The Dean Koontz Dislike thread!

Nashelle · Oct 9, 2006

There must be someone out there other than me that dislikes Dean Koontz for his overly purple prose ('The night sea over head' - couldn't he have just said 'the sky'?)

I read Fear of the Dark before I learned what writing was all about. Recently I tried to read The Taking and couldn't finish it. I wrote a critical reveiw about it for one of my first year Uni modules and the tutor said something like 'how dare you critisise a published aurthor when you are only an amateur.'

So tell me how does an author like that get published?

PS The Head of the the Creative Writing dept at my Uni said last week about Dan Brown 'I wouldn't let him on my Masters!'

maestrowork · Oct 9, 2006

I am going to refrain from criticizing any well-known, wealthy authors because I never know when I may be rubbing elbows with them at my Pulitzer Prize dinner.

Higgins · Oct 9, 2006

But

maestrowork said:
I am going to refrain from criticizing any well-known, wealthy authors because I never know when I may be rubbing elbows with them at my Pulitzer Prize dinner.

In space nobody can hear you sneeze.

Carrie in PA · Oct 9, 2006

Egads!!! I love Dean Koontz. (I hated The Husband, though.)

I have an autographed picture of DK and a nice letter he wrote me, encouraging my writing.

MidnightMuse · Oct 9, 2006

maestrowork said:
I am going to refrain from criticizing any well-known, wealthy authors because I never know when I may be rubbing elbows with them at my Pulitzer Prize dinner.

While you're there, if you get a chance, would you smack Robert Ludlum upside the head for me?

No reason.

Marlowe · Oct 9, 2006

He seems like a nice guy. But I read some of his stuff in high school, and he's just not my cuppa.

Southern_girl29 · Oct 9, 2006

He's actually one of my favorite popular writers. His book, Lightening, is one of my all-time favorites. I've read it probably 100 times along with many others by him. You won't see me bashing him at all.

Shadow_Ferret · Oct 9, 2006

Nashelle said:
So tell me how does an author like that get published?

Mee-OW!

icerose · Oct 9, 2006

It's not his overly purple prose that bothers me, it's that his books don't draw me in. It's that his storylines seem to repeat each other, and some of the things are twisted even for me.

But some of his books are rather good.

But still, like any other best selling author, they are doing something right.

rwam · Oct 9, 2006

I view this thread as an obvious attempt to copycat (and perhaps even overshadow) my overwhelming success with the "The Dan Brown Hate Club" thread.

Please don't ruin this for me, Icerose.

Soccer Mom · Oct 9, 2006

How does he get published? Because some people (like me) love his books. I'll read Dean Koontz anyday. I haven't liked every one of his books, but I loved some of them enough to try anything he writes!

cree · Oct 9, 2006

I for one am tired of the "I hate XYZ author" threads.
Just a suggestion, start one thread about authors you hate, and everyone can insert their own author.
Or open a new book, read it, and forget about your bad experience.

RG570 · Oct 9, 2006

Sometimes I like the silly metaphors he uses. I envy the guy, because I absolutely suck at metaphors, and I feel quite inadequate when I read one of his clever phrases.

But you can tell he works by his own formula, which is fine, but to me, if you read one, you've basically read them all.

NeuroFizz · Oct 9, 2006

I think what we are seeing with these two famous-author-dislike threads is how two very different writing styles can be used to tell stories that sell. I agree that Dean Koontz sometimes lapses into the lavendar (according my tastes), but he does tell good stories for those who like the genre. Every time a thread starts on this specific writing rule or that specific writing rule, the concensus seems to render to a thick soup of "there are no specific rules but only guidelines on how to write for publication." If one accepts that there are no hard-and-fast rules (except maybe for new authors), can the writing of these two successful authors be wrong? From a craft POV, can we say they are not accomplished in this area or that, or is it best to say that it's not a good way for me to write and leave it at that? If the writing is sloppy or inconsistent in content or style, that is something over which to waggle a finger. Same for a lack of solid background research. But to complain about the way someone describes the sky, using it as an example of bad writing, is a bit presumptuous. This is his style and always has been as far as I can tell. It's not the way I choose to write, but it apparently serves him (and his publishers) well.

I'm not a die-hard Dean Koontz fan. I like some of his stories, and don't much like others. But the thing that makes that determination is the story, not the flavor of his prose. That said, there are authors who can make me put down a book due to the writing itself.

icerose · Oct 9, 2006

rwam said:
Please don't ruin this for me, Icerose.

What? What did I do? :e2apple:

Kate Thornton · Oct 9, 2006

I loved "The Face" - what a sweet story under the horror of it. And a very well-done psycho as icing on the cake - a very satisfying story.

chartreuse · Oct 9, 2006

Although Dean Koontz has never written a book that I feel I just have to get my hands on the minute it comes out, he's certainly provided me with many, many hours of escapist entertainment. His style doesn't bother me; in all honesty I think of it as sort of "invisible," in that I don't notice his writing - I'm just lost in the story.

There are actually a few authors I've come across who write such beautiful, exquisite prose that it distracts from the story. It may just be because I'm paying extra attention that this bothers me, but often I end up feeling like they've sacrificed telling the story in favor of just showing off.

rwam · Oct 9, 2006

Sorry, Icerose....I meant Nashelle.

rwam · Oct 9, 2006

Sorry, Icerose....I meant Nashelle.

Siddow · Oct 9, 2006

Dean Koontz is my all-time favorite.

He gets published by being an awesome storyteller. I'm in awe of the stuff he comes up with. Dropping a body down a lava pipe? "Leaving an offering of burnt rubber in front of St. Bart's..." Lots of good stuff in Koontz novels.

I agree that sometimes it seems you're reading the same book he wrote a while ago, with a different title and new characters and a slightly tweaked plotline. I quit reading him years ago because of just that. But then I came back, and I've fallen in love again. *Lay off my DK*

icerose · Oct 9, 2006

rwam said:
Sorry, Icerose....I meant Nashelle.

And here I thought I was in trouble and I couldn't figure it out.

Ad Astra · Oct 9, 2006

Dean Koontz is the very reason I love suspense/thrillers.
I personally don't believe that his writings aren't flawed, but I'll pick Mr. Koontz over Stephen King anyday.
(excluding Needful Things)

Sassenach · Oct 9, 2006

Great storytelling trumps great writing any day, IMO. One of my all-time favorite novelists, Jack Finney, is a rather prosaic stylist, but tells a fabulous story.

Ditto Sue Grafton, Dean Koontz, Nora Roberts and many other best sellers.

jbal · Oct 9, 2006

Dean Koontz for me is very hit or miss, maybe one in five is good. But the good ones are good enough to keep me slogging through the mediocre.
Quit hatin'

Ad Astra · Oct 9, 2006

Of course--they're on the bestseller list for a reason.

People apparently enjoy their writing.

The Dean Koontz Dislike thread!

Fear the Death Ray

Write All The Words!

Midnight Reading

Duck of Death

Court Jester

Lost in School Work

Crypto-fascist

The grad students did it

Lost in School Work

Still Happy to be Here. Or Anywhere

I'm super! Thanks for asking

Lost in School Work

Cok Seviyorum!!

5 W's & an H

Cok Seviyorum!!