"The only reason I would write a sequel is if I were struck by an idea that I felt to be equal to the original. Too many sequels diminish the original"
About this Quote
Koontz is staking out a moral position in a marketplace that treats stories like renewable resources. The line sounds polite, almost craft-focused, but it’s also a quiet rebuke of an industry logic where a recognizable title can matter more than a necessary book. By framing a sequel as something you’re "struck by" rather than something you engineer, he casts inspiration as a kind of ethical gatekeeper: you don’t extend a world because it sells, you extend it because the idea compels you and can carry the same voltage as the first.
The key move is the phrase "equal to the original". It’s not just a quality standard; it’s a defense of artistic identity. Originals create a mythos around an author: the first time a premise lands, the reader’s trust gets formed. Sequels, in Koontz’s view, are not neutral additions but revisionist acts that can retroactively cheapen what came before. That’s what "diminish" really means here: not simply worse books, but a reduced aura, a franchise that teaches readers to lower their expectations.
Context matters. Koontz has lived through the mass-market paperback era, the rise of blockbuster series fiction, and the contemporary content treadmill. He knows the temptation is structural: publishers want dependable brands, readers want familiar dopamine, and authors want stability. His statement is a bid to preserve scarcity in a culture of endless continuation, and to remind readers that restraint can be a form of respect - for the story, and for the audience’s memory of it.
The key move is the phrase "equal to the original". It’s not just a quality standard; it’s a defense of artistic identity. Originals create a mythos around an author: the first time a premise lands, the reader’s trust gets formed. Sequels, in Koontz’s view, are not neutral additions but revisionist acts that can retroactively cheapen what came before. That’s what "diminish" really means here: not simply worse books, but a reduced aura, a franchise that teaches readers to lower their expectations.
Context matters. Koontz has lived through the mass-market paperback era, the rise of blockbuster series fiction, and the contemporary content treadmill. He knows the temptation is structural: publishers want dependable brands, readers want familiar dopamine, and authors want stability. His statement is a bid to preserve scarcity in a culture of endless continuation, and to remind readers that restraint can be a form of respect - for the story, and for the audience’s memory of it.
Quote Details
| Topic | Writing |
|---|
More Quotes by Dean
Add to List
