# Out of sheer curiosity... (Dean Koontz) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 26, 2006, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-sheer-curiosity-dean-koontz/366023 "2006-07-26T00:05:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Fionn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Fionn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fionn)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2006, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-sheer-curiosity-dean-koontz/366023/41 "2006-07-27T01:14:58Z")
[QUOTE=Blanche] he wrote a novel where he seems to be trying to make the opposite of his stereotypical hero - “Odd Thomas”, which stars a very sociable teenager with lots of friends who’s spent his whole life in one town, who already has a girlfriend that he has a good relationship with and very little angst. And despite this, he still “felt” just like your stereotypical Koontz hero. [/QUOTE] After I forced myself to finish _Odd Thomas_, I pondered why Odd bugged the hell out of me. He felt too much like the other Koontz stereotype, the person who has gone through hell but remains preternaturally unscarred by their experiences. The book itself didn’t work for me because I couldn’t stretch my suspension of disbelief far enough to encompass the shear amount of astonishing coincidence Koontz managed to stuff into the story. A generic Satanic-baddy plot just happens to settle into this little town, but thankfully a (sighted) baddie loses the Braille card he happens to carry in his pocket and there happens to be a blind DJ who explains the card to the hero, during a break of spinning old classic tunes. Though every character had tragedy neatly inserted into their backstory, Koontz told us instead of showing us, and I couldn’t bring myself to give a damn about any of them. ---
**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2006, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-sheer-curiosity-dean-koontz/366023/42 "2006-07-28T13:21:08Z")
[QUOTE=Star Female] That was _Midnight._ [/QUOTE] I stand thankfully corrected. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2006, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-sheer-curiosity-dean-koontz/366023/43 "2006-07-31T16:15:58Z")
I like Koontz. However, my major objection to him is that I think the majority of his books have a lame ending. For the most part, he writes a very good novel and then ends it in a way that is quite unsatisfactory and earns a big “WTF?” from me. ---
**Author:** ![Carlyjay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Carlyjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carlyjay)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2006, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-sheer-curiosity-dean-koontz/366023/44 "2006-07-31T16:41:03Z")
I’ll be honest with you; until his most recent books, I was really, really sick and tired of Dean Koontz. Basically, he got into a rut. Every single book had the same basic format: Guy or girl, who is a strong person inside but has a mundane job (baker, bartender, desk clerk) gets into some kind of trouble with a psychopath who seeks them out for whatever reason. Guy or girl goes on the run in an extremely predictable car chase. At some point, be it before or after the car chase, guy or girl meets the Love Interest, who is similarly humble yet strong on the inside. At some point, there was always the moment where the guy, brandishing a gun, goes off to Face the Trouble. He tells the girl to stay back, wait here. The girl pushes forward relentlessly, showing she is a Strong Woman. Invariably, there is either a precocious child or a precocious dog that helps them along the way. Now, in recent years, Koontz has improved immeasurably. His books are always entertaining, but they became somewhat repetetive. Now, they are still repetetive, but in a different way than they used to be, which is a nice change. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2006, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-sheer-curiosity-dean-koontz/366023/45 "2006-07-31T17:16:21Z")
[QUOTE=Carlyjay] Now, in recent years, Koontz has improved immeasurably. His books are always entertaining, but they became somewhat repetetive. Now, they are still repetetive, but in a different way than they used to be, which is a nice change. [/QUOTE] Exactly. So now, would someone please kill Dean Koontz, grind him into a fine paste, and distill that paste into a clear, colorless and odorless extract which we could then feed to Patricia Cornwell? 🆒 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-sheer-curiosity-dean-koontz/366023.md?page=2)