Customer Reviews

Strange Highways: Strange Highways Collection (4 Cassettes) (The Strange Highways Collection ; No. 1)

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Koontz isn't a horror novelist, even though he's been cast in that role. He's called the Master of SUSPENSE, and for a reason: his tales are downright suspenseful (the mold for other novelists) even if they usually don't use the element of horror.

But in this collection, Dean Koontz delivers several short stories that contemplate and expertly acheive horror genre greatness.

The title story (actually, it's a novel) is about a man who returns home...then is forced to face the demons of his past, who have come back to haunt him. "Kittens," Koontz's first published work of fiction, is about a little girl who decides to get revenge on her parents.

"The Black Pumpkin," along similar lines, is about a little boy ostracized from his own family. "Miss Atilla the Hun," "We Three," and "The Night of the Storm" are brilliant sci-fi pieces (from Koontz's old days of writing science fiction), while "Trapped" follows a similar vein as Koontz's pinnacle novel "Watchers".

"Bruno" is a flat-out hilarious sci-fi farse, while "Hardshell" (the first piece of fiction I read by Koontz) is about a cop hunting down a killer who is a little different. "Snatcher" is a journey into the macabre, while "Twilight of the Dawn" is a moving tale of a man's search for faith and guidance.

"Strange Highways" is not so strange at all; it's great fiction by a masterful writer. Dean Koontz is without a doubt one of the best writers of all time. That statement may sound a little exaggerated, if you haven't read any of his work. If you read something by him, though, you'll know what I mean. Why not start here, with "Strange Highways"? It's diverse, and it shows you what this man can do--and do well.

Strange Highways is an immense doorstopper sized collection of short stories by one of the greatest writers of all time. Some of these stories have appeared in other compilation thriller author short story novels so you may have read them before. Most of these were written at least thrity years ago. Like any collection of stories the quality varies across the range as well as the subject matter. Science fiction fans are catered for well here with aliens, genetic engineering gone wrong, an alternative dimensions. Twilight of the Dawn contrasts what the emptiness of life is like without anything to believe in. Fans of serial killers are catered for with Chase although you are likely to have already read this one as a stand alone novel either under the pseudonym K.R. Dwyer or Koontz's own name. The other lengthy story is the title track, Strange Highways. Not one of my favourites but you may like it. My favourites and ones I would rate five stars are The Black Pumpkin, Miss Attila the Hun, Trapped, Kittens (his first ever published work) and Twilight of the Dawn.

There is also a commentary by Koontz on how publishers do not encourage short story writing and how hard it is for them to be published which is quite interesting.

Whilst not the masterpieces that some of his novels like Mr Murder, Watchers, Intensity, Night Chills and some others are the stories in here are still a great and satisfying read.

Strange highways

This is a twisted story about a man that must confront his past and gets a second chance by choosing the highway road he didn't take 20 years earlier. It will take him back to when he was 20 years old and will enter new people to help him along the way. He is able to rewind for a few minutes until he gets it right. It was a very short story. A bit too descriptive for me, I felt like the story dragged.

The Black Pumpkin

I could see this in Tales of the Crypt. You get what you give. Very good story about being good and being evil. The choice is ultimately up to you!

Miss Attila the Hun

A great story that Love does conquer all. I loved the storyline that this teacher was able to protect her children she taught and the town she loved to live in.

Down in the Darkness

What would you do if you came in contact with a door that just appeared everytime someone was being mean to you? Would you use that door to the cellar to your advantage? Would you let the "things" take what you could not stand anymore? When would it end? Loved this one! I wish I had a cellar door like this!

Snatcher

When evil encounters something even eviler than oneself. What happens? Will it survive? This is about a young man who loves to steal and to will steal at any cost. Enter a fragile old woman and her purse. What lays beneath her purse is bound to cure the thief!

Trapped

Total Sci-Fi and a bit cartoonish. What happens when the BioLab up the road finds out its inhabitants escaped. Will mankind survive or will they triumph?

Bruno

What a strange character Bruno is. He has hands with power to heal and powers that enable him to mend with ones mind. How much invasion of ones thoughts is too much? Is it worth letting yourself go and giving yourself 100 percent?

Hardshell

I really liked this. Total Sci-Fi feel. A dark creature is on the loose and only one cop - hardshell can apprehend him. What happens with Hardshell comes face to face with this thing??? Very good story!

Kittens

Very short story that goes like this - what goes around comes around. A little girl wants to know why God always takes her cats kittens. The parents respond that its Gods world and up to him. They also have twins and take a liking to them more than this little girl. She hides one night in the barn to find out what happens to the kittens. Absolutely frightening! But the little girl has the last word............

The night of the storm

What happens when man and robot come face to face. Who will be the victor. That is what this story is about. It puts us in the minds of the robots, how they feel, how they live, how they move. How mankind wants to extinguish them. Very good story.

Loved this book. I have read a lot of Koontz and this was a great read. I loved "Chase" and "Miss Atilla the Hun" and "Trapped" gave me the willies. Buy this book, if your a Koontz fan, as a matter of fact, buy it if you aren't a Koontz fan.

What more could Koontz addicts ask for? Two very good novellas and 12 stories which are completely different from each other. Commendation to the author is a must, but also redundant. There are two stories here which still do a perfect job of poking me uncomfortably in the subconscious. Those would be "Down in the Darkness", a perfectly written gem, and "Kittens", one of the most disturbing short stories I ever read in a long, long time. It still goes on to prove there are some writers out there who manage to convey more terror in 8-10 pages than others who take up a whole Bible's worth and do nothing which remains in the memory of the reader. Koontz has not only achieved this with this collection, but with all the other books of his which I have read. Koontz is the one man who manages to write the gruesome horror of contemporary novels with the elegant, nearly poetic lyricism of past days. Well done, Mr. Koontz!

By the time he was 30, Koontz had published almost 50 novels, under assorted pseudonyms as well as his own name. That enviable plane is made even more insurmountable by one simple fact: the worst of those, if not exactly classic literature, were pretty darn good.

What's overlooked is that, during his 20s, Koontz also published dozens of shorter works. While he probably looks back on them as composition exercises that merely happened to get sold, the fact is that they tended (again) to be pretty darn good.

I didn't count myself as "a fan of Dean Koontz" until I read this collection. The only disappointment in the book is that I was hoping it would be the first of a "rediscovery" series, as it's enjoyable to see how his storytelling abilities gre in those early years. There's some science fiction, a little old-fashioned horror, & mystery.

It's been a few years now, but I'm still hoping to see more of Koontz's stories resurrected.

In this book, you will find a story entitled, "Chase". This is one of those rare stories that make the entire work worth purchasing. The character development is strong enough to elicit tears from the reader. You're only disappointmet is that this story was a novella, or short story, and you will mourn that it had to end. THAT is always a good sign..........enjoy!

This is the best book to read if you've never read dean koontz. It shows all the aspects of a dean koontz book. BRUNO shows his humorous side... STRANGE HIGHWAYS shows his supernatural side...CHASE shows you his psychological side...WATCHERS and THE NIGHT OF THE STORM shows you his sci-fi side...and KITTENS shows his creepy side, as does every other story in this book. This is a great collection of stories from koontz's wide varitety of interests.

Like most collections of short stories, Dean Koontz's Strange Highways contains both good & bad tales.

Bad: "The Black Pumpkin" reads like a bad episode of "Tales from the Crypt." "Bruno", while attempting to be funny, is merely ridiculous. The plot of "The Night of the Storm" was similarly ridiculous & seemed to have no point. "Hardshell" had a stupid plot. Ditto for "We Three".

Really bad: "Twilight of the Dawn" stereotypes atheists. Admittedly, the stereotyping in this story is less egregious than that done in other Koontz stories (see the evil atheist characters in his novels One Door Away from Heaven & From the Corner of his Eye). The protagonist is merely cold & extremist about his atheism. The presumption in the story is that atheists will become believers once they realize three things: 1) meaning must be eternal, or it can't exist at all; 2) meaning can only come from a supreme being, and 3) since the idea of people being gone forever following death is disturbing, it can't be true. This story, while it has its good points, paints atheists according to religious biases.

"Kittens" was a good story, complete with a shocking ending, but I would have appreciated some foreshadowing of what the little girl was going to do.

The best: I enjoyed the uplifting theme of redemption in "Trapped," "Miss Attila the Hun," & "Strange Highways." I like how the "Snatcher" was punished (and the description of that monster was terrifying!). "Down in the Darkness" was a great story about absolute power & resisting the temptation to use it. "Chase" was a wonderful psychological thriller. "Ollie's Hands," the best story of all, is a heartbreaking tale of how a man's magical powers make him different from everyone else, which separates him forever from the woman he loves.

This is a great thick hard cover book filled with short stories by Dean Koontz. He is entertaining & suspenseful as usual. If you don't want to have to commit yourself to a long novel, then this book is perfect! It's also great if you don't have a lot of space considering you get lots of little stories in one place. I am a huge fan of Koontz. His older works are far superior to the newer stuff of the past 10 years or so. This is a must have!