Dead and Alive

mesmerizes…. Gut-wrenching clarity. It’s in the description of emotional states—from love to despair—that Koontz has consistently hit bull’s-eyes, evoking reactions of ‘Yes, I know
exactly
how that feels!’”
    —
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
    “Koontz fuses narrative brio with benedictions.”
    —
The New York Times
    “Koontz writes first-rate suspense, scary and stylish.”
    —
Los Angeles Times
    “Genre-bending … Koontz’s use of original metaphors and similes … give his stor[ies] a depth rarely found in such tales…. The modern master of suspense.”
    —
Tulsa World
    “For years Koontz has aimed at more than thrills; he is a novelist of metaphysics and moral reflection. Koontz remains one of the most fascinating of contemporary popular novelists.”
    —
Publishers Weekly
    “Koontz knows where we keep our bejesus and what it takes to scare it out of us…. [He] spins his yarns effortlessly.”
    —New York
Daily News
    “As scary as anything Poe ever crafted. Koontz has that rare ability to mix despair and hope in almost equal measure.”
    —
Mesa Tribune
    “Dean Koontz has always been a master of plot, dialogue, and description. As gifted a writer as Koontz is he’s a better storyteller. The blood of the shaman and chronicler courses through his veins, as he conjures up stories of decent people placed in terrible circumstances. His theme centers on the Grand Romance with its temptations, love, and the struggle against evil. If Koontz tells us anything it is that we are accountable for the choices we make, and one way or another, the bill’s coming due. Fast-paced and dark … Koontz knows we live in a world where evil delights in justifying itself, where materialism has become an end in itself, where the gray, half-light of moral ambiguity supersedes moral verities, and where mankind has turned its collective face away from God. What will become of such a society? Koontz requires us to examine the condition of our kind and there is much to answer for…. Classic literature [that] deserves a place on the bookshelf beside Orwell’s
1984
, Bradbury’s
Fahrenheit 451
, and Berry’s
Jayber Crow.”
    —
California Literary Review
    “Show[ing] influences from H. G. Wells’
The War of the Worlds
, John Wyndham’s
The Day of the Triffids
, Dante’s
Inferno
, and the stories of H. P. Lovecraft, not to mention
The Wasteland
and other T. S. Eliot works … Koontz effectively merges science-fiction and horror conventions with Judeo-Christian traditions.”
    —
Rocky Mountain News
    “Koontz may like to scare readers, but he also likes to charm them. He succeeds at both efforts.”
    —
San Jose Mercury News
    “Dean Koontz incorporates mysteries into his plots, but his protagonists are more mysterious than the crimes they solve. He knows how to hook the reader … how to play with our expectations.”
    —
The Globe and Mail
    “His prose is rich and evocative. His characters are among the warmest—and most despicable—in modern fiction.”
    —
Ottawa Citizen
    “Koontz is writing right where popular culture swells into something larger, just as it did for Homer, Shakespeare, and Dickens. He’s got the gift.”
    —
The Australian
    “After three dozen novels and more than 200 million copies sold, Dean Koontz can still reach out and pull the reader into terror.”
    —
San Antonio Express-News
    “Koontz’s plots and characters are always compelling, absorbing, and beautifully drawn with a deep respect for the redemptive power of love.”
    —
Orange Coast
    “Dean Koontz … has the power to scare the daylights out of us.”
    —
People
    “Koontz’s superlative ability to balance sensationalism with psychological, emotional, and physical realism keeps readers riveted to the page.”
    —
Mystery Scene
    “A master of the [suspense] genre.”
    —
Richmond Times-Dispatch
    “Koontz is a master at creating believable characters and realistic dialogue…. He has few peers when it comes to snappy one-liners and irreverent humor.”
    —
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
    “Koontz knows how to turn the screws, and dealing with internal terrors, really takes the reader for a ride.”
    —
The Globe and Mail
    “Koontz long ago mastered the art of grabbing a reader’s attention and hanging onto it into the wee hours.”
    —Baton Rouge
Advocate
    “Koontz has a touching faith in the human spirit. [His] sure fire plotting and a roster of characters built out of painful tragedies make the pages