Dean Koontz

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Mr Nobody

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Jul 9, 2008
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Yes, but unless you're an editor or proofreader it won't pay the bills. And that SUCKS! ;-D

It often doesn't pay the bills even then. :down:
But, ya know, they can't have what ya ain't got...and I've no intention of working myself into an early grave just so some fat-cats can enjoy their lives. If mine has to be miserable, I can at least make sure theirs is, too (or isn't as cushy, at least). ;;D
Work's sort of important, but the whole system's really just :hammer:...and like Captain Kirk, I don't believe in the no-win scenario.

To go back to the topic(!)...one book of Koontz's that I thought I'd enjoy but didn't was Lightning. IIRC it was published sometime between Watchers and Dark Rivers of the Heart, and I read it after reading both of them plus Strangers and (a re-read of) Intensity. I know all authors hit their bum notes from time to time, and it could have been a case of reading it at a personal 'wrong moment' for whatever reason (certainly nothing conscious or coincidental to real life), but it just seemed as flat as a pancake to me.
I kept it, of course. I keep all my books. Does anyone reckon it's worth another go?
 

Walter Oobleck

keeps coming back...or going, and going, and going
Mar 6, 2013
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I'm paging through my copy...trying to refresh my memory. "A thundering masterpiece of the imagination." From the back jacket. Get it? I'm sure you do. Lightening. "Brilliant...a spine-tingling tale...both challenging and entertaining." --Associated Press. Looks like my copy is from the second-hand store, little pencil price-mark on the first white page. I'd give it another go...but why torture yourself. If you didn't like it the first time, what's changed to make a difference? I've read stories I read years ago and have appreciated them even more so...a lot of Steinbeck comes to mind...some I probably wouldn't bother with, some of the lesser-known Hemingway titles. Do you want me to shoot thee, English? It is nothing.
 

kingricefan

All-being, keeper of Space, Time & Dimension.
Jul 11, 2006
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Spokane, WA
It often doesn't pay the bills even then. :down:
But, ya know, they can't have what ya ain't got...and I've no intention of working myself into an early grave just so some fat-cats can enjoy their lives. If mine has to be miserable, I can at least make sure theirs is, too (or isn't as cushy, at least). ;;D
Work's sort of important, but the whole system's really just :hammer:...and like Captain Kirk, I don't believe in the no-win scenario.

To go back to the topic(!)...one book of Koontz's that I thought I'd enjoy but didn't was Lightning. IIRC it was published sometime between Watchers and Dark Rivers of the Heart, and I read it after reading both of them plus Strangers and (a re-read of) Intensity. I know all authors hit their bum notes from time to time, and it could have been a case of reading it at a personal 'wrong moment' for whatever reason (certainly nothing conscious or coincidental to real life), but it just seemed as flat as a pancake to me.
I kept it, of course. I keep all my books. Does anyone reckon it's worth another go?
You can give it another go and if it doesn't hook you, you can just set it aside with no great loss as you've already read it.
 

Mr Nobody

Well-Known Member
Jul 9, 2008
3,306
9,050
Walsall, England
If you didn't like it the first time, what's changed to make a difference? I've read stories I read years ago and have appreciated them even more so...a lot of Steinbeck comes to mind...some I probably wouldn't bother with, some of the lesser-known Hemingway titles. Do you want me to shoot thee, English? It is nothing.

Part of the second sentence answers the first - you can come to appreciate stories you've already read more or less at different points in your life, and just as some books I enjoyed first time round have left me pretty cold upon re-reading, there's a chance that the opposite could also be true.
I'd hate to do it, but it's as @ kingricefan says, I can always set it aside again. I was really wondering if there was something about it I'd obviously missed (though it's all subjective...).
 

Walter Oobleck

keeps coming back...or going, and going, and going
Mar 6, 2013
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Part of the second sentence answers the first - you can come to appreciate stories you've already read more or less at different points in your life, and just as some books I enjoyed first time round have left me pretty cold upon re-reading, there's a chance that the opposite could also be true.
I'd hate to do it, but it's as @ kingricefan says, I can always set it aside again. I was really wondering if there was something about it I'd obviously missed (though it's all subjective...).

There was a time in the recent past...recent to me although it could be ten fifteen years, winter, low on funds, need to read, so I began to go through my Koontz collection. Lightening is one of his "later" stories, a story that falls into a time period when he was hitting the mark regularly. Some/many of his early stories I liken to cheese-cloth...the fabric is there, but its not going to keep you warm on a cold night. There's nothing wrong with that...King said somewhere to "treasure the bad" or as I like to think, if Koontz wasn't spot-on always and if he grew in his ability to tell a tale, there's hope for all who aspire. Rereading some of them, I'd come across a chunky sentence, and wonder why I didn't think it chunky the first go-round. Now with the kindle and a pile of "free" stories out there, as well as a number of .99-cent stories, rereads may become a thing of the past although there are some stories that are just too good not to read again and again. If you had asked about some other Koontz story and there are quite a few, I'd likely have said, definitely, go for it. Based on nothing more than when the story was marketed, I'd be willing to give it a reread and now I wonder if it is one I read more than once and why I can't remember much about it.
 

Kurben

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Apr 12, 2014
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I think King blurbs or plugs Koontz's Strangers...one of many Koontz stories I've enjoyed. First was Mr. Murder when that was on the current paperback shelf...story about a writer, a kind of Dark Half via Koontz. There's plenty who like to bully Koontz but the principles are some of the same head-knockers that King employs...and that is meant to be nicely ambiguous. :)
I've nothing against Koontz. He's written some good books but somehow his prose never sucks me into the story and make me believe it and live it in the same way King does. He handles some similar themes but to me he's always tend to be King light. That might be an injustice to Koontz since i've haven't read all his works but thats my impression from what i've read.
 

Walter Oobleck

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Watchers is good. How about Midnight? I enjoyed that one...set in Moonlight Cove (I think)...where the Christopher Snow stories, Fear Nothing & Seize the Night are set. Midnight has a strong sci-fi element to it...some of the same kind of things that happen in the Christopher Snow stories happen in Midnight, as they do in Watchers. Midnight you have the good guys up against forces that seem unstoppable, much like in King's Desperation.
 

Kurben

The Fool on the Hill
Apr 12, 2014
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Thanks for the tip. Have to check the names of the books i've actually read. I remember reading the Taking (i think it was called) and the first of frankenstein series but were disappointed in both. I've read them but they didn't leave much of an impresssion.
 

bigkingfan91

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Mar 1, 2014
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I've been hearing nothing but good stuff about Strangers so I think I may start that one next. I just finished The Stand and I wouldn't mind taking a little break from King in order to "save" some more of his books to read later. Strangers is really appealing to me and I'm almost on the verge right now of smacking that sucker open!

It's hard for me to venture away from King since there is sooo much left I still need to read or re read but I think I may have to for this one. Can I get some last minute peer pressure while I'm eating supper this evening, to sort of "coax" me into giving Koontz another try with this good looking book?? Come on friends, should I open it or veer away???
 

kingricefan

All-being, keeper of Space, Time & Dimension.
Jul 11, 2006
30,011
127,446
Spokane, WA
I've been hearing nothing but good stuff about Strangers so I think I may start that one next. I just finished The Stand and I wouldn't mind taking a little break from King in order to "save" some more of his books to read later. Strangers is really appealing to me and I'm almost on the verge right now of smacking that sucker open!

It's hard for me to venture away from King since there is sooo much left I still need to read or re read but I think I may have to for this one. Can I get some last minute peer pressure while I'm eating supper this evening, to sort of "coax" me into giving Koontz another try with this good looking book?? Come on friends, should I open it or veer away???
DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT!!!
 

blunthead

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Aug 2, 2006
80,755
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Atlanta GA
Watchers is good. How about Midnight? I enjoyed that one...set in Moonlight Cove (I think)...where the Christopher Snow stories, Fear Nothing & Seize the Night are set. Midnight has a strong sci-fi element to it...some of the same kind of things that happen in the Christopher Snow stories happen in Midnight, as they do in Watchers. Midnight you have the good guys up against forces that seem unstoppable, much like in King's Desperation.
I really liked Midnight.
 

blunthead

Well-Known Member
Aug 2, 2006
80,755
195,461
Atlanta GA
I've been hearing nothing but good stuff about Strangers so I think I may start that one next. I just finished The Stand and I wouldn't mind taking a little break from King in order to "save" some more of his books to read later. Strangers is really appealing to me and I'm almost on the verge right now of smacking that sucker open!

It's hard for me to venture away from King since there is sooo much left I still need to read or re read but I think I may have to for this one. Can I get some last minute peer pressure while I'm eating supper this evening, to sort of "coax" me into giving Koontz another try with this good looking book?? Come on friends, should I open it or veer away???
My problem is TV. I'm trying to get in the habit of reading more and watching TV less.
 

bigkingfan91

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Mar 1, 2014
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Started it Kingricefan!!! So far so good, I love character buildup & the character introductions & buildup is sort of reminding me how King did it in The Stand. A lot of people hate the buildup and want to get right to the action but that just defeats the purpose for me. Feels weird not reading King all of a sudden though. I've had a boat load of free time lately so this morning I stood in my room debating between a couple SK books and Strangers, came downstairs, saw your post and went straight back up to grab Strangers, lol.
By the way, if you haven't seen it, this is a real nice write up by Koontz about Strangers and the history behind it.. Excellent read!
STRANGERS From the Author « Dean Koontz

& to Blunthead, I hear that! I've been the exact opposite for awhile now, haven't watched much tv in a long time. I just cant get my face out of a book long enough, lol.
 

kingricefan

All-being, keeper of Space, Time & Dimension.
Jul 11, 2006
30,011
127,446
Spokane, WA
Started it Kingricefan!!! So far so good, I love character buildup & the character introductions & buildup is sort of reminding me how King did it in The Stand. A lot of people hate the buildup and want to get right to the action but that just defeats the purpose for me. Feels weird not reading King all of a sudden though. I've had a boat load of free time lately so this morning I stood in my room debating between a couple SK books and Strangers, came downstairs, saw your post and went straight back up to grab Strangers, lol.
By the way, if you haven't seen it, this is a real nice write up by Koontz about Strangers and the history behind it.. Excellent read!
STRANGERS From the Author « Dean Koontz

& to Blunthead, I hear that! I've been the exact opposite for awhile now, haven't watched much tv in a long time. I just cant get my face out of a book long enough, lol.
:clap::big_smile:
 
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