Cold Fire [Paperback]

Dean Koontz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 1991

A popular best-selling thriller follows the events surrounding a quiet and reclusive man who emerges as a guardian angel for those in need, but who also warns of an impending evil. Reissue.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Teacher Jim Ironheart, aptly named, is sent by forces unknown to save chosen people in life-threatening situations. By chance, a young but jaded reporter stumbles onto his missions, and joins him to investigate who is controlling him and why. Shared nightmares begin to point to an extraterrestrial influence, and the pair are forced to confront Ironheart's forgotten past for answers. Koontz ( The Bad Place , LJ 12/89), a master at maintaining mystery and suspense, weaves themes from earlier novels into this latest thriller. Even if the ending calls to mind DuMaurier and Hitchcock, Cold Fire contains all the ingredients--likable characters, nail-biting suspense, and above all, unlimited imagination--that will please Koontz's fans. For all popular collections. Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club main selection; Mystery Guild featured alternate; previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 9/1/90.
-Eric W. Johnson, Teikyo Post Univ. Lib., Waterbury, Ct.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

BTW...for those of you who are into unabridged audio books by DK...you may want to check out a company called, The Reader's Chair. They have several books by DK on audio, and they are read by *excellent* narrators. I highly recommend it. Yes, this is a shameless plug...but it was unsolicited. Good reading is good reading. -- R. O., 3/18/97

Dean Koontz pulls out all the stops in this highly-charged novel of fantasy, terror, action, romance and suspense. Employing dual narrators, this [unabridged] cassette production is relentlessly gripping. **** - Don't miss it! -- The Los Angeles Daily News, July 12, 1992

First I want to tell you that the awards you have received are well deserved! NOBODY can tell a good story like Carol and Michael. The performances are exactly on par, if not better than, the works of art that are read. Audio book companies should place THE READER'S CHAIR as their goal. -- M. P., 8/1/98

I have purchased all of your Dean Koontz selections and I could not be more pleased with them. Keep up the good work! -- R.T., April 5, 1997

I must say I prefer your productions of the Koontz books to the other that are out there. My favorite is "Cold Fire". I commend your efforts on your excellent products. -- sandman, 11 Jun 1996

Koontz's suspenseful, best-selling novel, receives solid, professional treatment by readers Carol Cowan and Michael Hanson. Without over-dramatizing, they give the story a clear, concise reading which allows the strong plot to carry the listener without interruption. -- AudioFile, March 1993

Receives an excellent treatment from Cowan and Hanson, whose voices capture the best in audio drama. -- The Bookwatch, August 1991

The Reader's Chair did an excellent job on my favorite Dean Koontz. -- Thorfy, May 30, 1995

[Cold Fire] had me on the edge of my seat! (And it's hard to drive that way...) -- DWBABER, 29 Mar 1996 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (December 1, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425130711
• ISBN-13: 978-0425130711
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (120 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,334,210 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I was born and raised in Pennsylvania where I graduated from Shippensburg State College (now Shippensburg University). When I was a senior in college, I won an Atlantic Monthly fiction competition and have been writing ever since. My first job after graduation was with the Appalachian Poverty Program, where I was expected to counsel and tutor underprivileged children on a one-to-one basis. During my first day on the job, I discovered that the previous occupier of my position had been beaten up by the very kids he had been trying to help and had landed in the hospital for several weeks. The following year was filled with challenge but also tension, and I was more highly motivated than ever to build a career as a writer. I wrote nights and weekends, which I continued to do after leaving the poverty program and going to work as an English teacher in a suburban school district outside Harrisburg. After a year and a half in that position, my wife, Gerda, made me an offer I couldn't refuse: "I'll support you for five years," she said, "and if you can't make it as a writer in that time, you'll never make it." By the end of those five years, Gerda had quit her job to run the business end of my writing career. Gerda and I, along with our dog, Trixie, live in southern California.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Electrifying mystery thriller, January 20, 2006

By 

- Kasia S. (New York City) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Cold Fire (Paperback)

I don't think that Cold Fire was better than other Koontz favorites such as Intensity or Watchers, but it was good reading for sure! The writer manages to mesh the world or reality with some pure Science-Fiction yet it makes for a believable story.

Basically the book is about two people; Jim Ironheart who somehow is told about future accidents and Holly Thorne, a reporter who had an encounter with him and couldn't get him out of her mind.
Jim was a tough but smart and likable character from the first page while he saved lives and collected female hearts. I perceived him almost as a knight in shining armor who rode on a cool motorcycle and not a white horse; as he was modern and clever while he knew all kinds of martial arts and read books about all religions of the world.
Holly was single and in her thirties, whit a straight head on her shoulders and a cool attitude without trying to hard, and even though through the book you know that Jim doesn't want any distractions as we read how he saves some lives, while Holly was such a great character it was obvious that them coming together would make for more interesting reading.

As we are introduced to Jim, we know he is troubled by something evil that haunts his dreams with the forewarning of The Enemy coming. Where Holly comes in is when she wants to know as much about him as possible, she gets trapped in his nightmares, to the point where she has to dig to the bottom of his mysterious prophecies and disturbing dreams in order to save both their lives.

From the middle of the books, thing turn from fantastic to even weirder. You cannot imagine where the ending takes you. I personally felt gratified by the ending; it was a good one, while not being ordinary at all.

Great read that keeps your attention as the thick plot unravels in delicious tangles of mystery.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Morbidity, Frozen Steel, Dark Rage, Cold Fire, December 11, 2000

By 

Joe Kloberdanz IV (Saginaw, Mi) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cold Fire (Paperback)

Dean Koontz's hard work has definitely paid off with his gripping novel Cold Fire. As is common with many of Koontz's novels, the setting is constantly moving. Jim Ironheart is a masterful character whose realism brings him to life! Ironheart, driven by God, has special abilities that enable him to arrive at the scene of an accident before it occurs, therefore miraculously saving the lives of the "would be" victims. Holly Thorne, a free-lance reporter who is looking for a purpose in her life, witnesses one of Ironheart's heroic rescue and her heart and attention are immediately captivated by his selflessness. She encounters him for a brief moment and then they both go their separate ways. Within the lapse of 24 hours, Holly realizes how intrigued she is by Jim's intellect and heroism. She decides to pursue him while he goes on his adventures. As Thorne progresses through the novel, she becomes infatuated with Ironheart and his extraordinary powers, while he is undergoing the most important fight of his life, a psychological battle with his past. It is not until the ending that you figure out what is happening with Jim Ironheart. The only part of the entire novel that I found disappointing and shocking was the finale. It was not what I had expected or hoped for, but overall this book was exceptionally well written. I highly recommend it to any of you adventurers or amateur psychologists out there.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great page turner!!, March 23, 2006

By 

Colleen McKinney (Nunnelly, TN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cold Fire (Paperback)

This book was fantastic. I didn't expect it to turn out the way it did, but I was still very pleased. Dean is one of my favorite authors and he has a big imagination. I couldn't put the book down. The main characters were life like to me, I shared both Jim and Holly's pain. I love reading a book that makes me feel like I am part of the characters.