What do you think of the books of Dean Koontz?

[hauckeye]

I just finished his latest, “After Death” and have read nearly all his books. I’m finding myself getting irritated with the worldview he puts in his books: all governments are corrupt, there are evil organizations and corporations everywhere, and the only good people are his heroes, who are always experts in guns and weapons. As thrillers his books are entertaining, but I wonder if these are really his beliefs.

[Woodwizard]

1. I have not read him for a while.

Been close to 20 years I got tired of the same formula of the good guys always survive in every single story.

I never gave much thought on his world view at the time.

Now take a book like Steven Kings Thinner, that had a great plot twist ending.

[Demovictory9]

7. Koonz got very formalaic

[ExWhoDoesntCare]

13. TBF...

Most books end with the good guys winning. Even if the ending doesn't turn out with everything tied up in a neat bow, the protagonist tends to survive. Audiences prefer that kind of ending.

Especially in genre fiction, you don't kill off your main character. Sequels are often a writer's bread and butter, you know.

[murielm99]

2. Those really are his beliefs.

He is ultra conservative.

I liked his books for awhile. Then I got tired of his worldview.

[ExWhoDoesntCare]

14. I thought he was hard-core liberturdian

That was my understanding.

My husband used to be a big fan, until DK got preachy with the politics in his books.

[brewens]

3. I read a couple of his years ago. I noticed that too. I got tired of Tom Clancy. I thought he had a right-wing

agenda. Of course, it was eco terrorists wanting to kill everyone off in Rainbow Six. Maybe he's had Jack Ryan take out some homegrown right-wing terrorists by now, but I haven't seen or read anything like that from him.

[ExWhoDoesntCare]

12. Well, Tom is dead now.

Plus, he stopped writing the Ryan books before that, because his ex-wife would have got a piece of any Ryan books he wrote.

Hence why he came up with Rainbow Six.

And while he was definitely on the conservative side, he wasn't right wing as we know it now. More 80s style.

I knew Tom socially for a few years, but then when he learned my brother got cancer, he was incredibly supportive. So he wasn't an entirely awful person, despite his politics.

[viva la]

4. I loved Mr. Murder...

And Lightning. And some of the later work. It's hit or miss for me. But I met him once, and thought he was a very nice guy. So I tend to like his work. I'm easily seduced.

[The Unmitigated Gall]

5. I read Watchers a long time ago

And really liked it. Then I read another one I can’t recall and in the reading came across something he wrote which sounded very right-wing, which cooled me off a bit.

[hauckeye]

8. Watchers is probably my favorite Koontz book

I love the “smart” dog 😄

[Demovictory9]

6. I liked his older books..20 years ago..he is great with how his stories happen over 24/48 hours

With the hero basically running out the back door and keeping on the run in a small geographical area for the entire story..its like reading in real time

Last koonz i read was very predictable. Hero. Woman child dog old man ..each on the run. Eventually meeting up to go against the "monster"

[Jeebo]

9. For a long time, I read everything he wrote.

A couple of posters in this thread mentioned "Watchers" as their favorite Koontz book. I think that was the first novel of his that I read, and that must have been close to 30 years ago. For some years I read every novel of his that came out, but I never read a Koontz novel after that first one that I liked as much. They got kind of formulaic and predictable, there was a sameness about all of them, until finally I OD'd on them and stopped reading them. I haven't read a Koontz novel in 15 or 20 years.

-- Ron

[cbabe]

10. I enjoyed the early Odd books. And Watchers.

[NH Ethylene]

11. I liked his early books.

But as soon as his political views started seeping in, I could no longer stomach them.

[raccoon]

15. I read WATCHERS and really liked the smart dog.

Also read a few more, THE SERVANTS OF TWILIGHT and the one about the man named Jim whose parents were killed by a mass shooter in a fast-food restaurant.
Another that started with a minister's wife being stalked and murdered by some people who had been changed into something like werewolves by some drugs.
Another who was haunted by some young men from high school who should've been much older...but they weren't. (I think that one was THE SERVANTS OF TWILIGHT.)

Also, didn't he write the book about the woman named Laura and this man from Nazi Germany keep time traveling to help her?

Then he seemed to become formulaic, as someone said.

If anyone recognizes any of the books I mentioned, feel free to chime in with the title.

(As I've gotten older, I find it harder to remember titles. Sometimes I can't remember the title of a book I'm reading now. I can tell you, it's the latest book by So and So, but don't recall the title.)

[hermetic]

16. I highly recommend the Ficiton Database

https://www.fictiondb.com/

I use it all the time.

You will find simple lists of books in publication order by author and chronological order by series. You can search the extensive database using a wide variety of criteria. Easily find books where you don't remember the title.

It's free to sign up and you don't have to log in to use it but you get much better results if you do. Like reviews from Good Reads.

Happy reading!