Must read Koontz books...

[bsaenz24]

Ok, while Koontz has been of my reading list for a few years now, since his stories stopped holding my interest, I think he has a good list of must read titles. Here's a few:

Watchers
Whispers
Lightning
Strangers
Midnight
Bad Place
Phantoms
Dark Rivers of the Heart

[frik51]

Dark Rivers of the Heart

That's my favorite by far.
I can't really remember the other ones. Once read, they're usually gone within a couple of days.
Intensity also was pretty....intense.

sk

[HorrorScribe]

I absolutely adored Watchers, Shadowfires (originally published under the pseudonym "Leigh Nichols"), and The Darkest Evening of the Year. All three represent Koontz at his best. There was a period of about 10 or so years where his new releases weren't to my taste, but I've returned to his fiction with an open mind. I tend to enjoy his very recent work but not as much as his output from the 1980s through 1996 or so.

[Endless Horror Tale]

I picked up a copy of Watchers from a small-town grocery store in West Texas when I was 12 or 13, visiting my grandparents, and had blown through my cache of Stephen King books taken on that trip. I hadn't previously read any Koontz, and for some reason the cover caught my eye and I took a chance on it. I remember reading and enjoying Lightning, Servants of Twilight, and The Bad Place. At some point, and I can't recall exactly when, I stopped reading Koontz. The last time I read one of his books was probably back in the mid-90s.

[jester05jk]

Fear Nothing
Seize the Night
Beastchild
Dragon Tears

[gsconquest]

Watchers, FunHouse, and the Odd Thomas books are some of my favorites. I had been let down with many of his latest offerings but with his last non Frankenstein book he seems to be back on track. His next book is due out in December. So far it seems interesting, and there are no signs of a magical dog so I'll probably pick it up.

[hamount]

Ok, while Koontz has been of my reading list for a few years now, since his stories stopped holding my interest, I think he has a good list of must read titles. Here's a few:

Watchers
Whispers
Lightning
Strangers
Midnight
Bad Place
Phantoms
Dark Rivers of the Heart

Actually I didn't think the Bad Place was one of his better ones, a couple I would add to that list is the 1st and 2nd Frankenstein books, the Odd Series, Coldfire, and The Husband(I have a pretty detailed synopsis of The Husband in my blog at www.weeklynovelreview.blogspot.com.

[HorrorScribe]

I picked up a copy of Watchers from a small-town grocery store in West Texas when I was 12 or 13, visiting my grandparents, and had blown through my cache of Stephen King books taken on that trip. I hadn't previously read any Koontz, and for some reason the cover caught my eye and I took a chance on it.

Watchers was my first introduction to Koontz as well. Perhaps that's one of the reasons I enjoy it so much. It helped me through a very difficult time in my life at the age of 15. I bought it at the Newark airport on my way back home to Massachusetts from a very dark period of several months in Arizona. Like with you, Endless Horror Tale, the cover caught my eye and the back cover copy intrigued me.

[Endless Horror Tale]

Watchers was my first introduction to Koontz as well. Perhaps that's one of the reasons I enjoy it so much. It helped me through a very difficult time in my life at the age of 15. I bought it at the Newark airport on my way back home to Massachusetts from a very dark period of several months in Arizona. Like with you, Endless Horror Tale, the cover caught my eye and the back cover copy intrigued me.

I really dug Watchers when I first discovered it; I haven't reread it in a long time, so I'm not sure how it holds up. I remember watching the terrible attempt at a film adaptation severl years later and being tremendously disappointed. Needless to say, I never bothered watching any of the sequels.

[Endless Horror Tale]

Actually I didn't think the Bad Place was one of his better ones, a couple I would add to that list is the 1st and 2nd Frankenstein books, the Odd Series, Coldfire, and The Husband(I have a pretty detailed synopsis of The Husband in my blog at www.weeklynovelreview.blogspot.com.

I can't be certain (as it's been quite a few years past), but I think The Bad Place may have been the book that soured me on Koontz.

[HorrorScribe]

I really dug Watchers when I first discovered it; I haven't reread it in a long time, so I'm not sure how it holds up.

Since that initial reading, I've returned to Watchers 2 or 3 more times within a five-year period. However, I haven't read it recently due to my overwhelming backlog of never-read books, but I'm now curious to discover if Watchers will stand the test of time.

[srboone]

I don't think it will. The whole work was style over substance with nothing really to distinguish it from the plethora of suspense-thrillers around other than the name Koontz. The most potential the book had in terms of immortality was the mental Link between Einstein and The Outsider, and Koontz never jumped on it. He missed a great opportunity with the story and if it survives, it will be as one of Koontz' minor or other works. The problem is determining which of Koontz' works wiill survive (I can't speculate on that as I've only read Watchers and The Bad Place--neither of which were good enough to make me want to read a third one.)

[gsconquest]

Twilight Eyes is another that I enjoyed that I don't hear too many people mention. Then again I tend to like stories set in carnivals or sideshows, so maybe it's just me...

[hamount]

I can't be certain (as it's been quite a few years past), but I think The Bad Place may have been the book that soured me on Koontz.

Your Heart Belongs to Me was also an acceptable read.

[Kenwood]

I don't think Dean has ever released a bad book. I did stop reading The Taking, but that was a long time ago and I think my mood wasn't right for it. I'll re-read it someday. Other than that, the dude has been pretty consistent. At his worst, he's good. Even his early, sci-fi stuff is pretty solid.