Dean Koontz

Occasionally we are asked to write about one of our favorite artists or writers. I have many that capture my attention though genre and text. One of which happens to be Dean Koontz. I began reading his works several years ago even though I had known of him since the ’70s when he wrote under the name of John Hill.

About five years ago I came across one of his earlier works entitled “Fear That Man” published in 1969 by Ace Publications (Koontz, 2011). The way I came across this book was through a little venture I had going on EBay. I had gotten into selling used books on the site and through a person that I bought books at wholesale I happened upon a lot of the Ace 2inOne pocket books. These in their own right were considered collectibles seeing they were the only company ever to print a series of books where you had two books in one by having one book read in one direction and then you flip the book over and have another book in the other direction.

Dean began his career like most authors of his era by writing science fiction novellas or screenplays for series like Dark Shadows, The Night Gallery, The Twilight Zone or Outer Limits on television or wrote the material for a lot of the B movies that were popular during that era. Even though he has moved from science fiction into an offbeat horror genre that centers on the good and evil within mankind he manages to maintain strength in his characters as they change throughout each and every book.

Since his first release in 1968 until his most recent, he has composed some 110 books; the majority having been in the horror genre and several that took him back to his roots in science fiction. The thing that surprised me was that he has also compiled several graphic novels, a couple of comic books and a children’s book entitled “I Trixie, Who is a Dog” in 2009. The book is based upon the life of his dog Trixie, a golden retriever and the story is told as if the dog where narrating (Koontz, 2011).

I myself am looking at making a notch as a writer and after looking at several of my favorite authors, having never really noticing the varied genres in which they write; I have found new inspiration through their work that will allow me to continue in my endeavors to become as well noticed as they are.

References:

Koontz, D. (2011). About Dean. Retrieved September 26, 2011, from Dean Koontz: http://www.deankoontz.com/


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