Dean Koontz - Pseudonyms - part 3

Dean Koontz - Pseudonyms

Introduction

Deanna Dwyer

Leonard Chris

K. R. Dwyer

Brian Coffey

Anthony North

Aaron Wolfe

John Hill

Part 3:

David Axton

Leigh Nichols

Owen West

Richard Paige

All the cover scans are courtesy of Stu Weaver. Visit his amazing website to know everything about American first editions of Koontz books. A must-visit for every collector.

David Axton

This pseudonym was only used for the adventure novel Prison of Ice, so you should note that the David Axton who wrote things like Stolen Thunder, Dragonjet and others was not Dean Koontz.

Prison of Ice

New York - Lippincott - 1976

This was the first and last novel released under the Axton guise, even though the original idea was to title it The Edgeway Crisis, with the pen-name "David Haggard".

Looking like something of a tribute to the early adventure novels of Alistair MacLean, this novel deals with a group of scientists, accidentally set adrift on an iceberg in the worst storm of the season, who're bound to face a merciless death unless a Soviet submarine, captained by a man whose relationship with Moscow is particularly strained, can manage a daring rescue.

Koontz's renowned plotting ability applied here to the adventure genre, departing somehow from the kind of storylines he'd previously concocted.

The novel was long out of print, but in 1995 Koontz made a complete revision of the original, updating it and expanding it into what you can now find as Icebound.

Leigh Nichols

Probably the most successful guise ever used by Koontz, it was used for suspense novels that usually presented some romantic traits.

The Key to Midnight New York - Pocket Books - 1979 One major leap in Koontz's career certainly happened in 1976, when he made what is arguably his most important professional alliance to date, with Phyllis Grann, who bought The Key to Midnight, his first Leigh Nichols novel, for Pocket Books, where she was editor-in-chief. The following year, Grann bought The Vision in her new position as editor in chief of Putnam. It was the first of 12 novels Koontz was to publish with her and Putnam over a 13-year span. When first published in 1979, The Key to Midnight was a success, appearing on some best-seller lists and attaining an in-print figure of one million copies. This was the first of two best-sellers for the writer under pen names before the paperback of Whispers reached that peak in 1981 under his real name. Originally released in paperback, this is a Cold War story of international intrigue, filled with well-developed characters and background (primarily Kyoto, Japan). It features a convoluted plot and, after a few chapters, the swift pace Koontz is known for. "Joanna Rand left America almost ten years ago to become a singer in a Japanese nightclub. Still, she could never escape the strange dream that haunted her night after night: a single, disturbing image of a man with steel fingers, reaching for a hypodermic syringe. When she awoke, she felt violated, used and terrified. Alex Hunter desperately wanted to help this beautiful, fascinating woman. He knew he had seen Joanna before - in news photographs of a senator's daughter who'd disappeared ten years ago. Slowly, tenderly, he helped awaken her to a terrifying fact: that she was not who she thought she was...that her mind, her memories, had been created for her...And there was only one way to unlock the dark secret of her soul..."
The Eyes of Darkness New York - Pocket Books - 1981 This was the second of five novels under the Nichols name. "She lost her son over a year ago in a horrible accident, but Tina Evans begins having strange nightmares that he is alive. For a brief moment, Tina also believes she sees him in a parking lot. Then she receives otherworldy messages that Danny is.... NOT DEAD. Struggling to come to terms with Danny's death, she must now find out the truth about his death and who is behind these messages. And why? Why would someone taunt her with Danny's death? With the help of a new friend, Elliot Stryker, she must uncover all the secrets."
The House of Thunder New York - Pocket Books - 1982 Koontz himself considers this novel to be the "worst" among the five Nichols books, probably because the characters seem to be less well-drawn than he's accustomed his readers to. In his readers' opinion, though, at least according to the letters he receives, The House of Thunder stands as another success, with its neck-breaking pace and its intriguing finale. It was reissued in 1988 by Dark Harvest Press under the name Dean Koontz, in the version originally intended for this book by the author. It was lately republished in 1992 in a revised version. My synopsis: as Susan Thorton awakens in a hospital room, after a near-fatal car crash and a 22-days-long coma, she can barely remember who she is. She is confused, and she has no clue as to who those four men in the corridors might be. Yet they resemble the guys who killed her boyfriend several years ago. One by one, Susan tries to unlock the many mysteries surrounding her, and by doing so she is forced to enter a nightmare from which she may never escape. One whose roots are deeply set in a forgotten night of violence.
Twilight New York - Pocket Books - 1984 This was the fourth of five novels published under the Nichols pseudonym. It was later reissued in 1988 under the author's real name and his original, preferred title, The Servants of Twilight. In 1992, the book was revised and republished in paperback. Probably one of the best of the Nichols books, this novel basically revolves around a chase story, unfolding at an unrelenting pace, with suspense permeating every page. The stunning climax is reached through a series of well concocted clues, that are dealt out until the final shock. On a curious note, you can see that the original Pocket Books cover is probably a bit misleading, showing a handsome couple in a romantic clinch, against a dark backdrop, while this is certainly not a romance novel. "Incredibly, Christine Scavello's young son is targeted by a group of religious fanatics and branded the Anti-Christ. They hunt him and want to kill him. Her only hope is to seek refuge and protection and try to protect herself and her son from a large band of killers."
The Door to December Fontana - 1987 Only in England was this novel released under the "Leigh Nichols" pen-name. Find out more about this book at the "Richard Paige" pseudonym section.
Shadowfires New York - Avon - 1987 The fifth novel issued under the Nichols mask is probably also the best of the five, featuring an incredibly well depicted set of original characters, a gripping, compelling storyline and a language often spiced up by numerous word games. It was reissued in 1990 by Dark Harvest Press under the name Dean Koontz, in the version originally intended for this book by the author. It was lately republished in 1993 in a revised version. My synopsis: the divorce battle that Rachel is fighting with her bitter husband Eric, as she struggles to get rid of him and the fortune he's build with his research activities, suddenly gets to a halt when Eric gets killed in a horrible car accident. The terrible event delivers her from her husband's obsessions, but also shocks her deeply. Yet the shocks are far from being over, since Rachel finds that her husband's body has disappeared from the morgue, and that she's being stalked by someone she knows very well…

Owen West

This was the byline used by Koontz for two of his out-and-out horror stories, cosily fitting in the supernatural fiction category.

The Funhouse

New York - Jove Books - 1980

This is the author's only movie novelization, but it is radically different from the film on which it is based. It was Koontz's second bestseller, and it reached an in-print figure of more than one million copies. In the "Author's Afterword" in the edition that was released in 1994 you can find more background to the project.

"Once there was a girl who ran away and joined a traveling carnival. She married a man she grew to ate-and gave birth to a child she could never love. A child so monstrous that she killed it with her own hands... Twenty-five years later, Ellen Harper has a new life, a new husband, and two normal children - Joey, who loves monster movies, and Amy, who is about to graduate from high school. But their mother drowns her secret guilt in alcohol and prayer. The time has come for Amy and Joey to pray for her sins... because Amy is pregnant, and the carnival is coming back to town. "

The Mask

New York - Jove Books - 1981

This was the second of two novels published under the West name. It is a simply plotted, swiftly paced occult tale about reincarnation. It was eventually reissued under the author's real name and has been in print ever since.

"Such a pretty face. So young, so sweet. She appeared out of nowhere, in the middle of traffic, on a busy day. A teenager with no past, no family-no memories. Such a lovely child. So blond and beautiful. Carol and Paul were drawn to her - she was the child they'd never had. A dream come true. And then Carol's nightmares began - the ghastly sounds in the night...the bloody face in the mirror...the razor-sharp axe. Such relentless evil. So deceptively innocent. Most mothers would die for such a darling little angel. And that's what frightened Carol the most."

Richard Paige

This pseudonym was only used for the novel The Door to December.

The Door to December

New York - New American Library - 1985

Written as a possible "Leigh Nichols" title when the author was considering moving that pen name from Pocket Books, The Door to December was issued in paperback in a revised version, under the author's real name, in late 1994.

It was published under two different pseudonyms in England (as Leigh Nichols) and in the USA.

This dark novel explores the corrupting influence of power as in other stories the author has written, but the captivating character of Dan Haldane, whose talk is both caustic and witty, allows it to stand out of the bulk.

"Little Melanie had been kidnapped when she was only three. She was nine when she was found wandering the L.A. streets, with blank eyes. What had become of her in all those years of darkness ... and what was the terrible secret, clutching at her soul, that she dared not even whisper? Her loving mother and the police desperately hunted for the answer. They needed Melanie to help get to the bottom of the most savage scene of carnage the city had ever seen. And they would do anything to save her from whatever dreadful force or thing had invaded her young life. But first they would have to save themselves from a rising tide of terror...and from an icy evil howling through…The Door to December."