Dean R. Koontz is an acknowledged master of a hybrid class of books that combine suspense, horror, romance, and science fiction. His more than seventy books have sold in the millions and have been adapted for such successful movies as Demon Seed, Watchers, and Shattered. Though often dubbed a horror novelist, Koontz himself rejects such labels. In an interview for a critical analysis of his work, Sudden Fear: The Horror and Dark Suspense Fiction of Dean R. Koontz, the author noted that "you can't find much hope, love, or optimism in current horror, but you can find all the nihilism you want, enough doom-saying and cynicism and pessimism." Koontz views his own work as basically optimistic, showing hard-fought battles between good and evil. A favorite Koontz theme is the conflict between emotion and reason, and the emotional level of his books--a step beyond the usual plot-heavy nature of...