Dean Koontz: A Master of Suspense
Dean Koontz is one of the most successful and prolific authors of our time. He has written over 105 novels and a number of novellas and collections of short stories, and has sold over 450 million copies of his work. His novels are billed as suspense thrillers, but frequently incorporate elements of horror, fantasy, science fiction, mystery, and satire. Many of his books have appeared on The New York Times Best Seller list, with fourteen hardcovers and sixteen paperbacks reaching the number-one position.
Early Life
Koontz was born on July 9, 1945, in Everett, Pennsylvania. He has said that he was regularly beaten and abused by his alcoholic father, which influenced his later writing, as also did the courage of his physically diminutive mother in standing up to her husband. In his senior year at Shippensburg State College, he won a fiction competition sponsored by Atlantic Monthly magazine. After graduation in 1967, he went to work as an English teacher at Mechanicsburg High School in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.
Career
In his spare time, Koontz wrote his first novel, Star Quest, which was published in 1968. Koontz went on to write over a dozen science fiction novels. Seeing the Catholic faith as a contrast to the chaos in his family, Koontz converted in college because faith provided existential answers for life; he admired Catholicism’s “intellectual rigor,” saying it permitted a view of life that saw mystery and wonder in all things. He says he sees Catholicism as English writer and Catholic convert G. K. Chesterton did: that it encourages a “joy about the gift of life.” Koontz says that spirituality has always been part of his books, as are grace and our struggle as fallen souls, but he “never get[s] on a soapbox.”
In the 1970s, Koontz began writing suspense and horror fiction, both under his own name and several pseudonyms, sometimes publishing up to eight books a year. Koontz has stated that he began using pen names after several editors convinced him that authors who switched back and forth between different genres invariably fell victim to “negative crossover” (alienating established fans and simultaneously failing to pick up any new ones). Known pseudonyms used by Koontz during his career include Deanna Dwyer, K. R. Dwyer, Aaron Wolfe, David Axton, Brian Coffey, John Hill, Leigh Nichols, Owen West, Richard Paige, and Anthony North. As Brian Coffey, he wrote the “Mike Tucker” trilogy (Blood Risk, Surrounded, Wall of Masks) in acknowledged tribute to the Parker novels of Richard Stark (Donald E. Westlake). Many of Koontz’s pseudonymous novels are now available under his real name. Many others remain suppressed by Koontz, who bought back the rights to ensure they could not be republished; he has, on occasion, said that he might revise some for republication, but only three have appeared — Demon Seed and Invasion were both heavily rewritten before they were republished, and Prison of Ice had certain sections bowdlerised.
After writing full-time for more than 10 years, Koontz had his acknowledged breakthrough novel with Whispers, published in 1980. The two books before that, The Key to Midnight and The Funhouse, also sold over a million copies, but were written under pen names. His first bestseller was Demon Seed, the sales of which picked up after the release of the film of the same name in 1977, and sold over two million copies in one year. His first hardcover bestseller, which finally promised some financial stability and lifted him out of the midlist hit-and-miss range, was his book Strangers. Since then, 12 hardcovers and 14 paperbacks written by Koontz have reached number one on The New York Times Best Seller list.
Themes and Influences
Koontz’s novels often explore themes of good versus evil, the power of love, and the resilience of the human spirit. He is also interested in the nature of reality and the possibility of paranormal phenomena. Koontz has said that he is influenced by a wide range of writers, including Stephen King, Charles Dickens, C. S. Lewis, Ray Bradbury, and T. S. Eliot.
Legacy
Dean Koontz is one of the most popular and successful authors of our time. His novels have been translated into over 38 languages and have sold over 450 million copies worldwide. He is a master of suspense and suspenseful storytelling, and his novels have entertained and thrilled readers for decades.