Misplaced Pages

Dean Koontz

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 207.200.116.10 (talk) at 15:33, 28 September 2006. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Revision as of 15:33, 28 September 2006 by 207.200.116.10 (talk)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)
Dean Koontz
File:TrixieandKoontz.jpg
BornJuly 9, 1945
Everett, Pennsylvania
Occupationnovelist, short story writer, screenwriter
GenreSuspense, Horror fiction, Science fiction
Website
http://www.deankoontz.com

Dean Ray Koontz (born July 9, 1945 in Everett, Pennsylvania), also known under a number of pseudonyms, including Leigh Nichols, is an American writer best known as a prolific and best-selling author of suspense novels.

Biography

Koontz grew up in desperate poverty under the tyranny of a violent alcoholic father. Despite his traumatic childhood, Koontz put himself through Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania (then known as Shippensburg State College), and in 1967 went to work as an English teacher at Mechanicsburg High School. In his spare time he wrote his first novel, Star Quest, which was published in 1968. From there he went on to write over a dozen more science fiction novels.

In the 1970s, Koontz began publishing mainstream suspense and horror fiction, under his own name as well as several psuedonyms. Koontz has stated that he began using pen names after several editors convinced him that authors who switched back and forth between different genres invariably fell victim to "negative crossover": alienating established fans, while simultaneously failing to pick up any new ones. Known pseudonyms used by Koontz during his career include Deanna Dwyer, K. R. Dwyer, Aaron Wolfe, David Axton, Brian Coffey, John Hill, Leigh Nichols, Owen West, Richard Paige, and Anthony North. As of 2006, most of Koontz's psuedonymous novels are now available under his real name.

Koontz's acknowledged breakthrough novel was Whispers, published in 1980. Since then, nine hardcovers and thirteen paperbacks written by Koontz have reached #1 on the New York Times Bestseller List.

He has often quipped that he encourages fans to collect his novels and stories, as long as they don't actually read them.

As of 2006, Koontz resides in Newport Beach, a city in Southern California (where most of his novels are set) with his wife Gerda and their dog Trixie Koontz, under whose name he published the book, Life is Good: Lessons in Joyful Living, in 2004. Trixie is also often referenced in Koontz' official newsletter, Useless News.

Early author photos on the back of many of his novels show a balding Koontz with a mustache. After Koontz underwent hair transplantation surgery in the late 1990s, his subsequent books have featured a new clean-shaven appearance with a fuller head of hair. A Rolling Stone profile confirmed this. Koontz explained the change by claiming that he was tired of looking like G. Gordon Liddy.

Plot staples and formulas

Koontz is an avid dog lover, and canines often feature prominently in his works: Fear Nothing, The Taking, Watchers, Dark Rivers of the Heart, and One Door Away from Heaven are prime examples. Cats have often fared worse in his books (Koontz is allergic to felines), though he has occasionally included cats as characters, most notably the smart feline Mungojerrie in the Christopher Snow novels.

Koontz's protagonists often arm themselves with guns to combat the various monsters and madmen they are forced to do battle with. Koontz himself is a lifelong gun owner.

Until recently, Koontz had only rarely written more than one novel featuring the same characters, the two exceptions being the Black Bat Mystery' series featuring Mike Tucker, art dealer and professional thief (Tucker appeared in the novels Blood Risk, Surrounded, and The Wall of Masks, all written under the pseudonym of Brian Coffey); and the Moonlight Bay Trilogy, whose hero, Christopher Snow, appears in the novels Fear Nothing, Seize the Night, and a proposed but as yet unwritten third entry, Ride the Storm. In recent years, however, Koontz has written three novels featuring the character Odd Thomas (namely, Odd Thomas, Forever Odd, and the upcoming Brother Odd), as well as the ongoing Dean Koontz's Frankenstein series, based on a concept for a failed television show that Koontz was briefly involved with.

Though renowned for his skill at writing suspenseful page-turners, crafting memorable characters, and blending elements from numerous different genres (including horror, science fiction, mystery, and satire), Koontz has been criticized for his tendency to moralize heavily, and his frequent use of similar character types and plot structures. Some common elements found among many of Koontz' novels include:

  • A setting in southern California
  • A protagonist whose upbringing was either abusive (or at least extremely dysfunctional), or conversely, extremely idealistic
  • An irredeemable, sociopathic antagonist who is invariably destroyed by the story's end; usually someone who considers his or her warped, often delusional worldview to be philosophically transcendent (Edgler Vess from Intensity, Corky Laputa from The Face, Vassago from Hideaway, Ticktock from Dragon Tears, and Vince Nasco from Watchers are just a few examples)
  • Plausible, logically consistent explanations for the seemingly fantastical events that occur in most of his novels (very few of Koontz's novels involve the overtly supernatural)
  • The ideal that love and compassion can save one from the apparent absurdities of existence and the cruelties of life
  • A "happy ending" for most of the main characters

Film and television adaptations

Though several of his novels have been adapted either as motion pictures or television movies, Koontz is generally unhappy with most of these adaptations.

According to a 1996 interview, Koontz was so unhappy with the final cut of the film adaptation of his novel Hideaway that he now insists on keeping creative control over all subsequent films based on his books.

Film adaptions

Mailing address

Koontz includes his mailing address in the "About the Author" section of most of his books: 

  Dean Koontz
  P.O.Box 9529
  Newport Beach, CA  92658

Bibliography

Novels

Early novels (out of print)

Children's books

  • Robot Santa: The Further Adventures of Santa's Twin (October 1 2004)
  • Every Day's a Holiday : Amusing Rhymes for Happy Times (October 1 2003)
  • The Paper Doorway : Funny Verse and Nothing Worse (October 1 2001)
  • Santa's Twin (November 1 1996)
  • Oddkins: A Fable for All Ages (1988)

Non-fiction

  • Christmas Is Good!: Trixie Treats And Holiday Wisdom w/ Trixie Koontz (October 31 2005)
  • Life is Good! Lessons in Joyful Living w/ Trixie Koontz (October 31 2004)
  • How To Write Best-Selling Fiction (1981)
  • Writing Popular Fiction (1972)
  • The Pig Society w/ Gerda Koontz (1970)
  • The Underground Lifestyles Handbook w/ Gerda Koontz (1970)

Essays and introductions

  • Foreword to Love Heels: Tales from Canine Companions for Independence (October 1 2003)
  • Introduction to Great Escapes: New Designs for Home Theaters by Theo Kalomirakis (October 15 2003)
  • "Ibsen's Dream" (Reflector, 1966)
  • "Of Childhood" (Reflector, 1966)

Collections

  • Soft Come the Dragons (1970, short story collection)
  • Strange Highways (1994, short story collection) {reissued in September 2002}

Short fiction

  • "Black River" (1999)
  • "Pinkie" (1998)
  • "Trapped" (1989) {re-issued as a graphic novel in 1992}
  • "Graveyard Highway" (1987)
  • "Twilight of the Dawn" (1987)
  • "Miss Atilla the Hun" (1987)
  • "Hardshell" (1987)
  • "The Interrogation" (1987)
  • "The Black Pumpkin" (1986)
  • "The Monitors of Providence {collaboration}" (1986)
  • "Snatcher" (1986)
  • "Weird World" (1986)
  • "Down in the Darkness" (1986)
  • "Night of the Storm" (1974) {re-issued as a graphic novel in 1976}
  • "We Three" (1974)
  • "The Undercity" (1973)
  • "Terra Phobia" (1973)
  • "Wake Up To Thunder" (1973)
  • "The Sinless Child" (1973)
  • "Grayworld" (1973)
  • "A Mouse in the Walls of the Global Village" (1972)
  • "Ollie's Hands" (1972) {revised and re-issued in 1987}
  • "Altarboy" (1972)
  • "Cosmic Sin" (1972)
  • "The Terrible Weapon" (1972)
  • "Bruno" (1971)
  • "Unseen Warriors" (1970)
  • "Shambolain" (1970)
  • "The Crimson Witch" (1970)
  • "Beastchild" (1970)
  • "Emanations" (1970)
  • "The Mystery of His Flesh" (1970)
  • "The Good Ship Lookoutworld" (1970)
  • "Nightmare Gang" (1970)
  • "A Third Hand" (1970)
  • "Muse" (1969)
  • "The Face in His Belly" Part Two" (1969)
  • "Dragon In the Land" (1969)
  • "The Face in His Belly" Part One (1969)
  • "Where the Beast Runs" (1969)
  • "Killerbot" (1969) {revised and re-issued in 1977 as "A Season for Freedom"}
  • "Temple of Sorrow" (1969)
  • "In the Shield" (1969)
  • "Dreambird" (1968)
  • "The Twelfth Bed" (1968)
  • "The Psychedelic Children" (1968)
  • "To Behold the Sun" (1967)
  • "Love 2005" (1967)
  • "Soft Come the Dragons" (1967)
  • "A Miracle is Anything" (1966)
  • "Some Disputed Barricade" (1966)
  • "This Fence" (1965)
  • "The Kittens" (1965)

Screenplays

Poetry

Collections

Poetry

Every Day's a Holiday: Amusing Rhymes for Happy Times (2003)

  • "Holiday Gifts"
  • "Stop The World! It's Your Birthday!"
  • "Holiday Data Glitch"
  • "New Year's Eve"
  • "New Year's Day"
  • "Appropriate Holiday Entertainment"
  • "Carnival!"
  • "Gravity Day"
  • "Martin Luther King, Jr. Day"
  • "Snow Day"
  • "Valentine's Day"
  • "Abraham Lincoln's Birthday"
  • "George Washington's Birthday"
  • "Saint Patrick's Day"
  • "The First Day of Spring"
  • "Every Day's A Holiday"
  • "Easter: The Danger of Improving Holiday Traditions"
  • "April Fool's Day"
  • "Sakura Matsuki (Cherry Blossom Festival)"
  • "Dino Day"
  • "Cinco de Mayo"
  • "Teacher's Day"
  • "Annual Animals' Day in Court"
  • "Mother's Day Is Every Day, Thanks to Us"
  • "Cat Day"
  • "Memorial Day"
  • "Things That Can Spoil a Good Holiday"
  • "Father's Day"
  • "The Eighteen Acceptable Excuses Not to Celebrate a Holiday"
  • "Toad Day"
  • "The Last Day of School, the Saddest Day of the Year"
  • "Graduation Day"
  • "The First Day of Summer"
  • "Me Day"
  • "Independence Day: Free to Be Ignorant Old Me"
  • "Dog Day"
  • "Friendship Day"
  • "Holidays on Other Planets"
  • "Labor Day"
  • "Grandfather's Day"
  • "Grandma's Day or Why One Day There Will Be Good Cookies on the Moon"
  • "The First Day of Autumn"
  • "Lost-Tooth Day"
  • "Rosh Hashanah"
  • "Troll Day, Whether You Like IT of Not"
  • "Yom Kippur"
  • "Holiday Dinner"
  • "Columbus Day"
  • "How to Get to Sleep Before a Holiday"
  • "Mr. Halloween"
  • "What Should Go into a Holiday Pie"
  • "Día de los Muertos"
  • "Praise the Chicken Day - or Else"
  • "Diwali by Golly"
  • "National Book Week: Why Paper Tigers Are the Preferred Breed"
  • "Holiday, Holinight"
  • "Thanksgiving Turkey Dresses in Hand-Me-Downs"
  • "The First Day of Winter"
  • "The Shortest Day of the Year"
  • "Christmas Eve"
  • "Christmas Day"
  • "Up-Is-Down Day"
  • "Kwanzaa"
  • "Not the Stuff of Holidays"

The Paper Doorway: Funny Verse and Nothing Worse (2001)

  • "A Bad Cat"
  • "A Beverage with Antlers"
  • "A Cure for Ugly"
  • "A Long Day of Rhyming"
  • "A Short Trip"
  • "A Skeleton's Hotel"
  • "A Strange Day on the Farm"
  • "Advice"
  • "Ages of a Toad"
  • "All Families Are Not the Same"
  • "An Accident at the Pole"
  • "An Angry Poem by a Dragon's Mother"
  • "An Interesting Fact About Dogs"
  • "At War with Wood"
  • "Auntie"
  • "Balance"
  • "Baseball is Safer"
  • "Being Me"
  • "Better Than Money"
  • "Boogeyman"
  • "Cats in Spats"
  • "Crime and Punishment"
  • "Dangerous Music"
  • "Dinner with Jilly"
  • "Do Trees Sneeze?"
  • "Dogs and Hogs"
  • "Fashion-Plate Fido"
  • "Food Psychos"
  • "Frankenbunny"
  • "Handyman"
  • "Head Number Two"
  • "Horse Thief"
  • "I Don't Share"
  • "If I Were a Potato"
  • "Insults"
  • "Listen to the Wind"
  • "Lucky Skunk"
  • "Mary Thinks She Wants a Puppy"
  • "My Words"
  • "Peace Through Hopping"
  • "Peg-Leg Zeg"
  • "Plurals"
  • "Poem by My Dog"
  • "Princess with a Tail"
  • "Rain"
  • "Red Hair"
  • "Rocks"
  • "Rumor"
  • "Safe Household Accidents"
  • "Sick"
  • "Silly"
  • "Snowland"
  • "So There"
  • "Stars, Mars, and Chocolate Bars"
  • "The Bear with One Green Ear"
  • "The Cabbage Feels No Pain"
  • "The Fearful Bee"
  • "The Man With Four Eyes"
  • "The Monstrous Broccoli Excuse"
  • "The Paper Doorway"
  • "The Pig with Pride"
  • "The Prettiest Butterfly I Will Ever See"
  • "The Reliable Bunny"
  • "The Seasons of a Toad"
  • "The Shark in the Park"
  • "The Threat"
  • "The Wart"
  • "The Woggle Wrangler"
  • "The Young Musician - Or Maybe Thug"
  • "Them and Us"
  • "Thinking About Me"
  • "Those Weird Guys in Nursery Rhymes"
  • "Toast and Jam"
  • "Up"
  • "Wally the Werewolf"
  • "What I Like"
  • "What Will We Do, What Will We Do?"
  • "Why Good Manners Matter"
  • "Why I Find It So Hard to Learn"
  • "Why Most People Prefer Cats and Dogs"
  • "Why?"
  • "Wishes"
  • "You Get the Pickle You Ask For"

The Reflector (1965-67)

  • "The Day"
  • "Growing Pains"
  • "Sing A Song Of Sixpence"
  • "This Fence"
  • "Cellars"
  • "Cloistered Walls"
  • "Flesh"
  • "For A Breath I Tarry"
  • "Hey, Good Christian"
  • "Holes"
  • "It"
  • "I've Met One"
  • "Mold In The Jungle"
  • "Once"
  • "The Rats Run"
  • "Sam: the Adventurous, Exciting, Well-Traveled Man"
  • "Something About This City"
  • "The Standard Unusual"
  • "A Trio Of Possible Futures"
  • "You Dirty Jap, Said The Jap"
  • "Where No One Fell"

External links

Categories: