I've been acquiring a lot of pulp and 'retro' horror novels this year (i.e. 80's mass market paperbacks), many of which by 'new-to-me-authors', which, on face value is a great way to broaden my collection and expand upon the works of authors I've not previously been familiar with.
Yet, one thing that's becoming increasingly apparent through my digging in the dark corners of secondhand bookstores is the somewhat prominent use of pseudonyms used by authors during the 70's, 80's and to some extent 90's. Whilst the practice of employing pen names isn't confined to those decades, it certainly seems more prominent then.
Dean Koontz is one of many authors who used a host of pen names, particularly during the early stages of his career. Being motivated by success and drive to earn enough cash to sustain his writing career Koontz used some 9 pseudonyms to publish horror to pulp to thriller novels. That's where this blog post kicks in.
Today I take a look at three recent reads by different pseudonyms Koontz wrote under; Chase writing as K. R. Dwyer (published 1972), The Door to December writing as Leigh Nichols (published 1985), and Blood Risk writing as Brian Coffey (published 1973).
Chase, whilst not Koontz' best book is a quick, easy read seeped in traditional pulp stylings with enough suspense to garner it a thriller of sorts. The plot and title character don't lean towards high literature nor the more sophisticated storytelling Koontz later produced but there's enough there to satisfy a quick niche needs for a hero with a heart; the typical all American good guy taking down the big bad and falling for the woman of his dreams while he's at it.
A lot of the themes of this book are outdated (PTSD and same-sex relationship for instance) and the book suffers from some overly simplistic plot elements (Chase, for example, assumes the role of a quasi P.I to track down a killer without who he met by chance mid-kill only to encounter no resistance from near anyone he interrogates throughout the investigation) which ultimately curtailed my experience. That said, as a quick, non-thought provoking read, it ticks the boxes. Almost a poor mans' James Bond or, to a lesser extent Mike Hammer.
The Door to December meanwhile, reads more like the popular door-stoppers Koontz is better known for in recent times. His growth in writing deeper plot and meaningful characters is evident and much improved over Chase. The book has similar themes to Disembodied by Robert W. Walker with a form of astral projection, poltergeist activity, and murder at its deadly core.
While at times reading like a police procedural with a suspicion of supernatural activity, The Door to December is definitely horror, particularly in the mid to later stages of the book. That said the scares are more PG than nightmare inducing.
Blood Risk rounds out my Koontz-three-peat and is probably the best of the bunch. On the surface Blood Risk bares resemblance to the well-known series by Richard Stark featuring criminal extraordinaire, Parker, insofar as the synopsis and lead character. However, shortly after a failed heist, resulting in one member of a professional gang of thieves being captured by the mob (not an enviable position), the plot turned 'rescue mission', with any noir sentiment thrown out the window in favor of a survival and special ops-like focus.
The action scenes, being prominent in the beginning and end of the book only, make for some downtime in-between the bullets and broads which enables some strong character development and backstory. Despite a lack of story progression, I didn't mind this slower pace (the book is only 160 pages long, so the intervening period wasn't exactly lengthy).
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