DEAN KOONTZ (1945 -) is perhaps best known as an American author of thriller/suspense novels with fantastic elements. Koontz has in fact written straight Science Fiction, at least early in his career. Later writings often feature recurring fantastic themes (like talking dogs). Another recurring topic is that of sociopathy. He returns to again and again, making him unique in the field of fantastic fiction writing. Some readers say his writing falls into the “Horror” genre though Koontz flatly denies this. Labels aside, a few things are very clear; he’s very prolific, intensely popular and definitely, completely and utterly askew from the mainstream – despite being so popular in it. Koontz’s audiobooks tend to be hard to find after their initial release – if you think you might want one, snap it up while you can. If you can find an older audiobook it will tend to be expensive – collector’s don’t give them up easily.
Commercial Audiobooks:
The Eyes Of Darkness
By Dean Koontz; Read by Tanya Eby
8 CDs – Approx. 10 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Published: January 3, 2010
ISBN: 1441817166
A year had passed since little Danny’s death – a year since his mother began the painful process of acceptance. But Tina Evans could have sworn she just saw her Danny in a stranger’s car…then she dreamed that Danny was alive. And when she awoke, she found a message waiting for her in Danny’s bedroom – two disturbing words scrawled on his chalkboard: NOT DEAD. Was this someone’s grim joke? Her mind playing tricks on her? Or something…more? For Tina Evans, it was a mystery she couldn’t escape. An obsession that would lead her from the bright lights of Las Vegas to the cold shadows of the High Sierras. A terrible secret seen only by…The Eyes of Darkness.
The Key to Midnight
By Dean Koontz; Read by Tanya Eby
9 CDs – Approx. 11 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Published: December 3, 2009
ISBN: 1441817107
Joanna Rand left the U.S. ten years ago to sing in a Japanese nightclub. Ever since, she’s been plagued with nightmares of terror. There is only one man who can help her–Alex Hunter. Ten years ago he saw her picture in the papers–as a senator’s daughter who had disappeared. Now he has to bring her memories back to her, memories of a past more terrifying than they dreamed possible…
Breathless
By Dean Koontz; Read by Jeffrey Cummings
7 CDs – Approx. 8 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Published: November 24, 2009
ISBN: 1423357051
In the stillness of a golden September afternoon, deep in the wilderness of the Rockies, a solitary craftsman, Grady Adams, and his magnificent Irish wolfhound, Merlin, step from shadow into light . . . and into an encounter with enchantment. That night, through the trees, under the moon, a pair of singular animals will watch Grady’s isolated home, waiting to make their approach. A few miles away, Camillia Rivers, a local veterinarian, begins to unravel the threads of a puzzle that will bring to her door all the forces of a government in peril. At a nearby farm, long-estranged identical twins come together to begin a descent into darkness. . . . In Las Vegas, a specialist in chaos theory probes the boundaries of the unknowable. . . . On a Seattle golf course, two men make matter-of-fact arrangements for murder. . . . Along a highway by the sea, a vagrant scarred by the past begins a trek toward his destiny. In a novel that is at once wholly of our time and timeless, fearless and funny, Dean Koontz takes listeners into the moment between one turn of the world and the next, across the border between knowing and mystery. It is a journey that will leave all who take it Breathless.
Dean Koontz’s Frankenstein: Dead And Alive (Book 3)
By Dean Koontz; Read by John Bedford Lloyd
CDs – Approx. [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Random House Audio
Published: July 28, 2009
ISBN: 0739317172
As a devastating hurricane approaches, as the benighted creations of Victor Helios begin to spin out of control, as New Orleans descends into chaos and the future of humanity hangs in the balance, the only hope rests with Victor’s first, failed attempt to build the perfect human. Deucalion’s centuries-old history began as the original manifestation of a soulless vision–and it is fated to end in the ultimate confrontation between a damned creature and his mad creator. But first they must face a monstrosity not even Victor’s malignant mind could have conceived–an indestructible entity that steps out of humankind’s collective nightmare with powers, and a purpose, beyond imagining.
Relentless
By Dean Koontz; Read by Dan John Miller
MP3-CD – Approx. 9 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Published: June 2009
ISBN: 9781423356974
Bestselling novelist Cullen “Cubby” Greenwich is a lucky man and he knows it. He makes a handsome living doing what he enjoys. His wife, Penny, a children’s book author and illustrator, is the love of his life. Together they have a brilliant six-year-old, Milo, affectionately dubbed “Spooky,” and a non-collie named Lassie, who’s all but part of the family. So Cubby knows he shouldn’t let one bad review of his otherwise triumphant new book get to him — even if it does appear in the nation’s premier newspaper and is penned by the much-feared, seldom-seen critic Shearman Waxx. Cubby knows that the best thing to do is ignore the gratuitously vicious, insulting, and inaccurate comments. Penny knows it; even little Milo knows it. If Lassie could talk, she’d tell Cubby to ignore them, too. Ignore Shearman Waxx and his poison pen is just what Cubby intends to do.
Phantoms
By Dean Koontz; Read by Buck Schirner
12 CDs – 15 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Published: January 2008
ISBN: 9781423339267
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Black River
By Dean Koontz; Read by Scott Brick
Audible Download – 2 Hours 11 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Audible.com
Published: 2007
Master of suspense Dean Koontz creates an undercurrent of terror in this story set deep in the dark and troubled town of Black River. Burned-out Hollywood screenwriter Bo Aikens is fed up with life in Los Angeles. He heads out of the hustle and bustle of the big city and arrives in picturesque Black River in Northern California, seeking relaxation and artistic inspiration. In small, idyllic Black River, nearly everyone is happy, contented, and welcoming of strangers. But despite the beautiful setting, Bo begins to feel unsettled after several disturbing incidents. He discovers that all of his money has been transferred to a bank account in Black River, and a house has been purchased for him by someone on “his” instructions. Troubled by various, peculiar twists of fate, Bo decides to leave Black River. As he becomes entangled in a nightmarish plot, preventing his return home, it suddenly seems clear to Bo that his perfect little hideaway captures more than just the imagination of its visitors.
The Husband
By Dean Koontz; Read by Holter Graham
Cassettes or CDs – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Random House Audio
Published: 2006
ISBN: 0739332872(CDs),
“‘We have your wife. You can get her back for two million cash.’ Landscaper Mitchell Rafferty thinks it must be some kind of joke. He was in the middle of planting impatiens in the yard of one of his clients when his cell phone rang. Now he’s standing in a normal suburban neighborhood on a bright summer day, having a phone conversation out of his darkest nightmare.”
Sole Survivor
By Dean Koontz; Read by David Birney
Publisher: Random House Audio
Published: December 6, 2005
ISBN: 0739334247
A catastrophic, unexplainable plane crash leaves three hundred and thirty dead — no survivors. Among the victims are the wife and two daughters of Joe Carpenter, a Los Angeles Post crime reporter. A year after the crash, still gripped by an almost paralyzing grief, Joe encounters a woman named Rose, who claims to have survived the crash. She holds out the possibility of a secret that will bring Joe peace of mind. But before he can ask any questions, she slips away. Driven now by rage (have the authorities withheld information?) and a hope almost as unbearable as his grief (if there is one survivor, are there others?), Joe sets out to find the mysterious woman. His search immediately leads him into the path of a powerful and shadowy organization hell-bent on stopping Rose before she can reveal what she knows about the crash.
Forever Odd
By Dean Koontz; Read byDavid Aaron Baker
7 CDs – Approx. 8.5 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Random House Audio
Published: 2005
ISBN: 0739315595
Another Odd Thomas novel, Thomas isn’t a sleuth himself but the ghosts he sees helps the police chief of his small town solve crimes.
Odd Thomas
By Dean Koontz; Read by David Aaron Baker
7 Cassetes or 9 CDs – Approx. 10.5 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Random House Audio
Published: 2003
ISBN: 0739301764
Interesting fantasy that is visually resplendent and full of fun illiteration.
Velocity
By Dean Koontz; Read by Michael Hayden
8 Cassettes or ? CDs -Approx 9 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Random House Audio
Published: 2005
ISBN: 0739315552 (Cassettes), 0739307452 (CDs)
Average schmo Bill Wile is surprised to find a strange note on his car one evening. On the note, an apparent maniac threatens the lives of two women. When Bill doesn’t act, one of the two woman is murdered. Then he finds another note from the killer. Now he knows he must act quickly to save innocent lives.
Intensity
By Dean Koontz; Read by Kate Burton
Cassettes or CDs [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Random House Audio
Published: 1995, 2005
ISBN: 0679449167 (Cassettes), 0739323717 (CDs)
Re-issued 10 years after the inital audio release, different cover is avalable on the 1995 edition but the narrator is the same.
Life Expectancy
By Dean Koontz; Read byJohn Bedford Lloyd
10 CDs or 8 Cassettes – Approx. 11.5 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Random House Audio
Published: 2004
ISBN: 0739315536 (CDs), 0739315528 (Cassettes)
Before Joseph Tock dies he predicts that there will be five dark days in his grandson’s life.
Midnight
By Dean Koontz; Read by J. Charles
CDs or Cassettes – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Published: 2004
ISBN: 1593553277 (CDs), 1593553250 (Cassettes)
Cold Fire
By Dean Koontz; Read by Michael Hanson and Carol Cowan
9 Cassettes, 12 CDs or 1 MP3-CD – 16 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: The Reader’s Chair / Brilliance Audio
Published: 1991 / 2004
ISBN: 0962401013 (Reader’s Chair Cassettes), 1593553390 (Brilliance CDs), 1593553374 (Brilliance Cassettes)
The rights for this were purchased from The Readers Chair after that company was bankrupted. “Reporter Holly Thorne is intrigued by Jim Ironheart, who has saved 12 lives in the past three months. Holly wants to know what kind of power drives him, why terrifying visions of a churning windmill haunt his dreams, and just what he means when he whispers in his sleep that an enemy who will kill everyone is coming.”
Hideaway
By Dean Koontz; Read by Michael Hanson and Carol Cowan
9 Cassettes, 12 CDs or 1 MP3 CD – Approx. 15 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Published: 2005
ISBN: 1593553358
“He was clinically dead after the accident – but was miraculously revived. Now Hatch Harrison and his wife approach each day with a new appreciation for life. But something has come back with Hatch from the other side. A terrible presence that links his mind to a psychotic’s, so that a force of murderous rage courses through him.”
Watchers
By Dean Koontz; Read by J. Charles
10 Cassettes, 13 CDs or 1 MP3-CD – Approx. 15 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Brilliance (Bookcassettes)
Published: 1988, 2004
ISBN: 0930435435 (Bookcassettes Cassettes), 1593553315 (CDs), 1593355505 (MP3-CD)
Collectors should take note the Brilliance imprint called “Bookcassettes” (the 1988 release) has two tracks per cassette side, which requires you to isolate one audio track at a time to listen to it. “From a top secret government laboratory come two genetically altered life forms. One is a magnificent dog of astonishing intelligence. The other, a hybrid monster of a brutally violent nature. And both are on the loose… “
Dark Rivers Of The Heart
By Dean Koontz; Read by Anthony Heald
12 Cassettes – 20 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Random House Audio
Published: 1994
ISBN: 0679436669
A twisted love story. This audiobook includes an original bonus interview with Koontz himself!
The Face
By Dean Koontz; Read by Dylan Baker
16 CDs or 12 Cassettes – Approx. 19.5 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Random House Audio
Published: 2003
ISBN: 0739307452 (CDs), 0739301748 (Cassettes)
Reality blurs into terrifying fantasy as a group of mere mortals try to stop the superhuman assassin of a Hollywood superstar.
Mr. Murder
By Dean Koontz, Read by Jay O. Sanders
10 cassettes – 15 hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Simon & Shuster Audioworks
Published: 1993
ISBN: 0671881191
One Door Away From Heaven
By Dean Koontz; Read by Anne Twomey
13 Cassettes – Approx. 22 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Random House Audio
Published: 2001
ISBN: 0736683194
Micky Bellsong befriends a disabled girl named Leilani, and becomes concerned when Leilani’s stepfather, a UFO cultist, believes aliens will cure her. When the family disappears, Micky sets out after them aided by a detective.
From The Corner Of His Eye
By Dean Koontz; Read by Stephen Lang
13 Cassettes or 18cds – Approx. 22 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Random House Audio
Published: 2000
ISBN: 0553502697, 0736690018 (cassettes), 0736694846 (CDs)
The lives of three strangers become intertwined in a story of heart-stopping suspense and high adventure. An AudioFile Magazine Earphones Award Winner.
The Taking
By Dean Koontz; Read by Ariadne Meyers and Ari Meyer
5 Cassettes – Approx. 9.5 Hours -[UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Random House Audio
Published: 2004
ISBN: 073931212X
Not his best work. A California couple realizes that an alien race is colonizing the world.
Dean Koontz’s Frankenstein – Book One – Prodigal Son
By Dean Koontz and Kevin J. Anderson; Read by John Bedford Lloyd
? Cassettes – [ABRIDGED]
Publisher: Random House Audio
Published: 2005
ISBN: 0739317040
Abridged, seek out the Books On Tape edition instead.
Dean Koontz’s Frankenstein – Book One – Prodigal Son
By Dean Koontz and Kevin J. Anderson; Read by Scott Brick
7 Cassettes or 9 CDs – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Books On Tape Inc.
Published: 2005
ISBN: 0739317040
“The first in a mesmerizing four-book original series, PRODIGAL SON is a brilliant re-imagining and updating of the classic Frankenstein story that only Dean Koontz could conceive. Two hundred years old, the “monster,” Deucalion, is a monster no more. Literate and intelligent, he arrives in modern-day New Orleans, where he will join forces with a street-smart police detective and her partner on the trail of a macabre serial killer…a serial killer spawned, Deucalion will discover, by his own creator, Dr. Victor Frankenstein, now Victor Helios. Now Deucalion will find that there are many others like him…that they live among us at every strata of society…and that his nemesis, Victor Frankenstein, has survived the centuries as well…and dreams of seeding the earth with his creations.”
Dean Koontz’s Frankenstein – Book Two – City Of Night
By Dean Koontz and Ed Gorman; Read by John Bedford Lloyd
5 Cassettes or 7 CDs [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Random House Audio
Published: 2005
ISBN: 073931713X, 0739317148
For the second instalment, Random House and Books On Tape collaborated in releasing just one unabridged edition (Random House now owns Books On Tape).
The Bad Place
By Dean Koontz; Read by Carol Cowan and Michael Hanson
10 Cassettes, 13 CDs or 1 MP3-CD – 15 hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Published: 2004
ISBN: 1593553404
“Married detectives Julie and Bobby Dakota, agree to help frightened amnesiac Frank Pollard figure out what he does when he’s asleep. Not only can Frank not remember his past, but he wakes up mornings to find mysterious bags of large-denomination bills by his bed. In due course, Frank and the Dakotas join forces against murderer Candy Pollard and his weird sisters, who want to kill Frank–evidently the sole human in the monstrous family. Candy extends psychic feelers toward potential victims, emanations that are sensed by Julie’s younger brother Thomas. A Down’s syndrome child, Thomas is telepathically gifted and able to warn Bobby of the demons who threaten Julie. Horror follows horror with each crime perpetrated by Candy & Co. as they come ever closer to the Dakotas and other prey.”
False Memory
By Dean Koontz, Narrated by Stephen Lang
12 Cassettes – Approx. 21.5 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Random House Audio
Published: 1999
ISBN: 0553479024
Four patients of the same therapist develop crippling fears, revealing the terrifying ability of the mind to torment and destroy.
By The Light Of The Moon
By Dean Koontz; Read by Stephen Lang
12 Cassettes- Approx. 13.5 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Random House Audio
Published: 2002
ISBN: 0553502719
Two brothers and their traveling companion race to puzzle out a vicious violation committed against them, only steps ahead of deadly pursuers.
Sole Survivor
By Dean Koontz; Read by David Birney
8 Cassettes – 12 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Random House Audio
Publication Date: 1997
ISBN: 067945277X
Ticktock: A novel
By Dean Koontz; Read by B.D. Wong
Cassettes –
Publisher: Random House Audio
Published: 1997
ISBN: 0679452672
Seize The Night
By Dean Koontz; Read by Keith Szarabajka
10 Cassettes – 12 Hours[UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Random House Audio
Published: 1998
ISBN: 0553479016
Christopher Snow, and take a trip to the eerie world of Moonlight Bay. Moonlight Bay, California. A safe, secluded small town that is at its most picturesque in the gentle nighttimes that inspired its name. Now, somewhere in the night, children are disappearing. From their homes. From the streets.
Icebound
By Dean Koontz, Read by John Glover
Publisher: Random House Audio
Published: 1998
ISBN: 0679439358
Fear Nothing
By Dean Koontz; Read by Keith Szarabajka
10 Cassettes – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Bantam Doubleday Dell Audio
Published: 1998
ISBN: 0553479008
Strange Highways (The Strange Highways Collection)
By Dean Koontz; Read by James Spader
4 Cassettes – Approx. 6 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Time Warner Audio
Published: 1995
ISBN: 1570422877
One of at least two in an akwardly titled series of short story collections issued by Time Warner Audio. Strange Highways is the title story of this collection of Koontz’s short stories. Joey Shannon, an alcoholic whose life has been going nowhere for 20 years, returns to his hometown for the funeral of his father. As he leaves town, he gets a mysterious second chance to relive the night in 1975 when his life began its downward spiral: to both literally and figuratively take the road that he didn’t originally take.
Chase and Down In The Darkness (The Strange Highways Collection)
By Dean Koontz; Read by Chris Sarandon
4 Cassettes – Approx. 6 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Time Warner Audio
Published: 1995
ISBN: 1570422990
One of at least two in an akwardly titled series of short fiction collections.
The Paper Doorway : Funny Verse and Nothing Worse
By Dean Koontz Read by John Ritter
Cassettes – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Harper Childrens Audio
Published: 2001
ISBN: 0694525758
A children’s book from a man with no children. Why not?
Shadowfires
By Dean R. Koontz; Read by Jonathon Maroz
11 Cassettes or 13 CDs – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Books On Tape Inc.
Published: 1994
ISBN: 5553829550 (Cassettes)
Rachel Leben’s violently possessive ex-husband was killed in a freak auto accident, but his hideously mangled body has disappeared from the morgue. Now someone, or something, is watching her. Stalking her. And, although no one will believe her, Rachel knows who it is. His walking corpse a grotesque mockery of life. His brilliant, warped mind once again “alive” and seething with jealous rage. He seeks an unspeakable revenge from beyond her worst nightmare, stalking her with a murderous lust that will not die.
Servants Of Twilight
By Dean R. Koontz; Read by Jonathon Maroz
9 Cassettes – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Books On Tape Inc.
Published: 1993
ISBN: 555710643X
Originally published as a PBO under Koontz’s Leigh Nichols pseudonym Books On Tape released under his real name. “Single parent Christine Scavello and her young son Joey find themselves confronted by a madwoman, Grace Spivey, who fancies she discerns the Antichrist in Joey’s cherubic visage. Spivey is the charismatic leader of a religious cult whose fanatic members do her every bidding, including murdering the little boy, and everyone who stands in their way. After the police fail to provide adequate protection, Christine turns to private detective Charlie Harrison, whose business and home are soon firebombed by the cultists, and two of his men murdered, even as he finds that he is falling in love with Christine.”
Stalkers
By Dean R. Koontz and Robert R. McCammon; Read by ???
[UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Dove Audio
Published: 1992
ISBN: 1558004904
Very rare! A collection of nineteen original tales by “today’s masters of terror” includes one novella by Koontz entitled Trapped.
Santa’s Twin
By Dean Koontz; Read by Jay O. Sanders
1 Cassette – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Harper Audio
Published: 1996
ISBN: 0694517712
Perhaps this is comparable to Donald Westlake’s Nackles?
Dragon Tears
By Dean Koontz; Read by Jay O. Sanders
8 Cassettes or 11 CDs – Approx. 13 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Simon & Shuster Audioworks / Simon & Shuster Audio
Published: 1993, 2003
ISBN: 0671865854 (cassettes), 0743529049 (CDs)
Reissued ten years after the initial unabridged publication. “The story of two Southern California police detectives who track down a demonic serial killer with paranormal abilities.”
Demon Seed
By Dean Koontz; Read by Jeff Harding
4 Cassettes or 5 CDs – 5 Hours 10 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Isis Soundings
Published: 2000
ISBN: 075310914X (Cassettes), 0753122685 (CDs)
The audiobook was released in the UK. “Created in the Prometheus Project, he is officially called Adam Two – the first self-aware machine intelligence, designed to be a servant to mankind. No-one knows that he is able to escape the confines of his physical form, and his box in the laboratory. Until he gains entry to the house of Susan Harris, and closes it off against the world. There he plans to show Susan the future. Their future. With her, he intends to create a ‘child’.”
Podcasts:
There’s also one podcast featuring an interview with Koontz about his novel Life Expectancy. You can grab that mp3 HERE.