"I Would Die of Lonely."

Warning: Some Spoilers Ahead

In today's era of popular fiction, a few names spring to mind when thinking of the consistent bestseller list; Stephen King, John Grisham, Anne Rice, JK Rowling, Michael Crichton.. Another one of these authors, one guaranteed to sell a million copies of anything with his name on it, is suspense mastermind Dean Koontz. Koontz has had his ups (Phantoms) and downs (Mr. Murder) just like any author, but throughout each novel he holds a consistent trademark; his books have profound meaning to them. Most of these involve the controversy of science and are plainly obvious, while others explore deep into the recesses of the human soul and flesh out characters that are equally complex as memorable (Odd Thomas comes to mind). Watchers is one of the former; tackling the ethics and capabilities of biogenetics.


Watchers is the story four people and two beasts; and in Koontz tradition, each of the characters are personally fleshed out to a near agonizing degree. Travis Cornell is a down-on-his luck middle-aged ex-Delta Force member. Nora Devon is a beautiful girl living in solitude and self-disgust from the results of her emotionally abusive aunt. Van Dyne is a psychopathic assassin obsessed with his own twisted and insane search for immortality. Lem Johnson is a military leader assigned to cover the horrid escape of the two monsters. The beasts themselves are a golden retriever endowed with astounding intellect and complete with a fully human range of emotions (aptly named "Einstein" by Travis); it is the good result of the Banodyne experiments. On the other side is an equally intelligent atrocity of creation referred to only as "The Outsider." The plot itself is really simple: the two creatures escape from the research center, and "The Outsider," obsessed with the dog, sets itself to kill its self-decreed foe at any cost of time or life. The plot itself revolves around the four human characters hunting for these two creatures.


The plot is solid enough to provoke the reader to continue, but the book still has a few glaring flaws. The narrative is simply awkward at times; most glaringly during any scene involving the blossoming romance between Travis and Nora. The deliverance of the love simply falls short of its goal and comes up contrived and at times fake; and when this subplot takes up nearly a quarter of the book's text, it really becomes draining. Even when it is said, and done, Travis and Nora's dialogue is simply deterring. Another subplot also leaves me questioning its purpose; that of Van Dyne. Throughout the novel, he believes that killing a person allows him to absorb their essence, and at some point he will absorb enough to reach immortality. The problem is that, in the end, there's really almost no point to him existing, other than to extend the book and add a second, human dramatic flavor other than the looming Outsider. They may seem quiet, but these problems really do hinder the book's overall enjoyment.


However, that isn't to say there aren't a few highlights. As is his flair, Koontz keeps up a fantastic level of suspense, hiding the action until its ready to hit with unexpected intensity. However, above all is a bonus that may, by some, be considered a flaw: the dog and beast are actually much, much more interesting than the human characters among them. The dog learns to speak via the alphabet in scrabble pieces, and through this he makes some most dramatic and heart-dropping statements with such emotional power that many authors would envy to be able to encompass. Near the end of the novel, the dog retains a severe sickness that may leave him as dumb and incapable as any other dog, and the reader can't help but continue and find out if Einstein is alright. And upon the Outsider's attack, a sense of dismay echoes from the pages.


Speaking of which, the Outsider, though the most rarely seen in the pages of the book (i'd estimate it actually appears on about 40-50 pages, tops), is the most interesting and captivating of any of the characters. It is portrayed as a tyrannical beast created as a machine of war, its intent based on the destruction of anything around it; indeed, it is responsible for at least a dozen human deaths. However, as the plot thickens, so does the character of the beast. It has an obsession with tearing out the eyes of its victim, understanding and believing that it is too ugly to be seen by anyone. For example, in a cave found to be its dwelling and home in nature, soldiers find a magazine with all of the eyes ripped from the pictures, as well as a toy Mickey Mouse. The toy reveals a sense of certain humanity about the Outsider: along with the dog, it has a slight obsession with Mickey Mouse, wishing to believe in its fantasia even as lab tests try to convince them otherwise. The characterization culminates in the final, dramatic scene, when the creature is finally revealed in all its monstrous glory, and upon believing it has finally secured complete victory over the dog, it feels a sense of victory and triumph, quickly eclipsed by the brooding regret and guilt that lingers upon even its tortured soul. It even tries to defy its very creation by speaking in human tongue: and succeeds, at least somewhat.


In short, Watchers is a heavily flawed but still enjoyable experience; having only indulged in a few Koontz novels myself, I'd place it somewhere in the middle; considerably better than Mr. Murder but also nowhere near Phantoms. It's worth a read and prevents some interesting ideas, but nothing to revisit or look too deeply into.