Cold Fire [Hardcover]

Dean R. Koontz (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 421 pages
• Publisher: Demco Media (July 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 060600937X
• ISBN-13: 978-0606009379
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.5 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: #10,700,343 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)   

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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.