Dean Koontz - Frankenstein: the Dead Town

BOOK ONE: PRODIGAL SON

Like [an] expert plate-spinner, the [author sets] up a dizzying array of narrative viewpoints and cycle[s] through them effortlessly. The odd juxtaposition of a police procedural with a neo-gothic, mad scientist plot gives this novel a wickedly unusual and intriguing feel. A compelling read, with an elegant cliffhanger ending.

Publishers Weekly

Koontz realizes his original concept for a cable TV effort from which he withdrew. It was TVs loss, for, filmed utterly faithfully, Prodigal Son could be the best horror thriller and, hands down, would be the best Frankenstein movie, ever. This is a book that helps restore horrors good name.

Booklist (starred review)

This rich and complex tale is not only an ambitious project, but one of the most enjoyable monster stories in years. This is classic Koontz at his best.

Fangoria

This first book in a multipart saga features fascinating characters and an intriguing premise.

Library Journal

Koontz examine[s] societys present milieu under the lens of traditional western mores and in so doing has presented the public with works that are perfectly entertaining and, more importantly, prescient. In [Prodigal Son] the dimensions of the universe are in collision. We are brought to the door of chaos, anarchy, and destruction. In chilling, vivid detail, the author will keep the reader on the edge of his chair, as they begin the journey toward the ultimate blasphemy.

California Literary Review

BOOK TWO: CITY OF NIGHT

Relax, Dean Koontzs Frankenstein, volume one of which, Prodigal Son, was a pulse-pounder all the way, is going to be a trilogy. But dont expect to relax all that much. This book cooks, no second-volume doldrums anywhere in it. Smart dialogue and cutting-edge scientific notions are the oh-so-sweet icing on this delectable thrillers irresistible, devourable cake.

Booklist (starred review)

Dean Koontz gives us another major dose of all the great things we received in the first book. It is filled with sharp narration, imaginative situations, and a thrilling suspense-filled adventure. This book is not only an insightful and an intellectual delight, but it is also a fun and exciting read. Koontz has given a fresh new feel to an old story.

Associated Content

BOOK THREE: DEAD AND ALIVE

Spinning the old Mary Shelley classic on its head, Koontz has a grand time making the monster his noble hero and the scientist the immoral, heartless villain. He does this with amazing skill. [He] understands that in a world of sinners and saints, we dont need special effects to make monsters.

INDenver Times

BOOK FOUR: LOST SOULS

Koontz does his dance of suspense, wry dialogue, sharp characterization charming (and well-integrated) comic relief, and cultural criticism more adroitly than almost ever before.

Booklist (starred review)

This successful mix of crime-inspired detective story and sf adventure is ideal for Koontz devotees as well as readers who enjoy genre crossovers.

Library Journal

[Koontz] sets the scene, tantalizes and goads us to want more.

Bookreporter.com

ACCLAIM FOR DEAN KOONTZ

Of all bestselling authors, Koontz may be the most underestimated by the literary establishment. Book after book, year after year, this author climbs to the top of the charts. Why? His readers know: because he is a master storyteller and a daring writer, and because, in his novels, he gives readers bright hope in a dark world.

Publishers Weekly (starred review)

A modern Swift a master satirist.

Entertainment Weekly

A rarity among bestselling writers, Koontz continues to pursue new ways of telling stories, never content with repeating himself. He writes of hope and love in the midst of evil in profoundly inspiring and moving ways.

Chicago Sun-Times

Koontz is a superb plotter and wordsmith. He chronicles the hopes and fears of our time in broad strokes and fine detail, using popular fiction to explore the human condition [and] demonstrating that the real horror of life is found not in monsters, but within the human psyche.

USA Today

Perhaps more than any other author, Koontz writes fiction perfectly suited to the mood of America: novels that acknowledge the reality and tenacity of evil but also the power of good; that celebrate the common man and woman; that at their best entertain vastly as they uplift.

Publishers Weekly (starred review)

If Stephen King is the Rolling Stones of novels, Koontz is the Beatles.

Playboy

[Koontz is] far more than a genre writer. Characters and the search for meaning, exquisitely crafted, are the soul of his work. This is why his novels will be read long after the ghosts and monsters of most genre writers have been consigned to the attic. One of the master storytellers of this or any age.

The Tampa Tribune

Dean Koontz is not just a master of our darkest dreams, but also a literary juggler.

The Times (London)

Dean Koontz writes page-turners, middle-of-the-night-sneak-up-behind-you suspense thrillers. He touches our hearts and tingles our spines.

The Washington Post Book World

Dean Koontz almost occupies a genre of his own. He is a master at building suspense and holding the reader spellbound.

Richmond Times-Dispatch

Demanding much of itself, Koontzs style bleaches out clichs while showing a genius for details. He leaves his competitors buried in the dust.

Kirkus Reviews

NOVELS BY DEAN KOONTZ

What the Night Knows Breathless Relentless Your Heart Belongs to Me The Darkest Evening of the Year The Good Guy The Husband Velocity Life Expectancy The Taking The Face By the Light of the Moon One Door Away From Heaven From the Corner of His Eye False Memory Seize the Night Fear Nothing Mr. Murder Dragon Tears Hideaway Cold Fire The Bad Place Midnight Lightning Watchers Strangers Twilight Eyes Darkfall Phantoms Whispers The Mask The Vision The Face of Fear Night Chills Shattered The Voice of the Night The Servants of Twilight The House of Thunder The Key to Midnight The Eyes of Darkness Shadowfires Winter Moon The Door to December Dark Rivers of the Heart Icebound Strange Highways Intensity Sole Survivor Ticktock The Funhouse Demon Seed

ODD THOMAS

Odd Thomas Forever Odd Brother Odd Odd Hours

FRANKENSTEIN

Prodigal Son City of Night Dead and Alive Lost Souls The Dead Town

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

A Bantam Books Mass Market Original
Copyright 2011 by Dean Koontz
Excerpt from What the Night Knows by Dean Koontz

copyright 2010 by Dean Koontz

All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Bantam Books, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.