Dean Koontz: A Writer's Biography

Rating:
Summary: Informative Biography of a Bestselling Author
Review: Disappointing when compared to Ramsland's excellent biography of Anne Rice (Prism of the Night), but definitely worthwhile. This is an authorized biography - almost invariably a euphemism for "friendly and not too deep" - and as such comes off more as a hagiography.

Repeatedly, very interesting stories are given only a cursory glance before being discarded. For instance, Koontz mentions a UFO/meteor encounter he had when very young that actually made the papers at the time, but this fascinating little tidbit is simply tossed-off in one short paragraph and then forgotten. Similarly, Koontz's explanation for how he managed to defer his drafting in Vietnam makes no sense, and is glossed over in as short a space. No mention at all is made of his writing government manuals in the mid-'70s, even though those manuals are still listed even here on Amazon, and surely there is an interesting story behind that.

However, the book's pluses easily outweigh its minuses. There is no better book analyzing the author's works, insightfully and in quite some detail. Koontz's difficult childhood with an alcoholic father is recounted in significant detail, and one comes away with new-found respect for the man in recognizing this unfortunate hurdle he had to overcome that might easily have stunted a less resilient individual beyond repair. His savvy in the business of writing is excellently presented, making the book a useful study in that subject - and the author's stories are very nicely demonstrated reflecting the ups and downs in his alternately grim and rewarding life, to the point that this volume would make an excellent textbook for any college creative writing course.

Not that thorough or penetrating, but a valuable addition to anyone's bookshelf who is interested in Koontz's prolific body of work - or even just someone interested in the business of writing, and the creative process.

Rating:
Summary: Koontz Lite
Review: Disappointing when compared to Ramsland's excellent biography of Anne Rice (Prism of the Night), but definitely worthwhile. This is an authorized biography - almost invariably a euphemism for "friendly and not too deep" - and as such comes off more as a hagiography.

Repeatedly, very interesting stories are given only a cursory glance before being discarded. For instance, Koontz mentions a UFO/meteor encounter he had when very young that actually made the papers at the time, but this fascinating little tidbit is simply tossed-off in one short paragraph and then forgotten. Similarly, Koontz's explanation for how he managed to defer his drafting in Vietnam makes no sense, and is glossed over in as short a space. No mention at all is made of his writing government manuals in the mid-'70s, even though those manuals are still listed even here on Amazon, and surely there is an interesting story behind that.

However, the book's pluses easily outweigh its minuses. There is no better book analyzing the author's works, insightfully and in quite some detail. Koontz's difficult childhood with an alcoholic father is recounted in significant detail, and one comes away with new-found respect for the man in recognizing this unfortunate hurdle he had to overcome that might easily have stunted a less resilient individual beyond repair. His savvy in the business of writing is excellently presented, making the book a useful study in that subject - and the author's stories are very nicely demonstrated reflecting the ups and downs in his alternately grim and rewarding life, to the point that this volume would make an excellent textbook for any college creative writing course.

Not that thorough or penetrating, but a valuable addition to anyone's bookshelf who is interested in Koontz's prolific body of work - or even just someone interested in the business of writing, and the creative process.

Rating:
Summary: Wanna know everthing bout Dean Koontz? That's your book
Review: Everytime I want to read a very wonderful biography, I go back and reread this one. Since I read my first book by Dean Koontz, and begun searching for information on him on the net, I was looking forwad to see a biography of him. Then, I discovered the best biography I've ever read some months later.

The book is very well developed. Dean's story is told since the day he was born, passing for the problems of his family with his father, until the day he met the woman who later became his wife until the day he started writing and more, much more, without forget his whole bibliography, the stories of his pen names and an excelent work was done as for telling all about his books.

The author, Katherine Ramsland, knew exactly how to do what she was meant to do. The language is easy and the research was perfect (she talked to Dean to write it, to people related to him, friends, ex-neighbors, etc), which obviously resulted in this wonderful book you now have the chance to read. And don't think twice before buying it. Take it now and dive in this unique world.

Marco Aurelio.

Rating:
Summary: Informative Biography of a Bestselling Author
Review: I found this book to be well written and interesting. Despite Dean Koontz being one of the most popular authors in the world today, before I read this, the only bit of information that had stuck with me previously was that he was from a very poor family.

This situation is expanded on substantially in the course of the novel and gives one a view of the human spirit that allows someone like Dean to go from rags to riches through hardwork and driving ambition.

However the main aspect I drew from Ms Ramsland's biography is the interpretation behind each and every novel Dean writes. To me his books are pure entertainment mainly focusing on good versus evil scenarios, however with the authors observations and contributions from Dean Koontz himself, there is a story behind every story. With the turbulent relationship with his father as a key component, one really does see how great authors such as Dean Koontz get inspiration and find writing to be such a cleansing of the soul.

Rating:
Summary: Great Read!
Review: I was expecting to get into a different slant on the Koontz biographical shtick, perhaps even gain some useful marketing knowledge and names and addresses for me to submit my own material to competent and rational agents, publishers ... whatever. What I got instead is an overblown "analyses" about every single story that this dude ever wrote. In fact, Ramsland destroys the stories by revealing their mystery suspense plots, thereby completely robbing the new reader of any surprise element that (s)he would have had while reading the novel for the first time -- which is one of the juicy tidbits, and an important one, in Koontz's tales. And Ramsland even apologizes for that, yet blithely bulldozes right ahead and inundates you with a Cliff Notes-style analysis of Koontz's work. Indeed, if I had never read any of Koontz's work, and I had read Ramsland's biography of this dude, I would have believed that his stories lacked depth, were too contrived, and contained too many cheek-pinching, I'm-OK-You're-OK, gum-smacking psychoanalytical preaching, and would probably never had read any of them! Now, I don't know about you, but I read suspense mysteries and scifi horror to be ENTERTAINED, not to get some highly suspect psychic cleansing from the latest faddish mental health philosophies that an author might be trying to push. Perhaps the dim-witted need to have a map to stare at before reading Koontz -- you know, have it all spelled out for them, which in that case they'd be better off reading primers on how to talk to people along with the optimal method for folding the toilet paper while wiping their asses.

And, hey! I also got the impression that Ramsland viewed these stories from a rather too-slick formulaic perspective, to the point that a certain flavor of pop-psychology was being pushed here, thereby leaving a bad flavor, like plastic, in my mouth. Yuck!

Sorry this book ever got released, as you can bet that every-single-one of Dean's once-mysterious suspense stories have been sl! ammed onto the analyst's table under the glaring light of too-easy analysis, and to the tune of "Let's psychologize our silly asses off, brothers and sisters!" All I can say is that they were too slickly slayed, flayed, and laid; thank you Ma'm!

Maybe they'll have Cliff Notes for Koontz's stuff after all? 'Cause it's sure looks like it from what I got out of this book. Tedious, boring, and yes! boring....

Rating:
Summary: Almost everything you need to know about Dean Koontz
Review: If you're looking for a reference work on Dean Koontz, look no further. Ms. Ramsland has written the biography that all others will be judged by. It is loaded with information, and is not a dry read like so many other biographies. It was a valuable tool for me when I was creating my Dean Koontz website as it contains contains chronological listings of all of Koontz's works, almost all of his pseudonyms, and a year-by-year breakdown of highlights in his career. Whether you're tracking down information for a school report or a newspaper article or just searching for more about the life of one of America's most prolific writers, then this book is for you.

Rating:
Summary: Depth, Style and Information made interesting
Review: Ramsland must have an incredible appetite and talent for research. She seems to have read everything Dean Koontz ever wrote. This is no mean feat. She skillfully weaves this bibliographical information into a story about Mr. Koontz that is fascinating, especially for Koontz fans who wonder, "Where ever did he get that ghastly, creative imagination?" I am a fan of biography and history, and have some aspirations in creative writing. For all these reasons the book was valuable to me. The only prerequisite for others might be at least a passing knowledge or interest in Koontz's works.Certainly I would recommend this book highly.