Koontzland - Dean Koontz discussion

I read this one over the course of a month, mostly while I was traveling (for business, then pleasure). I really enjoyed it. I was a little concerned at first with the jumping around from one character to the many others, thinking I would never feel anything for any of them. While I didn't connect with these characters like I have in some other characters, I was surprised at how much I did care for some of them by the end of the story. I was very impressed by the overall story. ***Spoilers*** I loved how he worked aliens into the story, which I probably wouldn't have predicted had someone (whose name starts with "D" and ends in "ustin" :-P) not told me ahead of time. I was moved by the dedication of the aliens to their perceived purpose in life and with how precious and relatively rare intelligent life is in the universe. The psychic powers given by the aliens bordered on mystical, with no real explanation given for them or how they are passed from person to person. I was annoyed by the religious basis for the aliens' actions, as it was suggested that they do what they do because they believe it is what God wants them to do. This makes there cause less noble to me, which is unfortunate.
Overall, I really enjoyed the epic tale that is Strangers.

I did enjoy this book very much, but it has its flaws.
1 - The characters are boring. There is just no meat to them. Everyone is just too perfect and succesful to be human. But still, this didn't bother me as much as...
2 - the anticlimatic ending. This is propably his longest work and he resolves the whole action on two pages. Dean Koontz is well known for that, but I hoped that with a book of such caliber he would somewhat work on that aspect, but he didn't.

I wasn;t bothered by the religious aspect, and it didn't make the case look any less noble to me.

Still, it's one of his best works - far better than the bloated monsters like From the Corner of His Eye or One Door Away From Heaven - maybe because he was stretching himself and trying something new. It was published in 1986, and if you analize his output written before that date you'll find that he wrote much less complex works, with smaller cast of characters and rather formulaic plots (the exception being Phantoms). Strangers is his first book with such a large cast and tackling such a big theme; and it remains the best.

I encourage anyone to read the afterword - it's availible on Koontz's website - where he states that it was the first time when he wrote without outlining the plot or contractual obligations - he just decided to trust the story and see what happens. I'm glad the end result paid off.

Maciek wrote: "I did enjoy this book very much, but it has its flaws.
1 - The characters are boring. There is just no meat to them. Everyone is just too perfect and succesful to be human. But still, this didn't b..."

I wasn't so bothered by the anticlimactic ending (I guess I have come to expect that from him, as it is just his usual style), but I did have the same complaint about the characters, which would be hard to avoid with such a large cast, unless it is Stephen King-length (or maybe Stephen King-authored). I know you've stated that the many other intrusions of religion into Koontz's other works haven't bothered you, but I am surprised this one didn't. You don't think it is more noble for an alien race to seek out and benefit other rare intelligent beings across the universe because they feel it is their moral obligation and they don't want to be alone than it is to do it because they think God wills it? In the former case, they are intelligent, compassionate, dedicated entities, whereas in the latter case, they are merely obedient puppets or automatons following their programming. I think the two cases are separated by magnitudes of nobility.

If I remember correctly Koontz stated explicitly that it was their religion and racial purpose combined. It's a whole lot different than automated programming :) I don't see a problem in being dedicated and compassionate and simultaneously following the will of God. In fact, I think that the two things can go along pretty well.

And I do object to some of the religious intrusions in Koontz's works. I'm a strong theist but do not agree with some of his views - particularly with his obsession with predestination. Also, he seems to have developed his own denomination - a mixture of Neo-Chrisian beliefs combined with Dog Worship (which can be best observed in One Door Away From Heaven and The Darkest Evening of The Year). IN ODAFH he basically enforces his belief in the most lame of all ways - by beating you with it on the head, again and again and again...

Also, he seems obsessed on creating characters that are either completely good or completely evil - he never lt's the reader to decide for himself, and it's one of his worst shortcomings as a writer. King manages to handle his characters well in The Stand; even J.K. Rowling managed to create a vast, compelling universe full of colorful people, a thing which greatly surpised me because Harry Potter was her first attempt at writing. But Koontz just can't do it, year after year and decade after decade, which greatly lowers him in the rank of worthwhile writers because all of his characters are so similar to each other.

The ending is another thing: he always seems to write himself into a plastic bag and then using some weird solution, conceived on the spur of the moment. It puzzles me, because he clearly put a lot of effort into this novel only to butcher up the ending on the last few pages, therefore ruining the experience for mosr of the readers. It's weird; exactly like these tales by campfire where the organizer's kid tells this long and scary tale about the monster who eventually turns out to be some cat or dog strolling through the bushes. You want to hit him in the face but you can't, because his old man is the organizer and can kick you out, plus he's helluva big. So the only thing you can do is walk away cursing under your breath.

Maciek wrote: "...Also, he seems to have developed his own denomination - a mixture of Neo-Chrisian beliefs combined with Dog Worship..."

Maybe he's dyslexic. ;-)

Maybe - it would explain why his characters are all alike. He just couldn't read his previous book for comparison ! LOL !

BTW: I thought that this book would make a wonderful miniseries. Shame it wasn't adopted for TV.

Maciek wrote: "Maybe - it would explain why his characters are all alike. He just couldn't read his previous book for comparison ! LOL !

BTW: I thought that this book would make a wonderful miniseries. Shame it ..."

I was referring to his confusing "god" with "dog," due to potential dyslexia, just to be clear. ;-) Yes, Strangers would make an excellent miniseries, especially if directed by Steven Spielberg.

I know, I just couldn't pass a chance to bash some more. ;)

I think a Spielberg adaptation would be great, but I don't think that he ever did anything for TV. I'd like to see a director who never did such themes have his try - Scorsese did Shutter Island and it turned out great.

Maciek wrote: "I know, I just couldn't pass a chance to bash some more. ;)

I think a Spielberg adaptation would be great, but I don't think that he ever did anything for TV. I'd like to see a director who never ..."

I know he did at least one TV miniseries. It is called Taken and is somewhat similar to Strangers in some respects. Taken is 20 hours long! I quite enjoyed it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taken_(T...

Jason "plasborgma" wrote: "I probably wouldn't have predicted had someone (whose name starts with "D" and ends in "ustin" :-P) not told me ahead of time."


:-) Sorry about that :-)

Maciek wrote: "Also, he seems to have developed his own denomination - a mixture of Neo-Chrisian beliefs combined with Dog Worship (which can be best observed in One Door Away From Heaven and The Darkest Evening of The Year)."


LOL

Dustin wrote: ":-) Sorry about that :-)"

No worries, all is forgiven. :-)

Jason "plasborgma" wrote: "I know he did at least one TV miniseries. It is called Taken and is somewhat similar to Strangers in some respects. Taken is 20 hours long! I quite enjoyed it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taken_(T... "

Thanks for the link ! I must check it out. Sounds really interesting.

Maciek wrote: "Jason "plasborgma" wrote: "I know he did at least one TV miniseries. It is called Taken and is somewhat similar to Strangers in some respects. Taken is 20 hours long! I quite enjoyed it.
http://en...."

You're welcome. I hope you enjoy it. Let me know what you think once you watch it.

Will do.

Strangers has been chosen as our April 2012 Group Read :-)

Weird. This topic hasn't had much activity. It appears that Strangers was discussed up to the summer of 2010 and then it was chosen as the April 2012 Group Read but nobody discussed it :-)

Strangers will be featured as an upcoming Mini-Group Read later in May 2013. Please consider joining us as we read and discuss this book.

My library is still trying to get a copy for me via Interlibrary Loan. I've got my fingers crossed that they'll be successful.

I have been wanting to re-read Strangers so count me in for a new discussion. It was my "first".

When does the group read for this one start?

I found it later on the home page for the site. May 18 start.

Strangers is currently set for a May 20th start date. I have not requested this one from the library yet due to the fact that that I haven't returned my copy of False Memory which was due a week ago :-)

Okay, thanks.

correcting my calendar to May 20.

going have to see if the library has this one i dont think i have it if not i try to buy a copy offline

I hope so Shannon. I won't be able to start this until next week anyway because I have to finish By The Light of the Moon. Almost there (just let a few tv shows get in the way.)

Koontz is driving me crazy in a good way. I swore that when Deeply Odd arrived I would stop whatever I was reading (including Strangers) to read that. Well I am so hooked on Strangers right now (about 50%) and even though I read it before (it was my first Koontz experience) I can't put it aside to start Deeply Odd.

Now about Strangers:
Well I had just finished By The Light of the Moon, and as I am visualizing Strangers I am visualizing people in the same motel. Not a bit deal but funny. I am beginning to think that it's Koontz himself who is obsessed by the moon considering the number titles that include Moon and Night.
This is not really a spoiler but just in case you might want to skip below

Ernie's need for light, lots of it is in such direct opposition to poor Christopher Snow that I had to laugh trying to picture if Ernie and Chris Snow met together how they would ever handle it.

I don't know if any of you get the Goodreads Quote of the day in email but I do and I love it. Today's quote reminded me so much of where I am in my reading of Strangers. What mystifies me about Strangers is that this a second time around read and it is just as "un-put-downable" as the first time.

Here is the quote:
Strange to see how a good dinner and feasting reconciles everybody.

Samuel Pepys

Much to my disappointment and regret, I didn't read Strangers and I've had it out from the library thanks to an Interlibrary Loan for three weeks as of today and it needs to be returned. After finishing False Memory in early May, I just couldn't bring myself to read another Koontz.

I'll request Strangers again in a few months and the next time I have it, I'm promising myself that I will read it.

Jen wrote: "I'll request Strangers again in a few months and the next time I have it, I'm promising myself that I will read it. "

I didn't get around to reading Strangers. So, let me know if you get the book again and I'll try for it again too :-) we can feature it again.

When you guys are going to read it let me know and I'll skim over it for discussion.

Dustin Crazy little brown owl wrote: "I didn't get around to reading Strangers. So, let me know if you get the book again and I'll try for it again too :-) we can feature it again. "

Karen B wrote: "When you guys are going to read it let me know and I'll skim over it for discussion."

Sounds like a plan, you two! :-)

Awesome! I'll see if I can get the audiobook from the library sometime in the near future and keep y'all posted.

I was able to get an audiobook from the library. Started listening to it today. This is a long book.

Well that means it's extra good right?

Yes, it is :-)

It might take a while for me to get through, although I have been going through a lot of audiobooks while I've been painting my new condo. I have picked out 18 different colors to use in my 500 sq ft Colorful Colorado Condo. So far I have applied 9 out to the 18 colors, so how quickly I get through Strangers all depends on how much I paint.

Just allow yourself enough time to share what you think of what you listened to. That's definitely a great use of audio books. I used to have to take trips from Southern New Jersey to the Northern end of the Turnpike. (Back when audio books were on CDs.) And audio book was great. Usually I heard the first half on the way up and the second half on the way back. That was when I first discovered a now-well-like author, Diana Mott Davidson. I grabbed her tape in Walmart because it was the cheapest! Glad I did.

I still listen to audiobooks on CD using my walkman because I am oldschool and have not evolved into the digital age. I have set Strangers aside for a bit because I found some shorter audiobooks from the library. So, if anyone is interested in joining me with the strangeness of Strangers, you still got time :-)

Strangers is our March 2015 Group Read. This is a older thread. There is a brand new discussion thread also. You can comment in either thread.