan]

Ganheim said:

I'm curious, what exactly does he do with the villains? Does he make sure the villains all have a decent motivation for their antagonism? Are they sly, manipulative cretins who work from the shadows through agents?

It really depends. There are some, like in False Memory, who manipulate their victims into hurting others or themselves, and others, like in Phantoms, who are completely and outragously out-of-this world and work by striking fear seemingly from the shadows, and even others, like in The Voice of the Night, who are blatantly villainous, but are careful to make themselves as amiable as possible. All the villains are so different and work in different ways. I haven't even begun to cover them all.

As for their intentions, that also depends. In The Face, the main villain was an anarchist who wanted to create various sorts of chaos, from subtle to blatant. In TickTock, the villain was a sort of accident. In Mr. Murder, the villain was confused and believed the harm he was causing was justifiable, though few other people did.

[KarotsaMused]

Heh, and then you've got the hilarious case of Tick Tock, which is, in fact, the only Koontz book I've read.
Beyond the lead female, the antagonist's motives are at once predictable and rather unique. I giggled a lot. I read that Tick Tock was a break after a seriously heavy-bloody-gory work, and it shows. (It was a good come-down after Stephen King's It for me. Hoofa.)

I have to agree, though, that even in that one book the characterisations are so interesting that you're drawn in, even brought to adore people that in other circumstances might be rather un-likeable. And while I've been feeding a rampant Pratchett addiction, I have been looking for another author to glomp onto. Koontz sounds like a good pick, both from my experience and your review.

[D-chan]

KarotsaMused said:

Heh, and then you've got the hilarious case of Tick Tock, which is, in fact, the only Koontz book I've read.

*laugh* Yes, TickTock was a rather unique story. I, for one, was pleasantly surprised by the random humor, so I loved it. I especially loved his notes at the end, which said something like:

"I wanted to make his family as weird as possible, especially his mother. And that's when I knew: Tommy Phan had to be Vietnamese-American."

Me: ALKFHJKKJSFB?! What does that have to do with anything?! XD;;;

Outside of TickTock, however, he still integrates several rather witty lines, whether through dialogue or narration. That's another thing I totally admire about his prose. The wit keeps me entertained even during the suspense.

[Ganheim]

D-chan said:

It really depends. There are some, like in False Memory, who manipulate their victims into hurting others or themselves, and others, like in Phantoms, who are completely and outragously out-of-this world and work by striking fear seemingly from the shadows, and even others, like in The Voice of the Night, who are blatantly villainous, but are careful to make themselves as amiable as possible. All the villains are so different and work in different ways. I haven't even begun to cover them all.

Dang, now I'm going to have to read that. Add this to the pile of 'must read, preferably before shipping out'. I wonder how much of the villains I might be able to draw on for source material - I've gone back for editing/rewrites of Life of the Silver Tear, and I'm trying to clear up Koukatsu as a manipulator.

D-chan said:

As for their intentions, that also depends. In The Face, the main villain was an anarchist who wanted to create various sorts of chaos, from subtle to blatant. In TickTock, the villain was a sort of accident. In Mr. Murder, the villain was confused and believed the harm he was causing was justifiable, though few other people did.

Hmm. I asked because all too often I see TV shows, or movies, or less often books, where the villain is antagonistic just to have something for the hero to compete against, they didn't have any true motivations, and that is what I feel drives the story. Most stories need good antagonists, but those antagonists better have a good reason for doing what they do.

[D-chan]

Ganheim said:

Hmm. I asked because all too often I see TV shows, or movies, or less often books, where the villain is antagonistic just to have something for the hero to compete against, they didn't have any true motivations, and that is what I feel drives the story. Most stories need good antagonists, but those antagonists better have a good reason for doing what they do.

Well, that really depends on what you mean by a "good reason." There was no justifiable reason for the villain in False Memory; he just did what he did because he enjoyed watching people's pain, and watching them cry. In Phantoms, the villain believed he was superior to humans, and thus thought he had a right. In Shattered, the villain was living with a rotting brain, and so was too completely screwed up to be redeemed. In The Servants of Twilight, the villain thought the innocent child she was trying to kill was the AntiChrist.

What exactly do you mean by "good reasons"? Because if I had a better idea, I might be able to tell you if I can think of a good with one, or if you'll want to avoid this altogether.

[Ganheim]

I think by "good reasons" I mean more along the lines of the villain:
Thinking himself superior to humans (which is an interesting point to explore, because Koukatsu isn't human).
I suppose the next closest to the line I'm thinking of is like in The Servants of Twilight, where the antagonist is probably working for self-serving ends even if he doesn't realize it (Koukatsu at first attempts to have Giniro killed because he fears being hunted by Giniro, but the reason changes to fearing being forced to re-examine his take on "human" emotions and outlooks).

The inflicting pain "just because he can" or "just because he enjoys watching the pain of others" is probably one of what I'd call the "poorer" reasons. Granted, if you dig those can reveal more than just a sociopathic sadism (such as fear of seeing something within, which is why Koukatsu broke apart and destroyed large, happy families when he was "younger" - he didn't want to introspect and realize that he wanted to be a part of something like a family and those happy, functional families reminded him of what he didn't have).

[D-chan]

Hm. Yeah, you'll probably definitely like the ones I mentioned-- though you seemed kinda "eh" with False Memory. *muses* I personally loved that, because while it's fairly cheap to have a villain to does it just because he's a sadist, the way he went about it was... creepy. Secret codes to unlock minds, persuasion by command, making his victims unable to answer questions when "under the influence..." One of the things I found most interesting with the particular villain in that story was that he enjoyed seeing people cry because his father was a film director of particularly emotional movies, always eliciting tears. But he never cried, so his father's power over other people fascinated him.

>.> But yes. Um... I've mentioned it several times in this topic, but TickTock would also be a good choice, if you don't mind screwball comedy mixed in with the horror. X3

[KarotsaMused]

Good point - an antagonist for the sake of an antagonist is an old, boring concept, but the way a sadist can go about his/her work can be absolutely fantastic. The logic or the psychology or the methods of the villain can be much more interesting than the supposed plot of the novel itself.

What I already like a lot about Koontz is his prose - as D-chan stated before, it is witty (and perhaps in Tick Tock it's pointedly so, but it comes so easily I kind of assumed the rest of his books would have their points of humor) and there is something about his choice of language that conveys a vivid image with the minimal amount of words and the best creepy factor.

Oh, one more thing. How the heck does one pronounce "ALKFHJKKJSFB"? Just wondering

[D-chan]

KarotsaMused said:

Oh, one more thing. How the heck does one pronounce "ALKFHJKKJSFB"? Just wondering

Ah-El-Keh-Ef-Aych-Jay-Kay-Kay-Jeh-Seh-Feh-Buh.

XD;;;;

[cesmith]

D-chan, another Dean Koontz fan here. I have been reading him for about 5 years and I love his work. I have to be in the right frame of mind to read him though. His villians are always so mentally twisted that his books leave a lingering sense of dread when I finish them. The first one I ever read was *The Bad Place*. I almost didn't read another book by him. I loved the story but had never read about someone so absolutely evil with such disregard for Human life. Not even Stephen King ever came close to this level of degradation. The next story was *Sole Survior*. This story was so different, but in it's own way just as haunting. Since I don't like to watch Horror movies I read his story *Phantoms* instead of seeing it. LOved the eerieness and uncertainty of the entity they faced. * False Memory* was wonderful. *Tick Tock* was good, but very different from many of his other stories. The humor was unusual and dark. *Seize the Night* and *Fear Nothing* are his only 2 books about the same characters. Sequels always make me so happy. More chances to learn more about new friends and old enemies. My favorites are actually 3 of his latest books, *The Face *, *From the Corner of His Eye* and *One Door Away from Heaven*. All of these books have your basic good vs evil battle with a little of the incredibly unusual twists that only Koontz can write. I have read about 25 of his books. Sitting on my pile of books to read is *Odd Thomas*. Just need to find time to read it.

[D-chan]

Yay, another Dean Koontz fan!

Funny you should mention Odd Thomas, actually. I just started on it the other day. Usually I'm not fond of first person narration, and Fear Nothing didn't leave as much of an impression on me as some of his other stories... but he actually writed first person POV in a way I like.

I've only been reading his works for a year or so, but I've been trying to read as much as possible.

And is there a movie for Phantoms? *shudder* I heard he didn't care for the way the movie versions of his books turned out... maybe with good reason, since I had to do more than minimal research to find them...

[cesmith]

Yes, there is a movie of *Phantoms*. I haven't seen it but there is no way anyone could capture the feel of his stories onto film and do it justice.

I remember reading *Fear Nothing* after reading one of his truly darker stories. Can't remember which one but *Fear Nothing * and *Seize the Night* had characters I cared about. You were given more time to get to know them. It was lighter, less intense and evil, than so many of his other stories.

Are you having trouble finding his books or information about his movies? I'm not a Horror movie fan, but I love to read the books. It's usually Less frightening and at the same time more frightening, if you understand what I'm trying to say. My mental imagination scares me more than all the special effects in Hollywood.

[Ganheim]

cesmith said:

My mental imagination scares me more than all the special effects in Hollywood.

This is something I wish Hollywood would learn. Implication and letting the audience's imagination do the work is quite effective. Sometimes I think that they've forgotten that special effects don't make a movie good.