Watchers A thriller of both heart-stopping terror and emotional power

I've been meaning to read something by Dean Koontz since I watched Odd Thomas. I came across Watchers which happily would also check off another category of my reading challenge, so I checked it out. It started out very interesting. Two creatures have escaped from an experimental government lab. One is good. One is very, very bad. Proceed with Sci-Fi Thriller. The story overall was interesting, but there were a few things that bogged it down. First, there was entirely too much time spent pondering the moral and theological implications of the genetic experiments in the book. Or the ethical significance of a self-aware dog. I suppose this was all a lot more groundbreaking and shocking in the 80's when this book was published. But fast forward to 2015 and we've had so many talking dog movies, so many thrillers with government experiments gone wrong, that the lengthy rumination about it was at times frustrating and significantly slowed the story down. One of the main characters was also a overly naive shut-in who starts the story a few steps short of Flowers in the Attic. (No siblings, so...) But Koontz spent an awfully long time shocking the clueless woman by gauchely explaining the perversions of the world. Which got old very quickly. This also contained one of the most awkward love scenes I have EVER read. (Almost as bad Breaking Dawn.) It was completely cringing to read and all subsequent attempts at romance were so saccharine and cloying that I was tempted to skip those sections. To make matters worse, the second half has a large slow spot in the plot where all you get are moral ponderings, syrupy romance, and overly detailed character details. About 200 some pages could have been cut from this story without affecting the plot. So overall, not a bad read. It was a fairly standard action book, but slightly dated and with too many awkward moments. This review fulfills the "Book That Came Out the Year I Was Born" category of the Popsugar reading challenge. http://www.popsugar.com/love/Reading-...

Really unique plot, as per usual from Koontz. The characters are very likable and there is a lot of depth to them, and the idea about Einstein is really cute. The mix of romance, horror and mystery is really good.

Really unique plot, as per usual from Koontz. The characters are very likable and there is a lot of depth to them, and the idea about Einstein is really cute. The mix of romance, horror and mystery is really good.

Dean Koontz's Watchers was book K in my A-Z of authors. My Mum has always raved about Dean Koontz, despite it not being her normal read. I had attempted to read Strangers but got a bit stuck and had read another thriller-like book. So I went into this book fairly optimistically. First of all, Koontz is a brilliant writer, he brings characters to life, makes situations seem realistic despite the story involving a genius dog and the dialogue is good. There are tonnes of comparisons between Koontz and Stephen King and I don't think this is a bad thing. I love Stephen King and Koontz displays all the things that I love about his writing. The main character, the dog Einstein is brilliant. There are times I laughed out loud and times I cried reading this book and it's all because of this wonderful dog. I own two dogs myself and if they were as clever as Einstein it would make life a lot easier. Overall, this book is heart warming, though provoking and at some times horrifying. Einstein makes it all! Some other reviewers have said that it was too long and I agree with this. There were some parts that could have been scrapped and a whole section involving a hitman that I wouldn't have missed at all. Reading Watchers has given me and Koontz hope and I'm prepared to give Strangers another crack.

“Although the constant shadow of certain death looms over everyday, the pleasures and joys of life can be so fine and deeply affecting that the heart is nearly stilled by astonishment.” -Dean Koontz, Watchers If I could give this book a million stars, I would. Absolutely the best book I’ve ever read. It is thought-provoking, magical, dark, twisted, and beautiful wrapped into Dean Koontz’s terrifyingly-transportive writing style. I read this book years ago and to this day it is still the best piece of literature I’ve held.

This book started out so strong, then I could see how it would end and most of how it would get there. And I lost all interest. Goldens are great dogs. The best pets. And they are really smart. But I wish this HADN'T been a science movie. This should have been supernatural. Sorry. It just ended up not holding my attention. The writing definitely wasn't the best from Koontz, Odd Thomas is so much better. I honestly don't recommend reading this book if you are debating about it.

A reasonably good read. Quite a 'far-out', optimistic plot, which the author in many ways pulls off impressively, by balancing the fantastical happenings with some very down to earth human themes. Perhaps it was the author's reflection on the human condition was what kept me most interested. The way he developed the characters, leaving few stones unturned in his description and analysis of their pasts was nicely done. Unfortunately though, I chose this book to have the s**t scared out of me, and that didn't really happen. Perhaps my expectations were misplaced, or maybe the limitations of the medium are to blame, but despite the at times graphic descriptions of The Outsider's handy work, I read each paragraph with relative apathy. That said, what the novel lacked in my opinion was made up for by the unexpected surprises - especially Koontz's occasional divulgence in exploring the darker sides of human nature. For that alone I'll almost certainly pick up a second of his books to read.