He is an incredibly successful author, selling a massive 450 million novels across the world. No matter what bookshelf you look at, I can guarantee you’ll see a Dean Koontz.
Koontz has frequently reached the top of the bestseller list and is able to produce novels faster than any other author.
There have been numerous adaptations of some of his works for both film and television and they have starred Ben Affleck, Mark Hamill, and Cory Haim.
But are you looking to get a complete overview of Dean Koontz’s literary output?
Well, I have done some of the work for you, trawling through all of his works and providing links to some of those that are currently available, along with a plot synopsis for a select few.
Who Is Dean Koontz?
Dean Koontz started writing at the end of the 1960s. His fiction has spanned many genres including horror, fantasy, and science fiction with a lot of them appearing at the top of the bestseller lists.
He has written under many names including David Axton, Deanna Dwyer, K.R. Dwyer, Leigh Nichols, and Brian Coffey.
He has also written nonfiction books that include a detailed guide to writing. Many of his books have been adapted into films.
Dean Koontz Books In Order
As we have stated above, Dean Koontz is an author that is responsible for over 100 titles, so to make things easier for you to understand, I have organized them into series and standalone books.
I have also included a list of some of the early books that have since gone out of print.
First off, I’m going to start with his standalone books:
Standalone Books (In Publication Order)
These are the books that you can read without prior knowledge of any other Dean Koontz books.
These are great if you are a casual reader, or you want an introductory Dean Koontz novel.
This next novel ventures into science fiction territory. This follows the story of a young woman called Susan Harris, who has completely sealed herself within her home monitored by a high-tech computer.
But when her compound is breached from the inside, she learns that the biggest threats aren’t always human.
Pros
A riveting sci-fi thriller
Plenty of horrifying scenes
Thousands of positive reviews
Cons
Not as many twists as some of Koontz’s later novels
This is another very thrilling novel that starts to establish the classic Koontz brand of thriller.
It features a family traveling across the country to get to their new home. However, soon they notice they are being followed by a mysterious van and the trip takes a sudden macabre turn.
This blends the supernatural with the psychological, as the clairvoyant Mary Bergen is tasked with finding a serial killer using her special abilities.
However, she soon discovers that the killer knows much more about her than she does about him.
This is another novel where a man with abilities to see into the future is used to track the whereabouts of a violent serial killer.
However, when he sees the vision of his own murder and gets trapped in a sheer building with the killer, then it becomes a race against time to save his own life.
Pros
A hair-raising novel
Gathers pace and slowly builds to an explosive climax
Great if you like your supernatural elements
Cons
Some readers haven’t been entertained by this novel
Other Standalone Novels By Dean Koontz (In Publication Order)
These are a series of books focusing on a female heroine Jane Hawk, who is widowed in the first novel, seeking to find those responsible for a long string of unexplained suicides just like her husband’s.
So begins a long journey of hunting, hatred, and revenge…
Dean Koontz has been writing for decades and some of the books he wrote early in his career have gone out of print.
You can find second-hand copies of these books (usually fetching high prices), but this list of out-of-print books might help you streamline your search.
Star Quest/Doom of the Green Planet (1968)
The Fall Of The Dream Machine/The Star Ventures (1969)
Fear That Man/Toyman (1969)
The Dark Symphony (1970)
Hell’s Gate (1970)
Dark of the Woods/Soft Come the Dragons (1970)
Beastchild (1970)
Anti-Man (1970)
The Crimson Witch (1971)
Legacy of Terror (1971)
Warlock (1972)
Starblood (1972)
The Flesh in the Furnace (1972)
Dance with the Devil (1972)
The Dark Of Summer (1972)
A Darker Heritage (1972)
A Darkness in My Soul (1972)
Time Thieves (1972)
A Werewolf Among Us (1973)
The Haunted Earth (1973)
Hanging on (1973)
Strike Deep (1974)
After the Last Race (1974)
Nightmare Journey (1975)
The Long Sleep (1975)
Invasion (1975)
Dragonfly (1976)
Prison Of Ice (1976)
Trapped (1989)
Black Bat Mystery Books (In Publication Order)
This is a trilogy of books that Koontz wrote in the 70s under the pen name Brian Coffey.
This series follows the adventures of a thief called Mike Tucker who becomes embroiled in a war against the Mafia.
This series is hard to come by, although original readers liked the pacing and gritty style of the series.
This was a series of novels that Koontz started in the 90s that he has yet to complete.
It focuses on Christopher Snow, who suffers from a rare genetic skin condition, as he tries to solve the mystery of a military complex in the fictional town of Moonlight Bay.
Koontz has been reported to be working on the final novel in the trilogy.
This is a series of shorter stories all featuring Nameless, an assassin with no name who travels across the country finding targets given to him through a shadowy government agency.
These are stories of crazed killers, strange prophetic visions, and brutal retribution.
These are two books that tell the story of John Calvino, who tracked down and killed the murderer of his family who called himself the Bell Ringer Killer.
However, when a copycat emerges, Calvino must face his past all over again.
This is another two-part series that charts a miraculous recovery in an eerie suspense thriller. When Bibi Blair is told that she has one year to live, she thinks all is lost.
However, she soon makes a miraculous recovery, only to be told by a mysterious female figure that she now has to save someone else.
This next series of novels is based on the lives of two young musically-gifted boys who have to face a band of psychotic killers intent on turning their city upside down.
These are stories of hope and despair, wrapped up in chilling prose that will make your hairs stand on end.
This is Koontz’s foray into the sci-fi horror genre, tracing a group of people who find themselves holed up in a mansion where strange and murderous things happen.
As you can see, when it comes to Dean Koontz’s back catalog, there is plenty to choose from.
If you are a completist, then you might find it difficult to read the lot, as some of them are out of print. This is why I have included the unavailable books in a separate section.
There are plenty of different genres in the Dean Koontz bibliography, so you’ll undoubtedly find something that will appeal to almost everyone.
You can also read a standalone thriller if you just want a vacation read, or you can pick a whole series, delving into a whole new world over the course of weeks and months.
If you are a fan of writing fiction yourself, then I would certainly point you in the direction of his nonfiction books about writing.
He covers a lot about story structure as well as how he comes up with the characters that help him to craft his bestselling fiction.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Many Books Has Dean Koontz Sold?
Dean Koontz has written and published over 105 novels and sold over 450 million copies of his work around the globe.
Who Has Sold More Novels: Stephen King Or Dean Koontz?
Dean Koontz has sold over 100 million more books than Stephen King, who has sold over 350 million copies worldwide.
Hi, my name is Anna Davis and I have been working with books for five years now. I got a job at my local library, so I could be closer to all of the books! I created this website in the hopes of inspiring others to start reading again. Who knows, maybe you’ll find your new favorite book from my site!
