I read one Dean Koontz book a few years back, "Phantoms". I liked the beginning but like most horror films and books.... they're hard to end decisively. The early terrors seem to be silly at a book or movie's conclusion.

I am not familiar with Koontz's style. I listened to a podcast where a scholar of some stripe made the comment that he likes Koontz better than King because you can tell Koontz doesn't hate people... while you can tell that King does.

More than a few people suggested I read Odd Thomas. I wasn't particularly keen on reading it (the first book) but I'm very glad they suggested it. For a horror writer Koontz prose is something else. It's enjoyable to read.

I had some notion of Koontz being a flimsy writer, which I'll write off to my snobbery prejudice.
But his writing in this book, on more than a few occasions, has given me moments of pause because of the simplicity of phrasing:



Regarding a young man who fixed up a Pontiac Firebird:


What's crazy... is that this description of a man is for someone who in the very next chapter turns out to be a very bad person.
Koontz doesn't hate people

Koontz and his many pen names is a fun writer (speaking from a reader's viewpoint), one who has positions on some things that I share, and who once did me a favor. My wife has all the Odd Thomas books.

If you read any Dean Koontz at all you must read Watchers, it is not only his best and most popular book, it is close to a perfect novel.

Definitely the best novel starring a Golden Retriever.

Thanks for the suggestion, Doom.
That will be put on my list of purchases.

If you buy the most recent edition, it has a forward by Dean Koontz where he complains (tongue in cheek) that whenever he publishes a new book or has a book signing, everyone tells him "It's good, but it's not as good as Watchers", he has had to put up with that for nearly 40 years!

Even the talk about sex between Odd and his true love, Stormy, is as sincere and pure as it can get in a novel like this:

Stormy and Odd are about to attempt to locate a potentially bad man named "Fungus Man" (Bob Robertson). She wants to bring a gun, just in case. Odd doesn't like guns but at no point pontificates that everyone should similarly feel how he does about guns.
She asks him multiple times, "why are you afraid of guns?". Each time he answers impartially.
On her last asking of it he asks her:

"Why're you afraid of sex?". They've been dating for awhile, they plan to marry, but haven't had intercourse.



I believe the "together" comment means married. Because she had just told him that she does want to marry him, which fills Odd with joy.

I am by no means not an expert on Koontz, but in what I've read I have noticed very little profanity and the sexuality is not very explicit, certainly not compared to authors like Stephen King or George RR Martin where there are parts that border on the pornographic, I can't say there aren't any more explicit books he has written, I can only say based on what I've read

There's another very interesting interaction that Odd has with a very fat man (a respected critic and author) named Little Ozzie.
Ozzie wrote a book about a bulimic female detective. It was predicted that the book would flop.... but it didn't. Ozzie has also written other books with eccentric leads that one wouldn't expect to be successful.

Odd gives this explanation for the success:



What a line... "He likes people".
I can't imagine some popular, modern authors having that as a description for a character in their book. Unless that person was the overly credulous fellow who mistakes a woodchipper for a refrigerator and promptly falls in.

This is exactly what Scott Hambrick (Online Great Book Podcast) says about Dean Koontz contra King...
That King writes in a way that you can tell he doesn't like people (individuals or in groups).

In this book a Catholic Church plays the scene where an important bit of the story unfolds. Koontz's description of the Church and its function is very respectful. Not heavy handed... but sincere. The priest is a kindly man who helped raise Stormy after her parents died when she was very young.