Horror Aficionados discussion

Hello Everybody! My name is Katie and I was wondering who everybody prefers.... Stephen King or Dean Koontz or Both and Why?!? These are two authors that are often compared. I think they both have very amazing imaginations and come up with very unique stories! I personally love them both! My favorite books by King are The Stand, Pet Sematary, IT and Cujo. My favorite books by Koontz are Midnight, Watchers, Odd Thomas, The Frankenstein Series, The Door to December and The Taking. Just to name a few from each, considering they each have SO MANY books! I can't wait to hear your thoughts and your favorites!!

Hi, Katie. I prefer Stephen King because his writing appeals to me more than Koontz's and I've been reading Stephen King since I was a teenager.

I'm going to move this thread to the Authors folder.

I, too, prefer Stephen King. His stuff scares me way more.

I enjoy both but I have loved more King books than Koontz so far...

Hi KT

I don't think these two really have anything in common, other than being ridiculously popular. But I much prefer King. I read about four Koontz books before quitting. I enjoyed them at first but his writing style began to grate on me more and more. He has an annoying tendency to over-explain and repeat himself, and it comes off like he doesn't trust the reader to understand or remember anything. I just couldn't stand it any more. King has some annoying writing quirks as well, but they are not deal-breakers.

I have a love/hate relationship with both of them. They have some moments of greatness and then go and write some real stinkers.

I'm with Wag More... King has always frustrated me with redundency and characters that were hard to rout for/like. Koonts started well, strong even but after a while his books lost their sparkle for me. I guess one of us was burned out. I used to think of Koontz as writing for "The Walt Disney Micky Mouse" horror program until I read "Twilight Eyes." That book still rates higher on my list than any King book. I guess that mean's I vote Koontz.

I guess I would have to say I enjoy King more because I continue to reread his novels and love nearly all of them, but I think that Koontz has a more likeable writing style. To me, they are like food: King is what he calls himself "a literary Big Mac and fries" and I view Koontz as something slightly more healthy but not as tasty. I have loved nearly all of Koontz's books and most likely would have chosen him over King if Koontz hadn't suddenly began to disappoint me again and again with his new work. His last few novels have greatly lowered my opinion of him while King has always remained strong in my eyes. A lot of people say that King's newer work has declined as well but I don't see it at all. Cell, Duma Key, Full Dark No Stars, Under the Dome, the conclusion to the unbelievabley amazing Dark Tower books have all been published in the past ten years and have all been excellent. I did not like Just After Sunset or Lisey's Story much, but those odds aren't bad.
I liked every single novel I read by Koontz up until Your Heart Belongs to Me. After that, Relentless, Breathless, What the Night Knows, and the newest two Frankenstein books have all failed to impress me.
King is is my favorite now that I have read nearly all of Koontz's work and all of King's so far. Sorry about the lengthy explanation.

BarkLessWagMore wrote: "I have a love/hate relationship with both of them. They have some moments of greatness and then go and write some real stinkers."

Yay!! Somebody gets my problems with King!

Not even close. King in a landslide. He has never put out anything even remotely as awful as Relentless.

I am so impressed that Adam has read nearly all of Koontz's books (and King's!). Hasn't Koontz written A LOT of books? I think I've read two, three at the most.

I haven't ever read a Koontz book. I suppose I would if someone recommended me a really, really good one. I've just always been a King fanatic. Recently I've read some new to me authors though, so I'm working on expanding my horizons. :)

Kit★ wrote: "I haven't ever read a Koontz book. I suppose I would if someone recommended me a really, really good one. I've just always been a King fanatic. Recently I've read some new to me authors though, so ..."


"Twilight Eyes" is my favorite Koontz book. "Lighting" is pretty good as well. Hard to pick a second favorit.

I liked The Bad Place the best of the ones I've read, but that may be because it was the first.

Fear Nothing and Seize The Night are my favorite Koontz books. His newest one What The Night Knows sucked , imho. Tommyknocker is the only Stephen King novel I dislike, though it's not horrid.

The best Koontz book is Watchers, and that was a long time ago.

Gatorman wrote: "The best Koontz book is Watchers, and that was a long time ago."

Read that when I was 10 or 11 and it scared the crap out of me.

Erica wrote: "Gatorman wrote: "The best Koontz book is Watchers, and that was a long time ago."

Read that when I was 10 or 11 and it scared the crap out of me."

I culd go with Watchers and Twillight Eyes as one-two. Phantoms was a fun read too. Twilight eyes is still my favorite. (Talk about checking under the bed before you go to sleep... whew... but I was (cough!) a little older than ten. Just a bit.)

Tressa wrote: "Hi, Katie. I prefer Stephen King because his writing appeals to me more than Koontz's and I've been reading Stephen King since I was a teenager.

I'm going to move this thread to the Authors folder."

Hi Tressa! Oh, your right I should have listed it under Authors! Thanks so much!!

Erica wrote: "I, too, prefer Stephen King. His stuff scares me way more."

Hi Erica! What do you think was his scariest book?!?

Katie wrote: "Hi Tressa! Oh, your right I should have listed it under Authors! Thanks so much!!
..."

Oh, I just moved it so more people would see it when they went to the Authors folder to poke around. I rarely have to move a thread--I only do it when I think it might get lost in the general folder.

Scott wrote: "Hi KT

I don't think these two really have anything in common, other than being ridiculously popular. But I much prefer King. I read about four Koontz books before quitting. I enjoyed them at fi..."

Hi Scott! I think they have in common their unique personalities in developing crazy stories!! I somewhat agree with you about Koontz over-explaining everything.... I tend to skip over some parts when he starts doing that but I still love his books! What don't you like about Stephen King?? Just curious.

BarkLessWagMore wrote: "I have a love/hate relationship with both of them. They have some moments of greatness and then go and write some real stinkers."

HI! Love your screen name! I think your right that some of their books just don't cut it sometimes!!

Hugh wrote: "I'm with Wag More... King has always frustrated me with redundency and characters that were hard to rout for/like. Koonts started well, strong even but after a while his books lost their sparkle..."

Hey Hugh! I actually haven't read Twilight Eyes yet. What made it so amazing to you that it beat out King?!?! I am excited to know your thoughts on it!

Katie wrote: "Erica wrote: "I, too, prefer Stephen King. His stuff scares me way more."

Hi Erica! What do you think was his scariest book?!?"

For me, his two scariest are IT and Cujo. Clowns scare me like nobody's business and dogs scare me, too, especially if I don't them.

Here is my humble opinion:

I prefer the works of Dean Koontz over that of Stephen King, though I think that King has a better writing style.

How can this be?

Koontz's books tend to leave the reader with a feeling of hope. Yes, he may get a little wordy at times, but I always know that his books will have a "happy" (or at least bitter-sweet) ending. I also share about 95% of his worldviews, so I usually don't object to anything he's written.

While I greatly admire Stephen King's abilities as a writer, his writing often comes off as arrogant to me, like he exudes overconfidence. I also find it irritating that a great deal of his characters happen to be best-selling novelists and English teachers. Koontz wins in that aspect because he does research into a lot of different fields and has characters who are doctors, shop owners, detectives, etc.

Overall, I admire both men for the great books they have given to the world.

Tressa, thanks if that was a compliment. I have actually read 61 of King's novels (counting Different Seasons and Four Past Midnight as one each and not including the novellas) and 59 by Koontz. I haven't read much of Koontz. I found King to be far scarier as well but Koontz did have a few books that freaked me out including Phantoms, Whispers, and Twilight Eyes. Good stuff.

J. S. wrote: "Here is my humble opinion:

I prefer the works of Dean Koontz over that of Stephen King, though I think that King has a better writing style.

How can this be?

Koontz's books tend to leave the rea..."

I agree with you about Koontz leaving the reader with a sense of hope, but there is always "The Servants of Twilight" which... ended kind of creepy... not exactly hopeful.

Koontz definitely leaves readers with more happy endings than King. One thing koontz has going for him are his quirky characters. Tik Tok(sorry if I butchered the title) is a good example of that. Sometimes the things they say crack me up! Koontz can be funny.

A sense of hope is not necessarily something I want in a horror novel.

I much prefer Stephen King's novels. But truth be told, I think short stories are his strong suit.

Adam wrote: "Tressa, thanks if that was a compliment. I have actually read 61 of King's novels (counting Different Seasons and Four Past Midnight as one each and not including the novellas) and 59 by Koontz. I ..."

Of course it was a compliment. Your voracious reading is something I admire, and not just over Koontz and King. I think it's great how you're able to go from a King book to an Anne Tyler book and enjoy them both.

Last year I read Strangers by Koontz and couldn't put it down. It got repetitive and could have been edited down, but the ending was amazing, I thought.

Tressa wrote: "Last year I read Strangers by Koontz and couldn't put it down. It got repetitive and could have been edited down, but the ending was amazing, I thought."

Good book!

Adam wrote: "I guess I would have to say I enjoy King more because I continue to reread his novels and love nearly all of them, but I think that Koontz has a more likeable writing style. To me, they are like fo..."

Hi Adam! I loved your long explanation! I was wondering about Under the Dome. I have recently bought it and haven't had a chance to read it yet but have heard some negative things about it. That wouldn't stop me from reading it but its nice to hear you say that you really liked it. Could you tell me what you liked about it?? Also... since I love Stephen King, I also take a lot of his recommendations and check them out. Well King had recommended this book this summer called The Passage by Justin Cronin. Have you heard or read it? AMAZING and really deep too. Let me know...

Kit★ wrote: "I haven't ever read a Koontz book. I suppose I would if someone recommended me a really, really good one. I've just always been a King fanatic. Recently I've read some new to me authors though, so ..."

Hey Kit! Sometimes I find it hard to break out of my regular circle of authors, but sometimes I am very pleasantly surprised!! I think you should read Dean Koontz Midnight,(that was the first Koontz book I ever read and it is pretty crazy!!), I also recommend Odd Thomas. Awesome book! Also... since you are a King fanatic, what do you think King's scariest books are??

Gatorman wrote: "The best Koontz book is Watchers, and that was a long time ago."

Yea Watchers was Awesome!!

I've heard good things about Watchers. Will have to add it to my list.

Erica wrote: "Katie wrote: "Erica wrote: "I, too, prefer Stephen King. His stuff scares me way more."

Hi Erica! What do you think was his scariest book?!?"

For me, his two scariest are IT and Cujo. Clowns sc..."

IT scares the crap out of me also cause of the clown thing!! I loved Cujo but its hard for me to ever be scared of Dogs because I love Dogs first of all and I have 4 of them!

J. S. wrote: "Here is my humble opinion:

I prefer the works of Dean Koontz over that of Stephen King, though I think that King has a better writing style.

How can this be?

Koontz's books tend to leave the rea..."

Hey J.S.! I love what you said! Made a lot of sense. Both men have something to be admired!!

Erica wrote: "Koontz definitely leaves readers with more happy endings than King. One thing koontz has going for him are his quirky characters. Tik Tok(sorry if I butchered the title) is a good example of that..."

Erica you are so right! Koontz does sometimes have a funny sense of humor in his books.

Tressa, thanks so much for thinking so. I love that I can enjoy J. F. Gonzalez and then Anne Tyler or even the occasional Nicholas Sparks book.
Katie, I actually just read Under the Dome again and forgot to change my rating from four to five stars. I find nothing wrong wih it at all, but some may say that it is over-written, but if you love King that is old news.
Also, I really didn't care much for the Passage. The build-up for the book built up my expectations and the let down was nearly as large as the book. I gave it thee stars and I was being generous.

I think Tressa has also said something similar to this about Cronin's The Passage.

I prefer Koontz to King. I can say I have only enjoyed 3 of the King novels I have read. Duma Key would be my favorite King but honestly because it reads like a Koontz novel. Yeah I can think of a few less than spectacular Koontz novels but offhand I think of at least 6 King novels that I feel the same way about. I prefer Koontz writing style even if he can get a bit wordy at times. :)

Adam wrote: "I think Tressa has also said something similar to this about Cronin's The Passage."

Awww, I loved it! But I understand what you are saying... Did you know that it is the first in a Trilogy? Are you still going to read the rest in the Trilogy?

Katie wrote: "Hugh wrote: "I'm with Wag More... King has always frustrated me with redundency and characters that were hard to rout for/like. Koontz started well, strong even but after a while his books lost ..."

Why Twilight Eyes? I had just read phantoms and enjoyed it. It's not that Phantoms is all that amazing, a "Fun read" doesn't necessarily give a story depth etc. Phantoms was more or less a creature feature but I thought it was a good one. (They did make a movie out of it staring Peter O'Toole that was about the same level as the movie made from "Relic" (not bad for a "B" movie).

Yes, I'm trying to avoid spoilers here by being vague.

By the end of Twilight Eyes, the villains had enough structure to them that they could be reinvented or evolve for a sequel (these baddies were an organized group, not a random throw away monster), they were scary, and the plot seemed to move from a thread where things seemed simple, almost linear...to a more complex spider web of dark and wicked things. Yes, there was also some romance.

The structure and feel of the story more than its content "felt" or reminded me of Lincoln and child's Reliquary (The sequel to Relic). I wouldn't confuse the two stories... I'm talking more about style and ambiance. That feeling of how close to doom we all are as your brain and mind's eye start putting words into pictures and scenes. (Please tell me I'm not the only one that reads like that.)

Best of all, there were no vampires or werewolves in it. I had been vamped out after reading Lumley and wolfed over after a good, but intense "Wolf's Hour" by McCammon.

I also loved the intros too each chapter where he described horrible things happening, presumably at the hands of our villains, that were based on actual events within the few years prior to publishing. I remembered each one of them from the actual news as much as what he wrote. That helped add to that eerie feeling at the back of your neck as you read a connection between the story and the here and now.

All this made it "different" from Phantoms and also different in another direction from The Watchers.

I think that's what I liked about Koontz's writing in the beginning-each book read so much different from the last in tone and(for lack of a better word) "feel." These books were not clones of each other(in the order that I read them anyway).

I stopped reading when the books started feeling to much alike. (My grumps about King come from a different place)

I found Twilight eyes to be the most different.

For that matter, Lightning, had yet a different concept to it than any of them. Even the romantic angle in Lightning had a dark side to it.

Again, this may have more to do with the order I read the books. I'm sure that wasn't the same order they were written.

and of course I apologize for the monster post (egad, I didn't realize how much I rambled on.) and with unanimous consent I reserve the right to revise and extend my remarks... or what ever they say in the House of representatives so they can edit the truth out of their speeches after they've given them. Sorry for running on like that. (and close to doing it again, yikes).

Adam wrote: "I think Tressa has also said something similar to this about Cronin's The Passage."

Yes, I did! Was a 3-star read for me.

Hugh, don't feel you ever have to edit yourself around here. We love long-winded posts--they are invariably much more interesting. You should meet Shawn. :-)

Tressa wrote: "Hugh, don't feel you ever have to edit yourself around here. We love long-winded posts--they are invariably much more interesting. You should meet Shawn. :-)"

Thank you for understanding. Of course, I'm still switching to Decaf! ( :<{)}