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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
Enjoyable characters, romance, and a creepy monster made this a most enjoyable listen.
It starts with a man named Travis out hiking alone. There he meets a bedraggled Golden Retriever, whose strange actions puzzle him until he realizes something sinister is trying to hunt them. After they escape from the woods Travis discovers that his new furry companion possess unusual skills and intelligence. Meanwhile, a young woman named Nora lives a lonely and sheltered existence--which becomes shattered when a creepy repairman begins to stalk her. Nora's path soon crosses with Travis' and his dog and an unlikely romance develops. Meanwhile the "outsider"--the creature stalking Travis and the dog in the woods--is still on the loose, despite the security team trying to capture it. And it has a strange compulsion to go after the dog, who also escaped from the research lab where it was created.
Long stretches where nothing is happening besides the romance between Nora and Travis (and Einstein, the dog) make this really not all that much of a horror novel. I heartily enjoyed these sections, even in they were implausible. There is some blood and gore and a few thrills in the scenes where the creature attacks, but I think someone reading it for a lot of action would be somewhat disappointed. Read this if you like following characters form warm, loving relationships with each other, and overcome adversity to make their lives what they want them to be
It starts with a man named Travis out hiking alone. There he meets a bedraggled Golden Retriever, whose strange actions puzzle him until he realizes something sinister is trying to hunt them. After they escape from the woods Travis discovers that his new furry companion possess unusual skills and intelligence. Meanwhile, a young woman named Nora lives a lonely and sheltered existence--which becomes shattered when a creepy repairman begins to stalk her. Nora's path soon crosses with Travis' and his dog and an unlikely romance develops. Meanwhile the "outsider"--the creature stalking Travis and the dog in the woods--is still on the loose, despite the security team trying to capture it. And it has a strange compulsion to go after the dog, who also escaped from the research lab where it was created.
Long stretches where nothing is happening besides the romance between Nora and Travis (and Einstein, the dog) make this really not all that much of a horror novel. I heartily enjoyed these sections, even in they were implausible. There is some blood and gore and a few thrills in the scenes where the creature attacks, but I think someone reading it for a lot of action would be somewhat disappointed. Read this if you like following characters form warm, loving relationships with each other, and overcome adversity to make their lives what they want them to be
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I mean.. I’ve been reading this for what feels like ages. Loved the story but all the side characters were sooo boring.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
You go to any bookstore, you go to its horror section, and you’re gonna be overwhelmed with a crazy amount of King and Koontz (and, if the store is a Barnes and Noble, Darcy Coates). King is such a bedrock of American pop culture, most people kind of know the general plot line of every King book, I think. But Koontz? Not a single clue. All that’s known about Deano is that, well, he’s no Stephen King!
So I’ve always been morbidly curious to read a Koontz and see if the man’s reputation was deserved. And Watchers is the book of his that I always picked up at the library as a kid and wanted to read. I think I was vexed by that absolutely terribly 90s cover with the lab floating in the void surrounded by green light/mist. I think this is one of his most popular books, too.
Well…it’s not nearly as entertaining as I’d hoped and well, yeah, he’s no Stephen King in the “voice” department. King is just such an effortless storyteller, and so much of the language here didn’t invite me to continue in the same way. It felt very…mechanical? Although the sex scene was great, my string of words from the entire book being this one that comes at the end of describing our heroine’s tush as “the round sauciness of her buttocks”.
The characters are very cliche. This isn’t a total criticism, though, and I had the most fun with the cliches.
Travis is an ex-military widower who is independently wealthy. Nora is a sheltered hermit, raised by a cruel aunt; she is a perpetual victim, but also drop-dead gorgeous (and doesn’t know it), oh and also a VIRGIN. Then there’s Einstein, the genetically-engineered “talking” Labrador who brings them together. Most of the book is like a little romantic drama between the three of them.
There are two villains though: a VERY lame Italian hitman who believes he absorbs the souls of the people he kills, and an admittedly cool creature known as “The Outsider”, who wants to kill Einstein because everyone likes dogs more than baboons. These guys are introduced at the beginning of the book and disappear for 90% of the story.
Even though I was a huge X-Files kid, I would say that the literary equivalent is not my genre. I usually call these science-forward, conspiracy thrillers “X-Files” or “Crichton-lite”, but given how prolific Koontz is perhaps the sub-genre should be named after him. My biggest complaint is that, frankly, I got very bored at several points and it felt like this book would not end. Charles Grant took a break from the quiet horror he was known for and wrote some of these thrillers in the 90s, but they knew better than to be 500 pages.
I’m happy to have finally checked this Koontz book off my list of curiosities, but I’m sad to say this tale of a dog was a bit of a slog.
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated