Koontz himself seems to acknowledge this in his introduction to Richard Laymon’s book To Wake the Dead after describing an unusually similar pair of car accidents he had been involved in, Koontz states: Sometimes this quest takes a material form, as in his book Intensity other times it is much more subtle, but it always seems to be present. Koontz is possibly unique among horror authors in that he uses horror to explore a positive theme, which might be best characterized as the quest for meaning. The end result is typically one of those “unable to put it down until it’s done” novels that deserves its dominance of the shelves of airport shops.Īs far as recurring themes in Koontz’s work, only one stands out to me. Building from this one clever idea, Koontz usually develops its implications and consequences in unexpected ways. Almost every Koontz novel I’ve read contains one really ingenious, imaginative idea which forms a solid foundation for the rest of the book.

It’s a bit hard to explain what I mean by this without spoiling the stories of his novels, and they really should be read firsthand to appreciate them. It would be easy to dismiss Koontz as another pop horror author showering the shelves with forgettable drek (I’m lookin’ at you, Preston and Child!), except for one important, undeniable, unavoidable reality:ĭean Koontz’s story ideas are incredibly, almost maddeningly, clever – and they’re executed brilliantly.

Furthermore, his short stories, such as those compiled in Strange Highways, often seem clumsy and somehow ‘inefficient’. Many of his novels, especially his early work, follow a certain well-defined plot structure: boy/girl hero meets girl/boy love interest, both are threatened by some mysterious entity, they flee, they have a final confrontation with said entity in some isolated location and live happily ever after. Airport bookstores are constantly stocked with his books finding a horror author whose last name doesn’t start with “K” can be quite a challenge when traveling (King, of course, being the other one).īroadly speaking, it is easy at first glance to dismiss Koontz as a “pop” horror author of no serious depth. I haven’t done a “ Horror Masters” post for a while, and it’s long past due!Įven if you’ve never read a Dean Koontz novel, you’re familiar with his work.

Dean koontz down in the darkness