Rating: 
Summary: I LOVED THIS BOOK
Review: THIS WAS THE SECOND, AND ONE OF THE BEST DEAN KOONTZ BOOKS I HAVE EVER READ. EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS BOOK WAS PERFECT, I STILL DON'T KNOW WHY ITS NOT ON ALL THE TOP-LISTS FOR BEST SUSPENSE-SCIFI NOVELS. BECAUSE THIS IS KOONTZ'S FIRST BESTSELLER AND HE WAS NOT SO POPULAR AT THE TIME THAT THIS BOOK WAS WRITTEN, STRANGERS IS NOT RECOGNIZED AS MUCH AS HIS OTHER GREAT NOVELS EG. WATCHER, INTENSITY..BUT THAT DOSE NOT MEAN IT'S NOT AS GOOD. I CAN TELL ANYONE THEY WILL LOVE THIS BOOK, BECAUSE IF YOU HAVE EVEN SOME IMAGINATION, YOU'LL FALL IN LOVE WITH IT, BY THE FIST SENTENCE. THIS ALSO HAS THE BEST ENDING EVER IN A DEAN KOONTZ NOVEL, YOU WILL NOT BELIVE IT.STRANGERS IS ABOUT SEVERAL DIFFERENT PEOPLE WHO HAVE RECENTLY BEEN HAVING DIFFERENT PROBLEMS. ONE OF THEM IS SUDDENLY AFFRAID OF THE DARK..ONE JUST STARTS SLEEP-WALKING...ONE KEEPS ON HAVING BLACKOUTS AND DOSEN'T KNOW WHAT SHE'S DONE AFTER THE BLACKOUTS OVER...THE OTHERS HAVE SIMILAR PROBLEMS..BY THE END OF THE NOVEL THEY MEET UP AT THE TRANQUILITY HOTEL AND FIND OUT WHATS CAUSING THIS PROBLEM...ONE BY ONE EACH OF THEM JOIN THE LITTLE CLUB THEY HAVE AT THE HOTEL, AND BIT BY BIT THEY DISCOVER THEY'RE PROBLEM, AND WHEN YOU FIND OUT WHAT THE REASONS FOR THESE PROBELMS ARE...YOU WILL BE TERRIFIED.... DON'T FORGET TO VOTE YES IF THIS REVIEW WAS A HELP.
Rating:
Summary: One of Koontz's Best
Review: I've read quite a few Koontz novels and I think this is one of his best. I was starting to lose faith in some of his books. Specifically the ones that were basically a buildup to a chase scene. Strangers is an excellent book. All the charcters have depth and even though there are numerous charcters it's easy to keep up with what each is doing. I was hooked from page one! I couldn't put the book down. The story keeps building up until the very last page. Although, the paperback copy of the book is 681 pages the action does not die down. I was also impressed by the variety and number of the main and supporting charcters in the book. Ginger Marie Weiss is an ambitious hardworking doctor having fugue like episodes, Ernie Block is a co-owner of the Tranquility Motel and develops an overwelming fear of the dark at age 52, Brendin Cronin a priest who suddenly loses his face, and these were just a few of the charcters. The amazing thing is the way Dean Koontz ties them all together at the end. The ending was especially suprising. You're giving little clues here and there to lead you up to the very last pages yet, I found the ending to be a suprise until I had about ten pages left. This book is a must read for all Dean Koontz fans and anyone who enjoys a thrilling read!
Rating:
Summary: A complex and suspenseful thriller!!
Review: "Strangers" revolves around a handful of people with different backgrounds, that are living in different parts of the United States. Dominic is a famous and talented writer whose nightmares cause him to sleepwalk. Ginger is a talented surgeon who fears black leather gloves and has constant paranoia of being followed. Jack is a highly skilled criminal whose fear causes him to lose interest in commiting crimes all together. Jorja has a daughter named Kara who has developed an obsession with the color red, which leads to terrifying nightmares. Brendan is a priest whose constant fear has caused him to start to lose his faith. These strangers have nothing in common except for their overall fear and their quest to find the cause of it. The truth is waiting for them at the Tranquilty Motel. But unfortunately, it may be the end of them all. "Strangers" is a complex and extremely well written horror story that is driven by a frightening mystery. The mystery behind the fear is what I like the best. The answer to what connects all of the characters is not revealed until the very end. Waiting to find out will drive you crazy. But it is definately worth the wait, and the ending is outstanding. The concept of the story is great, because the fact that complete strangers from all over the U.S. are somehow connected to each other is very mysterious and appealing. Once you start reading this novel, you won't be able to stop. The characters are what really make this book enjoyable. Koontz's character development is at its best in this book. It is so good in fact, that it is impossible to choose a favorite. Overall, "Strangers" is a masterpiece. The wonderful characters, complex story, and overall terror makes Strangers one of Koontz's best books. I would definately rank it in his top 10.
Rating:
Summary: Different than most; one of his best
Review: It has been a long time since I have read this book so my memory of the details is a bit hazy. But, after reading several reviews I felt it necessary to provide a slightly different perspective. Yes, Strangers is wordy. Yes, Koontz spends a lot of time on character development early in the book. But that's what makes this book so interesting. At the beginning, the description of these disparate individuals and their problems seemingly have no connection. As the story progresses though, you start to see similar patterns emerging in their experiences and begin to realize that there is a thread woven between these people. You then start to speculate yourself on what it could possibly be. That type of story telling is what makes a mystery so compelling and this one definitely is. I remember that the eventually revealed bond that these people share is one that I had surmised might be the cause but there were several that I was developing in my own head and was never truly sure. I found this book fascinating and the length of it never even dawned on me as I read it.
Rating: 
Summary: Masterpiece
Review: I read a handful of Dean Koontz's books a while back and pretty much liked them. Then I got on to other writers and recently I bought a few of Dean Koontz's books again. I was VERY dissapointed with two of them (The Mask and The Bad Place) and I was almost going to give away the last one I had bought (Strangers.) Boy am I glad I decided to give it a try! This book was incredible. It took me quite some time to read due to the fact that I'm not a speed reader, :o), but it was very hard for me to put down, unlike most of Koontz's novels, I cared for the characters and genuinely were rooting for them, although they still had those distinct Koontz stereotypes (strong, handsome, perfectly in love.) The story line, though it couldn't exactly be labelled as a horror, was genuinely good. This book alone has made me think twice about judging a book by it's cover. The beginning starts off with a bang which is typical for Koontz books, and you automatically get hooked, wanting to know what's wrong with all of the characters and why. The ending was a tad bit predictable and somewhat slow, but good nonetheless...Dean Koontz shocked me with this one and I'm thinking about trying another one of his, but I'm sure it won't match the expectations brought on by this book. Go out and grab this book right now. Thank you :-)
Rating:
Summary: I've read this book FOUR times!
Review: I've just finished reading STRANGERS for the fourth time. And, undoubtedly, I'll read it again and again. When I checked out some of the other reviews I was astounded that some readers didn't like this story. They thought it was too long! Good Lord, it wasn't long enough! Or the ending wasn't feasible. Maybe it's because I love science fiction that I could appreciate the ending, and find it thoroughly believable. What happens in this story, dear ones, is that several people from varied backgrounds, who all come from different places, start manifesting strange symptoms that eventually draw them to a motel in the desert where they all stayed last summer. You see, something happened to them at the motel. And someone has erased their memories. However, like a bad penny, the memories start resurfacing and begin to affect each person: sometimes positively, sometimes negatively. I think Dean Koontz is at the top of his game with this story. His power of description is magnificent. And his ability to make you care for his characters is on the money. I just loved Ginger, the young Jewish surgeon who goes into a fugue state whenever something reminds her subconscious of the night her memory was erased. And Jorja, the Vegas waitress whose daughter is obsessed with the moon. Once again, Koontz's female characters show strength and resilience. His male characters aren't bad either. There's Dom, the writer, who wakes in the middle of the night in the closet and doesn't know how he got there, nor what he's so afraid of that he nails his windows shut while sleep-walking! And there's Jack, the thief, who just makes your heart ache when he has to say goodbye to his wife who has been in a coma for many years. I could go on and on about this thrilling story. But I won't because I want you to read it for yourself. If you like a story that grabs you by the seat of your pants and takes you for the ride of your life, a story that's written by a master of suspense who knows how to get your heart pumping, then this book is for you. I'm truly baffled by those negative reviews.
Rating: 
Summary: Not very good until the end...
Review: Let's face it...the book doesn't get going until just before the end of Part 2, which is around page 450 of the hardcover edition. The beginning is quite boring, though I was able to get through it in six days. You learn of these strangers lives, which is not too interesting. THe only thing that kept it all going was the hints at the upcoming ending. Fortunately, the ending definitely does make up for it. You're left guessing until there's 20 or 30 pages left until you start getting a strong understanding of what's happening, and what went on 'THE' day, July 6th. Though the minute details aren't given away until the second last page. The ending is shocking, somewhat, as well. However, it is by no means scary or anything. I also found that throughout most of the book Koontz's writing is very below level as is usual for him. Everything that happens in the novel happens without conflicts, everything is just PERFECT for what the characters want to achieve. I was dissapointed. I've found that, through all of the Koontz books that I've read, there's two types: good ones, and bad ones. Until this point, I haven't found one in between. Strangers, however, IS in between good and bad. Should you read it...well that's a decision you're going to have to make for yourself. Do you want to go through a book that doesn't get good until the end? Can you wait that long? If the answer is yes, then try it out. Otherwise, be cautious.
Rating: 
Summary: It opened my eyes
Review: Watchers was the first Koontz book I had ever read in 1987. I had been reading a lot of King then and I was wondering if there was anyone that could yield the horror he inflicted on us. When I read Watchers I thought: "Not the same calibre with a little bit improvement, Koontz may be a King candidate" Then I read Lightning and my impression was reinforced. Unfortunately I had read the only good ones from Koontz unknowingly, which were never perfect in the first place. After these books, I read Strangers...and all the charm Koontz created disappeared at once and never came back...because he has not any charm at all. This book, full of silly characters, extremely boring, irrelevant details, mind-boggling, uninteresting descriptions, sophomoric humor attempts is like a huge nightmarish (in a bad way) journey which is not tasty...and then comes the cake of everything: One of the silliest endings this world will ever see: a usual, paranoic, Koontz-formula: Governmental conspiracy. I remember that I felt as silly as those characters because I just read a crap book until the very crappy end and though signs were almost everywhere I couldn't understand how bad it was. Since then I read some other Koontz books only to find that he is a hack. But reading his books helps me appreciate how good books King, Barker or Straub have produced. Koontz is in the same league with Danielle Steel and Nora Roberts, only a male version of them. If you like King, Straub, Thomas Harris, Clive Barker, well even Robert McCammon who is also a not very good writer, my advice to you is avoid Koontz like a plague. If you like non-interesting characters, silly and flowery descriptions, unimaginative writing, 5-year old jokes and no suspense at all but an easy book with short sentences and chapters I have to admit that Koontz books meet all these qualifications. This book opened my eyes. and I hope this review opens your eyes, too. At least this book contained no dog. But does it? I cannot remember as all Koontz books have the same sketch-out characters and I am sure without a dog character Koontz feel naked. If there is not any silly, over-intelligent dog in this book then you count yourself lucky because Koontz put enough number of overintelligent, loyal, syrupy dogs in his books to fill the whole universe that it is hard to find a book from him without them.
Rating:
Summary: A complex and suspenseful thriller!!
Review: "Strangers" revolves around a handful of people with different backgrounds, that are living in different parts of the United States. Dominic is a famous and talented writer whose nightmares cause him to sleepwalk. Ginger is a talented surgeon who fears black leather gloves and has constant paranoia of being followed. Jack is a highly skilled criminal whose fear causes him to lose interest in commiting crimes all together. Jorja has a daughter named Kara who has developed an obsession with the color red, which leads to terrifying nightmares. Brendan is a priest whose constant fear has caused him to start to lose his faith. These strangers have nothing in common except for their overall fear and their quest to find the cause of it. The truth is waiting for them at the Tranquilty Motel. But unfortunately, it may be the end of them all. "Strangers" is a complex and extremely well written horror story that is driven by a frightening mystery. The mystery behind the fear is what I like the best. The answer to what connects all of the characters is not revealed until the very end. Waiting to find out will drive you crazy. But it is definately worth the wait, and the ending is outstanding. The concept of the story is great, because the fact that complete strangers from all over the U.S. are somehow connected to each other is very mysterious and appealing. Once you start reading this novel, you won't be able to stop. The characters are what really make this book enjoyable. Koontz's character development is at its best in this book. It is so good in fact, that it is impossible to choose a favorite. Overall, "Strangers" is a masterpiece. The wonderful characters, complex story, and overall terror makes Strangers one of Koontz's best books. I would definately rank it in his top 10.
Rating:
Summary: War and Koontz
Review: I usually read books a lot heavier than Koontz. But now and then, whenever my brain is throbbing from too much Satre and Dostioffski, I often pick up a Koontz book for "light" reading. His plots are juvenille. Sappy doesn't even begin to describe his characters. I get so tired of Koontz stopping the action every three paragraphs in every book to tell us what healthy emotional reactions the characters are having to their situation and to remind us what wonderful people and class A citizens they are. Koontz's writing would improve at least 70% if he would please, please, for the love of God please, stop doing this. I have no problems with heroes. I have no problem with good people. But his conception of these things seems quite childish. These people seem as if they walked straight out of a daydream that someone had after spending the day at Disneyland. Meanwhile, his villains are such dysfunctional freaks, that the implication is that anyone who isn't one of Koontz's Shiny Happy People is a walking monster and a pervert and might even be the sort of person who rips the tags off their mattresses. This sort of simple-minded moralizing pervades Koontz's books. In Midnight for instance, one of the characters was in agonizing grief and turmoil because his son...EGADS!!...was listening to HEAVY METAL MUSIC! Oh, no!!!! And yet...And yet, something makes me to keep reading his books. I like them because they're easy to read and they're set up to maximize the suspense. I can usually plow right through a koontz book in half the time it takes me to read the sort of stuff I usually do. But this one was just too tedious. I glanced at the afterword while I was reading the book, and I found it hard to believe that Koontz's editors couldn't find a way to trim those 300 pages. I took that as a sort of challenge and it was always in the back of my mind as I was reading. I kept thinking, "you could've trimmed a little here, or a little there." I'm no editor, and I didn't really sit down to see if my "trims" amounted to anything like 300 pages, but I'm sure they amounted to more than FIVE!!! A lot of the book was just plain repetitive and a lot of it could have been re-written to condense some of the plot points. Anyway, I gave it an extra star because I thought it was clever the way Koontz wove in the theme of the fear of the unknown. The way the "Strangers" were all terrified and apprehensive about their locked memories, paralleled Falkirk's paranoid suspicions. Once the truth came to light, the Strangers were able to sort out the wonderful from the horrible parts of their experience. What had seemed complicated and oblique was suddenly clear and simple. I think this is a message concerning the virtues of knowledge and the troubles of ignorance. We shouldn't be afraid to face the unknown. It's probably not as terrible as we think.
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