"Stephen King made me want to become a writer. Dean Koontz made me realize I could become a writter".

What's up with the word "amused" there? Looks like someone badly photoshopped a different word in.

Dean Koontz is kind of like the RC Cola of horror/suspense novelists:

• See RC Cola in the store
• “Hmmmm, it’s been a while, but I THINK I liked RC the last time I got it”
• Purchase and consume RC Cola
• “I kind of wish this was a Coke, but it’s not that bad, might as well finish”
• Several years pass, go back to step 1

As a side note, I LOVED Dean Koontz books back in the 80’s/90’s. They were fun and quick reads that are in the “high floor, low ceiling” realm of books.

I got to spend a couple of days at a sci-fi convention at a table next to Richard Hatch of the 1970s Battlestar Galactica fame. He was a really cool guy and we spent all day joking around. Every so often, someone would come by and say, "hey! You're uh... uh..." and I would say, "he's Dirk Benedict." (That was his BSG co-star). Once I told a lady that she better not call him Dirk Benedict because it makes him really mad.

If I had a photo of Dirk Benedict, I would have asked him to sign it.

Sadly, Richard Hatch is no longer with us. I really enjoyed hanging out with him. He was way into tabletop gaming and even would leave the table sometimes to host a session. I'm not a huge TTGer anymore, but I wish I could have had Richard Hatch as a GM.

John Green first editions are less valuable if they're signed, simply because all first editions are supposed to be signed. So that's a fun fact.

Sure everyone has heard of Stephen King and most know know of Dean Koontz. But 10 year old me wants to give a shout out to the best of em, R.L. Stine.

King is my favorite author, hands down, but I don't understand why so many people seem to look down at Koontz. If we're really being honest, Koontz would be much more well regarded if it weren't for the fact that he's so frequently directly compared to King, and Stephen King is a one-of-a-kind, once in a lifetime literary master. Absent the comparison to King, the bulk of Koontz's work holds up quite well. It's entertaining writing with relatable characters that are easy for become invested in. Hell, some of his ideas were not only terrifyingly imaginative, they were also oddly accurate predictions of the future. Demon Seed is uniquely chilling in that it was almost comically over the top with its seemingly ridiculous technology that has since very much become a reality.

I would also argue that Koontz has had a few film adaptations that ended up better than the King adaptations of their time. Phantoms, Watchers, Servants of Twilight, Whispers, Intensity, and Mr. Murder were all pretty great.

Koontz has a great track record. He simply suffers from living in the shadow of a modern day colossus like King. Absent the comparison, I feel Koontz would be much more favorably viewed.

I read exactly one Dean Koontz book and it was about an evil literary critic who tortures the author with a taser in the first few chapters. He is later revealed to be an actual ghost

Kudos to Dean for monetizing a night terror, but he should have been given AI video creation and tiktok voiceovers to express that. I can't remember another time I got Library Lender's Remorse.

Maybe it’s trendy to hate on Koontz but I enjoyed his books when I was a bit younger. The Face, Watchers, TickTock and a couple others but I also liked Clive Cussler at the time so there is that. I think I found it easy to pick up and read as opposed to an investment like King.

A quick google says that Koontz has sold 450 million books and is worth over 200 million. I’m sure he is okay with not being some people’s favourite.

Brandon Sanderson and Tim Patrick Rothfuss started signing each other's books for awhile too. I read that Sanderson signs his and Rothfuss books at the airport bookstore when he's traveling. I managed to find a few signed Sanderson books at the airport bookstore in SLC when I flew through there for a connecting flight once. I still have them on my bookshelf. No cross-signings though.

I would be happy to have King sign my Moonlight bay books (C'mon Koonts get the third one out!). But only if he signs it " ...needs more underage orgies -signed Stephen King."

I’ve read a couple of Dean’s books and I don’t regret it, but also didn’t find them that good.

Outside a couple of disappointments, everything I’ve read from King has ranged from really good (Salems lot, tommyknockers, etc) to outstanding (the dark tower series, the tailsman).

One of the few times Family Guy made me laugh

Is there any rivalry going on?

I read books from both and other than Kings super fame there is not much difference. I don't prefer either.

Somebody gave me Strangers and I loved it! Never before had I read anything like it, completely clueless over halfway into the book about what's going on. Bizarre clues throughout, good characters. Then when you find out what's going on it's so far fetched but somehow believable. The next Koontz book I read was Watchers and it was the exact same formula. Bizarre clues, kept in the dark, far fetched premise. I think I read another (long time ago) and it was similar. Don't get me wrong it's a good formula but if all of his books are like that then I can see why people poke fun

That's for the very simple reason I don't know who Dean Koontz is.