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Susan Thorton awakens in a hospital, after a near-fatal car crash, to see four men lurking outside her door--men who exactly resemble those who killed her boyfriend years before. Can these be the same men? As she tries to uncover the identities of those stalking her, Susan enters a terrifying nightmare--one from which she may never escape. Previously published by Pocket under the pseudonym Leigh Nichols (1982). (Occult)
Brilliance Audio has mined Koontz's backlist to present House of Thunder, a book originally published in 1982 under one of Koontz's pseudonyms. In this work, Susan Thornton is in the hospital recovering from a car crash. There, she is terrorized by haunting figures from her remote past. Is she wigging out? Having accident-related delusions? Or are there actually ghosts who intend to kill her? The answer is, of course, none of the above, but along the way we are treated to Koontz's signature ability to confound us with the seeming plausibility of the absolutely implausible. Still, this is clearly a less mature work than his contemporary offerings: the characters are stereotypes, neither believable nor even likable; the conclusion, when it finally arrives, is a bit of a dud. The dual reading by Laural Merlington and Mel Foster is adequate but not inspired. This novel is probably best left on the shelf with our snapshots of the year 1982. Brilliance's practice of dividing a 70-minute compact disc into 99 40-second (or so) tracks is a major inconvenience for quite a few reasons. Not recommended.
—Kristen L. Smith
“A great storyteller.”—New York Daily News
“Koontz is a terrific what-if storyteller.”—People
“His perennial bestsellers are…engrossing entertainments.”—The Washington Post Book World
Dean Koontz is one of the bestselling writers in the world. He lives in Southern California.
seldombites
Posted February 11, 2012
This is one of those mysteries where you have absolutely no idea what is going on until the very end. Is she imagining things because of her brain injury? Is she really seeing ghosts come back from the dead to take their revenge? Or is it all just an elaborate plot to send her crazy? I really enjoyed most this book and I would have loved to give it a higher mark. Sadly, though, it was let down by the ending, which seemed to be rushed and didn't really fit the rest of the story. It is as if the author ran out of inspiration at a certain point and just tacked on a stock ending. I was left with a feeling of dissapointment and anti-climax when I finished this novel. Such a shame.
3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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Posted May 12, 2008
Dean Koontz is the master of the twist, and this story had so many it nearly gave me whiplash. You're never sure what genre he's aiming for - horror, mystery, espionage thriller, love story, sci-fi -, but that's all part of the fun. Sure, there are the usual Koontz missteps: a far-fetched denoument which strains believability to the breaking point and beyond, a corny love story, and a very dated Cold War sensibility. This early effort by Mr. Koontz wouldn't be out of place as the plot of a Twilight Zone episode. Worth reading, especially for Koontz fans.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Posted February 25, 2010
I Also Recommend:
this is one of my favorites from Dean. It had me from the start to the very last page. If you love koontz, you'll LOVE this book! I don't really ever get "scared" reading a book, but this definitely had me a bit frightened throughout the pages. I recommend you read this with someone else in the house! Overall, a fantastic read. Well done Koontz :)
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Posted June 22, 2008
This book had me up ALL night! For one, I could not put it down, and for two, I was too scared to go to sleep! This book was absolutely fantastic! I recommend it to anyone who likes scary novels.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Posted May 18, 2010
I have read everything from Dean Koontz, almost all of oit I really enjoyed. This one was so unexpected. The story was awesome and it was a real page turner for me. The story kept you thinking and kept you thinking that you knew what was going on...wrong for me.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted March 21, 2014
I have been a fan of this book for many years, I purchased it for my Nook so I would always have it.
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Posted November 4, 2012
It was just ok
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted May 7, 2012
A must read! Love Koontz!
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Posted April 18, 2012
Loved this book. Entertaining
0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Posted January 2, 2012
I couldn't put this book down. Had me guessing till the end.
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted December 27, 2007
this book is amazing, i think the best book ive read in my hole life im still in high school and ive only reada few books and dean koontz is awesome i couldnt put this book down
0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Posted March 5, 2004
Dean Koontz never fails. Once again he kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the entire novel. This story is full of twists and unexpected turns. A must read!
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Posted February 15, 2004
One of the best Koontz novels I have ever read.
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted December 26, 2002
Hi! I have read many of Dean Koontz's books and enjoy his work. I have not read, The House of Thunder, but, now will put it on my list of books to read. Why? Because my name is Susan Thornton. The same as the main chartacter. In the "Annotation" and "From the Publisher" it is spelled incorrectly-Thorton. In "From the Critics" it is spelled correctly-Thornton. We have seen it spelled incorrectly before. We have never met a Thornton that spells it without the "n". I guess people can not get it right. It is an old English name, dating back many centuries, and people can not get the spelling right! I'm looking forward to reading the book.
0 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
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Posted November 5, 2001
'The House of Thunder' was the first Koontz book I read. He is an amazing writer with a lot of imagination. 'The House of Thunder' was a little hard for me to get into at first, but once I started I had a hard putting it down. The ending is the best part because it is so out there. I could have never guessed what was going to happen. This story is not at all predictable and I recommend reading it.
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Posted June 23, 2001
This was a very good book. It kept me on my toes and I literally could not put it down. I finished this book in four days. It was a very odd story, told extrememly well. It was not predictable in the slightest. One of Koontz finest works. Superb!
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Posted March 8, 2001
This is my very first book of Dean Koontz and I got so hooked on to it that I was reading this book well into the morning.
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Posted February 27, 2001
This was the first of dean Koontz' books that I read. It got me hooked on his books. His endings are twisted and demented but I love them all the same. If you need to read a book for a class or for any reason I would suggest reading this one. You don't always expect his endings and the book will keep you turning the pages for hours.
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Posted December 17, 2000
House of Thunder was the very first Dean Koontz I read. It took me a little while to get into, but the relationship between the characters got me involved. And the ending!! Oh man, it's totally out there. A lot of Koontz's endings are like that. But he makes everything, no matter how weird, believable, so you're never disappointed. I got hooked with House of Thunder 4 years ago and I've read almost every one of Koontz's books since.There hasn't been a single one that I haven't liked, but I have my favorites.
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Posted December 1, 2000
I can't stand to read. I needed an easy 300 page book to read for school and my english teacher recommended Koontz. So I went to the local library and found the shortest book that they had. It was the house of thunder and I can't put it down. IT is so exciting, it keeps you on your toes. I recommend reading it. Koontz is such a talented writer
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Overview
Susan Thorton awakens in a hospital, after a near-fatal ...