Watchers (1987) - Book Review
What do you get when you mix genetic engineering, immortal mafia hitmen, government cover-ups, and a golden retriever?
A really good Dean Koontz book, that’s what.
Dean Koontz has a stigma. No, it’s not drug use or alcoholism, but it’s just as damaging. Dean Koontz had the audacity to be a horror writer in the golden age of Stephen King and much like other King contemporaries, he was overshadowed. However, Koontz seems to have gotten far more scorn than other horror writers of the time. Mainly due to King himself, who during his alcohol and coke fueled prime, slammed the author in interviews.
It doesn’t help that Koontz is an easy target. If you google a picture of him or watch interviews, he’s a weird guy. He has a bowl cut, that I have suspicions is a helmet due to its massive size and he has a very unique vocal delivery. He’s basically a flesh and blood cartoon character. Also, he’s a super nice guy who almost never says anything mean or negative. I mean, I looked and the dude is basically a saint. Which is surprising considering the brutality of some of my favorite works of his like Hideaway.
This hasn’t hurt his book sales as to this date he has sold over 500 million copies in 38 different countries, but somehow he still doesn’t get much respect.
This may be due to his odd behavior and beliefs which he, himself brought to the forefront in his many talks about his psychic connection with his golden retrievers and the series of books about his pets that he released in the 2000’s.
I didn’t get into Dean Koontz until his Frankenstein series started in 2004. My love of that series took me to attempt to read the Odd Thomas series that was tearing up the Bestseller charts when I was employed at Borders Books.
Yes, I’m that old.
Unfortunately, the Odd Thomas books sucked and I stopped reading Koontz for years.
Until my mother mailed me a copy of 1995’s Intensity, which to this day is one of my favorite books I’ve ever read. I would also posit, this might be one of the best thrillers ever written. It’s also the most ripped off story I can think of in modern culture. For example, 2005’s High Tension took a large chunk of its runtime scene for scene from the book and became an international hit without so much of a whisper of the book.
When someone asks me what book to read to get into Koontz, I always say to start with Intensity. Not only because I read it in a single sitting, but because it shows what Koontz once was. He was an auteur of ultra violence and a purveyor of the unexpected. While his modern fair is fairly tame, his original run of novels were a perfect mix of Jack Ketchum and James Patterson with the standouts outside of Intensity being Hideaway, Lightening, and the book I’m reviewing today.
Watchers follows the fallout of a KGB attack on a secret US genetic engineering facility and the two test subjects that escaped during the chaos. One is a super intelligent Golden Retriever and the other is a murderous creature that’s only goal is tear that dog limb from limb. The dog finds his way into the lives of two very different people, Nora and Travis and unites them in their affection for the pup. Together they go on the run from not only the monster, but from the government spooks hot on their tail and the KGB hired assassin who enjoys his work a little bit too much. Will Travis and Nora be successful in escaping the wrath of the monster, will they escape the oppressive powers of the government, or will they be left as Watchers as misfortune swallows them up?
Watchers is a fantastic book and to my surprise, is Koontz biggest success prior to Odd Thomas. It’s the perfect blend of crime thriller, hard sci-fi, and creature-feature horror. It’s got fleshed out characters, a ton of twists and turns, and more than a bit of gore.
It’s a great book. There’s really not much else to say. If you’re looking for a truly unique sci-fi horror based in a believable reality.
I highly recommend the Audio book available on audio as the performance by Edoardo Ballerina is fantastic.
