The Funhouse by Dean Koontz

I'm thinking about reading Koontz's The Funhouse. I haven't bought it yet, but I wanted to know what anybody's thoughts about the book were who have read it. Thanks!!

It's a pretty horrible book. Mostly because Koontz was contracted to create a novelization from a movie script, so the book lacks his wild and interesting plots, and the characterisation is bland too. The Funhouse really doesn't have much of the Koontz feel to it. Have you read much of Koontz? Anything he wrote between 1983 to 1991, I feel, is his best stuff.

No, I have not read any of Dean Koontz's books. I did purchase at the used book store last week both The Funhouse and Whispers by him. I haven't read either yet but I will be after the books I'm reading know are over.

Whispers is quite good, and feels like a 'classic' Koontz book. If you find you like Whispers, you will probably like his other books. In his career he has had about 3 'eras' of writing, where the styles and themes are quite different. Era 1: from 1968 to 1975; era 2: 1976 to 1997; and era 3: 1998 to present.

My fave is era 2, which Whispers falls into. Other great books from that time period are Lightning, Midnight, Phantoms, and Cold Fire.

Here's a list of his books and synopses:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_Koontz_bibliography

Hope that helps :)

#4: I know the post wasn't meant for me, but thanks anyway, murderedmymuse! That was pretty thorough. Too bad it didn't list where to find his short stories, though; so I popped over to LocusMag. If anyone's interested, here are some of the anthologies you can find his short stories in: http://www.locusmag.com/index/s374.htm#A9069 .

I actually enjoyed this one. I don't remember much of the details (as is the case with many Koontz books), however I remember liking it. I have a fondness for carnivals, and the setting alone was perhaps enough to win me over with this.

I was really disappointed by The Funhouse, probably as it was the first Koontz I paid retail for (all the ones I read before I borrowed or bought 2nd hand).

Scarylibrary, I don't if you've read Twilight Eyes by Koontz, but it's also set in a carnival, and 100 times better than The Funhouse. Very good read, and one of a handful Koontz wrote in 1st person.

Well, did you read the book? I just read it myself. Thought it was okay.