 First (limited) edition | |
| Author | Dean Koontz |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Cemetery Dance Publications and Bantam Books |
Publication date | 1999 |
| ISBN | 0-553-10666-X |
False Memory is a novel by the American author Dean Koontz, released in 1999.
| First (limited) edition | |
| Author | Dean Koontz |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Cemetery Dance Publications and Bantam Books |
Publication date | 1999 |
| ISBN | 0-553-10666-X |
False Memory is a novel by the American author Dean Koontz, released in 1999.
False Memory was first released by Cemetery Dance Publications as a limited edition hardcover ( ISBN 1-881475-85-9) that came in two different versions: [1]
Martie Rhodes helps her friend Susan Jagger, who suffers from agoraphobia, attend visits to psychologist Dr. Ahriman. Martie's husband, Dusty, tries to help his brother Skeet by providing employment in his painting business. Skeet, who had been in drug rehabilitation previously, gets high again and attempts suicide by jumping off a roof. Dusty falls off the roof while saving Skeet and decides to take his brother back to rehab.
Martie suddenly develops a mysterious case of autophobia and returns home to find herself frightened by her own reflection. Later, her condition worsens, and soon she becomes afraid of pointed objects, although she is actually afraid of the harm she might cause with them. When Dusty leaves Skeet at the rehab center, he notices a shadow lurking in the window of his brother's room. Strange things start to happen to both Dusty and Martie, involving Skeet, Martie's autophobia, and hypnotism.
The couple eventually discovers that they have both been progressively brainwashed and programmed to obey Dr. Ahriman, a sexual psychopath who drugs and indoctrinates his patients, then repeatedly rapes them or orders them to commit murders or suicide for his amusement. Dr. Ahriman orders Susan to commit suicide by slitting her wrists after discovering that she videotaped him having sex with her. The doctor has also programmed Skeet, causing his inability to fully recover from drug use and distorted thinking. Dr. Ahriman establishes control, sending patients almost instantly into a detached state of consciousness by stating a name and then reading them a haiku. He tries to justify this by stating that, by ordering certain patients to commit horrific crimes—mass murders, bombings, and random shootings—he can force legislation in order to make the world a "better place".
Dr. Ahriman is eventually killed by another patient, who had a fear of Keanu Reeves, based on his character in The Matrix . The woman believes that Dr. Ahriman is one of the Machine agents trying to control her. Dusty and Martie receive a substantial inheritance from Susan's will and slowly begin to restore their shattered lives.
Michael Harris of the Los Angeles Times praised the first third of False Memory for its suspense and tone, but felt that the rest of the novel was more predictable and less believable. [2] A reviewer for Publishers Weekly agreed that it resembled some of Koontz's earlier novels, but described it as "an expertly crafted, ornate suspenser" that fans of the author would enjoy. [3] Some reviewers felt that the novel, which was Koontz's longest work to date, [4] would have been more impactful if it was shorter. [5] [6] Writing for Booklist , Ray Olson described the book as "having so many pages and so little plot", but conceded that it was an engaging read. [7]
The audiobook, narrated by the American actor Stephen Lang, was positively reviewed by Kristen L. Smith of Library Journal , particularly for Lang's impression of Dr. Ahriman. [8]
Dean Ray Koontz is an American author. His novels are billed as suspense thrillers, but frequently incorporate elements of horror, fantasy, science fiction, mystery, and satire. Many of his books have appeared on The New York Times Best Seller list, with fourteen hardcovers and sixteen paperbacks reaching the number-one position. Koontz wrote under a number of pen names earlier in his career, including "David Axton", "Deanna Dwyer", "K.R. Dwyer", "Leigh Nichols" and "Brian Coffey". He has published over 105 novels and a number of novellas and collections of short stories, and has sold over 450 million copies of his work.
Michael Stephen Palmer, M.D., was an American physician and author. His novels are often referred to as medical thrillers. Some of his novels have made The New York Times Best Seller list and have been translated into 35 languages. One, Extreme Measures (1991), was adopted into a 1996 film of the same name starring Hugh Grant, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Gene Hackman.
Cemetery Dance Publications is an American specialty press publisher of horror and dark suspense. Cemetery Dance was founded by Richard Chizmar, a horror author, while he was in college. It is associated with Cemetery Dance magazine, which was founded in 1988. They began to publish books in 1992. They later expanded to encompass a magazine and website featuring news, interviews, and reviews related to horror literature.
Bad Dreams is a 1988 American supernatural mystery slasher film co-written and directed by Andrew Fleming and starring Jennifer Rubin, Bruce Abbott, E. G. Daily, Dean Cameron, Harris Yulin and Richard Lynch. It was produced by Gale Anne Hurd. The plot follows a woman who awakens from a thirteen-year-long coma and finds herself being stalked by the ghost of a cult leader who led a mass suicide by fire that she survived as a child.
The Key to Midnight is a suspense-horror novel by American writer Dean Koontz, released in 1979 under the pseudonym Leigh Nichols. It is considered Koontz's first success.
The Eyes of Darkness is a thriller novel by American writer Dean Koontz, released in 1981. The book focuses on a mother who sets out on a quest to find out if her son indeed died one year ago, or if he's still alive.
The House of Thunder is a novel written by best-selling author Dean Koontz, released in 1982. The book was originally published under the pseudonym Leigh Nichols.
Twilight Eyes is a novel by American writer Dean Koontz, released in 1985 and 1987. Throughout the book, a character with the self-appointed name "Slim MacKenzie" uses his psychic powers to hunt Goblins – a kind of monster that seems to have the ability to mimic human beings.
Strangers is a novel written by Dean Koontz, released in 1986.
Midnight is a novel by American writer Dean Koontz. It was published in 1989. The book is a cross-genre novel. It includes aspects of suspense, science fiction, love story, and horror.
The Bad Place is a horror novel by American writer Dean Koontz, released in 1990. It includes elements of horror, suspense, and mystery, and is presented partially as a twist on the private eye drama.
The Cosmic Puppets is a science fiction novel by American author Philip K. Dick, published in 1957. It is a revision of A Glass of Darkness, first published in the December 1956 issue of Satellite Science Fiction.
Ahriman, or Angra Mainyu, is the "destructive spirit" in Zoroastrianism.
Strong Medicine is a 1984 novel by Arthur Hailey about the pharmaceutical industry. It was the thirteenth highest-selling novel of that year.
Hideaway is a 1995 horror film directed by Brett Leonard. It is based on the 1992 novel of the same name by Dean Koontz, and stars Jeff Goldblum, Christine Lahti, Alicia Silverstone, Jeremy Sisto, Alfred Molina and Rae Dawn Chong.
Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, later called simply Rehab with Dr. Drew, is a reality television show that aired on the cable network VH1 in which many of the episodes chronicle a group of well-known people as they are treated for alcohol and drug addiction by Dr. Drew Pinsky and his staff at the Pasadena Recovery Center in Pasadena, California. The first five seasons of the series, on which Pinsky also serves as executive producer, cast celebrities struggling with addiction, with the first season premiering on January 10, 2008, and the fifth airing in 2011.
"Retreat Syndrome" is a 1965 short story by American writer Philip K. Dick. The story contains some common Dick themes such as a questionable reality and drug use. It was first published in Worlds of Tomorrow Science Fiction and was later reprinted the collections The Preserving Machine (1969), The Preserving Machine and Other Stories (1977), We Can Remember It For You Wholesale (2000) and The Eye of the Sibyl and Other Stories (2004).
77 Shadow Street is a New York Times Bestselling 2011 sci-fi horror novel by American author Dean Koontz, and his 101st novel. The book was first released on December 27, 2011, through Bantam Books, and follows a diverse group of individuals living in an apartment building with a dark history of murder and mystery. The story of 77 Shadow Street is narrated through the viewpoints of each of the building's occupants, including the newer and more sinister characters of One and Witness.
The Knife and the Butterfly is a young adult novel by Ashley Hope Pérez, published in 2011 by Carolrhoda Books. The novel, which explores the lives of two teenage gang members in Houston, a Hispanic boy named Azael and a White girl named Lexi, is based on a 2006 gang-related death in that city.
Whispers is a 1990 Canadian horror film directed by Douglas Jackson and starring Victoria Tennant, Jean LeClerc, Chris Sarandon, Peter MacNeill, and Linda Sorenson. It follows a writer who, after killing her stalker, finds that he seems to have returned from beyond the grave. It is based on the 1980 novel by American suspense author Dean Koontz.
