Night Chills [Import] [Hardcover]

Dean Koontz (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 334 pages
• Publisher: WH Allen (UK); First Edition edition (1977)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0491024916
• ISBN-13: 978-0491024914
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (73 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,984,850 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

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Written in the 70's, but still good, March 29, 2004

By 

Theresa W (mi, usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Night Chills (Paperback)

Although this book was written in the 1970's, and during several parts it's obvious (especially when he says, "it's the 70's..."), however the book still stands up fairly well today.

I've read 95% of Koontz's books and have been a huge fan for over 10 years. I tend to enjoy his earlier works more than his later, they're all good, but the earlier books are more of a "fun" read. They're not extremely long and they're really more pure horror. I love it, definitely a guilty pleasure.

Nigh Chills is about a scientist that has discovered a way to brainwash people, to open their minds using subliminal ads and then program them to do what you'd like. The concept is chilling. The story is interesting and you're kept on the edge of your seat most of the time. And the characters are enjoyable. If you're a fan of Koontz's earlier works, you'll enjoy this.

54 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Startling and sometimes frightening, January 7, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Night Chills (Paperback)

Night Chills is a look into the human mind and what drives it. The novel is about an intelligent man named Ogden Salsbury, a misogynist at the same time, who has developed a drug that, when ingested, will allow him to control a person's mind. With the help of multi-millionaire Leonard Dawson he dumps it into a town's water supply. With one simple phrase he can control whoever drank the water's mind.

I was surprised by this book. There are some extremely startling and disturbing scenes such as when Ogden controls a blond woman named Brenda and forces her to masturbate in front of him. There's also the fact that Koontz develops the villains in this novel more than the good guys. And while that was an intriguing aspect it also hurt the story. I felt like I wanted to root for Paul, the novel's "hero". You certainly want Salsbury to pay for all the people he hurt and killed but there wasn't enough characterization of Paul to actually like him.

There is certainly a lot of sexual material in this book concerning rape and will offend, possibly even repulse, many people. However, for those who can handle the material may find it a thought-provoking, albeit flawed, but still interesting novel about the human psyche.

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perhaps Koontz's edgiest book..., February 3, 2003

By 

T.G. (Newcastle, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Night Chills (Paperback)

This one is not recommended for the faint of heart. Koontz doesn't hold back on telling what could happen when virtually godlike power falls into the wrong hands. Basically an exploration of how absolute power corrupts absolutely... and there's plenty of explicit corruption detailed herein. The book doesn't end on an "up" note either, like many of Koontz's others -- it's definitely a downer, albeit a highly entertaining one. Although it's one of my personal favorites (and thankfully doesn't involve the supernatural or aliens, a recurring Koontz theme), I'd recommend the typical Koontz fan go into this one knowing that all is most definitely *not* peaches and cream. The "good guys" do win, but the damage is done... and there's no easy-breezy escape via a "touched by an angel" golden dog. Not what I'd call light entertainment, but entertaining nonetheless.