“Terror and pleasure are linked in us. We are a baldly miswired species, Martie. Terror delights us, both the experience of terror and the dealing out of it to others. We are healthier if we admit to this miswiring and do not struggle to be better than our natures allow.”

American author

Dean Ray Koontz is an American author, known for suspense thrillers and, more broadly, for fiction that often blends horror, fantasy, science fiction, mystery, and satire. He has published more than 105 novels and many novellas and short story collections. Many of his books have reached The New York Times Best Seller list, including fourteen hardcovers and sixteen paperbacks that rose to number one. Earlier in his career, he also wrote under several pen names, and his work has sold more than 500 million copies. Rolling Stone described him as “America's most popular suspense novelist.”