Novels
Star Quest
Gray Morrow |
The Fall of the
Dream Machine
Jack Gaughan
|
Fear That Man
Jack Gaughan
|
Anti-man
Steele Savage |
Beast Child
Gene Szafran |
Dark of the Woods
Jeff Jones
|
The Dark Symphony
Ron Walotsky
|
Hell's Gate
Frank Kelly Freas |
The Crimson Witch |
Demon Child |
Legacy Of Terror |
A Darkness in My
Soul
Jack Gaughan |
The Flesh in the
Furnace |
Time Thieves |
Starblood
Charles Moll
|
Warlock
Armand Weston |
Chase |
Children of the
Storm |
Dance With The
Devil |
The Dark Of
Summer |
The Haunted Earth
Ron Walotsky |
A Werewolf Among
Us
Bob Blanchard |
Hanging on |
Shattered |
Demon Seed |
After the Last
Race |
Dragonfly |
Nightmare Journey
Paul Lehr
|
Invasion
Frank Kelly Freas
|
The Long Sleep
Jack Faragasso
|
Prisoner of Ice/Ice
Bound |
Night Chills |
The Vision |
The Face of Fear |
The Key to
Midnight |
Whispers |
The Funhouse |
The Voice of the
Night |
The Eyes of
Darkness |
The Mask |
The House of
Thunder |
Phantoms |
Darkness Comes/Darkfall |
The Servants of
Twilight |
The Door to
December |
Twilight Eyes |
Strangers |
Watchers |
Shadow Fires |
Lightning |
Midnight |
The Bad Place
Don Brautigam |
Cold Fire |
Hideaway |
Dragon Tears
Don Brautigam
|
Mr. Murder |
Winter Moon |
Dark Rivers of
the Heart |
Intensity |
Tick Tock
|
Sole Survivor |
False Memory |
From the Corner
of His Eye
Tom Hallman
|
One Door Away
from Heaven
Tom Hallman |
By the Light of
the Moon
Tom Hallman
|
The Face
Tom Hallman |
Life Expectancy
Tom Hallman
|
The Taking |
Velocity |
The Husband
Tom Hallman
|
The Darkest
Evening of the Year |
The Good Guy
Tom Hallman |
Your Heart
Belongs to Me
Tom Hallman
|
The Other Side
of the Woods
(2009) |
Star Quest (1968)
In
a universe that had been ravaged by a thousand years of
interplanetary warfare between the star-shattering Romaghins and the
equally voracious Setessins, there seemed now but one thing that might
bring the destruction to an end...
The Fall of the
Dream Machine (1969)
If
there was a single phrase that captured the public's attention more
than any other in 1967, it was this one: "The Medium is the Message."
Marshall McLuhan not only made a fortune with it, but established
himself as a prophet and philosopher. When McLuhan says the printed
word is doomed in our age of electronic communication, everyone
listens. Somehow, no one seems to notice that McLuhan's own predictions
are presented via the printed word and - by his own theories - are
doomed from the start.Still, it frightens me to think of a future where
all artistic
outlets are electronic, where all of life becomes an open, sterile, and
public thing. In this novel, I have tried to shape a society that has
advanced along the lines of the predictions in The Medium is the
Message . . . and then advanced a little further - a little to
far.McLuhan says we are drawing - via electronics - together again
into a Village Society. A quick look around at television, telephones,
and the recorded messages of today's pop music groups makes this seem a
reasonable statement. But what will follow this village stage? A
Household society? And after that what will we have - and be?--
Dean R. Koontz
Fear That Man (1969)
A
man finds himself on a spaceship with amnesia in the year 3456. He
rescues a creature called Hurkos and they team up with a poet named
Gnossos. The trio travels to a place called Hope and find that the
creatures there control violence in a peculiar way. Those who inflict
pain onto others are sentenced to experience the pain ten times worse.
Anti-man (1970)
Sam
was an android. His flesh was the ultimate miracle of science,
artificially created and completely self sustaining. And he had the
unusual power to heal others. In fact, Sam was too good to live.
Beast Child (1970)
The
Naoli came to Earth as conquerors, while the last men skulked
through the ruins of their civilization. The two races, Human and
Naoli, were the most powerful intelligences in the galaxy -- and
destined to be immediate and perpetual enemies! The the adult Hulann
met the boy Leo ... and each became a traitor to his race. For it was
only through treason that the future of each race could be assured!
Dark
of the Woods (1970)
Our
holy empire of the Alliance of mankind has fulfilled our destiny.
Remember the many heroic humans who have died in conquering the stars
for you. Therefore, do not let misguided sympathy toward inferior and
conquered animals deter you from your inherent title of divine rulers
of the universe. Do not lose this birthright by succumbing to the
"attractions" of any alien creature. Remember the penalties imposed by
the Supremacy of Man party for this transgression.
Our
blessings be with you as you follow in the paths of your
brothers and sisters. We have faith in mankind and we have faith in
you. But, however, should you falter from the paths of righteousness,
we have many willing hands eager to show you the error of your ways . .
.
The Dark
Symphony (1970)
Men
came home to Earth, home from the stars...home to rule a world that
they hated! But Earth was easy prey, for there was little left after
the last of the atomic wars, except for pathetic mutants picking a
living in the ruins... and others, creatures no longer even remotely
human, who threatened to supplant the last strains of real man. The men
from the stars moved in, bringing their star-born societies, setting
themselves up as masters over the mutant world... a world of creatures
not even fit to be slaves! But the mutants were still there, too many
to kill off, and the new races plotted together against the masters
from the stars!
Hell's Gate
(1970)
He came out of the dark night with only another
man's name...a man who would soon be found floating in a distant river.
He was a man without a past, without a future; he had only a bloody
mission. His first act was violent murder! He was a man...or was he?
Just who was Victor Salsbury? And if he was not a man, then...what was
he? And who were the unseen masters, who issue orders only on whim?
What were their plans for the world... plans so horrifying that they
could change an unfeeling, nonhuman creature into a frightened human!
The Crimson Witch (1971)
A
young man's struggle with destiny and desire in a post nuclear world.
Jake Turnet's overdose of the drug PBT had opened the psychic doorway
into a world where nuclear disaster had happened in a much earlier
century - a world where sorcery had replaced science.
Demon Child (1971)
(writing
as Deanna
Dwyer)
Freya
was seven, and was a beautiful child. When Jenny Brighton came to
the ancestral home of her cousins to recover from the horror of the
sudden death of her parents, she fell in love with this little girl.
Freya could have stepped out of a portrait of idealized childhood! But
the beauty was on the surface only; for the guileless blue eyes hid the
secret of an inheritance of long-dead evil. The first victims were
animals, but soon the taste of blood became too strong for the unseen
stalker to resist and Jenny found herself plunged into a nightmare
wprld where she was marked as the next victim.
Legacy Of
Terror (1971) (writing as Deanna
Dwyer)
A Darkness in My
Soul (1972)
Although
he was the first successful product of the Artificial Creation
laboratory - the government workshop for the production of new talents
by tampering with the genes of the unborn, Simeon Kelly would work for
them only under compulsion. And the compulsion the generals applied to
get him to probe the mind of the thing called Child had to be the
greatest. Because Child was anything but that. In that incredibly
monstrous infant appeared to be the potential for whole oceans of
inventions and an entire cosmos of total creativity. But Child was
vicious, insane, and short-lived.
The Flesh in the
Furnace
(1972)
A
race of living puppets, bound to the puppet master, fearing him, hating
him, planning. . .
Time Thieves (1972)
"Mr.
Mullion," one of the triplets said, looming up twenty feet away as
Pete followed the smooth railing. He stopped, his heart racing, but he
felt a break in the rail as he did so. He edged forward a foot or two
and felt around with his boot until he discovered a step. In a moment,
blood pounding in his temples, he was halfway down toward the lower
level, taking two risers at a time, no matter what the danger of a
fall. He heard the mechanical man start after him as he set foot on the
cement floor.
Starblood (1972)
Timothy
was not human - not if by human you mean a man with two arms,
two legs, two eyes. Of the first criteria, he had none at all; of the
last, only one. And even that one was misplaced.
Timothy
was born of human stock, of course - but not of woman. He was
the product of the artificial wombs, a strictly military venture, and
when he was born the technicians shrugged, and consigned him to
custodial care. They expected him to die within five years, like most
of the freaks.
It
was in his third year that they discovered Timothy to be something
more than human. Cheated of a normal life through his physical
deformities, nature developed his brain - and talents that were
peculiarly his. Talents that would help him survive in a world made for
the normal people - survive, and perhaps even more!
Warlock
(1972)
The
Blank was the time, near-forgotten but for the legends that
remained as fancies, when the Earth's crust shifted mightily, and
towering mountains rose where no mountains had existed before. New
coastal lines were formed, while jungle became desert, and desert and
grassy plain became the bottom of the new seas. The old world was
gone... but the legends remained. And they told of marvels hard to
believe, even among men who had mastered the powers of the mind. The
stories told that before the Blank men possessed marvels almost
unbelievable; it was even said that the old people had conquered the
skies (and, in whispers, space itself). Men like Shaker Sandow knew
there was the truth in the fancies...and then a would-be master of the
world uncovered a trove of pre-Blank treasures, and once more the world
turned toward all-consuming war!
Chase (1972) (writing as K R
Dwyer)
When Benjamin Chase
was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, he
accepted without ceremony - by mail. He shunned the hometown press and
nearly demolished the sports car given him as a token of esteem by the
local merchants.
He had almost
managed to make the newspapers forget him when he became
a hero again. He saved a girl's life. He took on a knife-wielding
madman, who had already killed Lois Allenby's lover, and drove him off.
Thus buying another unwanted batch of publicity.
But that was the
least he had to worry about. Chase had also bought the
hatred of a psychopathic killer. The voice on the telephone was tense
and ugly. "You messed in where you had no right messing...I just want
to tell you that it doesn't end here. I'll deal with you, Mr. Chase,
once I've researched your background and have weighed a proper judgment
on you. Then once you've been made to pay, I'll deal with the whore,
the Allenby girl."
"Deal with?"
Chase asked.
"I'm going to
kill you and her, Chase"
Chase believed
him. However, once the police learned about his endless
sessions with a psychiatrist and his service disability pension for
having suffered a nervous breakdown, nobody believed Chase.
Slowly,
painfully, Chase had to return from his penitent retreat and
face reality again. He had to find the killer before the killer got to
him. Fortunately, he had been trained in stealth and mayhem by the best
school in the world-the U.S. Army. Unbfortunately, the killer -- who
called himself Judge -- had also learned a few things.
Children of
the
Storm (1972) (writing as Deanna
Dwyer)
A
veil of Caribbean horror shrouds Sonya Carter’s only chance for love...
Dance With
The
Devil (1972) (writing as
Deanna
Dwyer)
Katherine
Sellers came to Owisden in the winter, to be the
secretary-companion to Lydia Boland, one of the wealthiest women in the
country. The job was an exciting challenge for Katherine, and a needed
change from the events she'd sooner forget. And her new employer was a
charming and gracious lady. If only alll of the people of Owisden and
the little mountain village that huddled against the estate for
protection were so nice, Katherine's happiness would be assured.
However, beneath the charm stirred other emotions, other forces. There
was evil in that mountain valley, a brooding evil that worshipped at a
dark altar.an altar that had been built for unspeakable sacrifice! And
Katherine was marked from the moment she arrived-marked to die!
The Dark Of
Summer (1972) (writing as
Deanna
Dwyer)
INHERIT
DEATH After her parents', Gwyn Keller tried to run away from
life, escaping the agony of facing each day in the blessed world of
sleep. Her bed became a fortress that guarded her and protected her,
until the time came when she would not leave it at all. Gwyn knew that
something was horribly wrong, but it took her six months to find the
strength to seek out professional help. And Dr. Recard had helped her;
she was once again making solid contact with life, facing decisions,
putting her loss and her agony behind her. Then came the letter from
her uncle, William Barnabe, after fifteen years of alienation ..and
Gwyn found herself thrust back into a nightmare world of hatred and
violence. Even sleep was no longer a refuge, when someone..or
something..way trying to kill her!
The Haunted
Earth (1973)
The
Maseni were humanoid, but no creature with bulbous forehead, slit
mouth and tentacles where fingers should be would ever be mistaken for
a man. The Maseni had been on Earth for ten years -- years in which the
human race reeled under the shock not only of meeting an alien
intelligence, but of knowing for the first time that Earth did not
belong to men alone. For the Maseni held the secret of contacting the
worlds of the supernatural, and now all of the creatures of legend and
mythology had been released from their ancient bondage. Not all of them
were happy about the new freedom however -- even a vampire is apt to
resent the interference when he's stopped in mid-bite by the precise
wording of a decision handed down by the Supreme Court of the United
Nations. Dean Koontz takes a wild and wacky look at the wonderful
future of Earth when men and demons walk hand in hand.
A Werewolf Among
Us (1973)
People
- ordinary people - were afraid of Baker St. Cyr. Patiently, the
cyberdetective would explain that the computer half of his
investigatory symbiosis did not "take over" when his human half joined
with it. "A cyberdetective is part man and part computer, meshed as
completely as the two can ever be. The highly microminiaturized
components of the bio-computer remember and relate things in a
perfectly mathematical manner that a human mind could never easily
grasp, while the human half of the symbiote gives a perception of
emotions and emotional motivations that the bio-computer could never
comprehend. Together we make a precise and thorough detective unit."
Hanging on
(1973)
All
began when Major Kelly's Army Engineers were dropped into
Nazi-occupied France and ordered to keep a bridge open until the Allies
arrived. Simple, except the mission was a secret and nobody knew they
were there - nobody except the Luftwaffe, which kept bombing the bridge
which meant the Gi's kept rebuilding It, which in turn meant the
Luftwaffe kept bombing It, which meant the tension was doing funny
things to Major Kelly's men's minds, which meant anything could happen
- and you can bet your last C-ration it did!
Shattered (1973) (writing as K R
Dwyer)
"There
he is again!" Colin said, pressing his nose against the window
as they swept past the van at seventy miles an hour. "It really is
him!".. it started out as a kid's game to while away the long drive
across country. It ended in a grotesque nightmare of death and
destruction. They were travelling three thousand miles to a golden city
and a golden girl. She was Colin's adored sister, Alex's ravishing new
wife. But she could cost them their lives. Someone was out to get them.
To destroy their dreams of the future. To plunge them into a paranoid
world where every sound could be the last thing they ever heard. . .
Demon Seed
(1973)
It
was the first mating of a human female with a sensually
self-programed, murderously intelligent computer. No woman had ever
been violated as profanely. Subjected to the inhuman love of Proteus,
she became a slave, forced to submit entirely to his will. At first,
Proteus shaped her personality to suit his own obsessive desires. Then
he began to prepare her for the most perverse destiny of them all.
Proteus had chosen her to bear his child . . .
After the
Last
Race (1974)
Edgar
and Annie are tired of living by the rules. Hard work has earned
them only debt and loneliness. They want wealth -- no matter what the
risk. Fearful but determined, they plan a clever, hideously dangerous
robbery. The target: a thoroughbred race track on Sweepstakes Day. The
goal: steal every dollar from the cash room and the mutual windows --
plus one million dollars that is on display as a promotional gimmick.
The attempt draws into their lives many unexpected, sharply delineated
characters, including an arsonist, a psychopathic killer, a
cancer-stricken gambler on his last fling, and a wise young track
detective.
Dragonfly (1975)
(writing
as K R
Dwyer)
An
international thriller revolving around a US
plot to detonate a human time-bomb in Peking. The resultant release of
a deadly virus would kill most of the Chinese population and allow the
former Nationalist Govrnment on Formosa (Taiwan) to return. (Definitely a thriller. Read it
in one go.)
Nightmare
Journey
(1975)
One
hundred thousand years in the future -- mankind long ago made its
first interstellar flights, encountered alien races, and discovered
that its own place in the hierarchy of intelligent beings is about
where the goldfish ranks on earth. Unable to cope with this clear
inferiority, stunned into paralysis by culture shock, man pulled back
to his own planet and applied what little spirit of experimentation he
retained to bizarre self-altering genetic stunts. Racial self-disgust
led to wars and finally to a colossal holocaust, from which man has
spent dozens of centuries stumbling back toward some sort of
civilization. The earth is now inhabited by the weird descendents of
the genetic experimenters -- some scaled, some furred, some huge, some
tiny, some four-legged, some winged -- and by Pures, of the original
human genetic code. And into the world are being born with increasing
frequency men with telepathic powers -- who are hunted down and killed
summarily, out of superstitious terror. Jask, a Pure, and Tedesco, a
great bear with a human brain, the product of an ancient
experimentation, are telepaths thrown together (to the horror of both)
in a flight for their lives that becomes a quest for the secret of the
Black Presence -- which may be the key to mankind's place in the
cosmos. . .
Invasion (1975) (writing as Aaron
Wolfe)
The Long Sleep (1975)
(writing
as John
Hill)
He
woke - and discovered that somehow, somewhere, his mind had been
ravished, his memory erased, and his only clue to his identity was his
name: Joel. But he was not alone. Around him the omnipresent computers
typers typed out messages he could not desipher. Embracing him was a
beautiful woman. Reassuring him was a kindly, white-haired man who told
him one lie after another. And pursuing him was a figure without a face
who called himself the Sandman. Was Joel the only sane human in a world
gone mad? Or was he a hopeless maniac living out his fearful fantasies?
Joel's long sleep was over - and his nightmare had just begun. . .
Prisoner
of Ice (1976)
(writing as David
Axton) aka
Icebound
A
widespread drought is causing murderous famine. There is one possible
solution: giant masses of
Arctic ice, split from the polar pack by high explosives, could be
moved south to parched coastlines
and melted for water.
In
an Arctic icefield, a special team of eight scientists has planted a
number of powerful bombs that
will detonate automatically at midnight. But before they can withdraw
to the safety of their
base camp - Edgeway Station - a shattering tidal wave breaks loose on
the ice on which they
are working. Now they are hopelessly marooned on an iceburg during the
worst winter storm
of the decade. The bombs in the ice beneath them are buried
irretrievably deep... and ticking
Abruptly thrown into a desperate struggle for survival, the Edgeway
scientists are further plagued by the discovery that one of them is a
ruthless killer hellbent on a strange mission of his own...
Night Chills (1976)
The
population of Black River, which has been selected as a testing
ground for a deadly drug, is in the grip of an epidemic which drives
its victims to perform frightening acts.
The Vision
(1977)
Twenty-four
years ago Mary Bergen was tortured and almost killed as a
child. The experience gave her the bizarre gift of clairvoyance. Now as
an adult she is once again a target, and she must use her psychic
ability to find the killer before he finds her. And this new danger
could be connected to her ealier attack.
The Face of
Fear (1977) (writing as K R
Dwyer)
Graham
Harris is a gifted clairvoyant, and during a late-night TV
interview, he "sees" a murder being committed by the Butcher, who has
already killed nine women. The Butcher begins to stalk the "witness" to
his crime and, trapped in a 42-storey building, Graham is hunted from
floor to floor.
The Key to
Midnight (1979) (writing as Leigh
Nichols)
Joanna
Rand left America almost ten years ago to become a singer in a
Japanese nightclub. Still, she could never escape the strange dream
that haunted her night after night: a single, disturbing image of a man
with steel fingers, reaching for a hypodermic syringe. When she awake,
she felt violated, used -- and terrified. Alex Hunter desperately
wanted to help this beautiful, fascinating woman. He knew he had seen
Joanna before -- in news photographs of a senator's daughter who'd
disappeared ten years ago. Slowly, tenderly, he helped awaken her to a
terrifying fact: that she was not who she thought she was... that her
mind, her memories, had been created for her...
Whispers
(1980)
At
twenty-nine, Hilary Thomas, a successful screenwriter, is still
struggling to cope with the nightmarish memories of the abuse she
suffered at the hands of her parents a long time ago.
Tony
Clemenza is a police detective who dreams of earning a
living as an artist. But he lacks faith in his talent and takes refuge
in the fact that he is, at least, a good cop.
Bruno
Frye is rich but unhappy, insecure. He lives in fear. He
is afraid to sleep. He is terrified of the darkness because he thinks
something is waiting for him in the night. And he's right. Frye is a
killer, compelled to slaughter beautiful women. But there's a special
dark place, filled with menacing whispers, where something hideous
waits to kill Frye.
Some
people think Hilary's report of Frye's first attack on her
is a lie or the work of a fevered imagination. But Tony believes and
tries to help her. During the investigation into Frye's background,
Tony and Hilary fall in love, but their chances of living to enjoy each
other are slim. Frye is a persistent, efficient killing machine.
Nothing will stop him -- not even death. When it appears that Frye has
even come back from the grave to get Hilary, she and Tony dig deeper
into the killer's past, gradually uncovering a series of astonishing,
blood-freezing secrets.
The Funhouse (1980) (writing as
Owen
West)
Years
after leaving the carnival, her hated first husband, and the
child she could never love, Ellen has a new life, a new husband, and
two beautiful children, but now the carnival is coming back to town,
and Ellen is going to have to pay for her sins. Based
on a Screenplay by Larry Block.
The Voice
of the
Night (1980) (writing as
Brian
Coffey)
Colin
and Roy. Two California teenagers. Colin was shy and booklish,
just finding out about girls. Roy was handsome, outgoing, athletic,
with a string of conquests. No one could figure out why these two chose
each other as best friends. No one could guess the games they found to
play together, and the nightmare they were creating between them.
The Eyes of
Darkness (1981) (writing as
Leigh
Nichols)
It's
a year since Tina Evans lost her little boy Danny in a tragic
accident, a year since she began the painful process of trying to
rebuild her life. Then a shattering message appears on the blackboard
in Danny's old room: NOT DEAD. Is it someone's idea of a grim joke? Or
the tangible evidence of her tormented unconscious? Or something and
more? The search for an answer, the search for Danny, demands a courage
and endurance beyond any that Tina thought she possessed. Only her love
for her son, her love for the one man who believes her, drives her on,
through the neon clamour of Las Vegas nightlife, the sun-scorched
desert, and the frozen mountains of the High Sierra. People die,
coldly, brutally, as a buried truth struggles to surface. A truth so
incredible, so frightening, so dangerous that its secret must be kept
at the price of any life - any man, any woman and any child.
The Mask (1981) (writing as
Owen
West)
Poor.
So young, so sweet. She appeared out of nowhere in the middle of
traffic, on a busy day. A teenager with no past, no family, no
memories. So blond and beautiful. Carol and Paul were drawn to her, she
was the child they never had. A dream come true. And then Carol's
nightmares began.
The House
of
Thunder (1982) (writing as
Leigh
Nichols)
Susan
Thornton wakes up in a hospital after a serious car accident
with an odd, selective amnesia. She can remember nothing of her job,
yet she is stricken with fear when the company she works for is named.
And th at's not all. Thirteen years earlier, Susan had witnessed the
murder of her boyfriend during a brutal fraternity hazing; her
testimony sent one of the four men responsible to prison. Now she sees
the same men, looking not a day older, walking the corridors of the
hospital. Even worse, she has recurrent macabre hallucinations
involving them and the decomposing corpse of her boyfriend. Susan
doubts her sanity until she stumbles upon a bit of hard evidence right
out of one of the "hallucinations."
Phantoms
(1983)
Snowfield,
California, was a charming little town. That was yesterday.
Today, Snowfield is a place of nightmares. It is a glimpse of Hell. (Great story - terrible movie).
Darkness
Comes (1983) aka
Darkfall
Winter
gripped the city. Terror gripped it, too. They found four corpses in
four days, each more hideous than the last.
Strange
nights...
At
first the cops thought they were dealing with a psychopath. But soon
they heard eerie sounds in the ventilation system. And saw unearthly
silver eyes in the snow-slashed night.
Final
hours...
In
a city paralyzed by a blizzard, something watches, something stalks...
The
Servants of
Twilight (1984)
(writing
as Leigh
Nichols)
An
ordinary parking lot in southern California. Christine Scavello and
her six-year-old son are accosted by a strange old woman. "I know who
you are," she snaps at the boy. "I know what you are." A scream, a
threat--and then a grotesque act of violence. Suddenly Christine's
pride and joy, her only son, is targeted by a group of religious
fanatics. They've branded him the Antichrist. They want to kill him.
And they are everywhere. . .
The Door to
December (1985) (writing as Richard
Paige)
Little
Melanie had been kidnapped when she was only three. She was nine
when she was found wandering the L.A. streets, with blank eyes. What
had become of her in all those years of darkness...and what was the
terrible secret, clutching at her soul, that she dared not even
whisper? Her loving mother and the police desperately hunted for the
answer. They needed Melanie to help get to the bottom of the most
savage scene of carnage the city had ever seen. And they would do
anything to save her from whatever dreadful force or thing had invaded
her young life. But first they would have to save themselves from a
rising tide of terror...and from an icy evil howling through—the Door
to December.
Twilight Eyes (1985)
Twilight
Eyes
explores the carnival life through the eyes of
narrator Slim Mackenzie. He sees the shape changing goblins for what
they really are. Only Slim MacKenzie can pierce the disguises and
recognize the diabolical schemes of the undead who are feeding on human
suffering, thanks to the gift -- or burden -- of special vision
afforded by his twilight eyes.
Strangers (1986)
They
were strangers...
A
handful of people. From different backgrounds living in different
towns and cities across America, they had nothing in common—except
fear.
They
were victims...
Cold
and stark, and unknown terror gripped their dreams and turned their
days into living nightmares.
They
were chosen...
And
they could not escape. Deep in the heart of a sprawling
desert, a dark memory called out to them drawing them to the
Tranquility Motel—where the terrifying truth was waiting...
Watchers
(1987)
They
escape from a secret government laboratory: Two mutant creatures,
both changed utterly from the animals they once were. And no one who
encounters them will ever be the same again: A lonely widower; a
ruthless assassin; a beautiful woman; a government agent. Drawn
together in a deadly hunt, all four are inexorably propelled towards a
confrontation with an evil beyond human imagining. (I loved this book -- hated the
chopped up garbage, which calls itself a movie).
Shadow Fires (1987) (writing as Leigh
Nichols)
Rachel
Leben’s violently possessive ex-husband was killed in a freak
auto accident, but his hideously mangled body has disappeared from the
morgue. Now someone, or something, is watching her. Stalking her. And,
although no one will believe her, Rachel knows who it is. His walking
corpse a grotesque mockery of life. His brilliant, warped mind once
again “alive” and seething with jealous rage. He seeks an unspeakable
revenge from beyond her worst nightmare, stalking her with a murderous
lust that will not die . . .
Lightning (1988)
Lightning
strikes--and the blond-haired stranger appears to save Laura
from tragedy again and again. Is he the guardian angel he appears to be
or the devil in disguise? Or is he the master of a haunting destiny
beyond this world--beyond time and space? (This has to be my absolute favourite
Koontz novel - it was also the first one I read).
Midnight (1989)
Strange
deaths have occurred in picturesque Moonlight cove, an idyllic
northern California coastal town - "the edge of paradise" to some but
increasingly the edge of sheer terror for others. Certain residents
harbor a secret so dark it could cost even more lives - in and beyond
Moonlight Cove.
Tessa
Lockland comes to town to probe her sister's seemingly
unprompted suicide. Unusually hopeful and unfailingly optimistic,
Janice was hardly the sort to take her own life. In exploring the
circumstances of her death , Tessa comes harrowingly close to the
secret of Moonlight cove . . . and in the process places her own life
in jeopardy.
Sam
Booker, haunted by ghosts of his own, is another town
newcomer. A federal agent operating under cover, Sam has been sent to
Moonlight Cove after the formal FBI investigation failed to discover
the truth behind the mysterious string of deaths. He's faced terror
before, but nothing he's encountered has prepared him for the cripling
fear that seizes him in Moonlight Cove.
Chrissie
Foster, an eleven-year-old whose family lives on a
ranch in the hills north of town, is on the run from her parents. They
are not the same loving people who raised her; they've changed.
Darkness dwells in them now. And they are bent on instilling that
darkness in their daughter.
Harry
Talbot, a wheelchair-bound veteran, lives with his
faithful dog, Moose. From his windows, Harry has seen things he was not
meant to see, things he can scarcely believe. If the wrong people learn
all he's witnessed, neither Moose nor Harry's skill with a revolver
will keep the two safe.
In
Midnight, these four will be drawn together to make a stand
against the swiftly descending darkness that may soon bring endless
night to Moonlight Cove. (Another
book I couldn't put down until it was finished).
The Bad Place (1989)
Frank
Pollard awakens in an alley, knowing nothing but his name -- and
that he is in great danger. Having taken refuge in a motel, he wakes
again only to find his hands covered in blood. As far as he knows, he's
no killer. But whose blood is this, and how did it get there? Over the
next few days Frank develops a fear of sleep, because each time he
wakes he discovers strange objects in his hands and pockets -- objects
far more frightening than blood.
Husband-and-wife
detective team Bobby and Julie Dakota specialize in
high-ticket corporate security investigations, but when a distraught
and desperate Frank Pollard begs them to watch over him, they can't
refuse. Out of compassion -- and curiosity -- they agree to get to the
bottom of his mysterious, amnesiac fugues.
It
seems a simple job: just follow a client who wants to be watched and
tell him where he winds up. But as the Dakotas begin to discover where
their client goes when he sleeps, they are drawn slowly into
ever-darkening realms where they encounter the ominous figure stalking
Frank. Their lives are threatened, as is that of Julie's gentle,
Down's-syndrome brother, Thomas.
To
Thomas, death is "the bad place" from which there is no return. But
Julie and Bobby -- and their tortured client - ultimately learn that
equally bad places exist in the world of the living, places so steeped
in evil that in contrast death seems almost a relief... (Definitely, a must read.)
Cold Fire
(1991)
On
an impulse, schoolteacher Jim Ironheart flies to Portland, Oregon
without understanding why. There he saves a boy from being killed by a
drunk driver and is observed by Holly Thorne.
She
tracks Jim to California, and their lives intertwine on one of
Jim's lifesaving missions. Surviving a plane crash, terrifying monsters
that materialize from Holly's nightmares, and an uncannily powerful
adversary, they search for the source of Jim's psychic power.
A
deeply mysterious man rushes to faraway places
and somehow manages to save people from the brink of death. When
confronted by a sharp reporter, he admits to having a gift and feels he
must save people. At the same time he also sees something far worse.
Something dark and sinister that is coming and that is at the root of
his gift that he (and the reporter) must somehow confront and
destroy-before it destroys them.
Hideaway (1991)
Although
accident victim Hatch Harrison dies en route to the hospital,
a brilliant physician miraculously resuscitates him. Given this second
chance, Hatch and his wife Lindsey approach each day with a new
appreciation for the beauty of life--until a series of mysterious and
frightening events bring them face-to-face with a deadly Presence.
Dragon Tears
(1992)
Detective
Harry Lyon is forced to kill someone in
the line of duty one day and is later confronted by a man who predicts
Harry's demise by nightfall. Soon after he and his partner, Connie
Gulliver, are forced into a nightmare existense that destroys their
relatively peaceful lives and must fight what must only be a
bewildering evil entity in an insane world. (A great read.)
Mr. Murder (1993)
Martin
Stillwater is a novelist with a wife and children he adores --
and an imagination he can't control. One rainy afternoon, a stranger
breaks into Martin's house and accuses him of stealing his family, his
name, and his life. Martin has no choice but to take his family and
flee, even as he questions his own sanity. But wherever they go, the
stranger is right behind them. (okay
read - bad movie).
Winter Moon (1993)
Deepest
night, Montana. An eerie light proclaims the arrival of a
mysterious watcher in the woods. And one solitary man begins a
desperate battle against something unknown -- and unknowable.
Broad
daylight, Los Angeles. An ordinary morning erupts in cataclysmic
violence. A young family is shattered in a heartbeat.
Fate
will lead this family to an isolated Montana ranch, but
their sanctuary will become their worst nightmare. For there they will
face a chillingly ruthless enemy, from which no one -- living or dead
-- is safe.
Dark Rivers of
the Heart
(1994)
Do
you dare step through the red door?
Spencer
Grant had no idea what drew him to the bar with the red door.
He thought he would just sit down, have a slow beer or two, and talk to
a stranger. He couldn't know that it would lead to a narrow escape from
a bungalow targeted by a SWAT team. Or that it would leave him a wanted
man. Now he is on the run from mysterious and ruthless men. He is in
love with a woman he knows next to nothing about. And he is hiding from
a past he can't fully remember. On his trail is a shadowy security
agency that answers to no one-including the U.S. government—and a man
who considers himself a compassionate Angel of Death. But worst of all,
Spencer Grant is on a collision course with inner demons he thought
he'd buried years ago—inner demons that could destroy him if his
enemies don't first. (I
almost forgot to breathe while reading this book - should have a
warning label, you know?)
Intensity (1995)
Past
midnight, Chyna Shepherd, twenty-six, gazed out a moonlit window,
unable to sleep on her first night in the Napa Valley home of her best
friend's family. Instinct proves reliable. A murderous sociopath,
Edgler Forman Vess, has entered the house, intent on killing everyone
inside. A self-proclaimed "homicidal adventurer," Vess lives only to
satisfy all appetites as they arise, to immense himself in sensation,
to live without fear, remorse or limits, to live with intensity. Chyna
is trapped in his deadly orbit.
Chyna
is a survivor, toughened by a lifelong struggle for safety
and self-respect. Now she will be tested as never before. At first her
sole aim is to get out alive -- until, by chance, she learns the
identity of Vess's next intended victim, a faraway innocent only she
can save. Driven by a newly discovered thirst for meaning beyond mere
self-preservation, Chyna musters every inner resource she has to save
an endangered girl -- as moment by moment, the terrifying threat Edgler
Foreman Vess intensifies. (Fantastice
read! Movie wasn't half bad, either).
TickTock
(1996)
Tommy
Phan is a successful detective novelist, living the American
Dream in southern California. One evening he comes home to find a small
rag doll on his doorstep. It's a simple doll, covered entirely in white
cloth, with crossed black stitches for the eyes and mouth, and another
pair forming an X over the heart. Curious, he brings it inside. That
night, Tommy hears an odd popping sound and looks up to see the
stitches breaking over the doll's heart. And in minutes the fabric of
Tommy Phan's reality will be torn apart. Something terrifying emerges
from the pristine white cloth, something that will follow Tommy
wherever he goes. Something that he can't destroy. It wants Tommy's
life and he doesn't know why. He has only one ally, a beautiful,
strangely intuitive waitress he meets by chance--or by a design far
beyond his comprehension. He has too many questions, no answers, and
very little time. Because the vicious and demonically clever doll has
left this warning on Tommy's computer screen: The deadline is dawn.
Ticktock
Time
is running out.
(Giggle,
Snort, Chuckle - this is absolutely zaney. Reminds me of
that stupid movie with Ryan O'Neil and Barbara Strisand - What's Up
Dock? I used to love that movie when I was a kid.)
Sole Survivor (1997)
There
were no survivors in an unexplicable plane
crash. Three hundred and thirty people dead. Among the dead are Joe
Carpenter's wife and daughter. One year later, a person who claims to
be the sole survivor of the crash comes to Joe and speaks of a powerful
underground organization that is trying to kill her. She knows the
powerful secret to the crash. Now, together they must find the truth
before it's too late. (okay
read)
False Memory (1999)
Martie
Rhodes is a successful video game designer married to a good man
named Dusty. Her best friend Susan suffers from agoraphobia (fear of
open spaces) and stays locked up in her apartment everyday. She depends
on Martie to take her to her weekly therapy sessions. Martie's life is
turned upside down when she too becomes inflicted with a deadly fear -
the fear of yourself and what you might do to others. Dusty begins a
frantic search for clues to tell him what's going on. Unfortunately,
Dusty begins to find himself inflicted with a condition that is even
worse than Martie's. (can't say
it's his best work, but it was okay.)
From the Corner
of His Eye
(2000)
At
the age of three, to stop a fast-spreading
cancer, Barty had his eyes removed. At the age of 13 his sight
returned, all due to a rollercoaster and a seagull. Barty's desire to
make his mother proud of him before she died can't be discounted; the
first time she died was the day Barty was born.
One Door Away
from Heaven
(2001)
In
a dusty trailer park on the far edge of the California dream, Michelina
Bellsong contemplates the choices she has made. At twenty-eight, she
wants to change the direction of her troubled life but can’t find her
way — until a new family settles into the rental trailer next door and
she meets the young girl who will lead her on a remarkable quest that
will change Micky herself and everything she knows — or thinks she
knows — forever.
Despite
the brace she must wear on her deformed left leg, and her
withered left hand, nine-year-old Leilani Klonk radiates a buoyant and
indomitable spirit that inspires Micky. Beneath Leilani’s
effervescence, however, Micky comes to sense a quiet desperation that
the girl dares not express.
Leilani’s
mother is little more than a child herself. And the girl’s
stepfather, Preston Maddoc, is educated but threatening. He has moved
the family from place to place as he fanatically investigates UFO
sightings, striving to make contact, claiming to have had a vision that
by Leilani’s tenth birthday aliens will either heal her or take her
away to a better life on their world.
Slowly,
ever more troubling details emerge in Leilani’s conversations
with Micky. Most chilling is Micky’s discovery that Leilani had an
older brother, also disabled, who vanished after Maddoc took him into
the woods one night.
Leilani’s
tenth birthday is approaching. Micky is convinced the girl
will be dead by that day. Micky sets out across America to track and
find them, alone and afraid but for the first time living for something
bigger than herself. (This one
read like a fairy tale to me. It was a good enough read, but . .
. not my cup of tea.)
By the Light of
the Moon (2002)
Dylan
O'Connor is a gifted young artist just trying to do the right
thing in life. He's on his way to an arts festival in Santa Fe when he
stops to get a room for himself and his twenty-year-old autistic
brother, Shep. But in a nightmarish instant, Dylan is attacked by a
mysterious "doctor," injected with a strange substance, and told that
he is now a carrier of something that will either kill him...or
transform his life in the most remarkable way. Then he is told that he
must flee--before the doctor's enemies hunt him down for the secret
circulating through his body. No one can help him, the doctor says, not
even the police.
Stunned,
disbelieving, Dylan is turned loose to run for his
life...and straight into an adventure that will turn the next
twenty-four hours into an odyssey of terror, mystery--andwondrous
discovery. It is a journey that begins when Dylan and Shep's path
intersects with that of Jillian Jackson. Before that evening Jilly was
a beautiful comedian whose biggest worry was whether she would ever
find a decent man. Now she too is a carrier. And even as Dylan tries to
convince her that they'll be safer sticking together, cold-eyed men in
a threatening pack of black Suburbans approach, only seconds before
Jilly's classic Coupe DeVille explodes into thin air.
Now
the three are on the run together, but with no idea whom they're
running from--or why. Meanwhile Shep has begun exhibiting increasingly
disturbing behavior. And whatever it is that's coursing through their
bodies seems to have plunged them into one waking nightmare after
another. Seized by sinister premonitions, they find themselves
inexplicably drawn to crime scenes--just minutes before the crimes take
place.
What
this unfathomable power is, how they can use it to stop the evil
erupting all around them, and why they have been chosen are only parts
of a puzzle that reaches back into the tragic past and the dark secrets
they all share: secrets of madness, pain, and untimely death. Perhaps
the answer lies in the eerie, enigmatic messages that Shep, with
precious time running out, begins to repeat, about an entity who does
his work "by the light of the moon." (Love this book. Reminded me of
the X-men comics I loved as a kid)
The Face (2003)
He’s
Hollywood’s most dazzling star, whose flawless countenance
inspires the worship of millions and fires the hatred of one twisted
soul. His perfectly ordered existence is under siege as a series of
terrifying, enigmatic “messages” breaches the exquisitely calibrated
security systems of his legendary Bel Air estate.
The
boxes arrive mysteriously, one by one, at Channing Manheim’s
fortified compound. The threat implicit in their bizarre, disturbing
contents seems to escalate with each new delivery. Manheim’s security
chief, ex-cop Ethan Truman, is used to looking beneath the surface of
things. But until he entered the orbit of a Hollywood icon, he had no
idea just how slippery reality could be. Now this good man is all that
stands in the way of an insidious killer — and forces that eclipse the
most fevered fantasies of a city where dreams and nightmares are the
stuff of daily life. As a seemingly endless and ominous rain falls over
southern California, Ethan will test the limits of perception and
endurance in a world where the truth is as thin as celluloid and
answers can be found only in the illusory intersection of shadow and
light.
Enter
a world of marvelous invention, enchantment, and
implacable intent, populated by murderous actors and the walking dead,
hit men and heroes, long-buried dreams and never-dying hope.
Here
a magnificent mansion is presided over by a Scottish force of
nature known as Mrs. McBee, before whom all men tremble. A mad French
chef concocts feasts for the mighty and the malicious. Ming du Lac,
spiritual adviser to the stars, has a direct line to the dead. An aptly
named cop called Hazard will become Ethan’s ally, an anarchist will sow
discord and despair, and a young boy named Fric, imprisoned by
celebrity and loneliness, will hear a voice telling him of the approach
of something unimaginably evil. Traversing this extraordinary
landscape, Ethan will face the secrets of his own tragic past and the
unmistakable premonition of his impending violent death as he races
against time to solve the macabre riddles of a modern-day beast. ( I only recall reading this book,
vaguely)
Life Expectancy
(2004)
On
the night that Jimmy Tock is born, his
paternal grandfather, Josef, is in the same hospital, dying of a
stroke. A storm rages outside as Jimmy's father, Rudy, moves between
the expectant father's waiting room and his dying father's bedside. At
the peak of the storm, Josef suddenly sits up in bed and, though
aphasic since his stroke, regains his ability to speak. He describes in
very particular detail his baby grandson — Jimmy — who is at that
moment being born in another ward. Then, with great urgency, he imparts
five dates to Rudy, five dates in the life of Jimmy. Although Josef is
not entirely coherent, he makes it clear as he dies that each of these
dates will be a dark one in the life of his grandson, a day of terrible
events for which Jimmy must prepare himself.
All
the particulars Josef has provided about his infant grandson prove
to be precisely accurate, solidly establishing Josef's bona fides as a
deathbed clairvoyant. What terrifying events await Jimmy Tock on those
five days in his life? The first is to occur in his 20th year; the
second in his 23rd year; the third in his 28th; the fourth in his 29th;
the fifth in his 30th. (again,
I ignored everything until I was finished)
The Taking
(2004)
On
the morning that
will mark the end of the world they have known, Molly and Niel Sloan
awaken to the drumbeat of rain on their roof. It has haunted their
sleep, invaded their dreams, and now they rise to find a luminous
silvery downpour drenching their small California mountain town. A
strange scent hangs faintly in the air, and the young couple cannot
shake the sense of something wrong.
As
hours pass and the rain continues to fall, Molly and Niel listen to
disturbing news of extreme weather phenomena across the globe. Before
evening, their little town loses television and radio reception. Then
telephone and the Internet are gone. With the ceaseless rain now comes
an obscuring fog that transforms the once-friendly village into a
ghostly labyrinth. By nightfall the Sloans have gathered with some of
their neighbors to deal with community damage...but also because they
feel the need to band together against some unknown threat, some enemy
they cannot identify or even imagine.
In
the night, strange noises arise, and at a distance, in the rain and
the mist, mysterious lights are seen drifting among the trees. The rain
diminishes with the dawn, but a moody gray-purple twilight prevails.
Soon Molly, Niel, and their small band of friends will be forced to
draw on reserves of strength, courage, and humanity they never knew
they had. For within the misty gloom they will encounter something that
reveals in a terrifying instant what is happening to their
world? Something that is hunting them with ruthless efficiency. (This was okay - not great - but
definitely not a waste of time)
Velocity
(2005)
Billy
Wiles is an easygoing, hardworking guy who leads a quiet,
ordinary life. But that is about to change. One evening, after his
usual eight-hour bartending shift, he finds a typewritten note under
the windshield wiper of his car: If you don't take this note to the
police and get them involved, I will kill a lovely blond schoolteacher
somewhere in Napa County. If you do take this note to the police, I
will instead kill an elderly woman active in charity work. You have six
hours to decide. The choice is yours.
It
seems like a sick joke, and Billy's friend on the police force,
Lanny Olson, thinks so too. His advice to Billy is to go home and
forget about it. Besides, what could they do even if they took the note
seriously? No crime has actually been committed. But less than
twenty-four hours later, a young blond schoolteacher is found murdered,
and it's Billy's fault: he didn't convince the police to get involved.
Now he's got another note, another deadline, another ultimatum...and
two new lives hanging in the balance.
Suddenly
Billy's average, seemingly innocuous life takes on the
dimensions and speed of an accelerating nightmare. Because the notes
are coming faster, the deadlines growing tighter, and the killer
becoming bolder and crueler with every communication — until Bill is
isolated with the terrifying knowledge that he alone has the power of
life and death over a psychopath's innocent victims. Until the struggle
between good and evil is intensely personal. Until the most chilling
words of all are: The choice is yours. (Stop doing this to me! I have
to breathe to live, you know)
The Husband
(2006)
One
morning, Southern California gardener
Mitchell Rafferty gets a call on his cellphone from a stranger saying
that Mitch's beloved wife, Holly, has been kidnapped and that he has
less than three days to come up with $2 million in cash. Of course,
he's warned not to involve the police. While Mitch is still on the
phone, the kidnapper proves his seriousness by directing Mitch's
attention to a man walking a dog across the street. A moment later the
man is shot dead. Mitch must walk a fine line—cooperating with the
police inquiry into this murder without revealing Holly's plight.
(I loved this book.)
The Darkest
Evening of the Year (2007)
Amy
Redwing has dedicated her life to the southern California
organization she founded to rescue abandoned and endangered golden
retrievers. Among dog lovers, she’s a legend for the risks she’ll take
to save an animal from abuse. Among her friends, Amy’s heedless
devotion is often cause for concern. To widower Brian McCarthy, whose
commitment she can’t allow herself to return, Amy’s behavior is far
more puzzling and hides a shattering secret.
No
one is surprised when Amy risks her life to save Nickie, nor
when she takes the female golden into her home. The bond between Amy
and Nickie is immediate and uncanny. Even her two other goldens, Fred
and Ethel, recognize Nickie as special, a natural alpha. But the
instant joy Nickie brings is shadowed by a series of eerie incidents.
An ominous stranger. A mysterious home invasion.
And
the unmistakable sense that someone is watching Amy’s every move and
that, whoever it is, he’s not alone.
Someone
has come back to turn Amy into the desperate, hunted
creature she’s always been there to save. But now there’s no one to
save Amy and those she loves.
(Another really good read)
The Good Guy (2007)
Timothy
Carrier, having a beer after work at his friend’s tavern,
enjoys drawing eccentric customers into amusing conversations. But the
jittery man who sits next to him tonight has mistaken Tim for someone
very different—and passes to him a manila envelope full of cash.
“Ten thousand now. You get the rest when she’s gone.”
The
stranger walks out, leaving a photo of the pretty woman
marked for death, and her address. But things are about to get worse.
In minutes another stranger sits next to Tim. This one is a
cold-blooded killer who believes Tim is the man who has hired him.
Thinking
fast,
Tim says, “I’ve had
a change of heart. You get
ten thousand—for doing nothing. Call it a no-kill fee.” He keeps the
photo and gives the money to the hired killer. And when Tim secretly
follows the man out of the tavern, he gets a further shock: the hired
killer is a cop.Suddenly,
Tim Carrier, an ordinary guy, is at the center of a
mystery of extraordinary proportions, the one man who can save an
innocent life and stop a killer far more powerful than any cop…and as
relentless as evil incarnate. But first Tim must discover within
himself the capacity for selflessness, endurance, and courage that can
turn even an ordinary man into a hero, inner resources that will
transform his idea of who he is and what it takes to be The Good Guy. (Wow!)
Your Heart
Belongs to Me (2008)
At
thirty-four, Internet entrepreneur Ryan Perry seemed to have the
world in his pocket—until the first troubling symptoms appeared out of
nowhere. Within days, he’s diagnosed with incurable cardiomyopathy and
finds himself on the waiting list for a heart transplant; it’s his only
hope, and it’s dwindling fast. Ryan is about to lose it all…his health,
his girlfriend, Samantha, and his life.
One
year later, Ryan has
never felt better. Business is good and there’s even a chance of
getting Samantha back in his life. Then the unmarked gifts begin to
arrive in the mail—a heart pendant, a box of Valentine candy hearts.
And, most disturbing of all, a graphic heart surgery video accompanied
by a chilling message: Your
heart belongs to me.
In
a
heartbeat, the medical miracle that gave Ryan a second chance at life
is about to become a curse worse than death. For Ryan is being stalked
by a mysterious woman who feels entitled to everything he has. She’s
the spitting image of the twenty-eight-year-old donor of the heart
beating steadily in Ryan’s own chest.
And
she’s come to take it back.
The Other Side
of the Woods (2009)
Dean Koontz was born and
raised in Pennsylvania. He graduated from Shippensburg State College
(now
Shippensburg University), and his first job after graduation was with
the
Appalachian Poverty Program, where he was expected to counsel and tutor
underprivileged children on a one-to-one basis. His first day on the
job, he
discovered that the previous occupier of his position had been beaten
up by the
very kids he had been trying to help and had landed in the hospital for
several
weeks. The following year was filled with challenge but also tension,
and
Koontz was more highly motivated than ever to build a career as a
writer. He
wrote nights and weekends, which he continued to do after leaving the
poverty
program and going to work as an English teacher in a suburban school
district
outside Harrisburg. After he has been a year and a half in that
position, his
wife, Gerda, made him an offer he couldn't refuse: "I'll support you
for
five years," she said, "and if you can't make it as a writer in that
time, you'll never make it." By the end of those five years, Gerda had
quit her job to run the business end of her husband's writing career.
Dean and
Gerda Koontz live in southern California.
