Wilderness and Other Stories

By: Dean Koontz

Narrated by: Dick Hill, MacLeod Andrews, Will Damron, Tanya Eby

"The world is a machine that produces endless surprises and mysteries layered on mysteries."

"Wilderness," a darkly intriguing short story first published as an e-book original, was written as prelude to Dean Koontz's novel of mystery, suspense, and strange wonder - Innocence.

Addison Goodheart was born in an isolated home surrounded by a deep forest, never known to his father, kept secret from everyone but his mother, who barely accepts him. Only in the woods, among the wildlife, is Addison truly welcome. Only there can he be at peace. Until the day he first knows terror, the day when his life changes radically and forever....

Twelve of the other fourteen short stories and novelettes included in this audio anthology were most recently reissued in a print collection entitled Strange Highways, published by Warner Books (1995). The other two - "The Scariest Thing I Know" (2000) first published in Martha Stewart Living magazine and "Hostage Situation" (2009) in The New York Times Summer Thriller series.

Only the short work "Down in the Darkness," has ever been produced for audio.

"Wilderness" © 2013 by Dean R. Koontz. "The Black Pumpkin" © 1986 by Nkui, Inc., originally appeared in Twilight Zone Magazine, December, 1986; reprinted by permission of Nkui, Inc. "Miss Attila the Hun" © 1987 by Nkui, Inc., originally appeared in Night Visions 4, published by Dark Harvest, Arlington Heights, Illinois; reprinted by permission of Nkui, Inc. "Down in the Darkness" © 1986 by Nkui, Inc., originally appeared in The Horror Show, Summer 1986, reprinted by permission of Nkui, Inc. "Ollie's Hands" © 1972 by Dean R. Koontz, originally appeared in Infinity Four, edited by Robert Hoskins, published by Lancer Books; revised version © 1995 by Dean R. Koontz. "Snatcher" © 1986 by Nkui, Inc., originally appeared in Night Cry, Fall 1986; reprinted by permission of Nkui, Inc. "Trapped" © 1989 by Nkui, Inc., originally appeared in Stalkers, edited by Ed Gorman and Martin H. Greenberg, published by Dark Harvest, Arlington, Illinois; reprinted by permission of Nkui, Inc. "Bruno" © 1971 by Dean R. Koontz, originally appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, April, 1971; revised version © 1995 by Dean R. Koontz. "We Three" © 1974 by Dean R. Koontz, originally appeared in Final Stage, edited by Edward L. Ferman and Barry N. Malzberg, published by Charterhouse, New York, New York; revised version © 1995 by Dean R. Koontz. "Hardshell" © 1974 by Nkui, Inc., originally appeared in Night Visions 4, published by Dark Harvest, Arlington Heights, Illinois; reprinted by permission of Nkui, Inc. "Kittens" © 1966 by Dean R. Koontz, originally appeared in The Reflector, Shippensburg University, Shippensburg, Pennsylvania; revised version © 1995 by Dean R. Koontz. "The Night of the Storm" © 1974 by Dean R. Koontz, originally appeared in Continuum 1 edited by Roger Elwood, published by G.P Putnam's Sons, New York, New York; revised version © 1995 by Dean R. Koontz. "Twilight of the Dawn" © 1987 by Nkui, Inc., originally appeared in Night Visions 4, published by Dark Harvest, Arlington Heights, Illinois; reprinted by permission of Nkui, Inc. "The Scariest Thing I Know" © 2000 by Dean R. Koontz, originally appeared in Martha Stewart Living. "Hostage Situation" © 2009 by Dean R. Koontz, originally appeared in the New York Times.©1995 Wilderness and Other Stories is a selection from Strange Highways copyright 1995 by Dean Koontz. (P)2014 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

A list of short stories- some good, more not

Dean Koontz is known for writing some 'out there' novels. This is a collection of some good short stories and some really strange, 'out there' stories that I had to skip. I was glad I only paid $4.95 for it.

Pretty good book.

loved it...kinda got depressing towards the end though...the last 2 stories especially other than that I enjoyed especially Snatched

Not a new innocence book!

I was hoping for a new story. This is just a book of short stories that includes an excerpt from innocence.

I'M NOT GOING TO PROSELYTIZE, (NOT)

I'M A GOOD MAN
This is a mixed bag of stories. Some are horror, some are Sci-Fi, and some are religious. Some are great, some are so-so, some are amateurish, and one is agonizing long and religious.

HER EYES, GOD, HER EYES
As a horror fan and one who likes his stories to have unexpected dark twists, I loved KITTENS. As someone who is in love with his Teacher wife and who knows what an extraordinary job she does, I loved MISS ATTILA THE HUN. OLLIE'S HANDS was a heart touching paranormal story. BRUNO, sounded like a good start to a paranormal series, similar to Dresden files, but since it was written in 1971, I guess that is not going to happen. The Black Pumpkin was scary. I also enjoyed WE THREE. WILDERNESS, was a prequel to his book INNOCENCE. The story was okay, but was not necessary to read before reading the novel. With the exception of one story the rest were fair to middle. The last story, TWILIGHT OF DAWN, is around two hours long and is agonizing. It is Koontz attempt to get you to believe in God. A lot of his stories, especially the latter written ones, have morality lectures, but if you have read Koontz before, than you are used to that.

I enjoyed this collection and if Koontz has more I will listen to those. If you are trying to decided though, King's Bazaar collection is much better.

I loved all the narrators, especially Dick Hill.

Not what I expected

This is a collection of many stories covering a wide range of topics, some of which are supernatural. Personally I liked the stories that weren’t way out there about robots and weirdos walking through walls — stories more like the first one and the last one — the more ‘tug at the heartstrings’ stories. But all were well written. Overall engaging.

Great short stories from Mr. Koontz!

I loved this book. Koontz has worked his magic, once again. This short stories book was impossible to put down.

Diversity

I love the diversity of this book! Like most of Koontz writings he is a great story tell whether it’s a full book or just a few pages! Well worth the listening!

Not what I expected

What did you like best about Wilderness and Other Stories? What did you like least?

The first story about Addison was the best.

Would you recommend Wilderness and Other Stories to your friends? Why or why not?

No. The second story "kittens" was horrible! The female narrator was worse! How she ended up following the first narrator or any other is beyond me! What a slap in the face to all listeners to have to listen to her!

What aspect of the narrators’s performance would you have changed?

Remove the female narrator from all audio books!

Do you think Wilderness and Other Stories needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Hell no!

Any additional comments?

None

love Dean Koontz!!!

the fact that they brought a bunch of his short stories all in one book was amazing and a dream come true!!!!

Meh

Some of the stories are good and some are REALLY BAD. It was a wash.