Watchers

Dean R. Koontz

Travis Cornell decides to go hiking in a Southern California forest to regain his youth or to discover something to bring his interest in life back. He finds a stray golden retriever who seems to be looking for a friend. Soon after the forest turns cold and ominous. Instead of letting Travis investigate, the dog pushes the man back, eventually getting Travis out of the forest. The dog has obviously been running around loose for a while. Travis loads him up into his truck and heads back north to Santa Barbara.

At first Travis tells the dog that he can't keep him. But the dog is friendly, well behaved, and seems quite intelligent. Travis gives in - he now has a new friend. He calls the dog Einstein.

The National Security Agency is looking for Einstein. They are also looking for another creature they call the Outsider. The Outsider appears to be murdering people, leaving grisly remains. Both creatures escaped from a secret recombinant genetic research facility. Both contain secrets that are controlled by the government.

After they return to Santa Barbara, Einstein sees a couple in the local park and gets insistent. It turns out the man was hassling the woman. He wouldn't leave her alone. Einstein and Travis chased the man away. When Einstein grew insistent again later in the day, Travis finally gave in. Einstein took him to Nora Devon's home. The man who had been hassling her in the park had broken into her home. Travis and Einstein were able to save Nora before the rapist did any damage.

The man realizes he has something special - both in Einstein and in his growing relationship with Nora. He also realizes Einstein must be kept secret. He knows that the dog is different and isn't surprised to learn that the government is hunting the dog. So is the Outsider.

Dean R. Koontz' Watchers is excellent. It's a heartwarming story rolled into a suspense novel rolled into fairy tale princess rolled into a horror story. The pacing is a bit uneven - sometimes a bit slow, then sometimes a bit too quick. Nora's original character is unbelievable. Koontz explained her background well to show she is; it's still hard to swallow. Overall, though, it works well.

With technology changing quickly these days some of that is dated in Watchers. But the experimenting is still on the edge. Genetic experiments are abundant. That makes both Einstein and the Outsider plausible for Koontz' novel.

Notice:  Graphic violence, Suggestive dialogue or situations