Dean Koontz

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I’ve been a big fan of Dean Koontz since I was in my freshman year of high school, starting with One Door Away from Heaven, which still stands as one of my favorite stories.

I also discovered yesterday that Mr Koontz is a practicing Catholic, something that just made me feel warm and fuzzy, having some sort of connection to my favorite author.

Has anyone else read any of his stories? What did you think of them?
 
I’ve read many of Mr. Koontz’ books. Some I’ve liked a lot (Intensity), some not so much (Midnight), but all of them are very vivid and imaginative.

By the way, Sailor Kenshin (a regular here on CAF) interviewed him recently!
 
I got halfway through intensity, and then my book literally fell apart at the seam! I need to find a new copy.

Have you read Hideaway? It’s one of the most frightening (in a good way!) books I’ve read.

Ah yes, I saw the link in his signiture! I need to check it out
 
shondrea said:
I got halfway through intensity, and then my book literally fell apart at the seam! I need to find a new copy.

Have you read Hideaway? It’s one of the most frightening (in a good way!) books I’ve read.

Ah yes, I saw the link in his signiture! I need to check it out
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I haven’t. I’ve read Mr. Murder, and reading the jacket of Hideaway they seemed very similar… perhaps not though.

Also, I just realized that I meant Velocity in my earlier post, not Intensity. I get the names confused. 😦
 
Anybody read the Odd Thomas books?? They are amazing, and the third book Brother Odd is set in a monastery!!
 
shondrea said:
I’ve been a big fan of Dean Koontz since I was in my freshman year of high school, starting with One Door Away from Heaven, which still stands as one of my favorite stories.

I also discovered yesterday that Mr Koontz is a practicing Catholic, something that just made me feel warm and fuzzy, having some sort of connection to my favorite author.

Has anyone else read any of his stories? What did you think of them?
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I have read Dean Koontz and enjoyed the books, but was unaware that he is a practicing Catholic! Now I want to pick up another!👍
Peace,
Del
 
I haven’t read the Odd Thomas books yet, but I plan to!

@ Del- I know! Makes me want to pick up some new ones!
 
Does no one out there besides me find these books evil. They provoke evil thoughts in the minds of readers, who then have flashbacks to these images. They can bring a person down when their mind is constantly bombarded with the imagery this type of author uses. If you read murder mysteries, murder tends to preoccupy the mind, the same as demon possession books, etc. What goes in, comes out! I do not mean to sound condemning, but really think about what you are putting in your mind, as much as you think about what goes into the body. Is it healthy and wholesome?
 
suzipam said:
Does no one out there besides me find these books evil. They provoke evil thoughts in the minds of readers, who then have flashbacks to these images. They can bring a person down when their mind is constantly bombarded with the imagery this type of author uses. If you read murder mysteries, murder tends to preoccupy the mind, the same as demon possession books, etc. What goes in, comes out! I do not mean to sound condemning, but really think about what you are putting in your mind, as much as you think about what goes into the body. Is it healthy and wholesome?
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It depends on how the evil is depicted. If it’s senseless violence and evil, then I agree with you. But Koontz’s are tales of courage and faith in the presence of evil.

C.S. Lewis wrote “There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall aboutthe devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe,and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors, and hail a materialist or magician with the same delight.”

Mr. Lewis himeself featured plenty of evil and violence in his own childrens books, but as part of his Christian allegories.
 
My theory? I’m not going to hide from the world. I cannot condone being afraid of the world and trying to shelter myself away from it. The world ain’t all sunshine and roses, and I absolutely cannot undestand people who try to hide away from things

I believe most books are NOT EVIL. What you DO with the book may be evil. I’ve been more harmed by watching the evening news.

Because in books, the good side always defeats evil! In the news…it’s generally one evil after another.
 
suzipam said:
Does no one out there besides me find these books evil. They provoke evil thoughts in the minds of readers, who then have flashbacks to these images. They can bring a person down when their mind is constantly bombarded with the imagery this type of author uses. If you read murder mysteries, murder tends to preoccupy the mind, the same as demon possession books, etc. What goes in, comes out! I do not mean to sound condemning, but really think about what you are putting in your mind, as much as you think about what goes into the body. Is it healthy and wholesome?
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By all means, we should guard what goes into our mind, even more than body. After all, we will eventually have a spiritual body; but AIUI we keep the same mind when we go into eternity.

That said, I personally don’t read horror; there is enough hideosity in reality as it stands, IMNAAHO. Still, I don’t think you can call the whole genre evil. It is possible that a spirtually–minded author could use the more hideous aspects of human life to make an uplifting fictional point.

Murder exists in the world; reading about it does not make one more likely to commit it. (I know you didn’t quite say that) Otherwise Sherlock Holmes would be bad, too. And fiction about demonic possession could be just the thing to warn the innocent against “playing with the occult.”

Ultimately the suitably of what goes into a human mind depends upon the mind.

ICXC NIKA!
 
Exactly. It’s all on presentation. Koontz’s books don’t make me focus on murde or death, but rather the characters and their struggles, and how strong they are.

For example, I have an interest in books about WWII and the Holocaust, but not for a macabre interest in death. But rather, to understand history. History has many evil things, but learning history is not evil
 
I have read most of Dean Koontz books. The are not evil in the least, althought they do portray evil very well. In this they are not alone. The Bible portrays evil. The Lord of the Rings portrays evil. In fact, I find it refreshing the fact that he deliniates so well good from evil. The modern view too often disguises evil by mudding the line between good and evil. Yet with Koontz, the line is clear, and good always triumphs in the end, though sometimes with a sacrifice. While this is not always true in this life, it is true in the long run. In an interesting twist on christilogical imagery, the sacrifice often ends up with an Easter like joy. I can not think of another author that does this.
 
I think also that he has come into his faith more fully recently, so older books of his don’t really reflect his Catholic faith as much as newer works. Also, he isn’t an apologist, just a writer who is Catholic, so we don’t have to look to him for to eliminate the suspenseful elements that make ficition good. His books are not overtly Catholic, but they do paint the Church in a good light, which is so rare in popular fiction today.
 
I agree, though even in his earlier boks there;s often a definite spirituality, or at the very least a positive example of a church member! The little girl in One Door Away from Heaven was just too spunky and adorable.
 
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