Latest Posts
Boxed Sets
May 19, 2014
Back in the 90s there were a bunch of Dean Koontz boxed sets released. Unfortunately, I don’t have any sort of list as to which books were released in which sets. However, I do have three of those boxes in my collection. Here they are, each pictures from two sides since each has two pieces of art/photography on the box.
Obscure Audio Editions follow-up
May 17, 2014
I just wanted to post a quick correction to my previous post about the NLS audio editions of some titles. It’s not a catalog from 1973 that I have, but one from 1977-1978 as shown here, along with the entry for After the Last Race.
Obscure audio editions
May 16, 2014
To my knowledge neither Nightmare Journey nor After the Last Race have been commercially released as audiobooks. However, both have been previously released as part of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) from The Library of Congress. (In fact, I have a copy of a print catalog of available titles from this program from 1973 1977-78 and it does list After the Last Race as an available title.
Unfortunately for collectors, but for very good reasons, there are very specific eligibility requirements for participating in this program and there is specialty hardware needed in order to play the content. In other words, this is specialty content that I will not be including in the book.
However, I did recently come across both of these recordings on YouTube. Yes folks, these “copies” are violating copyright and I’ve got mixed emotions about promoting their existence. So, I’m embedding them below but not hosting additional copies on this site. I did not create these copies, nor did I upload them to YouTube. If they get taken down, the embeds here will also disappear. I’m pointing to them purely for the record.
See a follow-up post here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hn2F0aMjYM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiAT8lOB-Ko
For fans of Intensity
May 16, 2014
It’s not by Dean, but according to this review, fans of Intensity, might find this a good read.
SOUTH AFRICAN AUTHOR Lauren Beukes’s latest novel is less SF than it is mystery, suspense, and horror, riffing on both serial killer and haunted house prototypes. The basic premise has been used before. It immediately calls to mind Dean Koontz’s novel Intensity, in which a female protagonist hunts a serial killer after witnessing him murder her friend and her friend’s family. Beukes’s protagonist, Kirby Mazrachi, goes on a similar hunt, but under very different circumstances, and with significantly more finesse. The person she witnesses the serial killer murder is herself, and the serial killer, Harper Curtis, unlike Koontz’s ego-possessed Edgler Vess, is possessed by a house that allows him to travel through time.
The City BCE now available for pre-order
May 15, 2014
Saint Odd cover art
May 15, 2014
Julie Christie carries the Demon Seed
May 14, 2014
Just got my hands on a single film cell from Demon Seed. Just an interesting little addition to my collection.
Thanks to Lori for the great hi-res scan.
Two More John D. MacDonald books out today
May 13, 2014
Today the new editions of John D. MacDonald’s The Brass Cupcake and The Neon Jungle, both with introductions by Dean were released. Don’t forget though, that all of these titles have the same introduction. So, if you’ve already bought one of them just for Dean’s contribution, and you’re not a completist, you don’t need to by the others.
The City ARC
May 13, 2014
Look what I got in the mail today!
Breathless review
May 11, 2014
From 2009:
Dean Koontz is an amazing stylist when it comes to writing novels. I enjoy the way he puts words together and the energy of his pacing. When it comes to dialogue, he’s got a definite ear for the way people speak. He’s been in the writing business for a long time, and his passion is always clear. Primarily, he’s been lately known for his thrillers, but those readers also embrace his “feel good” novels.
For these kinds of books, Koontz usually plays his characters as innocents caught up in a macabre web involving criminals and heavy-handed bureaucrats with sinister agendas. That’s what Koontz was going for it in his latest book, Breathless, but somewhere along the way he dropped the ball.
Oh, there are innocents aplenty. The book opens with Grady Adams, a small time furniture maker living life at a slow pace with his wonder dog, Merlin. I actually thought the opening was very reminiscent to the opening pages of an earlier Koontz book, Watchers. Even the creepy noises and things that happened out in the forest seemed to echo that book.
Read the full review @ BlogCritics.org.
Dr. Pawan Grover Moonlights as Film Producer
May 11, 2014
Indian American physician Pawan Grover already dipped his toe into show business, as the star and producer of a thriller called “Unspeakable” 12 years ago.
Now, the Houston-based spine specialist can add another producer credit to his resume as well. Grover is listed as one of 17 producers on the cult horror film “Odd Thomas,” based on a Dean Koontz bestseller, which enjoyed a theatrical release Feb. 28 and is now out on DVD and Blu-Ray.
Read more at IndiaWest.com.
Dragon Tears TPBK now out
May 11, 2014
Just in case you missed it, the trade paperback edition of Dragon Tears came out this past Tuesday.
Create a custom Odd Thomas image on Facebook
April 26, 2014
Have you seen the I’m Odd image generator over on Facebook yet?
Demon Seed images & artwork
April 26, 2014
The folks over at art of the beautiful-grotesque have a page showing off a lot of images, posters, and other artwork from the film and print versions of Demon Seed. The page’s layout is a bit of a mess and there are a few “broken” images but it’s still worth a look.
Chanrel House Edition of Innocence
April 26, 2014
The Charnel House Web site posted a few pictures of their edition of Innocence at the bindery. Even if you’ve seen photos of this edition before, they’re an interesting behind-the-scenes look at a book bindery.
Welcome to The City
April 23, 2014
THE CITY by Dean Koontz by Random House Publishing Group
We want flying cars, not creepy robots that take care of grandma, study says
April 19, 2014
To engineers, inventors, and software developers, science fiction is the stuff of inspiration for the future.
However, science fiction also holds many cautionary tales for ways in which technology can get out of control.
Much of zombie-lore revolves around the idea of intentional modification of DNA could result in the production of monsters. The 1997 film “Gattaca” portrayed a grim future where too much understanding of genetics leads to discrimination of people seen as defective.
In Dean Koontz’s 1973 sci-fi novel “Demon Seed,” which was adapted into a 1977 movie, a woman becomes imprisoned in her home by an artificially intelligent computer that taps into computerized controls that have been installed around the house for convenience.
While true artificial intelligence has so far proved elusive, more smart appliances that connect to the Internet are being integrated into the home. Think Nest’s smart thermostats and fire extinguishers and Samsung’s Internet refrigerator.
Read the full article @ csmonitor.com.
Do you know what The City is about?
April 17, 2014
The City is coming July 1, 2014. But do you have any idea what it’s about? Well, here you go! Read the below and get excited to enter The City!
The city changed my life and showed me that the world is deeply mysterious. I need to tell you about her and some terrible things and wonderful things and amazing things that happened . . . and how I am still haunted by them. Including one night when I died and woke and lived again.
Here is the riveting, soul-stirring story of Jonah Kirk, son of an exceptional singer, grandson of a formidable “piano man,” a musical prodigy beginning to explore his own gifts when he crosses a group of extremely dangerous people, with shattering consequences. Set in a more innocent time not so long ago, The City encompasses a lifetime but unfolds over three extraordinary, heart-racing years of tribulation and triumph, in which Jonah first grasps the electrifying power of music and art, of enduring friendship, of everyday heroes.
The unforgettable saga of a young man coming of age within a remarkable family, and a shimmering portrait of the world that shaped him, The City is a novel that speaks to everyone, a dazzling realization of the evergreen dreams we all share. Brilliantly illumined by magic dark and light, it’s a place where enchantment and malice entwine, courage and honor are found in the most unexpected quarters, and the way forward lies buried deep inside the heart.
'Dangerous Dozen' authors share their writing inspirations
April 11, 2014
Joyce Lamb, author of Found Wanting
My very first influence was Sidney Sheldon. Yes, this was back in the ’80s. I got my first urge to write a book after finishing Rage of Angels. It did NOT have a happy ending, and I was not happy about it. I vowed then to write a book that WOULD have a happy ending. So take that, Mr. Sheldon. : )
Dean Koontz has also been a huge influence. His character development and dialogue especially have inspired me. My favorite Dean Koontz book is Lightning. I can read that book over and over again. Love the heroine who bounces back repeatedly and the theme that destiny always struggles to reassert itself. Chills.
And Nora Roberts, of course. It wasn’t until I read Hot Ice that I realized that what I was writing myself was romantic suspense. LOVED that book and consumed every book I could get my hands on after that to study how she does it. Amazingly, of course.
Read the full article @ USA Today.
Odd Thomas Film Reviews: The Final Chapter
April 11, 2014
Just two this week and no new ones for six days. Really folks, this should end it.
- Blu-ray Review – Odd Thomas – St. John News
- Don’t watch ‘Wolf of Wall Street’ with your mom – USA Today