Dragon Tears [Turtleback]

Dean R. Koontz (Author)

Product Details

• Turtleback
• Publisher: Demco Media (March 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0606052437
• ISBN-13: 978-0606052436
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (118 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,856,611 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

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun, but typical Koontz, April 10, 2001

By 

M. Glanzer "nuts about books" (Midwest) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dragon Tears (Audio Cassette)

I listened to Dragon Tears on audio and enjoyed it, but like another reviewer, it reminded me of other Koontz novels. It was a cool story idea, having a 20 year old man with supernatural powers try to rid the world of people he didn't feel deserved to be here. Like a homeless man and a woman and child living out of their car. When a police officer accidently ticked him off, he and his partner are the next in line. I thought Dean Koontz did a good job of making the apparitions scary, and the narrative by the dog was great. I love dogs, and this sounded like I would have imagined the dog to be able to think and talk. The only drawback was that I think the police officers figured out the whole plot way too fast. I would have never guessed what was causing the terrifying beasts to appear, or have been able to figure out who was behind it, but that's fiction and it was a fun listen. I like all of Koontz's novels, this wasn't my favorite, but I would recommend it to anyone who likes a little horror.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Dean Koontz--Dragon Tears (1993), June 20, 2004

By 

The Tweeder "tweeder16" (Indianapolis, Indiana) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dragon Tears (Paperback)

On the precipice of being a fine horror novel, Dean Koontz's "Dragon Tears" attempts to convey a very admirable message-that dire events or situations that may occur throughout life are only as horrible as they are perceived by those who they occur to-but falls flat on its face because of an outrageously dubious plotline. Similar to his last couple previous works such as "Hideaway", this work attempts to use an inhuman, prophet-like murderer from the Dark Side to torment the protagonists.

Police detectives Harry Lyon and Connie Gulliver are partners but could not be more different-Harry is consumed with order and balance, from his perfectly crafted color-coordinated closet to a strict daily routine that involves voluntary tedious paper work, while Connie embraces chaos, using it to fuel her aggressive craving to stop evil and make the world a better place. A Tuesday afternoon seems harmless enough, but Harry and Connie are summoned to stop a raging killer in a restaurant, leaving Harry to eventually shoot the perpetrator numerous times with his gun. Harry's day only gets worse from there, as a huge, disgusting street vagrant foretells him that he is going to die by sunrise and that all the people and things he cherishes are in danger as well. As dawn ticks closer and closer, Harry and Connie must comprehend all of these bizarre convictions before it is too late. What they discover is than a callous force believed to possess the strength of a god is out to make severe changes to the current world, one change being the exodus of the two detectives.

"Dragon Tears" brings in too many extraneous and fairly inconsequential characters into the narrative, especially the repeatedly used canine personification that is speckled throughout. Koontz has a large heart for man's best friend, but "Dragon Tears" does not benefit from the half-witted dog psych-analysis, causing the piece to seem campy and less resolute. Koontz perhaps created this yarn to promote how increasingly petrifying the world is becoming and how two completely different cops revolve around this premise (which is a commendable idea), but he could have created a much more believable, plausible tale to get the point across. Some may truly enjoy this supernatural thriller, while many others may conclude "Dragon Tears" a disappointment.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Koontz Formula...Engaging First Half, June 15, 2004

By 

Serene (Marina, CA, United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dragon Tears (Paperback)

Harry and Connie are L.A. homicide detective's ala the "Odd Couple." Harry is obsessively neat, and Connie is a messy dirty Harry type. Both characters are tracking a serial killer who brutalizes women. Harry's life takes an unexpected turn, when he encounter a strange hobo who tells him "Tick Tock You'll Be Dead By Dawn," thus begins a 12 hour Odyssey wherein Harry, Connie, and a rag-tag group of homeless pit their wits against a psychic serial-killer with a God-Complex.

Okay, I liked the first HALF of Dragon Tears. But after that it devolved into sheer Koontz formula.

For readers of Koontz, there really are no surprises in this novel. He uses the same formula in numerous other books. Lessee: There is a best friend who is a Hispanic cop. A Saintly single mom character. Quotations from the `book of Counted Sorrow,' a sentient dog, ranting about the apocalypse, mistrust of the psychiatric profession, and a serial killer who collects body parts... *Yawn.* How many Koontz books have elements similar to this?

The disappointing thing was I actually enjoyed the first HALF of the book. I liked the characters of Connie and Harry, but the second half contained way too much deus ex machina to be believed. And whatever happened to the first case Harry and Connie were working on? This subplot was dropped entirely. Disappointing. This was average Koontz. It might entertain readers who haven't read his backlist and for whom many plot elements are new...But for Koontz fans it contains no surprises...